{"id":7057,"date":"2021-03-14T12:12:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T19:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leftyparent.com\/blog\/?p=7057"},"modified":"2021-03-14T12:12:48","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T19:12:48","slug":"clubius-incarnate-part-19-mollys-4th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leftyparent.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/14\/clubius-incarnate-part-19-mollys-4th-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"Clubius Incarnate Part 19 – Molly\u2019s 4th Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mom, dad and I crossed the street from our house walking through lots of snow, which mom said was \u201cfresh\u201d and also \u201cbeautiful\u201d. David had stayed at home with Margie, who was \u201cthe babysitter\u201d, and mom had told her that this was the first time she and dad had gone out together without him since he was born. Margie had stayed at our house a couple times to play with me when mom and dad went out to a party or to \u201cplay bridge\u201d, whatever that was. I liked bridges too, because you were up high and going over something below, but I wasn\u2019t sure how grownups would play on them. I also liked Margie because, like Aunt Pat, she was bigger and older than I was, but still I could tell she was a kid and not a grownup.<\/p>\n
Mom, dad and I all had our black \u201crubber boots\u201d on over our shoes, with those \u201cbuckle\u201d things that made them not fall off. I really liked them because I would put them on with my space helmet to pretend I was a spaceman, or with dad\u2019s army helmet to pretend I was a soldier. Dad liked the boots because they were \u201cpractical\u201d and \u201cwhat we can afford right now\u201d. Mom didn\u2019t like hers because she said they made her \u201clook like a bum\u201d.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom opened the front door and looked down at our feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou three look cute in your matching boots, very practical\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s eyes moved all around and she made a funny noise with her mouth kind of like she was coughing. \u201cYeah, real practical Joan, that\u2019s charitable of you\u201d, she said, not sounding like she really thought that. \u201cI\u2019d kill for a real pair of leather boots!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom closed her eyes and nodded, then opened them again and looked at mom, putting her hand on mom\u2019s shoulder. \u201cYou and Eric have all your priorities just right. Keeping the focus on that last elusive sheepskin, and then your world will transform for the better, I just know it Jane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked at dad and put her hand on his shoulder. \u201cEric\u201d, she said, \u201cI won\u2019t even ask how the dissertation is progressing.\u201d She laughed.<\/p>\n
Dad laughed a little bit too and said, \u201cWell actually, I\u2019ve got a meeting with my committee next week to review and hopefully approve my final outline!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that\u2019s huge\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cWe can celebrate that today along with Molly\u2019s birthday, though you know I\u2019m supremely jealous!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad nodded and wrinkled his nose and we all banged our boots together to knock the snow off, before taking them off and putting them on a towel by the door with other boots and regular shoes. I could even take them off by myself without someone helping me, which was another thing I liked about them.<\/p>\n
Suddenly Molly appeared from the living room and came up right in front of me and looked at me like she had to tell me something really important. She was wearing one of those dress things that was open at the bottom.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I\u2019m older than you!\u201d she said, her voice sounding a bit fierce, like she really had to tell me right away. \u201cI\u2019m four and you\u2019re still three.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. She was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cMolly Wheeler\u201d, her mom said loudly, shaking her head, \u201cWhat has gotten into you?\u201d Her hands squeezed Molly\u2019s shoulders, and I could see Molly get a puzzled look on her face like she was trying to figure out how to answer that question.<\/p>\n
Her mom looked at mom and dad. \u201cShe\u2019s gotten some sort of \u2018birthday fever\u2019 today, from the moment she first woke up!\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom nodded and then looked down at her and said, \u201cCoop\u2019s ALMOST four! He\u2019s three and five sixths actually. Just two more months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom was still shaking her head. \u201cI don\u2019t think Erikson has his age ranges quite right. Both Molly and Cooper are totally in the \u2018purpose\u2019 phase, which isn\u2019t supposed to start until age five!\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom laughed. \u201cWell Joan, Erikson aside, I think they\u2019re both just very bright kids!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad was nodding, and when he saw me looking at him he winked. Then mom looked down at me and made one of her big smiles.<\/p>\n
Molly looked up at her mom. \u201cCan Coob and I go?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
Her mom nodded, and Molly took me by the hand and led me through the top part of her living room where all the grownups were talking to each other holding those funny looking glasses with the clear red liquid in them.<\/p>\n
