by Roxe Anne
Mama has to work at the Varsity Bar & Grill tonight until two. She looks a little worried about leaving us home. We are a little worried about her leaving us home alone, too!
“Now kids, if Frank comes back, I want you to stay away from him. Whatever you do, don’t make him mad. Billie, you keep Sandy in your room tonight!”
• • •
Frank returns around midnight. He is so drunk he can hardly walk. After he goes in the bathroom and throws up all over the floor, he goes straight to the study.
“Katie, shouldn’t Frank clean up his own puke?” Billie asks.
“Billie, Mama said not to make Frank mad. You know how he gets when he’s been drinking. I’ll just have to clean it up before Mama gets home. We don’t need those two fighting tonight!”
Billie takes Sandy to bed with him. He doesn’t want her anywhere near Frank. Katie and I stay up talking in our bedroom. We can’t figure out why Mama and Aunt May are fishing together so much during the day. And we both are sick of cleaning up the smelly dishes from the catfish.
• • •
Mama comes home around three in the morning. She must have had a lot of customers to clean up after to be home so late. It is a good thing Frank is already passed out in the study.
The next morning, we kids sleep in. We don’t even hear Mama or Frank leave for work. When we wake, we find a note taped to my dresser.
Kids,
I am going fishing after cooking at Dixon Inn today. Aunt May is going to meet me at the river. Make yourself some bologna sandwiches for lunch and whatever you can find for supper. Don’t tell Frank where I’m at. Stay out of his way, and don’t argue with him.
See you later tonight. Be good. Hugs and kisses.
Love,
Mama
“Missy, I wonder if Aunt May is pregnant with twins again. Mama said she was really stressed out during that pregnancy and Aunt May wanted her by her side every spare minute. I know she sure wouldn’t want to be pregnant again, especially with twins!”
“Well come to think of it, Katie, Aunt May does look like her stomach is getting bigger like Calico’s did!”
“Yeah, maybe that’s it,” Katie and I agree.
“Katie, how come Mama and Aunt May can’t take me with? I can fish while they talk. I don’t mind!” Billie says.
“Well, Billie, you sure can fish, but you’ve never been good at keeping secrets,” Katie laughs. “How about we get Missy’s red wagon and go around town and collect soda pop bottles. Then maybe we can go buy you a new comic book with the deposit money.”
“That’s a deal!”
We get my red wagon and happily go around town asking everyone if they have any soda pop bottles they would like to get rid of. There is a deposit you get back for every bottle. You don’t even have to wash the bottles first. A lot of people don’t want to mess with taking those bottles back so they are more than happy to give them to us.
Sandy comes along to protect us. When we reach Candy’s General Store, Katie and I take turns going into the store with Billie. He takes forever picking out a comic book. Sandy is real glad one of us stays out with her. She gets lonesome outside by herself. She just wags her tail as people go in and out of that store hoping someone will stop to pet her.
We all get a vanilla ice cream cone to eat on the way home. I always save a little bit of the ice cream in the bottom of my cone for Sandy to lick. She sure does enjoy those cones as much as we do. Mama tells us not to give her too much; milk can make dogs sick.
• • •
When we arrive back home, Frank is already there. We just know there will be a lot of questions. We hope our answers don’t make him mad.
“Where is your Mama and why isn’t supper ready?”
“Mama went fishing with Aunt May after work. Without money from Sammy, Mama doesn’t have as much money to spend on groceries. She has to save every penny she can. That includes feeding us fish as much as she can!” Katie tells him.
“Where did she go fishing?”
“Mama didn’t tell us where they went, Frank.”
“How come you kids didn’t make anything for supper?”
“Mama said we could make anything we wanted for supper and we aren’t hungry yet.”
Frank looks angrier than we have ever seen him. “Don’t get smart with me, Katie. You find something to cook. I’m hungry. I’m not going to wait all night till your Mama gets home! Do you hear me?”
Katie and I look at each other worried… Frank’s face is real red. I doubt it is from being out in the sun. He still has his white shirt and tie on.
“What do you think we should cook, Katie?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how to cook like Mama. You look in the pantry. I’ll look in the refrigerator. Maybe we can find something!” Katie directs me.
“I found some macaroni shells. What does Mama use them for, Katie?”
“She makes goulash with macaroni shells. Do we have any tomato soup? I know we have Mama’s fresh canned whole tomatoes in a jar in the pantry,” Katie says to herself more than me.
Katie and I find two cans of tomato soup. “Do we need anything else?”
“Look for an onion. I’ll see if we have any hamburger in the refrigerator. While you’re at it, see if we have any bread left in the bread box?”
“There’s half a loaf left from lunch.”
“Mama has hamburger in the refrigerator. I guess we can try to make goulash for supper. You open the cans of tomato soup and the jar of tomatoes. Squish the tomatoes in a bowl for me. And, Missy, make sure you wash your hands good first!”
“Billie, take Sandy outside, and read your new comic book. We don’t want Sandy making Frank any madder than he already is!”
“Oh boy, come on, Sandy. I’ll read you my new comic book.”
“Missy, set the table. Don’t forget to set a place for Frank. I’ll tell Frank and Billie when supper is ready.”
