CHANGE OF LIFE - Chapter 15

Maggie was off Thursday; I decided to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to inquire about either transferring my Arkansas driver’s license or else getting a picture identification card. The man at the “Information” window told me that I could transfer my license by just passing the written exam. He gave me a manual of driving laws and practices, told me to study it, and come back when I was ready to take the test.

I decided to find a quiet place, study the booklet, and try to pass the test this afternoon. Outside it was sunny and warm, but I found some benches under a big shade tree. After a while, it became hard to stay awake. I stood up and started walking around the building while I was studying.

Across the street there was a Starbuck’s store. I went inside, got coffee and a muffin and sat in that air conditioned venue studying. I nursed my coffee and muffin so that I could stay. At 3:00PM I went back to the DMV, took the test, passed it, and walked out of the building the proud possessor of an Illinois driver’s license in the name Dolores Elaine Kosciuszko.

Maggie O’Toole’s told me later the day held some excitement at her home. It was providential that this was her day off and that she was at home. At 10:00 AM there was a loud knocking on the front door.

“Are you Mrs. Margaret O’Toole?”

“Yes.”

“My name is Ms. Elizabeth Shepherd. I am a case worker for the Department of Human Services, Division of Child Welfare. There has been a complaint of child neglect by one of your neighbors. We are obligated to investigate such complaints within forty-eight hours. May I come in?”

“Certainly.”

Mrs. Shepherd frowned when she saw boxes and other things in the downstairs living room.

Maggie explained, “We use this room as a storage room. As you can see it has a ceiling twelve foot high. It is impossible to heat in the winter and it is hard to clean walls that high. Our living quarters are on the second and third floors. If you will follow me I’ll show them to you.”

Maggie was a spotless housekeeper and had nothing to fear from the inspector on that account. After briefly looking at the living room and kitchen, Mrs. Shepherd saw that the furnishings were poor but everything was clean. The kitchen was clean also and there were no dirty dishes in the sink or on the table.

“Could I see the girls and their bedroom?.”

“Yes, they are playing upstairs. I’ll take you up to them. Before I do so, I want you to know something about the one who complained. I know that  you can’t give me the name, but I can give you the name. It was Mrs. Higgins who lives a half block up the street. Yesterday, my girls were playing jump rope out on the sidewalk. My babysitter was sitting on our front steps watching them. Mrs. Higgins came charging down the street and demanded to know who she was and what was she doing with those girls.

“The babysitter gave her name and told her that I had asked her to watch the girls while I was at work. Mrs. Higgins proceeded to say what a bad mother I am. Dolores, the babysitter, disagreed and told her how polite, well-behaved, and intelligent my girls are. When Mrs. Higgins retorted that I was not only a bad mother, but a bad Catholic as well, Dolores said she bet that the Pope wishes that he had a million more mothers just like Maggie O’Toole. With that Mrs. Higgins stormed off and deliberately knocked my youngest daughter to the ground. You should know that Mrs. Higgins is my missing husband’s aunt. ”

“What do you mean by missing husband?”

“Just that. The day before Thanksgiving last year, he didn’t come home from work. The day after Thanksgiving I went to the police and filed a missing person report. Late the next week they called me on my cell phone to tell me that they found my husband Sean Casey O’Toole. I asked where he is living. The officer said that he couldn’t reveal that information without a court order.

“My husband told the officers that he had left his wife and was not going to go back to her. I had to find a job right away or I would have lost my children and my home.  At the time the children were in school. I usually come home from work about 4:00PM. When school was out my girls would go to a house two doors up where their girl friends live. I would pick them up less than an hour later.

“Now school is out. I was having a hard time arranging places for the girls to go while I was at work. Dolores came to my house looking for a room to rent. A friend of mine had recommended me to her. In the process of negotiating to rent a room, we came to an agreement for her to babysit my girls this summer.”

“Let me see the girls and their room now.”

“Okay. GIRLS, I am bringing a visitor up to your room.”

“Karen, Kaitlynn, this is Ms. Shepherd.”

The girls had been giggling just before Mrs. Shepherd stepped into the room. Mrs. Shepherd saw that the beds were made, the girls were clean and dressed, and that the girls seemed very healthy and happy.

“Mrs. O’Toole, I have seen enough. Your girls hardly seem to be neglected. Someone has wasted my time out of spite. I thank you for your cooperation. I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused to you.”

Ms. Shepherd picked her way carefully down the steep stairway and continued on down to the first floor. Outside she again thanked Maggie for her cooperation.

When I came home, Maggie told me what had happened,

“I can see the importance of having a notarized letter drawn up for you. I’ll do that the next time that I have a week day off. I might even be able to do it on my way home from work tomorrow.”

Friday, after breakfast and after I washed the dishes and the girls made their beds and straightened their room, we left for our walk. Today, we would go to the library. I told the girls to bring their library cards. At the Library I applied for a library card for myself. The Illinois driver’s license made it easy for me to obtain a library card. I asked the Librarian,

“Do you have a story hour for the children?”

