Grandpa's Harmonica

Grandpa's Harmonica

Written by Diana Weeks
Art by Kay Sarver

A mixed group of girls his age were jumping rope next door when the moving van pulled up in front of his Grandpa's old house. Dark girls at each end were swinging two ropes that made fast sharp sounds slapping the cracked sidewalk.

The girls ignored he and his mother as they walked back and forth unloading the car. The youngsters were running in and out of the whizzing circles jumping and singing a double dutch song. Edward had never seen any game like that in the suburbs where he had lived.

He hated having to move to this old fashioned neighborhood, right in the middle of the school year. He wished his Grandpa hadn't died until summer. He wished his Grandfather hadn't died at all and left his Mom this big old place with pealing paint.

His divorced Mom had insisted. "It's closer to my work downtown and I was very happy growing up here. I'm going to let you have Dad's big room. And you can have all his things".

"How can I sleep in the room where he died"? He ashamed of the whining he could hear in his twelve year old voice.

His mother turned and put her hands on his shoulders. "His love for you is still here. Love never dies. Remember the things he taught you: like how to play his harmonica".
(Page 2)

The three moving men were very fast. Mom had given most of their furniture to his Dad and he promised to never be late with child support payments. She had them put her parent's old double bed in the garage and put in the bunk beds he'd had since he was eight.

They were sitting on the front porch steps relaxing sipping hot chocolate when they noticed an older woman coming from the house next door carrying a casserole dish. The most beautiful of the jump ropers was hanging on her porch rail pretending not to watch.

The woman spoke with an accent Ed had never heard before. "Welcome home" she said. I brought you a noodle dish with chicken. Your father was so kind to us when we first came to Houston. He befriended us before we had even learned English".

His mother rose. "Please come in. Dad said you checked on him everyday. He loved your Vietnamese food".

The grownups went inside. Ed looked over at the creamy skinned, dimpled, dark haired girl next door, and fingered the harmonica in his pocket. He wondered if his grandpa's dead spit would hurt him. Somehow he couldn't bare to wash it off.

He sauntered over to the tree between the yards, leaned against the trunk and looked at her not looking at him. He wanted to break through her Asian shyness. It must be possible her friends were all colors. He took off his jacket and spread it on the ground and sat down next to it. and slowly started playing the only song he knew. The instrument purred and pleaded out "Let Me Call you Sweetheart". She glanced over and he patted the place he had prepared for her and she smiled, skipped down her stairs and came toward him. Just walking made her hair bounce. Ed knew she was going to be fun.

THE END
All Rights Reserved

Bargaining Power

Bargaining Power
a short story by Diana Weeks

The summer before my 12th birthday, my working parents deemed me old enough to watch after Buddy, my eight-year-old brother. A job I couldn't turn down. It was an order. Plus cleaning the house and starting supper. My lazy annual vacation was over before it started.

A new second hand car, Mother called "The Big Oh" cinched the belt on our 1950 budget. A reporter pal of Dad's was moving to Chicago to be an editor at the Tribune. Dad pleaded saying his friend was practically giving it to us. "We simply pick up the payments."

Mother shook her head meaning "NO". She spoke through clinched teeth. "What about Rita?" her voice getting softer.

"She can get another job easy". Dad came to Mom and hugged her. “We don't need a maid anymore. The kids are old enough to do all the chores." Then he left for work.

Mother had hired Rita, when she went to work at the bomber plant, during the war and had kept Rita after VJ day, when she became a buyer for a department store.

I argued that I had joined the reading club, but Mom promised me a three dollar and fifty cent increase in my weekly two-dollar allowance. Five fifty, WOW, with no "healthy" school lunch to use it up.

The first day on duty, I heard Buddy up as soon as they left at seven. "Go back to bed," I told him when he brought his cereal in to eat sitting on the end of my bed.

"Lloyd's going to be here in a minute," he told me checking his Timex. "We're going to go watch them feed the alligators at the zoo."

"You know you're not allowed to leave the neighborhood” I declared”.

He sighed. "I guess we could stay here if you'll get up and play Monopoly with us". He went toward the closet to drag out the game I hated.

I sat up. "If you cooperate, I could take you to a movie Saturday afternoons and we could see a double feature with two cartoons and a serial."

He tipped the bowl to his mouth and drank the rest of the milk. “I'll be back to help you pick up and peel the potatoes for supper... I'll stay completely out of your way. And the baby zebra might be born today”. He grinned his widest grin… to show off the blank space in his mouth… where I think baby teeth had been pried out… for tooth fairy money.