We walked down the stairs to the bottom part of the room where all the other kids were sitting around the big eating table. There was Kenny, Danny and Paul and two other kids that I didn\u2019t know. They were eating this food thing I hadn\u2019t seen before shaped like long triangles that were red and white on top with these brown circles, and it all smelled really good. They all looked at me coming down the stairs holding Molly\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo who are you, kid?\u201d said the boy I didn\u2019t know, who looked a couple years older than I was.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Coob\u201d, said Molly looking at him. Then she turned to me and said, \u201cThat\u2019s Ricky. He thinks he\u2019s in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI AM in charge\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cYour mom said so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in charge too\u201d, said Danny, \u201cShe said we were BOTH in charge cuz we\u2019re older.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky\u2019s voice was fierce. \u201cHow old ARE you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix\u201d, said Danny.<\/p>\n
Ricky paused, thinking, I could tell he was figuring out what to say. \u201cWell that\u2019s too bad cuz I\u2019m seven\u201d, he finally said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not seven\u201d, Danny said, shaking his head while he made a funny face.<\/p>\n
Ricky got a smile on his face and said, \u201cHow do you know? You can\u2019t prove I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter\u201d, said Danny, \u201cHowever old you are, and you\u2019re not seven, Molly\u2019s mom put us BOTH in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo give Coob a slice of pizza then if you\u2019re in charge too\u201d, Ricky said, his voice not so fierce anymore. \u201cYou can\u2019t expect me to do everything.\u201c Then he looked at me and asked, \u201cYou want a Coke?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. Danny got me a plate and put a piece of pizza on it and handed it to me. Ricky went into the kitchen and I heard clinking and crunching noises and he came back with a shiny black bottle with drops dripping off it, and then used this metal thing to pop the top off. I took a bite of my slice of pizza. It tasted really good.<\/p>\n
Ricky looked at me and pointed at Danny. \u201cThat\u2019s Danny by the way\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCooper already knows me\u201d, Danny said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh\u201d, grunted Ricky, \u201cWell I bet you don\u2019t know my sister Jill.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl I didn\u2019t know next to Molly waved her hand. She had long black hair but all tied together like two long ropes. She had on a pink shirt and a pink bow in her hair. She looked into my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Molly your girlfriend?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know what to say. I looked at Molly and I could tell that she didn\u2019t either. I had heard that \u201cgirlfriend\u201d word before and I knew it was about stuff like kissing and being \u201cin love\u201d, whatever that was, and always thinking about that other person. I actually did do a lot of thinking about Molly, but to say she was my \u201cgirlfriend\u201d was not something I could even think about. So I did what seemed safest and I didn\u2019t say anything, though I worried that I should be able to say something, and if I said nothing they might think she was.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have a girlfriend until you get older and want to be all kissy face\u201d, Danny said, like he was sure that was true. Both Molly and Jill squeezed their faces like they didn\u2019t like it when they heard \u201ckissy face\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u201d, said Ricky. He seemed to always want to say something. \u201cYou don\u2019t want someone all kissy face following you around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Danny nodded. \u201cBelieve me you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one seemed to want to say anything more about it and I was happy about that, though I also wondered if Molly might want to talk about it later when no one else was around. So we all ate our pizza and drank our Cokes, and didn\u2019t do any talking for a while. You could hear the loud voices of the grownups just above us in the living room part, particularly the men.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy colleague figures Pope John is going to use Vatican Two to call an end to the \u2018martial law\u2019 of papal infallibility from Vatican One.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another man laughing. \u201cYeah, Pius had to do something about all those commies and socialists who were winning hearts and minds. What\u2019s your take, Eric? You must have studied Pius doing your research on Cardinal Newman.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I heard my dad\u2019s voice. \u201cWell, Newman clashed with Pius over papal infallibility, finding it way too authoritarian for his tastes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy colleagues point exactly. Thanks Eric!\u201d said the first man again.<\/p>\n
\u201cBet none of you know where the Vatican is!\u201d said Ricky, getting our attention and looking each of the rest of us kids in the eye. We all shook our heads except for Danny who frowned, thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York?\u201d Danny guessed.<\/p>\n
Ricky looked at Danny, smiling. \u201cNot a bad guess Danny my boy, but not the right answer either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere then?\u201d Danny asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cItaliano\u201d, Ricky said waving his hand and using a funny voice like he was singing, \u201cRoma.\u201d Then back to his regular voice. \u201cThat\u2019s Rome, Italy to you \u2018Mericans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re not \u2018Merican?\u201d Danny snapped back.<\/p>\n