“We were going to have one on Saturday morning. I just took the signs down today. I expect that we will have a lot of children show up for it though. The woman who held our story hour called up today and said that she and her husband had decided to spend the summer touring the country in their motor home.”

Without even thinking about it, I asked, “Would you let me try to do it?  I used to love reading the Dr. Seuss books out loud to myself. You could suggest other books for me to read to the children.”

The Librarian’s face softened.  “I could hug you!   Be here tomorrow at 9:30 AM. The Story Hour starts at 10 AM but some of the kids will come early. Be sure to find the Dr. Seuss book you will be reading. Then I will pull all the other Dr. Seuss books off the shelf and have them on a table. You can tell them if they want to read a Dr. Seuss story by themselves at home that they can borrow one of the books on the table.”

I went to the children’s section and found The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham   I would see which one I could do the best and I might need a back-up if the kids demanded an encore. Then I found a couple books for myself, some mysteries by Dorothy Sayer and a book of poetry by T.S. Eliot.

The girls were having a wonderful time and I let them go through the books for as long as they wanted. They checked out their books and then we started home.

When we were more than a half block from the house, I saw a man get out of a car and stand in front of the O’Toole house. I asked Karen,

“Do you know who that man is?”

“It’s our Daddy. I’m scared.”

“Why are you scared?”

“Mommy said that he might try to take us away from her.”

“Is Kaitlynn scared too?”

“I think so.”

“Here is the key to the house. When we get there, I’ll try to hold him off. You unlock the door. As soon as Kaitlynn and you are inside, lock the door, go upstairs and watch out the window. Don’t come down to unlock it until you see him leave.”

When we came to the house, I put myself between the father and the girls. He shoved me, but I stood my ground. Meantime, I heard the girls go into the house and lock the door. Their father had been drinking and was talking loud.

“Those are my girls and I have a right to see them.”

“You abandoned those girls eight months ago. Those girls are afraid of you, because you’ve been drinking.”

“I’m their father and I have a legal right to see them or take them with me if I want to do so.”

“Okay. I’m calling the police right now. It is their job to see that things are done legally. I should know, my husband is a sergeant in the police department. I think they are going to tell you that after abandoning your children for eight months, you will have to have a judge say when you have a right to see them. You can’t show up any time you want and think you can visit with the girls.”

As I was talking to him, I was dialing the number of the police.

“Yes, please take this address. I am a babysitter. A man that I do not know has shown up at this house claiming to be the girls’ father. If he is, their father abandoned them last year. The mother is at work now. This man has been drinking. I need a policeman here to protect me and help me handle this situation. The girls are scared and crying.”

Sean swore at me and then slapped me so hard it stunned me. I crumpled to the ground.  He swaggered to his car and drove off. Karen ran down the stairs and out to me. She was kneeling over me when the police car arrived.

“Are you all right, lady?”

“I guess so. Would you help me stand up?”

I tried standing and then went over to the steps and sat down.

“Karen, run upstairs and bring me a wash cloth. Run cold water on it and then wring it out.”

“Can you tell me what happened?  Give me your name and some identification first.”

I handed him my driver’s license. “I am the babysitter for two little girls, Karen and Kaitlynn O’Toole.  I took them to the library this morning. We were walking home. When we were a half block away, I saw a man get out of a car and stand in front of the house. I asked Karen if she knew who it was. She said that it was her Daddy and that she was scared because her mother said that he might try to take the girls away from her. I gave Karen the house key and told her to get herself and Kaitlynn into the house and lock the door.

“When we approached the house, he tried to reach the girls and grab them. I put myself in his way. He said that he had a legal right to see the girls and take them with him since he was their father. I told him that I would call the police, that it was their job to see to it that things are done legally. I told him that, in my opinion, after abandoning the girls for eight months, he probably would have to have a judge say when he has a right to see them, but that he couldn’t drop by unannounced and take them away.

“Then I called the police. When I finished talking to the police station, he cursed me, and slapped me so hard that I got dizzy and fell to the ground.”

“I’m going to type this up. Sometime early next week, come into the station and sign the report. You will get a copy of the report. If you have to see a doctor, bring his treatment summary and we will attach it to this report. Meanwhile, before you do any more babysitting, find out if the mother has gone before a family court judge and been granted custody. Until she does, the father does have a right to show up whenever he wants and take the girls wherever he wants.”

When Maggie came home, I told her what had happened and emphasized what the policeman had said about family court and custody.

Saturday I held Story Hour at the library, but Maggie stayed home with the girls. I was greeted by about twenty children ranging in age from pre-school to ten or eleven years old. There were white children, African-American children, and Hispanic children. The thing that they had in common was that they were poor. It showed not only in the way they were dressed but also in their expressions – somber and sad.

“My name is Dolores Kosciuszko. Can you say that?”

Several tried and it sounded like a sneeze.

