“You open a package of M & M’s and get the surprise of your life….”
MARY’S FAVORITES
©2003 by Mae Ondracek
“Well, I sure wish it would quit
snowing. I need to go to the store for groceries. Just because I didn’t go in last week when it
was nice out, now we have a good eight inches out there and it doesn’t look
like it will let up for awhile. I’ll
wash and dry the dirty clothes and maybe by that time it will have quit snowing,”
Mary thought.
She put the
white clothes in the washer and sat down to write a couple of letters. “Oh,
this is no good! I can’t think of what
to write. I’ll listen to the radio
instead.”
Mary turned on
the radio just as the emcee announced, “Hope this doesn’t scare anyone, but if
you need anything from the store, you better get out there right now and
purchase it. By this evening, everything
will be at a standstill. The snow will
not be letting up and they tell us they aren’t sure how long it will keep
snowing. We will keep you posted of the
snowfall. Now back to the oldies.”
Music started
to play as Mary reached for the phone.
She dialed
“Please, could
you deliver some groceries for me? I
hurt my foot and cannot drive and I am almost out of some things,” Mary
replied.
“I’m sure we
can get some things to you before it gets to bad out there. Please give me your name and address and your
order.”
Mary read off
her list of items she needed and then said, “Oh, yes. I’d also like a two pound bag of M &
M’s.”
Mrs. Wilson
read back the list and Mary said, “Oh, thank you. I really need some of those items right
away.”
Mary hung up
the phone and quickly wrapped a bandage around her foot and ankle to make it
look like she had hurt it. Then she sat
down to wait. In an hour the phone rang
and a voice said, “Is this Mary Linebetter?”
“Yes it is,”
Mary replied.
“This is Mrs.
Wilson from the grocery store. My
husband is just ready to leave here with your order. He said he’d be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you for
letting me know, Mrs. Wilson,” Mary said, and hung up the phone.
She looked at
the clock, it was 10:30 A.M;
“Oh, please
come in. Those groceries look mighty
heavy, Mr. Wilson,” Mary said.
“Thanks. I’ll just put them on the kitchen table for
you. Boy, its bad weather out
there. When I get back to the store, I
think we might just as well close up. Yours was the only order today and it
will soon be
“That comes to
$42.95, Mrs. Linebetter,” Mr. Wilson said.
Mary reached
to the counter for her checkbook and wrote out a check. As she handed Mr. Wilson the check, she said,
“Thank you so much for bringing these item to me. There was no way I could drive out today and
I
am almost of milk and some of the other
items. I do appreciate this and hope you
make it back to the store without any trouble.”
“I’m sure I
will. I’ll call my wife from my cell
phone after I’m in the car. You take
care of that foot, now,” Mr. Wilson said, as he went out the door.
“Thank you, I
will,” Mary said as she shut the door and quickly went back to the
groceries. She put everything away but
left the bag of M & M’s on the table.
She kept eying the bag but used every ounce of perseverance to resist
opening it until she had put all the groceries away and her clothes in the
dryer.
Then, taking
the bag and ripping it open, she poured half the bag of M & M’s in a dish
before she noticed paper sticking out of the bag. Mary reached up and pulled it out. She quickly sat down on a chair and said over
and over, “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!”
She couldn’t
believe she was holding a one hundred dollar bill. It looked real but how was she to know for
sure? She had never held a hundred
dollar bill before. She would take it to
the bank just as soon as the weather cleared up.
Mary put a few
M & M’s in her mouth, then spit them into the
sink, thinking, “Maybe I better not eat
them. Someone may have made this funny
money and put something in the bag with them. But
they sure tasted good,” and, without thinking, she put a few more M &
M’s in her mouth. She rolled them around,
over her tongue, and felt so great she put the money back in the bag and took
the dish of M & M’s to the couch.
Mary picked up her book, put her sore
foot on the coffee table, and dialed Wilson’s Grocery, “Hello,” came the answer
over the phone.
“Hello, is
this Mrs. Wilson? This is Mary Linebetter. Your
husband left here about fifteen minutes ago and he was late getting here. I hope he makes it back to the store all
right. Thanks again.”
“Thank you for
calling to let me know Mr. Wilson had left.
I was getting worried about him.”