Ricky made a silly face and his eyes rolled around to look up. \u201cWell ya got me there!\u201d He laughed. Danny and Jill laughed too. Kenny, Paul, Molly and I all looked at each other, like what were these older kids talking about.<\/p>\n
Paul with a mouthful of pizza mumbled, \u201cI saw that new rocket take off on TV?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly nodded. \u201cI saw it too. It was great. My dad says it\u2019s the best one in the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky blew air out of his closed mouth. \u201cSo your dad\u2019s some expert on rockets?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly nodded again. \u201cHe\u2019s an\u2026\u201d, she paused, \u201cEnginer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky made a funny half smile. \u201cYou meant to say \u2018engineer\u2019 miss Molly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly wrinkled her nose and pushed her lips together and gave Ricky a fierce look.<\/p>\n
Ricky held up his hands in front of him like he was trying to stop something. \u201cNo offence kid. I know it\u2019s your birthday and all. You\u2019re just saying it wrong. \u201cYour dad\u2019s an enginEER.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly turned her fierce look from Ricky to me and the tip of her thumb went between her lips and she bit down on it, which I had not seen her do for a long time. Her eyes were telling me she was mad and wanted Ricky to just go away.<\/p>\n
Maybe Ricky figured that out too, because he looked worried all of a sudden, and his eyes moved quickly back and forth looking at different things, finally looking at the box with the pizza. \u201cHere Molly, have another piece of pizza, on the house!\u201d He picked up a piece and dropped it on her plate.<\/p>\n
Paul had another mouthful of pizza but continued with his thinking and talking about the rocket. \u201cMy dad said it was bigger than the one the Russians got.\u201d I remembered my mom and dad talking about the Russians and my mom hoping that though they were the other team that there wouldn\u2019t be a war.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u201d, said Danny, finally finding his chance to talk again, \u201cWhat do they call that place where they are?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky looked at Danny, shook his head and did that half smile again. \u201cUh\u2026 Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Danny shook his head and looked like he was thinking. \u201cNo that other place\u2026 \u2018so\u2019 something.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered, and wanted to help Danny. \u201cSoviet Union\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah them\u201d, Danny said nodding.<\/p>\n
Ricky looked at me and frowned. Then it looked like he tried to smile but couldn\u2019t quite do it. \u201cYeah, of course\u201d, he said, \u201cthe Soviet Union. They used to be Russia until they became commies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u201d, said Danny, \u201cBut we can beat them now because we got a better rocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky blew air out of his nose. \u201cTheir rockets are still good enough to blow the crap out of all of us\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut maybe we\u2019ll blow the crap out of them first\u201d, Danny replied.<\/p>\n
Ricky tilted his head up and looked at the ceiling. We all looked at him like he was ready to say something important.<\/p>\n
At that moment Molly\u2019s mom came down the stairs from the top part of the living room. \u201cAre you kids doing all right? Can I get anyone anything?\u201d She put her hands on Molly\u2019s shoulders and looked at the rest of us.<\/p>\n
Ricky looked back and smiled his biggest smile. \u201cWe\u2019re okay missus W. The pizza is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom smiled back at him. \u201cI\u2019m so glad\u201d, she said, \u201cWe got it from Dominick\u2019s. Molly\u2019s dad had to drive all the way to Ypsi to pick them up.\u201d<\/p>\n
She patted Molly\u2019s shoulder and looked down at her. \u201cYou like it, dear?\u201d she asked. Molly looked up at her chewing a mouthful of pizza.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to answer with your mouth full\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cLooks like you like it!\u201d Then looking again at the rest of us. \u201cMolly\u2019s so glad you could all come to celebrate her FOURTH birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cGood pizza. Good company. Count me in!\u201d He seemed to like talking to grownups pretending like he was one of them.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom then blew air out of her nose and started to laugh without opening her mouth but then stopped. \u201cOh Ricky, you are quite the comedian!\u201d she said, patting Molly once more on the shoulder before turning and heading into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Ricky watched her carefully then leaned forward toward the rest of us and spoke in a quieter voice than his regular one, his eyes glancing toward the kitchen a couple times while he spoke. \u201cYou know what it\u2019s like to get blown up by a nucular bomb don\u2019t you? You see this flash of light brighter than the sun, and if you look at it it will fry your eyes out.\u201d He shrugged his shoulders and waved his hands around but kept his voice quiet. \u201cBut who cares, you\u2019re probably dead anyway!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom came out of the kitchen with a big shiny silver plate with square food things on it. We all got quiet and looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat ya serving missus W?\u201d Ricky asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s called \u2018quiche\u2019 Ricky\u201d, she said, \u201cWant to try some?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry\u201d, said Ricky, with his half smile again, \u201cI can\u2019t get enough of the stuff!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom shook her head and started to laugh again without opening her mouth. She held the plate close to him and he picked one of the squares off of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