“Pretty hard to say. So you can call me Dolly. I hope that in the coming weeks I will learn all your names. Do any of you have a cat?  Raise your hands. What is your name, and your name, and your name?  Today I am going to read you a story about a cat in a hat.”

I then read Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat. I read one page at a time and held it up so they could see the illustrations. When I finished, they begged me to read another story.

“What did you eat for breakfast?  Raise your hands and I’ll call on several of you. Tell me your name if I call on you. Did anyone here eat green eggs?  Has anyone ever seen green eggs?”  I then read Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham. When I finished I said,

“If you liked these stories and want to read some Dr. Seuss stories on your own, all the books on this table are Dr. Seuss books that you can borrow.”

On Sunday Maggie had to work. I took the girls to the Methodist Church where they were accustomed to going to Sunday School. I went to the women’s class. We all three attended worship, ate lunch, and then I read to them the Dr. Seuss stories that I read at Story Hour.

 

CHANGE OF LIFE - Chapter 14

     At the Airport Willard found the long term parking. After parking and locking his car, Willard looked around and saw a big letter “K” at the end of the row. He wrote that on the parking ticket he had received at the gate. As he started walking toward the terminal, pulling his suitcase behind him, a bus stopped, and he got onto the bus.

“What airline?” the driver asked.

“Southwest.”

The driver let him off at the Southwest Airlines area. A sky cap wanted to check his baggage at curbside, but he explained that he didn’t have a ticket. He went inside and stood in line at the Southwest Airlines™ counter. He gave his name and the representative found his ticket, asked for his driver’s license and credit card. She took his bag and tagged it for BWI (the baggage code for Baltimore-Washington International Airport). Then she told him from what gate his flight would be departing. He went upstairs and stood in a long line at the Security checkpoint.

After he cleared Security, he started walking to the gate. It was one of the gates furthest from the Security check point. He walked by a Burger King™ concession and realized that it was way past lunch time. He had plenty of time until his flight; he stopped and ate his lunch there. After he ate and started for the gate again, he passed a news stand. Turning aside, he bought a magazine and some chewing gum. He continued on to the gate. It was filling up with people waiting for the same flight that he would be on. He wondered why he had decided to go back to Baltimore. He didn’t know anyone there. Dolores’ mother had been dead for a number of years. Both his father and mother were dead. Beverly was his only family.

Maybe that is why it was so bitter, is so bitter, that he and Dolores never had children. The O’Reilly family, at least his branch of it, ends with him.

When the plane landed at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Willard retrieved his large suitcase first. Then he went to the Enterprise™ Car Rental counter, signed a rental agreement and received directions where to find the car he was renting. It was a small Hyundai™. He wasn’t sure that his suitcase would fit in the trunk but it did.  Leaving the Airport was confusing. He hoped that he would not have trouble finding his way back to here next Tuesday. He had directions to the Hampton Inn™ on Redwood Street and within fifteen minutes he was there.

When he checked in, he asked several questions about the valet parking. The clerk explained that he should let the desk know what time each morning that he wanted his car and it would be waiting for him.

He went to his room, unpacked his suitcase, hung the shirts and trousers on hangers, and put the other clothes in the dresser drawers. The toiletries he put on the lavatory counter in the bathroom. Then he lay back on the bed. He didn’t even turn the television on. He went to sleep.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Willard took a shower, put on his pajamas, went back to bed, and soon fell asleep. The next morning he went down to the free breakfast. It was splendid. On the way back to his room, he told the desk clerk that he wanted his car at 10AM.

Willard drove out to Dundalk. He found his old high school – now a junior high school. He took a dozen pictures. Then he drove to the house where Dolores lived when they were in high school. The neighborhood was now run-down and did not appear to be safe. He took some pictures of Dolores’ old home, trying not to show the neighborhood. From there he drove to the pharmacy where he worked after school delivering prescriptions. The pharmacy was no longer there, even the building was gone. The whole row of buildings that had housed a variety of businesses had been torn down.

He drove up Merritt Boulevard to the Diner on the intersection of Merritt Boulevard and Holabird Avenue. There used to be a lot of diners of that design. It resembled the dining car on a train. Inside it was a lot more spacious than most diners of that design. The back had been extended so that the size was doubled. He remembered that they had very good food, a mixture of Greek and Italian cuisine.

It was well past noon, almost mid afternoon. A waitress came up to his table. She was probably his age, but still very attractive. She had blonde hair pulled up under a net with a red and white half cap. She had an attractive figure, shapely legs, and an attractive face with full lips and bright blue eyes.

“What will you have to drink, coffee, tea, soda, water?”

“I’d like an iced tea with a wedge of lemon.”

She started to hand him a menu.

“They used to have the best spaghetti and meatball plate in this diner. They served it with crunchy garlic toast and a crisp lettuce salad topped with balsamic vinegar.”

“They didn’t lose the recipe. I’ll get your iced tea and give your order to the cook.”

She soon returned with his iced tea and a napkin wrapped around eating utensils.