Mary said,
“I’ll bet you are worried, but he should be back there within half an hour,”
and she hung up the phone.
Mary went to
the couch and sat down and popped a few more M & M’s in her mouth. As she opened her book, the dryer bell went
off, so Mary thought she better do the clothes before reading. She folded everything carefully and put them
away, then got herself a tall glass of water and returned to the couch. But she thought, “No, I just cannot believe there was a hundred dollar bill in with
these,” and she went to look again in the bag. “Yep,
there it is. I didn’t imagine it. Oh, thank you Lord. I sure hope it is real. That will pay the rest of my bill for the
three tires I needed two months ago.”
Mary went back
and sat down on the couch and opened her book after popping more M & M’s in
her mouth. These were her biggest
downfall, red and green M & M’s. She
leaned her head against the back of the couch, savoring the taste of the M
& M’s and feeling content, when the phone rang. Mary realized she had just fallen asleep and
suddenly her eyes were wide open, wondering what had happened. She had seen herself dancing with the hundred
dollar bill in her hands and then it was gone.
Another ring of the phone brought her to reality and she jumped up to
answer it. “Hello,” she said.
“Hi, Mary, it’s
your mother. Could you come over here
for Christmas? I don’t want your dad
driving in this type of weather.”
Mary took the
phone away from her ear and looked at it, then put it back to her ear and said,
“Mom. Is this really you? You sound so
different.”
“Yes, dear, it
is really me. We want you to come spend
Christmas with us. I know it’s clear
across town but we’d be happy to have you with us.”
“Gosh, Mom, I
don’t think anyone will be getting outside for quite a while. Have you seen all this snow?” Mary inquired.
“Yes, I have,
Mary and I don’t want your dad driving in all of this. So if you could come over here, we’d love to
have you with us.”
“Well, Mom, we
have over a week to see how much snow we get, so let’s say, I’ll come if the
roads are clear. Thanks for asking me,
though. How are you and dad feeling?”
“We are fine,
Mary. Dad is a little more nervous, but
we are fine.”
Mary heard a
coughing spell in the background of her mother’s voice and asked, “Was that dad
coughing? He doesn’t sound good.”
“He did pick
up a cough from someplace but nothing to worry about. Please come over, now.”
“If we are
plowed out in a day or two, I’ll be over then,” Mary said as they each said
good-bye and hung up.
Mary sat back
down on the couch and thought about that coughing she had heard. Her dad had hardly ever been sick and now he
was nervous and coughing. That didn’t
sound like him and she dialed the police station, “Hello, Sgt. Homer. Can I help you?”
“Hello, sir, I
just received a phone call from my mother and my dad is coughing terribly. Is there a policeman near their place at
“Please give
me your name and phone number and I’ll check.
Then I’ll call you right back,” Sgt. Homer said.
Mary gave him
all the information he wanted and sat down to wait. In ten minutes the phone rang and Sgt. Homer
said, “Hello Mary. Sgt. Leslie is
probably at your parent’s house right now or will be soon. I gave him your name and number and he will
call you when he finds out what is wrong.”
“Thanks,” Mary
said as she hung up the phone and waited.
“Why, oh why, did it have to snow
right now,” she thought, “just when
my dad needed me?”
Within a half
hour the phone rang. Mary grabbed it and
almost yelled, “Hello.”
“Sorry for
being so long getting back to you, Mary.
But your dad is a very sick man and I’ve called the ambulance to take
him to St. Helen’s Hospital. Is there
anyway you can meet us there?”
“No, sir,”
Mary replied. “There is too much snow
out here and I could never get my car out of the garage now.”
“The ambulance
is here now. I’ll call my
superintendent, Sgt. Homer and see if they can pick you up and take you to the
hospital.”
“Thank you,
sir,” Mary said as she hung up the phone and dropped her head in her hands,
thinking, “Oh, God. Why did dad get sick now? This will be a terrible Christmas for Mom.”
The phone rang again and Mary quickly
picked it up and said, “Hello.”
“Hello
Mary. Sgt. Homer here. Did Sgt. Leslie call you?”
“Yes, he
did. The ambulance is taking both my
parents to the hospital but I can’t get my car out of the garage.”
