I
take Highness for a walk
He’s
notorious for wanting attention
after
we have all gone to bed
I
want to wear him out
I’m
already worn out
Roland
and I are on the couch
watching
Shark Tank
I
suggest we finish watching
in
our room
He
let’s the dog out just before
he
comes into the bedroom
to
join me
“What
are you doing
letting
the dog out?!”
I
think.
Now
one of us will have to
get
back out of bed
to
let him in.
I
can’t remember
which
one of us
received
that honor.
I
am asleep
I
missed the end of Shark Tank
I
actually don’t remember
turning
on the TV
maybe
Roland did
It’s
2:00 in the morning
when
I can hear Highness whining
“Go
lay down!” I say
Sometimes
that works
Highness
ignores me and continues whining.
I
let him outside.
I
have two pillows in my hand.
I
sit on the couch in a reclined position.
I
don’t know how long I have slept
when
I hear Highness bark again.
He
has stayed out longer than usual
How
surprising
Especially
when I consider that
he’d
been out for five to seven hours
while
I was away less than
fourteen
hours ago.
Not to mention the twenty minutes or so
when we had gone to bed
Roland
wakes at 4:10.
He
sees that I’m gone
and
goes back to sleep.
On
couch this morning.
It
is getting cold.
I
decided to turn on the heat for Roland.
I
don’t hear the click when I turn the dial.
I
don’t check the clock.
It
could have been 5:30 or 6:00.
I
should have checked.
I
stir on the couch
The
wind is howling.
I
pull the afghan around me.
I
think the heater is broken.
I
get up.
I
am in a daze.
I
hear noise coming from
the
TV in my bedroom.
I
see that the light is on.
The
door opens.
Roland
is fully dressed.
He
says it’s 6:30. Oh, shoot.
He
was supposed to take us
to
school this morning.
Jenna
has drama club
early
in the morning and
he
doesn’t want her left alone
before
the school opens
That
is why I have to go with her.
But
Roland will be late
if
he takes us all the way
to
the school so I tell him
to
go ahead and leave
Jenna
is crying
because
nobody had woken her up
and
she believes she’s going to be late
and
she didn’t get breakfast.
None
of us did.
I
throw on a wrap
and
grab my windbreaker for Jenna
to
wear over her hoody
(which
is not all that warm)
I
grab a hat from my back pack
I
should have grabbed one from Jenna’s room
as
well
Before
we head out the door
I
grab an apple and banana
Roland
hits McDonalds
before
he gets to work
He
wanted a hot chocolate
and
they told him there’d be a wait.
I
think he would just leave
except
he already paid.
He
doesn’t drink it
until
he gets to work.
It
tastes awful!
McDonalds messed up his order
Roland
received a coffee
instead
of hot chocolate.
He
finds another
to
give his coffee to.
Jenna
and I wait for the bus.
We
wait and wait and wait.
Jenna
cries
as
she believes she will be late
She will be if the bus is as late as it had been
last night.
We’re
not going to be late.
The
bus finally comes
We
arrive at the school
fifteen
minutes before drama club starts
My
wrap blows in the wind
I
am reminded of the tail end of
though
my cloak doesn’t
wave that long
I
make three bus transfers
I
am home by 8:30.
I
turn on the TV to watch
“Dancing
with the Stars”
I
missed two dances
because
I was asleep.
Roland
calls me and relates the
events
of his morning with McDonalds
Says
he’ll return for lunch
and
report to the manager
It’s
a short day and so I leave the house
to
pick up Jenna
I
am wearing my windbreaker and wrap
and
hat and scarf
because
the wind is loud
and
howling like this morning
not
as cold though
but
I don’t notice until I have passed
the
house next door.
I
remove the wrap and scarf
and
return home so that
I
don’t have to carry them on the bus
Before
I get to the school
I
have removed my hat
I
pass a house with a windmill
Funny
I have never noticed before
Today
the wheel is spinning hard and fast
So
fast it just might come off
The
bell rings just before I sit down
at
the bench
Jenna
is playing on the playground
but
does come eventually
I
ask if she would like to catch the bus
in
front or behind the school
she
chooses front because
she
needs to run inside the school
for
a few moments
We
notice Marvin out on the lawn
waiting
for his grandfather
When
we exit the school
Marvin
is still waiting
It
is a short day
Perhaps
grandpa has forgotten
I
asked Marvin if he would like me to call his grandpa
But
he doesn’t know grandpa’s number
And
I don’t have my old phone
Where
I have grandpa’s number stored
I
ask Marvin if he would like to go to the office
to
call his grandpa or maybe
we
could just walk him home.
I
choose to walk around the school
rather
than cross the field
(though
it takes longer to go around)
That
way we can look for grandpa’s car
in
case he is on his way.
Marvin
believes the sidewalk is a better choice
and
faster than crossing the field.
It's not.
I
don’t know why grandpa drives around to pick him up.
His
brother Isaac always crossed the field.
I
wonder if Marvin has been bullied
and
maybe that is why.
Or maybe it was expected last year
because Marvin was just in half day kindergarten
and is just used to being picked up
As
we approach grandpa’s house, I notice
that
his car is gone.
Marvin
thinks that grandpa has gone to the store.
I
hope that is where he is and
not
at the school searching for Marvin.
Jenna
and I continue to the main road to catch our bus.
We
get off at the corner and grab
a
late lunch at Burger King
before
we continue our walk
to
our house
I
start dinner
Roland
calls to say he’ll be late
He’s
not hungry anyway.
He
gives Jenna a coupon for a
Free
smoothie or frappe from McDonalds.
She
is off school for the next two days.