“You said they used to have a good spaghetti and meatball plate. I don’t remember seeing you in here, but you look vaguely familiar to me. My name is Pat Lisemby. It used to be Pat Roslynowski. Would your first name be Willard?  A name like that sticks with you.”

“Yes, I’m Willard O’Reilly. I graduated from Dundalk High School in 1982. Weren’t you one of the cheerleaders?”

“Yes. I remember you - so smart that everybody hated you. You always knew the answers to questions the teacher asked, and that no one else could answer. So now you must be a rocket scientist or a medical researcher or something?”

“No, I’m a small town cop in southern Arkansas.”

“No way!  I remember that you went into the Army the fall after we graduated. All through our senior year you dated Dolores Kosciuszko. Her face used to have a lot of acne but it seemed like it gradually went away.”

“Dolores and I married right after I got out of the Army. The police department in Prattsville, Arkansas hired me. That’s where I’ve been ever since.”

“Did Dolores come with you?  Her mother is dead. Does she have some other relatives in Baltimore. Did she track down where her father is living?”

“Dolores didn’t come with me. We are sort of separated.”

“Sort of separated is like sort of pregnant. Uh-oh, I hear the cook calling ‘Order Up.’”

Pat returned with a plate of spaghetti, two pieces of garlic toast, and a lettuce salad.

“Enjoy.”

She retreated back into the kitchen and Willard set himself to eating the appetizing meal. Just as he finished his meal, Pat reappeared.

“What would you like for dessert?  We have baklava, sour cream chocolate cake, custard pie, banana pudding, or ice cream or sherbet in a half dozen flavors.”

“I’m full. Just let me have the check.”

“You can pay at the register when you are ready.”

Pat went over and stood behind the cash register. Willard left a generous tip and walked to the register. When he paid and Pat handed him his change, she gave him a slip of paper.

“This is my address and phone number. If you would like to go out one night while you are in town, I’m free and I’d like to go out with you.”

Embarrassed, Willard took the change and her note. He stuffed them into his pocket, blushing as he walked out to his car.

He drove back to the hotel, dropped off his car, and went up to his room to freshen up. He didn’t want to get the car out again. They might charge him another $29. He decided to walk down to Harbor Place.

When he crossed Pratt Street he saw the USS Constellation at Pier 1. He went through the maritime museum. It was the last all sail ship commissioned by the US Navy. He went on board. Touring the ship he heard a talk about how her big guns were fired and saw how the crew lived. Then he disembarked and went on down to Pier 3 to visit the Lightship Chesapeake and the submarine USS Torsk. He completed those tours as they were closing. It was 7:00 PM.

Watching the colors of sunset on the water of the Inner Harbor, he stood down by the water a long time, sorry that he left the camera in the car. From the number of restaurants there, he opted for Philip’s. He remembered going to Philip’s crab house in Ocean City, Maryland one time. He didn’t think he wanted to tackle eating steamed crabs. That’s a messy proposition. He decided on a crab cake supper and a beer or two with it..

He decided to come back to the Inner Harbor on Sunday. Tomorrow he’d go to Washington, DC, to the Smithsonian Institute museums. He took Dolores there once and they ate lunch in a snack bar in the basement of one of the museum buildings. It was a pretty good meal.

That night as he tried to sleep he kept thinking about Pat and her invitation to him. It would be nice to have a good looking woman to go out with him to a movie and a restaurant. He was sure they had a lot to talk about. There wouldn’t be anything wrong with it, would there?  Yes! If he took her out, even once, there was the risk that one or both of them would start to develop feelings and hopes about the other.

It all hinged on two questions – Did he want to take Dolores back?  The answer to that was a resounding YES. Would Dolores ever come back to him?  He had no idea what the answer is to that question. Since he knew that he would take Dolores back and he didn’t know whether she would come back, he decided that he would give Dolores one year. He would not start any friendship with another woman during that time. If, after a year, it did not appear that Dolores would come back to him, then he would move on with his life and find someone else.

The next morning he drove to Washington, DC. Outside the city he parked at one of the Park and Ride parking lots and went into the rapid transit station. From a map on the wall he found out what line to take to the Smithsonian. He knew that trying to find a parking space in Washington is a nerve wracking ordeal.

All day he wandered through the museum buildings. He could spend a week going through the buildings and still not see all the things that he wanted to see – not all that there is to see – just all that he wanted to see. It was well past noon when he started feeling hungry and realized that he still hadn’t eaten lunch.

The snack bar and gift shop were in the same building and looked a lot like they did when Dolores was with him nearly thirty years ago. In the afternoon he went through the Aeronautics and Space Museum. About 5PM he went to the subway station to ride back to the Park and Ride. He drove back to Baltimore and found himself on a different highway, although it said “Baltimore”. He came into Baltimore from a different direction and for a while he was lost. He saw a sign for the Inner Harbor and went in the direction indicated. At around 7:00 PM he pulled into the hotel and gave the keys to his car to the attendant.