“O.K. I’ll see if
Sgt. Johnson and Sgt. Smart can come get you and take you to the hospital. Be ready for them.”
“I sure will,
Sgt. Homer and thank you. It is real bad
out there,” Mary said as she hung up the phone.
She quickly unwound the bandage from
her foot and put on her boots and another sweater. She laid her coat, earmuffs, and gloves on a
chair by the door and waited. Within
forty-five minutes there was a knock at the door and when Mary opened it, the
man said, “I’m Sgt. Smart. Sgt. Johnson
is in the car. We’re to take you to St.
Helen’s Hospital.”
Mary grabbed
her coat as Sgt. Smart said, “Here, let me help you with that.”
Mary let him
take her coat and get it right for her to slip her arms into. Donning her earmuffs and gloves, she said,
“Oh, I almost forgot my purse.”
She ran into
the kitchen, snatched the hundred dollar bill out of the M & M’s, grabbed
her purse and said, “Sorry. I’m ready
now.”
They hurried
out to the police car and Sgt. Smart opened the back door for her. She slid in and Sgt. Smart said, “Mary, this
is Sgt. Johnson. We hope your dad will
be all right.”
“Hello Sgt. Johnson,”
Mary said, “thank you fellows for coming out to get me and thanks for your kind
words.”
They stopped
at St. Helen’s hospital and Mary said, “Thanks to you both,” as she started
getting out of the police car.
Sgt. Johnson
said, “That’s O.K. but we’ll be coming in with you to see of everything is all
right,” and the three of them hurried inside.
Mary fairly
ran to the front desk and said, “Hello, my name is Mary Linebetter. They just brought in my dad and mom.”
“Your mother
is right there in the waiting room and you can join her. Dr. Coleman will be right down after checking
your father,” the nurse said.
Mary turned
towards the policemen and said, “Thanks again for your trouble. You better get back to the station and I’ll
call when we hear anything. I really
appreciate your help.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We were
just thinking of doing that. We wish
your father the best,” Sgt. Smart said.
“Thanks,” Mary
said over her shoulder as she pushed open the door to the waiting room and
gasped when she saw her mother. “Oh,
Mom, what is wrong with you? You don’t
look good either. Even though you aren’t
coughing, you still look sick.”
“No, I’m all
right, Mary. Thanks for getting the
policeman to come to the house. I
thought you’d be able to come over right away.
I guess I didn’t realize how deep the snow was.”
Just then the
door opened and a doctor entered. His
eyes took in Mary but he put out his hand to the older woman and said, “Mrs. Linebetter? I’m Dr.
Coleman.”
Mrs. Linebetter grabbed his hand and asked, “How is my husband,
doctor? Will he be all right?” as she
sank down on the chair.
Mary grabbed
her and said, “Hello, Dr. Coleman. I’m
Mary, their daughter. Would you please
look at my mother? I don’t think she is
feeling very good, either. What is wrong
with my father?”
“He has the
flu and pneumonia. It is going to be
touch and go for awhile. Mrs. Linebetter, you come with me and we’ll see about doing up
some blood work on you.”
“No, no, I
can’t. I don’t have any money for
myself. Just take care of dad. Please!”
“We’ll worry
about money later. Right now I want to
be sure you don’t have pneumonia, too,” Dr. Coleman said and Mrs. Linebetter let him guide her out the door.
In half an
hour Dr. Coleman returned and said, “Well, Mary, I’m glad you asked about your
mom. She does have pneumonia, and is
being put to bed. Please come with me to
see your father first, while they get your mother settled.”
Mary followed
Dr. Coleman up a flight of stairs and into a dimly lit room. Dr. Coleman held her arm and said, “Do not
disturb him. He needs his rest to get
over this.”
Mary shook her
head and quietly walked to his bedside.
She picked up one of his hands and held it while stroking his
forehead. Quietly she said, “I’m so
sorry, Dad. I wish it was me instead of
you lying there,” as tears ran down her cheeks.
