Is Home Really Where The Heart Is?, chapter 11
About an hour after Syd had made her calls, Mike, Billie, and Ed showed up at my doorstep. Wait, I thought she said no Ed? Meh, oh well. We we're sitting around in my living room, which now has more than just a couch in it, talking about random things. We did turn on the T. V., but Syd kept turning down so we'd pay attention to her. As if we could ignore her... Then the doorbell rang and of course, I still jumped. Darn you doorbell! I went to the front door and opened it, only to find Ben and Jerry looking at me with a bag in their hands. Well actually Jerry was holding the bag, so...
"What are you doing here?" I questioned.
"Sydney's sleeping over! And you get to give Sydney her Ritalin and watch her for the weekend!" Ben exclaimed as he handed me the bag. No wait, Jerry gave me it. Yeah, Jerry, not Ben.
"Can I come back to your house? Please?"
"Sorry gotta go, I hear my mom calling us! BEN, JERRY! Uhh... Yep that's her. COMING!" Jerry yelled nervously.
"I didn't hear mom calling us." Ben whispered. But he's obviously not good at whispering so... I heard him.
"Yes you did, now come on!"
"But she-" Before he could finish, Jerry had grabbed his wrist and they were running back across the street. They're running across the street holding hands... One's gay, one's not... They're brothers... What did I get myself into? Hey, her family likes holding wrists... I wonder why?
I walked back into the living room, but before Syd could see the bag, I threw it in the hall closet. Not that I'll remember where that was but, hey, whatever. I entered and sat down next to Syd. No one was interested in who came, so I wasn't going to offer any information. We began talking about food... I think it's 'cause they wanted my mom to cook something and I just wasn't getting the hints.
"Holy shit!" Billie Joe yelled as my dog jumped up on the couch and sat on him. "What the hell do you call this thing?!" He pointed to the 130 pound dog laying on his lap.
"It's called a dog Billie Joe. And he's my pet."
"Cool, what kind of dog is he?" Ed asked all excited and interested.
"It's a horse!" Syd exclaimed.
"He's something like a Lab-Shepard mix. I'm not exactly sure 'cause I got him from a group of teenagers who were in a pick-up truck during a snowstorm so they weren't exactly clear on the type of dog it was." That achieved confused looks from all of them.
"Mind explaining?" Mike asked me.
"Ok, well, on January 7th, Russian Christmas, we had a huge snow storm in Pa and there was this group of like 3 guys riding around Harding in a pick-up truck trying to get rid of these dogs. They said they went to a farm to go pick up like two puppies, but the farmer said if he didn't take the rest, he'd shoot them. So they took all nine puppies and put them in their pick-up truck and went from house to house asking if someone would take them. Spunky, get off of Billie Joe!" I yelled at the dog and he jumped off but managed to sit as close to Billie Joe as possible. Then my cat, C-a-t, jumped up on Mike's lap, but Mike didn't mind, he just pet her and cuddled her up. Odd, I wouldn't see Mike as the 'Come here kitty-witty and let me pet you' type person.
"Good boy. I think he likes you Billie Joe. So anyway, they came to our house and they had, I think, three of each color. Yeah, there was three chocolate, three black, and three white ones. I wanted a white one to be different, so I got him, and named him Spunky." I finished happily.
"You're Russian?" Ed questioned. He thinks of odd things to ask...
"Well, technically my heritage is Russian, but my family usually celebrates both Russian and American Christmas and Easter."
"Whoa." Billie Joe, Mike and Ed said all together. Syd was occupied by a penny on the floor. For some reason, the penny started to remind me of something important. What was it? Think darn you! THINK! That's when Mike must have stopped petting C-a-t (my cat) and picked her up.
"Holy shit! Your cat's missing a leg! What the hell?!" He asked/yelled.
"Oh, C-a-t, ya, she was shot three summers ago and had to have the back leg amputated... That's what I got for living in the country." No one even seemed to want to question this, so I didn't go on. That's when we started talking about food again.
Then I remembered that I had left the toaster oven on unattended. I knew I forgot something.
"Oh my gosh! I left the toaster oven on!" I blurted out right in the middle of our conversation about the benefits of fish sticks versus chicken fingers.
"Oh my gosh! Carl left the toaster over on!" Syd repeated.
"Wait, there was toast? How come I was not informed of this toast?!" Leave it to Mike to be more concerned about food he's missed rather than the fact that my house could have burned down.
"Well, there wasn't toast anyway... It was waffles!" I yelled as I ran to the kitchen to unplug the toaster. I heard someone running behind me, but ignored it.
"There was waffles too?" Mike's voice sounded. Why is he following me? Stalker!
"Just waffles, no toast." I told him, as I got to the toaster oven. Then realizing that it was off the whole time. "Oh darn it."
"Well, that's no fun... I mean, who eats waffles without toast?"
"Syd."
"Did she at least name the box?" Ed popped his head into the kitchen.
"Yes, it's Marvin."
"Cool." they both said nodding their heads. Why are these people constantly naming inanimate objects? Then I stood there, staring at the outlet, thinking about what would happen if I stuck a paperclip in it, when it hit me. (again, not literally)
"Why is Billie Joe always miserable? And why did he come if he doesn't like me?" They both stared at each other with a worried look.
"Well, you see it's September," Ed started.
"Ya, I've noticed."
"And well... Did someone just call my name?" Ed asked. "ED! Yep that was definitely someone calling me, gotta go!" and he ran out. People seem to be doing that more often today.
"Mike? Got anything to add?" I questioned him. All I needed was a bright lamp and I could be a good tormenter person. You know the ones who ask stuff like 'Where were you on thee night of... ' That'd be fun.
"Nope." Mike stated flatly, then proceeded to follow Ed. Looks like I have to figure it out for myself.
I walked back into the room and stared at Billie Joe to make him uncomfortable. But it didn't work. Poo. I'll just ask him nicely.
"Billie Joe?" everyone went quiet except for Syd, who was still talking to nobody. "Why are you so miserable? Every time I'm around you act so mean for no reason. Why?" So much for 'nicely'.
"Because, it's September, and I have person issues with September." he said with his arms crossed looking like he wanted to burn a hole in my couch, or my head, I couldn't tell which.
"Mind elaborating?"
"Nope."
"Billie Joe, please tell me! I hate it when you act like this! What could be so important that you sulk all the time?!"
"You wouldn't understand. You never had to experience what I have."
"Billie Joe, just tell me. I know more than you think."
"No! You could never understand what it's like to lose a family member!"
"Is that what happened? Someone died?" I asked, wanting more information.
"Yes! My dad died of cancer. And don't say 'Oh, it's ok Billie Joe, I know what it's like to lose someone' 'cause you don't!" he was shouting now.
"I'm sorry, but for your information, I do know what it's like to lose someone." he cut me off.
"I told you don't act all sorry for me. You have no idea what I went through!"
"You have to know me a lot better to say that Mr. I'm-Crabby-And-Everyone-Should-Know-It. I had FOUR family members diagnosed with cancer. And you know what? Only one, that's right ONE survived! My Uncle died of a stroke, and my papa, yes my own dad, had a practically unknown disease that had no known cause or cure and could come back at anytime. Don't tell me that I don't know what it's like, 'cause I very well do." I was almost yelling now too and everyone was staring at me.
"Oh really? Well what was this 'unknown disease' then?" he asked.
"It was Horsion-schuly-populitis, (Pronunciation: Hor-shon-skully-pop-u-light-is) a rare form of vasculitis thank you very much. Which by the way only one doctor in the whole country studied and he happened to be in New York! I've experienced more than you think, so next time, take that into consideration." By now I was ready to cry as fading memories came back to me. Syd had stopped babbling and came over to comfort me. Then she yelled at Billie Joe.
"She's right Billie! You didn't know anything about her family and just because it's that time of the month for you doesn't mean you gotta act all sad and depressed every moment of everyday!" We all ignored the 'that time of the month thing' in fear of ruining the intense moment... Or being mauled by Syd, whichever came first.
Billie Joe got up and walked to the door, then opened it, walked out, and slammed it shut behind him. Everyone else (all of Mike, Ed, and Syd) looked at me as I tried controlling my tears.
"Were you serious, I mean, about all those people being sick?" Ed asked.
"No, I said it just to make him feel bad. Of course they did! I'm not that good at making stuff up." I sniffed up the snot that was beginning to come out my nose. "My Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Lexi, and Aunt Sherry all had cancer. Different form of cancer, but cancer none the less. My Aunt Sherry was the only one to survive. Mostly what upsets me is that all I can do to remember them is look at a picture. I was very young when they died, so I can't recall how they were too much. I loved being with my Aunt Lexi though, she was my godmother, and she always loved me, even if I did tend to take her wigs off." I finished then realized that they were all staring at me.
