NaNoWriMo 2012

Nov. 10
Black Saturday became golden Saturday for Arlette. Her brother’s new friend had many if not most of the qualities that she felt were the minimum for a decent date or escort to the dance. And she had been worrying about who the Mr. Dreamboat would be for only a couple of hours. All that was needed was a green light to start plan ‘B’ for Barret, after she got a few more details. She listened to some pop music from her radio as she looked through a fashion magazine that had some dresses.
A car drove onto her driveway and the motor stopped. Since it was close to lunch time, the odds were that it could be her mother, Doreen, who had completed the class that she taught at the arboretum. Doreen loved to mix her skills as a biology teacher and environmentalist on two Saturdays of the month. Occasionally Doreen brought home a plant that could be used for medical purposes or eaten. Arlette learned to not ask “What’s that?” when she saw something in her mother’s hands because her mother would start of on a lesson.
There was a knock at the door. Arlette went to the back door and saw that her mother had a shopping bag from the local store.
“Hi, Arlie. Could you go get a bag from the car?” her bouncy mother asked.
“Sure mom. Didn’t you go to the arboretum today?”
Doreen put her bag on the counter and went into the living room to drop her purse on a table. As she returned she headed straight for the bag to begin the process of unpacking.
“I did but we had to stop a little early because, the supervisor wanted to give some scouts who were earning a badge a chance to begin their project.” She went to the sink to wash off some of the carrots that she bought. “The scouts were going to document certain kinds of plants.”
Arlette came in and put her bag on the counter. She peeked at the contents and started to lick her lips when she saw some delicious strawberries. “Hm. I can’t wait to eat those strawberries.”
“Put your salivary glands on hold, sweetie. Those strawberries are going into a desert that is for a bake sale for church.” She smiled and put the carrots on a paper towel to drain off the water.
“Hey! Doesn’t charity start at home?”
“You pay ten dollars, and they are all yours.” responded her mother with a smile and a wink.
Arlette knew when to cut her losses and began a new topic. She pulled the strawberries out of the bag and put them on the counter gently.
“Zach came home and then left for the gym.”
“And how much milk did he drink? I’m sure I’ll have to make another trip to the store tomorrow for more.” Doreen picked up a carton of tomatoes and put them on the counter.
“I don’t know but he did take a couple of apples.” Arlette pulled out a carton of eggs and some bottles of spices.
“A couple? He’s never done that before.” Doreen turned around and had a puzzled look on her face. “Is that all that he is going to eat for lunch?”
Arlette felt the beginning of her new plan begin to bloom.
“No. He gave one to a friend that he brought by the house.” Her eyes drifted upward as she recalled the picture of Barret in her mind. “He is so new that Zach is taking him around in his car to shop for things. He’s moved into town and doesn’t know a single soul.” Arlette conveniently left out the fact that Barret was also staying with his grandmother.
Doreen finished washing and draining the vegetables and went to the refrigerator to put them away. She opened its door and began looking for other things that could have rescued her son from intolerable hunger pains.
“You know since we are thinking of charity, why can’t we show how nice we are by inviting him to dinner this weekend.” Arlette suggested and paused. “I’ll even make one of my super fabulous salads.”
“Hm. To see you do something in this kitchen and we live after eating it might make it worthwhile after all.” laughed her mother. She looked at the counter and saw that the last bag had not been brought in. “You could start by getting the last bag out of the car.”
Arlette gasped and ran out to the car to get the final bag out of the car. She used one foot to gently close the door. As she walked to the house, she saw the mailman walking up the street. It had usually no importance to her except that she forgot until now that she has just barely failed a test in school which meant that at this reporting period, she was not passing her history class. An envelope with her parent’s name was being carried closer and closer to her mailbox. And a rule of the house for male or female was “If you are failing, even by one point, you are grounded until the next reporting period.” Four children have tried and unsuccessfully pleaded, cried, negotiated, or pouted to get by as an exception and all have failed. Arlette was pretty and the baby of the family, but still a Vaughan child who lived by the rules.
Arlette walked into the house very silently. She put the third and final bag down on the counter. She hurriedly unpacked the contents. Panic filled her mind. She looked around for her mother. She mutter what she thought was a helpful prayer.
Doreen had heard the mail being stuffed into the mailbox. She knew that at this time of the year, mailboxes were filled with a lot of junk mail and catalogs. In her mind, she hated the thought of all that paper being thown away, to be carried to the landfills. If Doreen had her way, anyone who did not recycle should pay triple taxes and then visit the landfills to see how much trash was there already.
The mail was sorted into two piles. One was trash. The second was important mail. She hummed a nice little tune until she got to the letter that was from Arlette’s school. She held it in her hands and then put it on the important pile. She picked up that pile and carried that group of envelopes into the den where she or her husband did business. She next walked into the kitchen with a face that showed that her day had taken a big change.