She prayed
that he would get better real soon, as she sat in a chair by his bedside. Suddenly his breath came
in short uneven gasps and as she looked at the monitor beside his bed, it
started beeping and two nurses and Dr. Coleman rushed into the room. Pushing her aside, they gave her dad CPR,
while another nurse came in with the defibrillator. Dr. Coleman told everyone to stand clear as
he applied the pads to Mr. Linebetter’s chest. Her father jerked up off the bed but nothing
happened. The doctor shouted, “Again,”
as he applied the pads once more. Nothing. “Nurse,
raise the amount two degrees and hit it again.”
When Dr. Coleman applied the pads, nothing happened. He said, “We tried our best, Miss Linebetter. I’m
sorry he didn’t make it. How long was he
sick?”
“I don’t
know,” Mary cried. “My mother called me
this
“You better go
to her while we take care of your father.
Do not tell her he has passed away, O.K.?” Dr. Coleman said.
“I won’t,
doctor.” Mary walked into the bathroom
and cleaned her face.
“Sorry for
pushing you before but hope you understand.
Now that looks better, Mary,” Dr. Coleman said. “Your mother’s room is left and down the
hall, two doors. We hope she makes it.”
Mary walked
down the hall and quietly opened the door to her mother’s room. Mary approached her mother’s bedside and took
one of her hands. Mrs. Linebetter opened her eyes and asked, “Did you see your
dad?”
“Yes, Mom I
did. How do you feel now?’ Mary asked.
“I’m
fine. I want to know how your dad is, can’t
you tell me?” her mother asked.
“No mom I
can’t. The doctor chased me down here to
see you while they take care of dad.” Mary started crying as she asked, “Mom, how
long was dad sick before you called me?
I know we talked on the phone over two weeks ago, was he sick then?”
Her mother looked away and quietly said, “You
know we don’t have much money for doctors, Mary. Yes, he was sick then and just kept getting
worse. I finally had to call you
today. It was today, wasn’t it?”
Mary nodded
her head but couldn’t answer. She laid
her head on the bed and was crying very hard.
Her mother cried, “I knew it!
Your dad died, didn’t he?”
Mary didn’t
have a chance to answer as the door opened and Dr. Coleman entered. “We are sorry, Mrs. Linebetter. We did everything we could for your husband
but he was too far gone by the time he came here. Yes, he died a little while ago. Now, please, just get some rest so you can
get better. Nurse, give her a sedative.”
Mary looked at
her mother and said, “Please, mom, get better so I can take you home with
me. I need you now.”
Her mother
shook her head, but went to sleep without answering. Dr. Coleman asked Mary if she wanted to stay
and Mary asked, “Can I please? I don’t
want to lose her too.”
The doctor
patted Mary’s shoulder, walked out and closed the door. He approached the nurses’ station and said,
“Please watch her carefully. She is
overwrought and might try to pull the IV out.
When she wakes up, we’ll give her shots instead of pills. We have to try to save her, for Mary’s sake.”
The nurse took
the new prescription and nodded her head.
Mary sat by
her mother all night, sleeping a little bit on and off. One time her mother asked Mary to cover her
arms as she was cold and Mary gently put her mother’s hands under the
covers. Mary dropped off to sleep again
and when she awoke, her mother’s bed was saturated with blood. Mary pushed on the button to call the nurse
and when the nurse came in, she cried out, “When did this happen?”
Mary cried, “I
don’t know. She wanted to be covered at
“It doesn’t
look good. I’ll get Dr. Coleman right
away,” the nurse said as she hurried out of the room.
Soon Dr. Coleman
and two nurses rushed in. He took one
look at Mrs. Linebetter and yelled, “Give her a
morphine shot and get that IV put back in.
Mary, were you in here with her when she pulled the IV out?”
“Yes, but I
had dozed off after covering her up. She
said she was cold,” Mary cried.
“That’s all
right, Mary. We’ll see if we can get her
back. Oh, God, please let this work,”
the doctor said as they got Mary’s mother settled back down.
Mrs. Linebetter,
“But Mary, I
want to go to be with your dad. I don’t
want to be alone,”
“All right, mom,
but you won’t be alone. You can come
live in my place with me. I need you,”
but her mother hadn’t heard her, she had fallen back asleep.
At
“No, mom,”
Mary said, “I am not leaving your side,” and she pressed the buzzer for the
nurse.
The nurse
hurried in and asked what was the matter. Mary said, “Mom complained of stomach pain
and wanted me to go out to get you.”