"I'm sorry" is basically what I heard from all three.
"It's ok. I think I'm good now." and I managed to smile a little. And it was a real smile too 'cause I was happy that they weren't acting like Billie Joe. Mean Billie Joe... I do to know what you went through.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned.
"Sydney's sleeping over! And you get to give Sydney her Ritalin and watch her for the weekend!" Ben exclaimed as he handed me the bag. No wait, Jerry gave me it. Yeah, Jerry, not Ben.
"Can I come back to your house? Please?"
"Sorry gotta go, I hear my mom calling us! BEN, JERRY! Uhh... Yep that's her. COMING!" Jerry yelled nervously.
"I didn't hear mom calling us." Ben whispered. But he's obviously not good at whispering so... I heard him.
"Yes you did, now come on!"
"But she-" Before he could finish, Jerry had grabbed his wrist and they were running back across the street. They're running across the street holding hands... One's gay, one's not... They're brothers... What did I get myself into? Hey, her family likes holding wrists... I wonder why?
I walked back into the living room, but before Syd could see the bag, I threw it in the hall closet. Not that I'll remember where that was but, hey, whatever. I entered and sat down next to Syd. No one was interested in who came, so I wasn't going to offer any information. We began talking about food... I think it's 'cause they wanted my mom to cook something and I just wasn't getting the hints.
"Holy shit!" Billie Joe yelled as my dog jumped up on the couch and sat on him. "What the hell do you call this thing?!" He pointed to the 130 pound dog laying on his lap.
"It's called a dog Billie Joe. And he's my pet."
"Cool, what kind of dog is he?" Ed asked all excited and interested.
"It's a horse!" Syd exclaimed.
"He's something like a Lab-Shepard mix. I'm not exactly sure 'cause I got him from a group of teenagers who were in a pick-up truck during a snowstorm so they weren't exactly clear on the type of dog it was." That achieved confused looks from all of them.
"Mind explaining?" Mike asked me.
"Ok, well, on January 7th, Russian Christmas, we had a huge snow storm in Pa and there was this group of like 3 guys riding around Harding in a pick-up truck trying to get rid of these dogs. They said they went to a farm to go pick up like two puppies, but the farmer said if he didn't take the rest, he'd shoot them. So they took all nine puppies and put them in their pick-up truck and went from house to house asking if someone would take them. Spunky, get off of Billie Joe!" I yelled at the dog and he jumped off but managed to sit as close to Billie Joe as possible. Then my cat, C-a-t, jumped up on Mike's lap, but Mike didn't mind, he just pet her and cuddled her up. Odd, I wouldn't see Mike as the 'Come here kitty-witty and let me pet you' type person.
"Good boy. I think he likes you Billie Joe. So anyway, they came to our house and they had, I think, three of each color. Yeah, there was three chocolate, three black, and three white ones. I wanted a white one to be different, so I got him, and named him Spunky." I finished happily.
"You're Russian?" Ed questioned. He thinks of odd things to ask...
"Well, technically my heritage is Russian, but my family usually celebrates both Russian and American Christmas and Easter."
"Whoa." Billie Joe, Mike and Ed said all together. Syd was occupied by a penny on the floor. For some reason, the penny started to remind me of something important. What was it? Think darn you! THINK! That's when Mike must have stopped petting C-a-t (my cat) and picked her up.
"Holy shit! Your cat's missing a leg! What the hell?!" He asked/yelled.
"Oh, C-a-t, ya, she was shot three summers ago and had to have the back leg amputated... That's what I got for living in the country." No one even seemed to want to question this, so I didn't go on. That's when we started talking about food again.
Then I remembered that I had left the toaster oven on unattended. I knew I forgot something.
"Oh my gosh! I left the toaster oven on!" I blurted out right in the middle of our conversation about the benefits of fish sticks versus chicken fingers.
"Oh my gosh! Carl left the toaster over on!" Syd repeated.
"Wait, there was toast? How come I was not informed of this toast?!" Leave it to Mike to be more concerned about food he's missed rather than the fact that my house could have burned down.
"Well, there wasn't toast anyway... It was waffles!" I yelled as I ran to the kitchen to unplug the toaster. I heard someone running behind me, but ignored it.
"There was waffles too?" Mike's voice sounded. Why is he following me? Stalker!
"Just waffles, no toast." I told him, as I got to the toaster oven. Then realizing that it was off the whole time. "Oh darn it."