Hummmmm, I thought. ..And said "It's a long walk to the zoo."

"That's all right”…Buddy said whispering. “We take a shortcut through the new… sewer pipeline the city put in…in the wrong place. It goes all the way to the park”…ends in the creek near the Farris Wheel.

Humm, hummmmm, hum. "How can I enjoy lolling around in bed reading with you in danger?"

"No, Sister, Sister it's safer than walking on the sidewalk”. Buddy announced…in Bud Abbot’s voice. “Nobody's using it. Dad said the contractor that made the mistake got fired. You don't have to worry about me getting sun blistered, having to cross busy streets or falling down on a railroad track."

"No, just being drown in sewer water."

"It's not connected to anything."

"What about rain water?"

"It’s not going to rain! The trainer guy will let us watch them feed all the animals’ everyday…that’s the only way to get to know them”.

"Are you going to be a veterinarian?"

"No, a lion tamer, then I want to buy my own circus... pleeeease".

I mulled over and held up three fingers… "Will you take the oath?"

Buddy raised his right hand, “One. I won't get hurt. Number two...I won't get caught. Three: I'll always beat them home…Scouts honor" He saluted smartly and ran to play. I went back to sleep. Buddy kept his word. We had a fine summer, until he stole my diary.


THE END
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Crazy Babs

Crazy Babs
a short short story by Diana Weeks

Poor Babs was so nervous about her first day at the Oil Company in downtown Houston, the capitol of the oil business. She sat up in bed recalling the lies she's told about her work experience.

Barbara stretched, glad she had gone to the library straight from the interview, and done some research.

Downstairs in her two story condo she made coffee and noticed a dubie her marijuana smoking friend had left... after their "Babs got a job" celebration Friday night. She lit it with a kitchen match and puffed it so short she almost burned her fingers.

She drove one house past the day care center for her three-year-old boy. Her "try to make her marriage work" baby. It didn't, but she got the condo.

When she finally threaded through the tangled traffic to the tall building she circled it twice before she found the underground parking entrance. It was already eight.

Breathing deeply like she learned in yoga she rolled up and down car aisles and found a parking place near an exit door and ran up the stairs.

The receptionist looked at her watch "Barbara, glad you're here. Mr. Gordon needs this file ASAP...his office is across from your desk in the executive suite. The phone rang and she waved Babs away.

She looked around for a friendly face. What did ASAP mean. What kind of oil company lingo was that? The three secretaries were already at their desk's typing fast... like they were in a race to ring bells. What luck she thought seeing a door sign "Jessie Gordon" and knocked.

"Come in" his half shout made her stand straighter in her five-eight slinder frame and thrust out her recently added 38 inch boobs. She didn't lean over when she placed the ASAP file on his desk.

"Very good, thank you" he muttered looking away to answer his phone before she could flash him her dimpled smile.

Somehow she got through the day, thanks to her friend in PR, who had helped her get the job, and took her to lunch. Babs typed "well reports" so Mr. Gordon could tell which wells were pumping how much...and drilling reports to tell how deep the crew had gotten the pipe.

At five she eagerly gathered her purse and the company "policy" booklet and hurried to the underground parking...not at all realizing she was not entering the same way she left this morning, a thousand years ago.

Not wanting to appear panicked, she strolled up and down the rows of cars, wishing she had put a Jack-in-the-box clown head on her short VW radio antennae...crossing her fingers she could get to the day care before late fees kicked in.

Her feet... in the latest style four-inch heels...were begging to be taken off. Just for a few minutes one at a time. When the security golf cart passed her for the third time the man stopped and waved her over. "You lost your car?" he smirked.

"No" she answered putting her shoe back on. Babs lied with assurance. “Get in I'll find it for you". She got in beside him. "You do know the MYLP"? She didn't know what that meant so she smiled wide to deepen her dimples and replied "Of course". The driver got a pad and pen and poised to write. "What's the make, year and license number"? She took the pad from him.

"You just start driving, I'll write it all down for you". She gave him more dimples and suddenly there it was...her car... hunched down like a shy turtle. "That's it, stop"! Babs laughed and jumped out. "You're so kind. I'll be your friend forever". Babs managed to back out without hitting him although she wanted to... because he stayed and watched like he didn't think she could drive. Departing she sighed and told herself. "This is going to be funny someday, maybe even by Friday".

THE END
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED