about thinking Mom should smack his little brother he kept quiet while they bickered.
“Decide,” Marie said, her eyes narrowed in a mean squint.
“I’m hungry! I’m hungry, hungry, HUNGREEEE!”
“I’m gonna tell Mom you said McDonald’s,” Marie said, hugging Polly.
“Hey,” Caleb said when Alex’s lip trembled. “Here’s some thoughts, Burger King, you like their stuff; Mom’s already said Taco Bell; I’m thinking Pizza Hut or maybe DQ.”
“DQ! DQ!”
“NOOOOO. I want McDonald’s!”
“Marie, you don’t get to choose, and if you keep this up you know…”
The car door opened preventing Caleb from finishing what he was going to say which was just as well, because Marie would have argued anyway.
“So, have you decided, little guy?”
“DQ! DQ!”
“Okay, I think I saw one close to the exit coming into town.”
With their destination in mind Marie settled into humming to Polly Pig. Alex bounced his chubby legs in anticipation. For no reason he could understand Caleb’s eyes stung. He tried not to think of anything. That was best.
It was past the lunch hour when they pulled into the nearly vacant Dairy Queen parking lot.
“Here we are. Gotta hurry. The wash will be done before we get…”
“I wanna go to DQ!”
“Alex, sweetie, this is the DQ.”
“It’s not, it’s Dairy Queen. I wanna go to DQ! DQ! DQ!”
“Don’t be a toad,” Caleb growled. “This isthe DQ. You know, Dfor Dairy, Qfor Queen?”
“But I wanna go to the DQ!”
“Mooooom!” Marie protested.
Caleb could see the building tension behind his mother’s eyes. He reached over and unbuckled Alex’s seatbelt and pulled him through the gap between the bucket seats and onto his lap.
“Alex,” he whispered softly. “Cut it out, you’re upsetting Mom.”
“DQDQDQDQDQDQD…”
Caleb held on to his squirming brother.
“Q! I gotta pee pee.” The last was said softly.
“Don’t pee on me! Be still!”
Annie clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Caleb take your brother to potty and come back to the car. Marie, you stay. I’ll be back with the order and you’ll all have to take what you get!” With that she opened the door, stepped out and slammed it shut.
Caleb opened the passenger door and was trying to push Alex off when he saw a slightly surprised look cross his little brother’s face followed immediately by a dark spot that spread across his jeans and onto Caleb.
“ALEX!”
“Alex peed his pa’ ants, Alex peed his pa’ ants, Alex peed his pa’ ants!”
“Shut it, Marie!” Caleb shouted.
Alex started to cry and buried his face in his older brother’s neck. “Soweee! Soweee!” he sobbed and hung on for all he was worth.
“I want to go home!” Marie whined.
“Don’t we all,” said Caleb. “Don’t we all.”
Of course where that might be was a whole other question, but for sure it wasn’t at the old lady’s house.
Chapter Seven — Making Friends
Lilly went over every inch of her home. She didn’t find a single thing out of place. If it weren’t for the open suitcases with the clothing neatly folded inside she would never have known anyone was around but her. Of course they weren’t actually around and there was no indication of where they’d gone. The whining barks from the backyard were also a clear reminder she was not alone.
When she’d driven into the garage she half expected to see everything in turmoil. The only evidence anything had happened was the box of broken toys. She picked out a Barbie head and a Transformer body part that could have been anything. Why had she kept these remnants of Elizabeth and Michael’s past? They showed no interest in their childhood whatsoever. She dropped the pieces into the box and dusted her hands.
She dreaded going inside, sure the dog had wreaked irreparable damage, but everything was neat and tidy. She was house-proud, no doubt about that. Harve and she had worked hard to make it a nice place to raise a family and entertain church folks. The only areas always in a jumble were the kids’ rooms. She didn’t remember a time when Michael’s room was actually clean. Elizabeth’s had been full of sports equipment, cheerleading pompoms, and books. Shelves and shelves of books, all of which she took with her when she moved out.
Lilly cringed as a burst of barks erupted from the backyard. Wherever Annie was with her children, she wished they’d taken the dog with them. He was raising Billy heck, no mistake about that.
She leaned against the food prep island that divided the family room from the kitchen and looked toward the sliding glass patio doors. The vertical blinds were closed so she couldn’t see the dog but his almighty racket left no doubt he was just outside the door and he wasn’t happy.
Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t eaten since the previous evening and she was starved. With stubborn determination she ignored the barking dog and opened the fridge. The meatloaf called to her. A meatloaf sandwich, that’s the ticket. She put the meatloaf and condiments she would need on the counter. After spreading one slice of whole wheat bread with mustard and another slice with ketchup, she added lettuce, a nice slice of meatloaf and finished assembling the sandwich. She placed her lunch on the service island along with a glass of skim milk, and went to get her journal from her bedroom.
The ro-woof, ro-woof, from the backyard increased in volume. She pushed her glasses up on her head and began to write.
Peace and quiet, is that too much to ask? I guess having the house to myself for so long makes me resent having it invaded, and that dog is driving me nuts!
She took a bite of sandwich and groaned with pleasure. It was every bit as good as she thought it would be.
The patio door rattled as the dog jumped against it.
“QUIET DOWN!” she shouted and was momentarily surprised at the sudden silence, which didn’t last. When it started up again it was worse than before and the giant animal intensified its onslaught against the glass door.
Lilly’s belly clinched and she set the sandwich back on the plate. What if he came through the door? Would he attack her? She’d never been a fan of animals. Elizabeth had had a kitten once. All she remembered about that experience was the cat hair, shredded drapes, cat puke, and filthy litter boxes Elizabeth never remembered to clean. Michael tended to go for the more exotic creatures: baby alligators, snakes, rats.
“SHUT UP, DOG!”
This time the dog didn’t even pause.
“RO-WOOF, RO-WOOF, RO-WOOF!”
The shrill ringing of the phone kicked her already pounding heart into a gallop. Maybe it was Annie calling. Had to be Annie. Nobody ever called her.
She snapped up the receiver. “Yes? Hello? Annie, is that you?”
“This is Phyllis Arrington. You must do something about that animal.”
“What?”
“Really, if you’re going to have a dog, I don’t mind that, but that incessant barking is unacceptable.”
“Yes,