There was no restaurant in the hotel. He walked back to the Inner Harbor where there were a number of nice restaurants. The next morning after breakfast he walked over to the Inner Harbor and just started walking up Light Street. After he walked five or six blocks he saw a Methodist Church on the corner. He decided to join the people going into the church. Inside, sunlight came in through the stained glass windows. By the time the service began, fifty or sixty people were there. The choir tried, but it was not ready for prime time! The minister was a lay preacher with a plain message, but a message that Willard needed to hear – a message of trusting God, hope, asking forgiveness from God, and giving forgiveness to those who wronged us.

“I haven’t been to church and I haven’t thought about God all these years. I’m going to start going to church when I get back home. Maybe that is the most important thing I’ll get out of this trip.”

 

CHANGE OF LIFE - Chapter 13

I slept soundly on the couch. Even the sun coming in through the window did not awaken me. What did awaken me was a little hand gently patting my arm.

“Mrs. O’Reilly, we are dressed and ready for our breakfast.”

My eyes snapped open. I sat up, saw the phone still plugged in, and went over to disconnect it.  I slipped into my slippers, put on my bathrobe, and went out to the kitchen. On the table was Maggie’s note with the address and phone number on it. I slipped it into my robe pocket.

 Looking in the cabinet, I saw a box of oats and a box of raisins. I found a pan, measured the amount of water in it, put a pinch of salt into the water, and a sparse handful of raisins. Kaitlynn was watching me.

“Where is Karen?”

“She’s upstairs brushing her hair a hundred times.”

“I’m going downstairs to get dressed. I want you to watch this pan. It will simmer and then begin to boil. When you see it boil, call me. I’ll come up, put the oats in the pan, and turn down the burner. After that, I’ll have you watch the clock for me and call me when it is ready. Would you like to do that?”

Kaitlynn smiled broadly.

I ran downstairs and dressed rapidly. I was just pulling my dress over my head when Kaitlynn called. I ran up the stairs barefoot and into the kitchen. I measured the oats and poured them into the boiling water. Then I turned the burner down while I was stirring the bubbling mixture. Soon they were simmering.

“Okay, Kaitlynn, this is very important. Sit here on this chair and watch that clock. Do you see the big hand?  What number is it pointing to?”

“One.”

“When it is pointing to two, I want you to call me, okay.”

I ran downstairs again and put on my socks and shoes. I went through my purse, straightened it, and removed unnecessary papers. I had unstitched the pockets of the dress, removed the money, and put it into my purse before washing the dress.

Just then Kaitlynn called. I closed the purse and ran upstairs with it.

Karen had still not come down from her room. I turned off the burner, stirred the oatmeal, and went to the bottom of the stairs.

“Karen.”

Karen came out of her room.

“Breakfast is ready. I want you to come down and join us in the kitchen.”

Karen came into the kitchen, sat down at her place at the table, and sat with her face hung down. I divided the oatmeal into three bowls. I set them on the table and poured glasses of milk for the girls. I had some individual serving packets of coffee left from the ones I bought when I was at the Hostel. I looked for another pan, but couldn’t find one. I washed the pan that the oats had been cooked in and boiled some water in it.

Kaitlynn said, “We usually say grace before we eat.”

I turned from the stove and said, “Karen, would you say grace?”

Karen said the grace in such low voice that I couldn’t hear what she was saying. Afterward, the girls began to eat their bowls of oatmeal. I sat down and began eating while I was waiting for the water to boil. It finally boiled and I made a cup of coffee.

“What is your daily schedule?”

There was silence.

“As soon as you are finished breakfast, brush your teeth. Then go up to your rooms and make your beds and straighten your rooms. I will be up there soon to see what sort of job you’ve done.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Yes, Mrs. O’Reilly.”

I went into the living room to straighten it from my night sleeping there. Then I counted my money and put it in a zippered pocket inside the pocketbook. I called the credit card company which held the card in my maiden name to change the billing address, to ask to start receiving paper bills at that address, to find out my current balance, and to find out the address to which I could send a payment.

I started walking up the stairs. “Are you ready for me to inspect?”

The girls had done a fair job of making their beds and straightening their room                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

“I’m going to have you girls to be my guide in the neighborhood. Beginning today we will go walking every day unless it is raining.

“First, I want you to show me where the library is located. We are going to stay together. Don’t get too far ahead or drag too far behind.”

The library was about four blocks away. Next, I had them lead me to the post office. I went into the post office and told the clerk to add my name to the persons who are receiving mail at the O’Toole’s address. I bought a money order for the amount that was due on my credit card and a stamped envelope. I made out the money order, addressed the envelope, and mailed the payment.

I saw a bank across the street, went into the bank, and asked to open an account. I decided on a savings account initially, deposited $2500, and kept a little over $500 in my pocketbook.

Coming out of the bank I said to the girls, “I’m going to have to find a used furniture store and a place where they sell used clothing. We can save that for another day. I’ll try to plan some walks to places that you will want to go – playgrounds, the Zoo, the Aquarium, museums, movies once in a while. For now, let’s go home and make some lunch.”