The nurse
looked at her watch and said
“No, Mary,
please. Take the IV out. I want to go to be with your dad,” but she
drifted back to sleep.
Mary walked
the floor to stay awake and watch her mother, praying for her to get over the
idea of dying. As she turned towards her
mother, she saw her mother’s right arm come out from under the blanket and
reach over to her left arm. Mary ran to
her and took her hand, saying, “No way, Mom.
You leave that alone so you can get better,”
and she pressed the buzzer for the nurse.
When the nurse
came in, Mary asked, “I hate to ask this but will you please tie Mom’s right
arm to the bed? She keeps trying to take
the IV out.”
“I’ll be right
back with a restraint.
“Oh, nurse,
please, just take the IV out. I want to
join my husband,”
“Mrs. Linebetter, you listen here. Your husband was a very sick man and should
have been in the hospital two weeks ago and he would be better now. You aren’t half as sick as he was and you
will be all right within a short time.
Your hand will be tied to the bed until you learn to leave the IV
alone. Now go back to sleep so Mary can
get some sleep, too.”
But
The nurse
quickly checked
Mary told him
what had happened, but she just couldn’t quit crying. “Now I’ve lost both of them just before
Christmas. Oh, God! Help me to cope,” and her head fell against
the bed covers.
The doctor
checked Mrs. Linebetter, covered her face with the
sheet and helped Mary to stand. “Mary,
your mother knew she didn’t want to live without your father and she has gotten
her wish. Thank God, she didn’t suffer
much. Come out into the hallway and we’ll
give you your mother’s things, too,” as he led Mary out of the room.
“But…but
doctor, I told her she could come live with me.
I needed her so much,” Mary cried.
“This happens
a lot, Mary. Just be thankful your parents
are together and very happy and, as if on cue, the snowing has stopped.”
“Oh, no, now I
have to call Sgt. Homer again with the rest of the bad news. Now Sgts. Smart and
Johnson will have to come take me home again.
Oh, God! How will I get through
this year?” Mary cried harder.
“Are there any
more in your family we should contact, Mary?” as he placed a hand on her arm.
“No. I am an only child and my only aunt is in a
nursing home, bad with Alzheimer’s,” Mary said.
“O.K. Now I want you
to go home and get some rest. Take one
of these pills and sleep. We will get
your parents to the Brown’s Mortuary. We
will let them take care of everything.
Now please, call those sergeants and go home to rest,” and he gave Mary
a big hug before he turned and quickly walked down the hall.
Mary called
Sgt. Homer and told him her mother had died, too and she needed a ride
home. He told her that the plows were
already out and he’d get Johnson and Smart to pick her up very soon. Mary went down to the waiting room to
wait. Within half an hour the police
were there for her and took her home. As
she got out of the police car, an officer asked her, “Are you sure you’ll be
all right now?’
“Yes,” Mary
replied. “I’ll take a pill the doctor
gave me and I’ll sleep. Thank you for
your help,” and she went to the door, unlocked it, waved to the sergeants and
went inside.
She
immediately took a pill and got ready for bed, thinking, “How can I sleep when I’ve just lost both my parents?” She started to cry again but just as her
head hit the pillow she was sleeping.
Mary slept for seven hours and when she awoke, she thought she had only
been dreaming and she dialed her parent’s phone number. Of course, there was no answer and Mary knew
she had a lot of work to do tomorrow. To
clean out her parent’s apartment would be a hard job. Then she drifted back to sleep, imagining she
heard someone out front, shoveling snow.
She awoke the
next morning at
“I wonder who
did this?” she said aloud as she looked up and down the street. No one was in sight, so Mary went back into
the house and removed her heavy clothes.
She sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of coffee. She sat thinking about everything which had
happened over the past four days and wishing she had a larger place where her
parents could have lived with her. But
that was in the past and she had to get on with her life now.
Suddenly she
thought she better get busy at that apartment and got the key out of her
mother’s purse. She put boxes in her
car, opened the garage door, and backed out.
As the garage door closed, she noticed a pickup coming around the corner
and she thought she had better wait until it passed by, but it stopped right
behind her car. She got out of her car
just as Dr. Coleman got out of his
pickup and she was so happy to see him that she let him gather her into a big
hug. Then he stepped back, looking
embarrassed, “Sorry about that, but I’ve been thinking about how you were doing
and I had to help out.”
