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murielle
The Family
They were scattered between the kitchen and the dining-room with both tables buried under open books. Jake and Ricky with Suze and Not Always in the dining-room and Mike and Sam in the kitchen. The teens needed the big table for their big books and Jake needed a lot of help now he was in sixth grade. And, of course, Ricky needed to be beside his best buddy in the whole wide world, at all times. Suze looked over the scene as she went to work putting a mid-homework snack together.
So many changes.
All the boys had grown over the summer, especially Sam, which bothered Mike, a lot. He was still the smallest except for Ricky, but he’d grown stocky and strong. His efforts to keep up with Jake were paying off, though not in height as he’d hoped.
Sam, had glasses which he constantly adjusted. They made him look so smart and he was, under his goof-ball side. He was interested in science and his love of bugs had also grown. He kept an ant farm in “his” room and a vintage bug and insect poster he’d found when she took him thrifting last month hanging on the wall above his bed. He’d memorized the name of every creepy-crawlie already.
Jake had also grown taller and stockier. Bette said he’d have the same build as her dad she thought, long and strong. He was really smart and worked super hard to keep up his grades, and because he studied with Not Always and Suze he had all the support he needed with his homework.
And little Ricky was almost seven. He had two loves in his life: Not Always and hockey cards, which he collected indiscriminately. The scars from the accident were barely visible, he was down to just the brace on his right leg and only had to go to physio once a week now.
The head therapist said it was because of Not Always working with him every day and he wanted to get him in to volunteer with other kids as soon as he graduated. Not Always wasn’t sure. He said he liked working for Mack and hanging out with the family.
Suze shrugged as she mixed up her special spread for the toast. Not Always liked the money he made at the weekends working for her dad and all the love he got from them, especially little Ricky who idolized him. She tugged at the hem of her mini as she began to spread her concotion on the toasted bread.
“Okay, come and get it!” The boys cleared the kitchen table and Jake and Not Always brought a few more chairs from the dining-room and soon they were all tucked in around the loaf of toast on the plate in the center.
“Napkins!” And then the baby monitor crackled and Rosette could be heard gurgling and giggling.
“You get the napkins and I’ll get the baby.”
“Okay.”
Ricky started to push his chair back to follow and Suze said, “No. You stay, Ricky. He’ll be right back. Grab your toast before it’s all gone,” as she rose and moved over to the counter to grab a handful of paper napkins, tossing them on the table, then pushing the highchair over and grabbing a sippy cup from the dishwasher, and placing it with the plastic glasses beside the gallon of milk.
“Don’t take them all, leave one for Rosie.”
“No that’s okay, I’ll get her one of her teething cookies. She’s too young for honey, Jake, but thank you.”
“This is the best spread in the world Sissy!”
“Thank you, Ricky. That’s very kind of you.”
“Welcome. I tell everybody I know it’s the best in the world. I tell them, my sister makes the best peanut butter, honey, and cimmimum toast in the world! Ever!”
“Cinnamon, and thank you, again.”
“It is the very best! It’s so good!”
“Thank you, Ricky. I’m very glad you like it. That means a lot to me, but it’s not nice to boast.”
“What’s boast?”
“Bragging.”
“It ain’t bragging if it’s true!” Jake said.
“Yeah!” shouted Ricky spraying the table with gooey crumbs.
And the chant began. They were still chanting when Not Always handed her Rosie all fresh and clean and snuggly.
“What’s not bragging?” He asked.
“That Sissy makes the best cimmamum toast ever!” Ricky was ecstatic. “Sissy says it’s bragging but it’s not because it’s true.”
“Man-law, hon.”
And then, Bette and Dad came back from their lawyer.
(Proverbs 27:2)
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Thank you so much for reading and commenting on this entry.
Not Always was being supportive of the boys by claiming that "it ain't bragging if it's true" was a Man Law. If you're not sure about Man Law, I can send you a link, there are 116 official (I guess) Man Laws. Is this one of them? I'm not sure. I haven't finished reading through them. It seems to me just about anything can be called a man law by a man.
As for how Not Always got his name it's in the fic I wrote for Week 7 Steadfast on November 27, 2018.
Here it is:
In the hallway I began to run and even though I knew I’d never make the eleven-thirty bus to St. Pat’s, I thought I might make the eleven-fifty so I raced for the exit as fast as my legs could take me until I crashed into a…
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”
My books and papers scattered all over the hallway floor. I’d never make it! Not now. No chance. I started to bawl. Loud, snotty angry sobs that felt like they would crack my chest wide open.
“Hey! Hey! What’s your problem, kid?”
“I’ve missed my bus and I’ll never get to the hospital in time to help Ricky with his physio and he’ll be so disappointed and…”
I stopped long enough to look up for the guy who’d wrecked my very last chance of making it to the hospital in time but he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Instead he was down on his haunches picking up my books and papers and he looked as crestfallen as I felt.
He stuck out his hand and said, “hi, I’m …”
“I know who you are,” I snapped.
“You do?”
“Yeah, you’re trouble!”
“Not always.”
“Well, Not Always, I was supposed to help Ricky with his aqua-therapy today. He won’t go into the pool with anybody else and it’s the only place where he doesn’t hurt all over and now I won’t be there and it’s all your fault.”
I hope this helps. :-)
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Now, I get it
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😊
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*Hugs*
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- Erulisse (one L)
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Sweet story!
Dan
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any particular cimmumum, honey and peanut butter?
How about bread?
If it's the best and it ain't bragging one must know!