Katie’s goulash is pretty good. The pasta is a tiny bit overdone, but it still has the same flavor as Mama’s. We always like our goulash best reheated anyway. No one says a word while we eat supper. I think we are afraid we might make Frank mad. Billie ties Sandy up to the clothesline. We don’t need her begging at the kitchen table tonight with Mama not here to protect her.
“Well, Katie, your goulash is almost as good as your Mama’s. Maybe I don’t need her around anymore with you here to cook my meals and clean. What else can you do well, Katie?” Katie turns and walks to the sink. She drops her glass of milk, and it spills all over the kitchen floor. I can see tears running down her cheek. She keeps her back to Frank.
Frank glares at us. “I’ll leave you kids to clean up this mess you made before Dot gets home. We wouldn’t want her to get the idea I made you make my supper, now would we?”
“What’s Mama going to say about us making goulash without her home, Katie? You know how mad she got at Sammy for taking her eggs.”
“I don’t know. If we tell her Frank made us make him supper we will just cause an argument between them. Why don’t you two tell Mama she said we could make anything we wanted, and we were hungry for her goulash!”
“That’s a good idea, Katie. Frank looks real mad already!”
“I agree. I hope Mama gets home soon, for all our sakes!” Katie says trembling.
• • •
Mama arrives home at bedtime. Frank is waiting in the living room for her. He has been in the red velvet overstuffed chair all night, not doing anything but sitting there in the dark drinking beer. He even leaves the empty bottles on the floor by the chair.
We greet Mama at the garage door. We don’t want her to go in the living room unprepared for Frank.
Katie whispers. “Frank’s in the living room in the dark passed out. He hasn’t been in a good mood all night. He asked a lot of questions about you fishing with Aunt May.”
“Mama, Katie made us goulash for supper,” Billie tells her.
“Katie, why did you m
ake such a big meal for supper?”
“Ah—we were hungry for your goulash, Mama.”
“Frank was hungry and told Katie to make him supper right now, Mama!” Billie tells her, forgetting it was supposed to be a secret.
“Is that true, Katie?”
“Yes, Mama, but it was okay. Missy and I had fun cooking supper together.”
Mama throws her car keys on the table. “You kids don’t have to do anything Frank tells you to!”
“Billie, what did I tell you? You can never keep a secret. No wonder Mama doesn’t want to take you fishing with her!” Katie scolds him.
Mama hands Katie a brown package which we assume contains catfish. She tells her to put the package in the freezer. Then she stomps off to the living room to confront Frank.
I whisper to Katie, “Aren’t you glad the catfish went into the freezer?”
“Sure am!”
Mama wakes Frank. “Don’t you ever tell my girls to make you supper again. You can eat all your meals out from now on. I’m not spending another dime on groceries for you. And it’s none of your damn business where I am. We are through. There is no more us. Now find a place to live and leave us alone!”
“I see you’re still wearing the pearl ring I gave you. You can just take it off your finger. If we are through, you aren’t keeping a damn thing I bought you. I’ll see to it!” He gives Mama an evil grin.
“You aren’t taking this ring or anything else that belongs to me. You didn’t pay any rent or buy groceries, you owe me!”
“We’ll see about that. There is more than one way to remove the ring from your finger!” Frank says, as he stomps off to the study.
It isn’t long before we hear Frank snoring. We walk into the kitchen where it is quiet. Mama decides to heat up some of Katie’s special goulash.
“Girls, this goulash is as good as mine. I better start letting you do more of the cooking!”
“I added some sugar to the goulash just like you do, Mama.”
Mama winks at Katie. “I didn’t know you knew my secret ingredient.”
Katie’s smile shows how proud she is of herself. She has made Mama happy with her cooking, and she helped stop a fight between her and Frank.
Mama turns the radio on in the kitchen and sings country western songs until two. She goes to bed taking Sandy with her instead of Frank. We know Mama is in good hands with Sandy in her room. We will all get some sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Frank leaves for work earlier than usual. Mama has to work at Dixon Inn and Victory Bar & Grill today. We will be home by ourselves all day and most of the night. We sure hope Frank stays away. At least we have left-over goulash for supper.
• • •
Mama has a surprise visitor just before she leaves for work. We kids are curious as an old cat. We know Mama will be mad if she knows we listen at the window upstairs, but us being kids we can’t resist.
“Dody Canfield?”
“That’s me, the last I looked. How can I help you?”
“I don’t think you remember me, but we met a couple of years ago at Castle Rock Restaurant and Bar. I’m Frank Billing’s wife, Rhonda Billings. I mean his ex-wife. Do you have a minute so we can talk about Frank?”
We kids didn’t even know old Frank had been married before. This woman is gorgeous, and young. She has to be in her early thirties. Why did Mama and Frank keep his marriage a secret? What could be so important that his ex-wife has come to see Mama? We don’t usually have strangers call on us. Does Frank have kids?
We tiptoed to the register in the floor. Mama greets Frank’s ex-wife through the screen door in the kitchen.
“It’s good to see you again, Rhonda.”
“Would it be all right if I come in?”