At our rather late lunch I let Karen set the table and Kaitlynn spread the peanut butter and jelly on her sandwich. She was a little careless and splashed some on her dress. She looked like she was going to cry, but I quickly wiped it off of her dress.

After lunch I had them go up to their room and try to take a nap for one hour. After washing the breakfast and lunch dishes I lay down on the couch and was soon sound asleep. I awoke with a start. Maggie had come home.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

“I’m sorry that I awakened you. You were in a deep sleep.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I promise it will never happen again.”

“No harm was done. I’m sure that at times I have fallen asleep during the day myself. The girls were both in their rooms chatting when I came home. They couldn’t wait to tell me all about you. They told me about the oatmeal you cooked that had raisins in it. Kaitlynn was proud that she was the cook’s assistant. She told me that for lunch she was allowed to spread the peanut butter and jelly on her sandwich all by herself. Karen told me that you had her say the grace before they ate breakfast and let her set the table for lunch.

“They told me about the walk you took them on and how you are going to take them walking every day that it doesn’t rain. They were so happy and that makes me happy. It eases my guilt about having to leave them to go off to work.”

“Thank you. When we have time, I’d like for you to tell me the location of some used furniture stores and some used clothing stores. I can sleep on the couch for a while, but I would like to get an old chest of drawers and something on which to hang my clothes. Also, I need some more clothes. I just have what I brought in that little suitcase.”

“Okay. We’ll do that after supper. I’m going in now to fix supper. Tell the girls that they can come down now. I told them you were sleeping.”

On Wednesday, the girls and I walked to one of the used furniture stores which Maggie told me about. There I bought a dresser, and a rack which seemed to be an inverted squared “U”  made out of one inch pipe. There were legs at each end with wheels. It wasn’t attractive, had probably been used in a dress factory, but it had room to hang a lot of clothes. I also bought a Queen Anne upholstered chair, an end table, and a floor lamp. The total was $150 plus tax.

“If you will deliver them this afternoon, it’s a deal. I think someone else could have haggled you down to $100 but I need these things delivered this afternoon. Deal?”

“Deal.”

I hurried home with the children. On the way we passed a grocery store. We went inside and I bought a frozen pizza. I let each one pick their favorite soda. At home while the pizza was in the oven, I let them take turns watching from the living room to let me know when the furniture man had come to deliver the furniture.

Just as the pizza was out of the oven and I was cutting it into slices, Kaitlynn squealed from the living room, “He’s here!”  I told Karen to put a slice on a plate for herself, a slice on a plate for Kaitlynn, to get the sodas out, and to be sure and say grace before they ate. Then I went down to open the door for the furniture delivery. The delivery man was not the man I dealt with in the store. He put the pieces in my room where I showed him. When he was done I gave him $20.

When I went back upstairs, the girls had both finished their slice. Almost together they chorused, “May we have another piece?”  I was surprised and pleased that they had waited to ask permission.  

“Maggie has certainly done a marvelous job raising these girls.”

I asked them if there was anything they would like to do this afternoon. They asked if they could go outside and play with their jump ropes.  I told them to wait until I finished eating my lunch and cleaning up the dishes so that I could go out with them.

Outside, I sat on the front steps while Karen and Kaitlynn were playing jump rope on the sidewalk. After a while, a woman from several doors up walked down to where I was sitting. The woman had “Neighborhood Gossip” and “Troublemaker” written all over her.

“And who might you be, stranger?”

“My name is Dolores Kosciuszko. I am renting a room from Maggie O’Toole.  Right now I am babysitting her two girls while Maggie is at work.”

“It is a shame the way she neglects those darlings.”

“I beg to differ with you. I think that she takes better care of them than the majority of children in Chicago. Those girls are so well behaved, so polite, and so smart. That shows that she has spent a lot of time training them. Do you know she reads the Bible to them and they pray every evening?  How many mothers do that?”

“Well, I know that she isn’t a good Catholic.”

“If only the Pope had a million more mothers just like her!”

“Harrumph!”

With that, she charged down the street back to her house and deliberately bumped into Kaitlynn.  Kaitlynn fell and skinned her knee. She came crying to me. I hugged her and said,

“Let’s go upstairs and get something on that knee. Karen, gather up the ropes. We are going inside.”

Upstairs, I washed Kaitlynn’s knee with a soapy wash rag and then rinsed it. It wasn’t bleeding. The skin was scraped up. Then I ran cold water on the wash rag, wrung it out, and held that on the knee. Finally, I blew on it until it was dry. The final part of her treatment was to kiss it and make it all better.

When Maggie came home, I told her about the neighbor.

“I know who it is. She is my husband’s aunt. She will cause trouble if she can.”

“I think that it would be a good idea if you would have a letter typed and then notarized saying that you are the legal mother of Karen O’Toole and Kaitlynn O’Toole and that you have hired Dolores Kosciuszko to babysit your children on the days and during the hours when you are at work.