"Well, that's no fun... I mean, who eats waffles without toast?"
"Syd."
"Did she at least name the box?" Ed popped his head into the kitchen.
"Yes, it's Marvin."
"Cool." they both said nodding their heads. Why are these people constantly naming inanimate objects? Then I stood there, staring at the outlet, thinking about what would happen if I stuck a paperclip in it, when it hit me. (again, not literally)
"Why is Billie Joe always miserable? And why did he come if he doesn't like me?" They both stared at each other with a worried look.
"Well, you see it's September," Ed started.
"Ya, I've noticed."
"And well... Did someone just call my name?" Ed asked. "ED! Yep that was definitely someone calling me, gotta go!" and he ran out. People seem to be doing that more often today.
"Mike? Got anything to add?" I questioned him. All I needed was a bright lamp and I could be a good tormenter person. You know the ones who ask stuff like 'Where were you on thee night of... ' That'd be fun.
"Nope." Mike stated flatly, then proceeded to follow Ed. Looks like I have to figure it out for myself.
I walked back into the room and stared at Billie Joe to make him uncomfortable. But it didn't work. Poo. I'll just ask him nicely.
"Billie Joe?" everyone went quiet except for Syd, who was still talking to nobody. "Why are you so miserable? Every time I'm around you act so mean for no reason. Why?" So much for 'nicely'.
"Because, it's September, and I have person issues with September." he said with his arms crossed looking like he wanted to burn a hole in my couch, or my head, I couldn't tell which.
"Mind elaborating?"
"Nope."
"Billie Joe, please tell me! I hate it when you act like this! What could be so important that you sulk all the time?!"
"You wouldn't understand. You never had to experience what I have."
"Billie Joe, just tell me. I know more than you think."
"No! You could never understand what it's like to lose a family member!"
"Is that what happened? Someone died?" I asked, wanting more information.
"Yes! My dad died of cancer. And don't say 'Oh, it's ok Billie Joe, I know what it's like to lose someone' 'cause you don't!" he was shouting now.
"I'm sorry, but for your information, I do know what it's like to lose someone." he cut me off.
"I told you don't act all sorry for me. You have no idea what I went through!"
"You have to know me a lot better to say that Mr. I'm-Crabby-And-Everyone-Should-Know-It. I had FOUR family members diagnosed with cancer. And you know what? Only one, that's right ONE survived! My Uncle died of a stroke, and my papa, yes my own dad, had a practically unknown disease that had no known cause or cure and could come back at anytime. Don't tell me that I don't know what it's like, 'cause I very well do." I was almost yelling now too and everyone was staring at me.
"Oh really? Well what was this 'unknown disease' then?" he asked.
"It was Horsion-schuly-populitis, (Pronunciation: Hor-shon-skully-pop-u-light-is) a rare form of vasculitis thank you very much. Which by the way only one doctor in the whole country studied and he happened to be in New York! I've experienced more than you think, so next time, take that into consideration." By now I was ready to cry as fading memories came back to me. Syd had stopped babbling and came over to comfort me. Then she yelled at Billie Joe.
"She's right Billie! You didn't know anything about her family and just because it's that time of the month for you doesn't mean you gotta act all sad and depressed every moment of everyday!" We all ignored the 'that time of the month thing' in fear of ruining the intense moment... Or being mauled by Syd, whichever came first.
Billie Joe got up and walked to the door, then opened it, walked out, and slammed it shut behind him. Everyone else (all of Mike, Ed, and Syd) looked at me as I tried controlling my tears.
"Were you serious, I mean, about all those people being sick?" Ed asked.
"No, I said it just to make him feel bad. Of course they did! I'm not that good at making stuff up." I sniffed up the snot that was beginning to come out my nose. "My Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Lexi, and Aunt Sherry all had cancer. Different form of cancer, but cancer none the less. My Aunt Sherry was the only one to survive. Mostly what upsets me is that all I can do to remember them is look at a picture. I was very young when they died, so I can't recall how they were too much. I loved being with my Aunt Lexi though, she was my godmother, and she always loved me, even if I did tend to take her wigs off." I finished then realized that they were all staring at me.
"I'm sorry" is basically what I heard from all three.
"It's ok. I think I'm good now." and I managed to smile a little. And it was a real smile too 'cause I was happy that they weren't acting like Billie Joe. Mean Billie Joe... I do to know what you went through.