Mary gestured,
“You did all this shoveling?” she asked.
“Yes, I
couldn’t sleep, thinking you might not take the pill I gave you and be out here
shoveling this snow. But you didn’t hear
a thing, did you?”
“I imagined I
heard someone out here shoveling, but I just went back to sleep. Come in for a cup of coffee,” and Mary shut
off her car and led the way into the house.
They drank coffee and talked for over an hour until the doctor said, “Can
I help you get some of that furniture over here?”
Mary gasped,
“Why, doctor, that would be wonderful but don’t you have to be at the
hospital?”
“They gave me
three days off and this is my second day.
I’m too keyed up to just stay at home and try to read. So, here I am, ready to help you. If you need me, that is?”
“Do I need
you? I’ll be real happy to have your
help, Dr. Coleman.”
The doctor
stopped putting on his jacket as he said, “First off, you must stop calling me
Dr. Coleman. My name is David and I’d
like you to call me that.”
“O.K. David,”
Mary said sheepishly.
They both
walked outside as David asked, “How far do you have to go to your parents
place?”
“It’s across
town, on
David looked
astonished as he asked, “What is the house number?”
“Two thousand
and two,” Mary replied, “Why?”
“I can’t
believe it. That is just two doors down
from where I live.”
Mary stopped
walking and looked at David, “You’re kidding me, of course?” she asked.
“No, Mary, honest,
that is where I live,” David said. “Now
why don’t we just put those boxes from your car into the back of my pickup and
we can haul the stuff in one vehicle. I
really want to help you.”
“All right,” Mary said as they
transferred the boxes and she drove her car back into the garage.
David helped her into his pickup and
then got in himself and off they went to
David looked at her and asked, “I’m
sorry. What did you say? My mind was a mile away.” He looked embarrassed.
Mary again told him about the snow
and he said, “Oh, yea, sure, it’s great,” and they lapsed into silence all the way
to her parent’s apartment.
David stopped in front of the
apartments and said, “Nice looking apartment house. Shall we go in?” as he looked at Mary’s
tightly interwoven hands in her lap.
He reached over and took her hands,
“Come on Mary. This is hard work but it
has to be done and I’m here to help you.”
Mary nodded her head and they both
got out of the pickup. Grabbing boxes,
they headed up the stairs and Mary unlocked the door to her parent’s apartment. She stood in disbelief as she looked around
the apartment. “My gosh! Where are all their belongings?” Mary asked
in wonder. “I’m going to see the
superintendent.”
“I’ll come along,” David said, “just
in case.”
When the superintendent opened his
door and asked who they were, he was surprised to hear it was Linebetter’s daughter.
Mary looked inside his apartment and said, “You took my parent’s
furniture, didn’t you? I’d know that old
desk anywhere.”
“No, Ma’am, I didn’t take it. I bought whatever they wanted to sell me and
I have papers as proof,” he said.
“Well, I want that desk back. Dad and mom both died and I’ll be cleaning
out their apartment today, with the help of my friend, David,” Mary said.
The superintendent nodded to David
and went to the desk, “Here are the receipts of everything I bought from your
parents,” he said as he handed Mary the slips of paper.
Mary looked at
them and asked, “Why did they sell off all this stuff? I can’t understand them doing this.”
“They needed groceries, the Mrs. said,
so I said I’d buy what they wanted to sell,” the superintendent said. “My place is getting full, so just tell me
what you’d like back and you can pay me just what I had given them. I really am sorry about them both passing on,
though I tried to get him to go to a doctor two weeks ago. He was coughing pretty bad,
then.”
Mary said she wanted the desk, the
iron plant stand and a few other things and the superintendent said he’d have
them ready for them whenever they wanted to take them out. Mary said she’d give him time to clean out
the desk drawers before they put it in the pickup and she and David headed to
her parent’s apartment again. They
started filling boxes with groceries and papers as Mary said she’d have time to
sort them at her place. They looked
around the bleak empty apartment, then she and David walked down to the
superintendent’s apartment and knocked, “All ready for hauling out my parent’s
things,” Mary said.