She moved the plate toward the rest of us. \u201cAnybody else want to try?\u201d she asked. The rest of us immediately shook our heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d She laughed out loud this time and then walked up the stairs to the top part of the living room carrying the plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really eat that stuff?\u201d Danny said, making a face.<\/p>\n
Ricky laughed. \u201cNah\u201d, he said, \u201cBut hey, what the heck!\u201d He carefully took a small bite of it and made a face like he didn\u2019t like it. Then he said, \u201cDelicious\u201d, but it didn\u2019t sound like he really meant it. He took the thing into the kitchen and we all watched him drop it in the trash can.<\/p>\n
As I watched Ricky in the kitchen I was thinking how really interesting he was. He was a kid like us but he knew a lot of things and he didn\u2019t let grownups bother him. I wanted to be like him, never worried, always knowing what to say next. He came back and sat down in his chair and looked at each of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what were we talking about?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNucular bombs\u201d, said Kenny, talking for the first time since I had been there. He seemed to want to talk more about it. Though my mom and dad had talked about the Soviet Union, that new guy in charge of it and trying not to have a war, they hadn\u2019t talked about this whole bomb thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAh yes\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cFrying your eyes out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you have a basement and you go down there, you\u2019re safe, right?\u201d Kenny said, but like he wasn\u2019t really sure that was true.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell maybe for a little while\u201d, Danny said, \u201cUntil the radiation comes!\u201d Ricky nodded and Kenny got quiet again, and I could tell that he was worried and thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s radiation?\u201d Molly asked. I didn\u2019t know either.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to know\u201d, said Ricky.<\/p>\n
Jill spoke in a loud voice. \u201cShe asked you Ricky, so I think she wants to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cRicky SAYS Molly doesn\u2019t want to know because HE doesn\u2019t know\u201d, said Danny, acting like he had the right answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh Danny, Danny, Danny\u201d, Ricky said, still slowly shaking his head, \u201cShe doesn\u2019t want to know because it\u2019s so terrible. But if you want to tell her and ruin her birthday go right ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me Ricky!\u201d Molly\u2019s voice was fierce and I could tell she was mad. \u201cIf you don\u2019t tell me maybe you should go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, okay, jeez\u201d, Ricky sputtered, waving his hands around in the air, then leaning toward and looking at Danny he said in a low voice, \u201cShe\u2019s not going to like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky looked at Molly. He stopped smiling. \u201cRadiation is this invisible stuff that comes out of the nucular bomb after it blows up and goes all over the place and melts your skin off your bones, and you\u2019re still alive for a while but wish you were dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I listened I imagined the skin melting off my bones and was really scared. I could see Molly was scared too, the tip of her thumb was back in her mouth and her teeth were biting it hard. But then I could see her being mad get stronger than her being scared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t have to blow up THOSE kind of bombs\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose\u2026\u201d, I could tell Molly couldn\u2019t remember the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Soviet Union\u201d, I added, that was the part that I kept remembering.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not Commies like they are so they hate our guts\u201d, Ricky said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s a \u2018Commie\u2019?\u201d Molly asked, her voice still fierce.<\/p>\n
Ricky blew air out of his nose. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to know!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she does Ricky\u201d, said Jill, \u201cThat\u2019s why she\u2019s asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad came down the stairs from the top part of the living room followed by a couple other grownup men. \u201cIt\u2019s an RCA CTC seven with just the VHF tuner\u201d, he said to them.<\/p>\n
We all got quiet and looked at them.<\/p>\n
Her dad stood behind Molly seated at the end of the table and looked at all the rest of us kids. He put his hands on her shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo everyone having a good time? How\u2019s the pizza?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great mister W\u201d, Ricky said. Everybody else nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Good\u201d, Molly\u2019s dad said, now patting Molly on the shoulder, \u201cAnd how\u2019s my birthday girl?\u201d he asked, looking down at her.<\/p>\n
