had
been her gift for Mother’s Day. It had made her mom so happy. Tears had run
down her face.
Mom kept these.
It truly stunned her that her mom
had kept them. Carefully, she tucked those two items in her pocket, before
putting everything back. The collection of twenty or so dishes had been the one
thing her mom had spent hours polishing and sometimes just staring at with a
sad look. Like she’d lost her best friend. It had never made sense to Bailey
but then her mom had never shared what it was about, she debated about whether to
keep the items. Deep down she knew she would. They were one thing her mom had
been connected to. Stepping back she closed the door and ignored the rest of
the items in the living room that she had no desire to keep – two faded TV
trays, two scratched end tables, a heavy solid wood coffee table and tons of
knick knacks – but she had no idea what to do with any of it.
Pack it up. I’ll have to get
some newspaper, I guess.
Bailey snorted. That was
something her mom had collected a lot of and had a need to devour, every single
one she came across. She watched every news program from sun up to sun down.
Bailey had tried to teach her mom how to use a computer but that had become
another fight between them. Her mom believed it was the government’s way of
keeping tabs on people. She’d begged Bailey not to ever be on it. Another
puzzle she had given up trying to figure out. Pressure built behind her eyes.
Her nose got that burning sensation. She closed her eyes and took a few slow
deep breaths. Her fingers rubbed across her forehead until the overwhelming
feeling went away.
Not wanting to think anymore she
headed for the kitchen. She needed to find some phone numbers to call. The
corner drawer, behind the door, is where her mom had always kept that stuff.
She rifled through the junk but couldn’t find the stack of envelopes which should
have been there. Slamming it, she opened the deep second drawer and grabbed the
yellow pages sitting on top and pulled it all the way out. It jerked loose in
her hand and since she wasn’t prepared for that, it fell to the floor, with a
loud bang. Bailey jumped back, glad her pink toes were still that. A few inches
more and they’d have been a bright red and she’d have been dancing around on
one foot.
She set the papers and book on
the table and started to clean up the mess – papers, pencils (enough for a
first grade classroom), paperclips and lots of menus – mostly pizza places. She
threw out just about all of it and then shoved the drawer back in.
That’s weird. She was sure
that her mom said she kept all her important papers in those drawers. But there
was nothing there.
Deciding not to worry about it,
she realized that the kitchen wouldn’t be hard to do. There were only eight
cupboards. She started to unload them. Everything fit on the six foot counter.
Bailey frowned as she looked at the meager belongings her mom had. Chipped
plates, plastic glasses, pitted bowls, stained containers - all went in the
garbage.
A horrible feeling overcame her -
she seemed to be throwing out just about everything her mom owned. Her mom
would be devastated.
Maybe the second hand store
would come, pack and pick it up?
Her eyelids dropped down, her
head flopped backwards on her neck and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. There was
no way she would get through this if she stopped to analyze everything she did.
She needed fresh air. In her bedroom, she flipped open her suitcase and grabbed
her running shoes. Once she had them on, she didn’t hesitate to race out the
side door. A cool breeze swept over her. She shivered. Her t-shirt did little
to ward off the morning air. She retreated to grab her grey and blue spring
jacket.
Back on the sidewalk, she headed
north. The neighbor’s rose bushes were covered in buds - pink and peach. The
scent was so strong she didn’t even have to slow down to get the full smell.
She breathed in deeply. Pansies, irises, petunias
been her gift for Mother’s Day. It had made her mom so happy. Tears had run
down her face.
Mom kept these.
It truly stunned her that her mom
had kept them. Carefully, she tucked those two items in her pocket, before
putting everything back. The collection of twenty or so dishes had been the one
thing her mom had spent hours polishing and sometimes just staring at with a
sad look. Like she’d lost her best friend. It had never made sense to Bailey
but then her mom had never shared what it was about, she debated about whether to
keep the items. Deep down she knew she would. They were one thing her mom had
been connected to. Stepping back she closed the door and ignored the rest of
the items in the living room that she had no desire to keep – two faded TV
trays, two scratched end tables, a heavy solid wood coffee table and tons of
knick knacks – but she had no idea what to do with any of it.
Pack it up. I’ll have to get
some newspaper, I guess.
Bailey snorted. That was
something her mom had collected a lot of and had a need to devour, every single
one she came across. She watched every news program from sun up to sun down.
Bailey had tried to teach her mom how to use a computer but that had become
another fight between them. Her mom believed it was the government’s way of
keeping tabs on people. She’d begged Bailey not to ever be on it. Another
puzzle she had given up trying to figure out. Pressure built behind her eyes.
Her nose got that burning sensation. She closed her eyes and took a few slow
deep breaths. Her fingers rubbed across her forehead until the overwhelming
feeling went away.
Not wanting to think anymore she
headed for the kitchen. She needed to find some phone numbers to call. The
corner drawer, behind the door, is where her mom had always kept that stuff.
She rifled through the junk but couldn’t find the stack of envelopes which should
have been there. Slamming it, she opened the deep second drawer and grabbed the
yellow pages sitting on top and pulled it all the way out. It jerked loose in
her hand and since she wasn’t prepared for that, it fell to the floor, with a
loud bang. Bailey jumped back, glad her pink toes were still that. A few inches
more and they’d have been a bright red and she’d have been dancing around on
one foot.
She set the papers and book on
the table and started to clean up the mess – papers, pencils (enough for a
first grade classroom), paperclips and lots of menus – mostly pizza places. She
threw out just about all of it and then shoved the drawer back in.
That’s weird. She was sure
that her mom said she kept all her important papers in those drawers. But there
was nothing there.
Deciding not to worry about it,
she realized that the kitchen wouldn’t be hard to do. There were only eight
cupboards. She started to unload them. Everything fit on the six foot counter.
Bailey frowned as she looked at the meager belongings her mom had. Chipped
plates, plastic glasses, pitted bowls, stained containers - all went in the
garbage.
A horrible feeling overcame her -
she seemed to be throwing out just about everything her mom owned. Her mom
would be devastated.
Maybe the second hand store
would come, pack and pick it up?
Her eyelids dropped down, her
head flopped backwards on her neck and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. There was
no way she would get through this if she stopped to analyze everything she did.
She needed fresh air. In her bedroom, she flipped open her suitcase and grabbed
her running shoes. Once she had them on, she didn’t hesitate to race out the
side door. A cool breeze swept over her. She shivered. Her t-shirt did little
to ward off the morning air. She retreated to grab her grey and blue spring
jacket.
Back on the sidewalk, she headed
north. The neighbor’s rose bushes were covered in buds - pink and peach. The
scent was so strong she didn’t even have to slow down to get the full smell.
She breathed in deeply. Pansies, irises, petunias
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