Mama opens the door for her visitor. “I’m sorry, come on in. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“That would be nice. Is Frank here?”
“No. Are you here because you want Frank back? If you are, you can have that sorry S.O.B.!”
“That’s not why I’m here. I’m concerned for your safety. Do you have any children? If you do, then you better be concerned about their safety, too!”
“Rhonda, I don’t know why you’re here after all this time, but I can assure you we’re through. As you probably already know, that man doesn’t help contribute any money toward household expenses. At least he’s not ever given me a dime. And he seems to sleep with whatever woman will have him!”
Rhonda stares at Mama’s hands. “Did Frank give you the pearl ring you are wearing?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Because it used to be my ring before he took it and gave it to you. He gave that ring to me and told me the pearl on the gold band is as pure as our love for one another.”
“That is exactly what Frank told me when he gave me this ring; after he slept with Caroline. How could he give me someone else’s ring? Do you want the ring back? Is that why you’re here?”
“To answer your question, no. I didn’t know until now he gave you my ring. It doesn’t mean a thing to me anymore. Did Frank ever buy you new clothes every time you got into a fight? He was always showering me with presents after we argued!”
“Yes, sometimes, but what does that have to do with you coming to my home after all this time?”
“Do you have any children?” she asks again.
“Yes, I have three. Why do you want to know?”
“I’m worried about your children’s safety and yours!” She begins pacing in the kitchen.
“Has Frank ever been violent when he’s been drinking? He always got violent with me!”
“We’ve had our share of fights, Rhonda, but so do a lot of couples.”
“I’m not talking about some little lover’s quarrel. Frank frightens me! I think he is capable of killing someone!”
Billie whispers. “Katie, is that woman talking about our Frank?”
“Shh…we can’t hear!”
Mama drops her cup of coffee on the floor; shattering it. She begins trembling.
Rhonda asks her if she is all right. She tells her she is fine; just a little shocked. She gets a broom and cleans up the broken cup before she sits back down with Rhonda.
“What makes you think Frank is capable of killing someone?”
“Is it okay if I call you, Dot?”
“That’s what everyone calls me!”
“I suppose I should start at the beginning. We were married for only a year when everything started going wrong. Every time I would even look or talk to another man, Frank got jealous. Sometimes he didn’t even have to be drinking to start an argument. I couldn’t even go to the grocery store without him. He thinks every woman messes around. Not to say that he hasn’t done his share of flirting and staying out all night. He always brought me presents to make up. I have a whole closet full of new clothes he purchased for me.”
“A lot of men purchase gifts for their girlfriends or wives to make up. I see it all the time where I work. What makes Frank doing it any different?”
“We had this female black lab, Lizzy, who had five puppies. They were the cutest little puppies that I ever did see. One day, I heard Lizzy barking frantically out in our garage. When I went to see what all the barking was about, I saw Frank holding a large dog food bag in his hands, dripping with blood. There on the floor lay five puppy heads with no bodies. Blood was everywhere!”
“Frank had—”
“Katie, that woman said her dog ate her puppies like Calico.”
She placed her hand gently over Billie’s mouth. “I need you to be quiet for a while. I can’t hear what they’re saying!”
“My dog, Lizzy was never the same. I had to get rid of her. Frank said he had to—”
“Doesn’t old Frank like dogs?”
Katie whispers. “Billie, do I have to put tape over your mouth. Mama might hear us. You have to be quiet!”
Mama’s face turns as white as old Frank’s shirts.
“
Dot, are you okay? Do you need a drink of water or anything?”
Mama just sits in her chair for a few minutes not saying a word. She looks stunned.
“Are you okay?” Rhonda asks again.
“I’m …okay just a little shocked and sad. Rhonda, we had a cat, Calico, whom I loved dearly. She had a litter of kittens. She brought us one of the kitten’s heads; without the kitten’s body. When we went to the barn to check on the rest of her kittens there were no bodies, just the heads. We thought Calico had eaten her kittens’ bodies. I took her out in the country and dumped her off by a farm. I feel so bad!”
“Katie, why are they talking about Calico?”
“Shh…for the last time, you have to be quiet!”
“You know, Dot, Frank is dangerous! That isn’t the worst part; there’s more.”
“How could there be more? Isn’t this bad enough?”
“Frank and I got a divorce about a year ago. It was a bitter and difficult divorce.” She wipes away tears. “He asked for everything; including the pearl ring. He told me he wasn’t going to let me have anything he ever bought or gave me and he meant it. But the judge didn’t see it like Frank did. I got to keep everything. He sent me nasty letters every week. He called me and threatened to kill me if he caught me with another man. I saw him peeking in my windows at night. It was a long time before I slept through the night!”
“The other day when we had a fight, Frank did sleep on a hammock outside my bedroom window!”
“Dot, that’s not all. I met this man, his name was Henry McDougall. He was forty-two and owned a hardware store in Dixon. The only thing he really liked to do for recreation without me was fish. I don’t like to fish, but I didn’t mind going out in his boat with him. He kept his boat at a dock in Grand Detour. He was the best thing that ever happened to me. He was kind, gentle, and not a bit jealous like Frank. We were to be married next year. We were even going to start a family!”