She looked straight up at him and asked, \u201cDad, what\u2019s a \u2018Commie\u2019? Ricky won\u2019t tell me!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoa\u201d, he replied, \u201cDidn\u2019t expect that question!\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the other adult men with him laughed but in a way like he was worried too. And Molly\u2019s dad seemed worried too about what the other men might be thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe things kids ask\u201d, he said to the other two men, \u201cFeel like we\u2019re on the Art Linkletter show!\u201d All three of them laughed.<\/p>\n
Then he looked down again at Molly. \u201cA \u2018Commie\u2019 is a communist dear. You know, like the Russians. We can talk about it more later with your mom. I want to show my buddies our new color TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
He patted her on the shoulder one last time, then he and the other two men went through the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement. I could tell Molly was not happy with that answer. She gave Ricky another fierce look.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the new bad guys\u201d, Ricky said, like that ended it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u201d, said Danny, \u201cLike the Germans used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
I really wanted to join in the talking. \u201cOr pirates\u201d, I said, thinking about Treasure Island<\/em>.<\/p>\n
I thought about all the books my dad had read to me, and how they all had bad guys. Long John Silver was a pirate and the good guy grownups thought he was a bad guy, but he was nice to Jim who was a kid. And the grownups in Tom Sawyer thought Injun Joe was a bad guy but Tom and Huck were both kids and weren\u2019t sure he really was. And Tom Swift was always trying to beat those people from that other place. He was still an older kid so maybe he thought more like the grownups on fighting with people. But he didn\u2019t shoot them or blow them up.<\/p>\n
I thought about my grandpa in that World War One and my dad in that World War Two, both against the Germans. And my toy soldiers, where the green ones were the good guy Americans and the gray ones were the bad guy Germans. The gray ones I also pretended were the bad guy pirates. I figured I always had to make the gray soldiers the bad guys or my dad might get mad at me, and I really did not want him to be mad at me, which almost never happened. But when he got mad at someone they might not know he was mad, but he would be, and maybe for a long time. I also didn\u2019t like it when my mom got mad at me, but she would say why she was mad and then not be mad any more, which was better, or at least not as bad.<\/p>\n
And it was like men grownups were always talking about fighting wars, old ones and new ones that hadn\u2019t happened yet. But women grownups, at least my mom and Molly\u2019s mom, didn\u2019t talk about war so much. My mom talked about beating other teams in football or baseball, because that\u2019s what you were supposed to try to do. My dad talked about beating other teams too, though he made it sound more like fighting a war against them.<\/p>\n
I remembered my mom and dad talking about the Russians and that Soviet Union place and if I was supposed to fight in a World War Three against them. But then my mom said that they didn\u2019t have to be bad guys that you had to fight a war against, but could be just another team like the Tigers or the Yankees that you just played a \u2018game\u2019 against, instead of a war. You\u2019d try to win, like a war, but it was okay if you lose sometimes as long as you \u201cplayed your best\u201d, because you could win the next time. And maybe you didn\u2019t like them, but you didn\u2019t need to shoot them or blow them up.<\/p>\n
Molly looked at me. \u201cPirates are different\u201d, she said, \u201cEverybody has to fight pirates.\u201d That made me remember all the times she and I had pretended to fight pirates from her bedroom or in the back of her station wagon.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless you’re another pirate\u201d, said Paul, who had been pretty much eating pizza and just listening, but now looked happy that he had thought to say that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, said Danny, \u201cSometimes pirates fight other pirates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just can\u2019t trust pirates can you\u201d, said Ricky, laughing, \u201cPretty much even if you are one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr commies\u201d, added Kenny.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom came down the stairs from the upper part of the living room. \u201cJohn Courtney Murray and democratized religion\u201d, she said, wagging her finger in the air, \u201cHold that thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at all of us. \u201cEveryone okay down here? James you look like you need a napkin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll get it\u201d, Jill said loudly, jumping up and reaching across the table for the pile of napkins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re good missus W\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cJust lovin\u2019 that pizza.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom did that laugh again that adults did where they didn\u2019t open their mouth, like they were trying to hold it inside them. She went into the kitchen and then I heard her voice, speaking really loud.<\/p>\n
\u201cJack\u201d, she called, \u201cYou and your buddies need to come up for the main event!\u201d<\/p>\n