“Also, I bought a chest of drawers, a clothes rack, a chair, an end table and a floor lamp today. If it is all right with you, I’ll continue sleeping on the couch for the next month until I can get something with a new mattress. I don’t want to buy a used mattress. I’m afraid of bedbugs, and disease.”

“If it is all right with you, it is fine with me. That pizza was sure a hit with the girls.”  

 

CHANGE OF LIFE - Chapter 12

       On Tuesday morning after roll call, Willard went to Lieutenant Hageman.

“Lieutenant, I need some time off.”

“How much time off, Sergeant O’Reilly?”

“Ten days, sir.”

“You mean ten working days, two weeks altogether?”

“Yes, sir.”

“When do you want to start?

“As soon as possible – today or tomorrow.”

“Well, you have not taken much time off in the past. You always lose time every year when you accumulate the maximum. What did the Captain tell you?”

“He said he would leave it up to me, that if I needed time off to take it.”

“Did that incident yesterday have anything to do with you wanting time off?

“Yes,sir”

“Okay, you go on home for the rest of the day. I’ll write that up as comp time. Your leave will start tomorrow. Relax. Take a trip if you want.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

On the way home Willard went to Grady Olson’s for the mower. Next he stopped at the hardware store. He bought several gallons of white exterior paint, some turpentine, and several paint brushes of various sizes. At home he didn’t waste time in getting into old clothes and shoes. He mowed the lawn, just giving it a “lick and a promise”.

He took the ladder and some tools out of the garage. Soon he was busily painting one side of his house, beginning at the top. When he came to the tops of the window frames he saw that the caulking was cracked and falling out.

He went into the house, and found a beach towel. He spread that on the seat of his car. Back at the hardware store he bought a putty knife, a wire brush, a caulking gun and several tubes of caulking. On the way home, he drove through the McDonald’s window, and ordered a Big Mac meal to go. He ate while he drove, and was finished the meal, except for the drink, by the time that he reached home.

He climbed up the ladder and started on the first window, removing the old caulking and then applying a bead of caulking all around the window frame. He decided to do all the windows before continuing painting. He resealed the paint, cleaned the brush, and put the paint and brushes in the garage. He went around the house, caulking the window and door frames. It was dark by the time he finished the last one. He felt really good about it. He realized how dirty he was and how hungry he was.

After taking a shower and shampooing his hair, he went downstairs to see what there was to eat. He sure missed Dolores. She would have had a meal waiting for him. He warmed a can of beef stew, put some cole slaw in a dish, put some applesauce in another dish, took out a slice of bread, and boiled some water for a cup of instant coffee.

He sat at the table eating his lonely supper. Later, while watching the evening news on television, he fell asleep in his chair. In the middle of the night he woke up, stumbled up the steps and fell into the bed.

The next morning, Willard eagerly rolled out of bed, washed, shaved, made the bed, and put on his paint clothes. After breakfast, he washed the dishes from supper and breakfast. He went out to the garage eager to get started on painting again. He finished the first side of the house by lunch time and had completed the back of the house by supper time. He felt very good.

Thursday, while painting the other side of the house, he ran out of paint. He went back to the hardware store, and bought several more gallons of white exterior paint.  The floor of the front porch had once been painted. Most of the paint had worn or peeled off. He bought a gallon of dark blue deck and floor enamel. Then he decided that when he was finished painting everything white that he would paint the window frames and the door frames dark blue. He bought a gallon of exterior gloss enamel in dark blue. Dark blue, he decided, was appropriate for a policeman’s house.

After a quick lunch, he started painting again. He finished the side, and started on the front before it was too dark to work.

Friday, he finished the front of the house and the front porch and then painted the porch floor with dark blue deck and floor enamel. He had part of a roll of yellow crime scene tape and he used that to block access to the front porch.

The tape reminded him that he had not seen anyone from the department since he went on leave. Well, he really didn’t care. However, he wanted to know how Corporal Butcher was doing. He went inside, got out of his paint clothes, cleaned up, and put on his good clothes. He went to the hospital and asked for Corporal Butcher’s room.

The corporal was in bed. His leg was in a cast and in traction.

“Corporal, how are you doing?”

“Good evening, Sergeant. I’m pretty good for the shape that I’m in.”

“Corporal, I’ve gone over it in my mind. I don’t know what we could have done differently. As my partner pointed out to me, we couldn’t be sure that they could understand English. I told him to turn off his engine but he ignored me. Until he roared backwards into my patrol car, then pulled out into traffic, and hit you in the process, I couldn’t be sure that he wasn’t an innocent farmer up here on business.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Sergeant. We both knew what we were signing on for when we became cops. Depending on what the doctor says after this cast comes off, I may not be a cop much longer.”

Willard’s heart sunk and emotion rose up to his throat.

“Why did it have to happen to a young man like this?  Why not an old tread like myself?”

“Are you married?”

“I was married; I guess I still am technically.  A couple weeks ago, my wife told me that she was leaving, and was going to file for divorce.  She said that my job kept me away from the home too much. My hours and work schedules are always changing.  She said that she wasn’t going to put up with it any more.  She went back home to her parents in Forrest City.”