As she and David moved the desk
towards the door, Mary let go of the desk and cried out, “Oh, my God!” as she
grabbed her left shoulder.
“What’s the
matter, Mary?” David asked and went to her side.
“I don’t know,
but that sure was a sharp pain in my shoulder,” Mary said as she rubbed it.
“Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll help your friend,” the superintendent
said as he donned his coat.
“Well, at
least I can carry things with my right hand,” Mary said as she picked up the
iron plant stand and hurried out after the men.
They got
everything loaded and Mary paid the rent and for cleaning the apartment and
they left. “How’s the shoulder feel,
Mary?” David asked.
“I think its
better,” Mary said, “but I can’t let you do all the lugging of this stuff
inside. I have to help you.”
“We’ll
manage,” David said as he backed into her driveway.
Mary grabbed a
box with her right hand and headed towards the front door. She couldn’t get her key out, so she set the
box down and got out her key and opened the door, pushing the box inside with
her foot. David followed with two boxes,
saying, “See, we’ll be finished in no time,” as he went back out for more
boxes.
Mary made
coffee and went back out to help bring in more stuff. They were down to the desk and David asked,
“Are you sure you can help me with this?
It is sort of heavy.”
“I’ll try,”
Mary said. “If not, I know of a doctor who
can help me with my shoulder,” and she laughed.
“Hey, I’m not
that kind of a doctor,” David laughingly said.
He got down on
the sidewalk as Mary pushed the desk onto the tailgate. David held it and said, “O.K. now come down
here and see if you can lift it down.”
Mary jumped
down and tried lifting the desk but pain shot through her shoulder and she said
they’d have to get other help. “Who do
you know who could help me, Mary? I
don’t want you lifting this heavy thing.”
“Oh, gosh. I don’t
think Mr. Emery could help. He’s 75
years old. But I know the Sargents Homer, Johnson, and Smart. Maybe they could swing by here and help,”
Mary said and as if by magic, she saw a police car pull alongside her front
walk.
Sgt. Smart
emerged from the front passenger seat and said, “Looks like we’re just in time
to help your friend. Where do you want
us to set it, Mary?”
Mary said
hello to him and waved to Sgt. Johnson and hurried into the front room. “I think right near this window would be
perfect, Sgt. Smart. You two came along
just in time to help David, how about a cup of coffee?”
“I’ll be right
back, Mary. I’ll need our coffee cups,”
Sgt. Smart said and he soon returned with two coffee cups. “It’s very nice of you to offer us
coffee. You and your friend have a good
evening,” he said as he left.
“Thank you,
Sgt. Smart. Hope the evening is quiet
for you two, also.” Mary said.
Mary looked at
David and laughed, “Looks like I’ll have my hands full for quite awhile don’t
it?”
“Yes, in a way,
it does,” David said thoughtfully.
“What do you
mean ‘in a way’?” Mary asked. “I’ve got
all these boxes to go through.”
“Well, yes,
but…well, but,” and David stopped, not knowing if he should continue.
Mary waited
for David to speak while she poured them each a cup of coffee. “Well, yes, but,” David faltered again. “Well, what I mean is, you can’t spend all
your time with those things. I’d like
some of your time, too,” and he stopped again, embarrassed.
Mary sat the
coffee pot down and looked at David, then said, “My gosh,
David, what are you saying? We hardly
know each other.”
“Yea, I know,
but I want to know you better. I hope
you can forgive my ineptness of speaking,” David said, “I’m not used to talking
with a good looking lady,” and he turned red again.
“Why, Dr.
Coleman. How generous of you. Thank you for the compliment and you’ll be
welcome here anytime you have free time,” Mary turned towards the cupboard as
tears formed in her eyes.
She was
reaching for the jar of cookies as David took hold of her shoulders and said,
“Hope I haven’t hurt your feelings, but I really feel we could have something
together.”
He turned Mary
to face him and watched a tear slide down her cheek. He wiped it away and asked, “Would you prefer
me to leave right now, or can I have a kiss that says ‘Stay and have cookies?’”
Mary had to
laugh at David because he had tried to make himself sound so serious. She shook her head yes, as she felt herself being enveloped in a huge hug and a kiss
that sent her mind soaring.