I could hear the three men tromping up the basement stairs talking and laughing. One of them came out of the kitchen, but stopped before climbing the stairs back to the top part of the living room and looked at us kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou guys get pizza down here?\u201d he asked, \u201cAll we get up top is quiche! Can you spare a piece?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cIf it were up to me, but I don\u2019t make the rules around here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man did that kind of grownup laugh with his mouth closed like he was coughing.<\/p>\n
He wagged a finger at Ricky. \u201cKid you\u2019ll be a kick in grad school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what everyone tells me\u201d, said Ricky, waving a hand at the man and moving his eyes around and looking up.<\/p>\n
The man laughed, this time a regular one, opening his mouth. He continued up the stairs. The other man followed but Molly\u2019s dad stayed in the kitchen and I could hear him and Molly\u2019s mom talking quietly but I couldn\u2019t hear the words.<\/p>\n
Then I heard Molly\u2019s mom behind me starting to sing\u2026<\/p>\n
Happy birthday to you<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Some of the grownups up above us started singing and coming over to the railing between them above and us below.<\/p>\n
Happy birthday to you<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We kids started singing too. I had learned from my own birthday a long time ago and Danny\u2019s birthday since then that everyone was supposed to sing, even the kids. Ricky jumped up and turned toward all the grownups gathering at the railing above, and started waving his hands back and forth in front of him above his head. Some of the grownups laughed as everyone continued to sing.<\/p>\n
Happy birthday dear Molly \nHappy birthday to you<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Then I heard my mom\u2019s voice. She didn\u2019t usually do singing because she said she \u201ccouldn\u2019t carry a tune\u201d.<\/p>\n
And many more!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
All the grownups clapped and a couple laughed at my mom for trying to sing. I looked at Molly but I could tell she didn\u2019t know what to do. Her mom put the pink cake with four little candles with fire on their top parts in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake a wish\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cAnd blow out the candles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly looked at the cake and stuck the tip of her thumb between her lips again, thinking. She turned her head and looked at me. I knew there was all kind of thinking going on inside her, behind those fierce eyes. I thought of all those circle \u201cgears\u201d going round inside that new clock I had gotten for Christmas, that you didn\u2019t see in a regular clock, where all you saw were those two hands which were always changing but you could never see move. Molly was changing though you couldn\u2019t see it happening. All us kids were changing. Everything was changing.<\/p>\n
Some of us kids were figuring out that grownups in that Soviet Union Russia place might shoot rockets and drop bombs to blow us all up soon, that \u201cWorld War Three\u201d thing. And even if they didn\u2019t get to blow us up or burn out our eyes, because we were hiding in the basement, maybe we would be melted by radiation instead. And the main plan to make it not happen would be for us to have bigger rockets so we could try to blow them up first. Though some grownups, like my mom and Molly\u2019s mom, thought there was a different way. That we should just be different \u201cteams\u201d playing a \u201cgame\u201d, like the Yankees and the Tigers, or Michigan and Indiana, and not \u201cenemies\u201d like the Germans were in World War Two, that you had to shoot or blow up.<\/p>\n
I was thinking that was Molly\u2019s wish, to not have that World War Three thing. It was certainly my wish. And I don\u2019t think any of us kids trusted the grownups to fix it. I certainly didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Then Molly turned back to the cake, took her thumb out of her mouth and blew. I watched the fire part at the top of each candle flutter until it disappeared. All the grownups above clapped again, and so did all us kids down below, even Ricky this time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mom, dad and I crossed the street from our house walking through lots of snow, which mom said was \u201cfresh\u201d and also \u201cbeautiful\u201d. David had stayed at home with Margie, who was \u201cthe babysitter\u201d, and mom had told her that this was the first time she and dad had gone out together without him since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,1773,515,1775],"class_list":["post-7057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ann-arbor","tag-childhood","tag-human-development","tag-memoir"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
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Mom, dad and I crossed the street from our house walking through lots of snow, which mom said was \u201cfresh\u201d and also \u201cbeautiful\u201d. David had stayed at home with Margie, who was \u201cthe babysitter\u201d, and mom had told her that this was the first time she and dad had gone out together without him since he was born. Margie had stayed at our house a couple times to play with me when mom and dad went out to a party or to \u201cplay bridge\u201d, whatever that was. I liked bridges too, because you were up high and going over something below, but I wasn\u2019t sure how grownups would play on them. I also liked Margie because, like Aunt Pat, she was bigger and older than I was, but still I could tell she was a kid and not a grownup.<\/p>\n