“That is a cruel coincidence. My wife left me a couple weeks ago. I heard from her Sunday night. She’s in Chicago.”

“Cruel coincidence is right. Thank you for coming to see me, Sergeant. I haven’t had any visitors except a couple other State Police troopers and officers.”

“Good luck, Corporal.”

On Saturday, Willard painted the garage with a fresh coat of white paint, and he had time to put a second coat on the porch floor.

On Sunday, he went to North Little Rock and took the Sunday brunch  cruise on the riverboat. From there he went to the Old State House and walked through the exhibits there. From the Old State House he walked down to the River Walk, and went into the first place where he heard loud music. He ate a leisurely meal, wished that he could have a beer with it, but he had a long drive home. He settled for an espresso coffee.

On Monday, he painted all the window and door frames dark blue. When he was finished the house really looked nice. He sure wished Dolores could see it. Tomorrow he was going to take pictures of it. If Dolores gave him an address the next time that she called, he would send the pictures to her.

Tuesday morning when he woke up, he thought,

“I still have eight days leave. The Lieutenant mentioned taking a trip. I think that I’ll go to Baltimore, rent a car, go to the places where Dolores and I used to go. I can go by her old house and take pictures of it, and go by our high school, and take pictures of it.”

If Dolores were still here, she would know how to go on the computer and make reservations. He decided to call Beverly.

“Beverly, this is Willard.”

“Willard, I don’t know how you found me at home at this hour. Normally, I would be at work at this time. Today I just decided to take the day off.”

“Beverly, I wanted to ask you to do something for me.”

“What is that?”

“My nerves have been bad. I was in two situations at work and then with Dolores leaving, I’ve been strung out. The Captain suggested that I take some time off work. For the first week I painted the outside of the house. I still have a week left. I decided that I want to go back to Baltimore, drive around and see some my old haunts.

“Would you make me a plane reservation from Little Rock to Baltimore leaving on this Thursday and returning the following Tuesday; a motel reservation for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights, and a cheap economy car from my arrival time until my departure. I’ll give you my credit card number so that you can make the reservations for me.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

 “That’s a mighty tall order, Willard, but I’ll do my best. You be at the phone at 6:00 PM tonight and I’ll call you. Now give me the credit card numbers, the expiration date, the security code on the back, the name on the card, and the address where your credit card bill comes.”

Willard gave her the information.

“Okay, you had better start packing. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

Willard went upstairs. On the bed he began to make six piles of clothes- Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday - six sets of underwear, six pairs of socks, six handkerchiefs, and six shirts. He would only take two other pairs of trousers besides the ones he was wearing the day of travel. He would just take one other pair of shoes.  He could rotate them, wearing a pair on alternate days. He put the pile for Tuesday aside.

He looked in the closet and found the large suitcase with wheels and with two shelves inside. He was pretty sure that he could fit the other five days clothing in that suitcase and he did. He had to fold the shirts so that they wouldn’t wrinkle too bad. He learned that in the Army.

He went to the drugstore to buy some film for his camera.

“Are you going to take some pictures of how nice your house is looking now, Willard?”

“Yes. Also I’m going to take a trip tomorrow – just to get away. I want film for that trip.”

“How long has it been since you changed the battery in your camera?”

“I haven’t used it for a while. I didn’t know that it had a battery. I wouldn’t know where it was or what kind it was.”

“Go home and get your camera and bring it back here. I’ll change the battery for you. Believe me, you’ll be glad I did. You don’t want to be on vacation and your camera stop working after one or two pictures. That can happen.”

Willard drove home and brought the camera back to the drug store. Dr. Harris opened the camera, took out the old battery, and replaced it with a new one. Willard paid for the film and the battery. On the way home he stopped at the Acropolis Café and ordered a gyro to take out. That would be a treat and there wouldn’t be dishes to wash. He would wait until Beverly called this evening before eating it.

Promptly at six o’clock Beverly called.

“Willard, your plane leaves Little Rock Airport at 2:15PM. To be safe you should be at the Airport by noon. You will have to go to the Southwest Airlines™ ticket counter to pick up your ticket. You’ll have to show your credit card and your driver’s license to pick up your ticket. They should give you a boarding pass with your ticket. Then you’ll have to check your bags. Find out what gate your plane is leaving from. Then you’ll have to go through Security. That is what takes a long time any more.

“Your rental car is from Enterprise™. Give them your name and show them your driver’s license and credit card. Ask them directions from the Baltimore – Washington International Airport to Hampton Inn™ on Redwood Street. It is a block from the Inner Harbor. The room I reserved for you is only $90/night, BUT there is only Valet Parking which costs $29/night. Have a good trip and take a picture of the house we were living in when we graduated from high school.”

“Thank you, Beverly. Thank you so much. I love you, Sis.”

“I love you too, Big Brother.”

The next morning at 10 AM Willard left for Little Rock Airport.