{"id":7292,"date":"2022-01-21T13:06:33","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T21:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leftyparent.com\/blog\/?p=7292"},"modified":"2022-01-21T13:08:10","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T21:08:10","slug":"clubius-incarnate-part-31-mollys-5th-birthday-february-1960","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leftyparent.com\/blog\/2022\/01\/21\/clubius-incarnate-part-31-mollys-5th-birthday-february-1960\/","title":{"rendered":"Clubius Incarnate Part 31 – Molly\u2019s 5th Birthday (February 1960)"},"content":{"rendered":"
We were getting ready to go to Molly\u2019s birthday party. She was now five but I was still four. Mom said I was \u201cfour and five sixths\u201d, but that was still four. I watched her put that red stuff on her lips and then push them together twice. I thought it made her look kind of silly like a clown. She put the shiny gold thing that had the red stuff inside it back in her \u201cpurse\u201d. Grownup men didn\u2019t put that red stuff on THEIR lips, and they didn\u2019t have \u201cpurses\u201d, they just put stuff in their pockets.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Liz\u201d, dad said, \u201cIsn\u2019t Margie supposed to be here to babysit for David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEric\u201d, mom said, \u201cDon\u2019t you remember I talked to Joan and she said that David was invited too and she had hired Margie instead for the evening to be with the kids, including David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight. Right\u201d, dad said. He had been downstairs working on his typewriter all day, even though it was the \u201cweekend\u201d. But he also was watching that hockey game on TV where the \u201cUnited States\u201d, that was the team he wanted to win, was playing the \u201cSoviet Union\u201d, that other place with all the rockets and nuclear bombs. He really got happy whenever the \u201cUnited States\u201d team did something good, but you could tell that he was always worried. Dad had so many teams that he wanted to win, and got mad if they didn\u2019t. And he also had teams he wanted to lose, like that \u201cOhio\u201d team. And the \u201cNotre Dame\u201d team, though he said they had a really good song.<\/p>\n
Mom looked at me and her eyes got big. \u201cYou know what Cloob\u201d, she said, \u201cI\u2019m going to walk over to Molly\u2019s in my stocking feet in those ugly rubber galoshes, and carry my heels over so I can put them on and feel like a real adult at the party and not some frumpy housewife in flats.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFlats?\u201d I asked. I didn\u2019t remember hearing that word before for shoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlat shoes like you and your dad wear\u201d, she said, \u201cWhen women get dressed up they usually wear shoes with high heels.\u201d I wasn\u2019t sure whether women were supposed to wear different stuff or just wanted to. I know Molly wanted to wear the same clothes as boys, but even Margie, who wasn\u2019t a grownup but just an older kid, said she was a \u201ctomboy\u201d. And some of the older boys said that boys who wanted to wear girls’ clothes were \u201csissies\u201d or even \u201cqueers\u201d. I tried putting mom\u2019s heels on my feet once when she wasn\u2019t home and dad was in the basement, and I had a hard time even standing up.<\/p>\n
All four of us put on our snow boots because it was \u201cslushy\u201d outside. Even David, and I helped him buckle them up before buckling up my own. Then mom and dad put on \u201ccoats\u201d, and I put on my jacket and helped David put on his. Dad carried Molly\u2019s present that I picked out and helped \u201cwrap\u201d. We went out into the dark, but it wasn\u2019t super cold. Even David was walking and mom asked me if I\u2019d hold his hand and I did. We walked across the street which had the squishy \u201cslush\u201d stuff, but it was okay because we had those boots on.<\/p>\n
I rang Molly\u2019s doorbell. I could just tell she would be the one to open the door, and she was. She was wearing one of those dress things. I figured her mom made her wear it.<\/p>\n
Molly looked down at the dress and then up at me. \u201cMy mom made me wear it\u201d, she said. Then she turned her head and yelled, \u201cCoob is here, and David too!\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard lots of grownups talking in the living room, but then Molly\u2019s mom\u2019s voice. \u201cJust Cooper and David?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u201d, Molly yelled, sounding like she was a little bit mad, \u201cHis mom and dad too!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell what do you do when you have guests at the door?\u201d her mom\u2019s voice asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cUh\u201d, said Molly, looking at the floor, \u201cPlease come in!\u201d and she pushed open the screen door. She didn\u2019t look happy like it was her birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, young lady\u201d, mom said, \u201cAnd happy birthday!\u201d And then bending her knees so she wasn\u2019t looking down at Molly anymore. \u201cCooper picked out your gift personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly nodded, but still didn\u2019t look at me and said, \u201cYou got me the space helmet!\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. Mom did the laugh through her nose and turned her head to look at me and said, \u201cYou told Molly what you were getting her for her birthday? Didn\u2019t you want to surprise her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Molly and I shook our heads, and mom did the laugh again, stood up and looked at dad. \u201cThose two scare me sometimes!\u201d Dad chuckled.<\/p>\n
I looked up at her and asked, \u201cScare you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom pushed her lips together and did a little bit of a smile, then said, \u201cWell I\u2019m just kidding. It\u2019s just you two seem to always be thinking the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom came up behind Molly and put her hands on Molly\u2019s shoulders. \u201cAre you going to let Cooper and his family come in out of the cold?\u201d Molly nodded. \u201cCome in guys\u201d, her mom said, \u201cYou can put your matching galoshes on the towel right over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked at mom carrying those \u201cheel\u201d shoes. \u201cAnd Jane, looks like you were determined to wear heels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes Joan\u201d, mom said, \u201cAt least for a couple hours I want to feel like an adult woman and not a house frau!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom laughed. \u201cWell I decided to wear flats.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fine\u201d, mom said, \u201cFor me it\u2019s a matter of principle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom laughed again. \u201cJane\u201d, she said, \u201cI totally understand. And Eric, I didn\u2019t mean to ignore you, and David too\u201d, she looked down at him, \u201cWelcome! We don\u2019t see YOU very often over here!\u201d<\/p>\n
David looked up at her and shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome in, all of you\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said.<\/p>\n
We all walked in and mom, dad and I took off our boots and put them on the towel. Molly unbuckled David\u2019s boots and helped pull them off his feet. Then she took him by the hand and walked him into the living room where all the other grownups were. I followed them, feeling a little mad that Molly was looking at David and not at me, and then I saw the really big box that looked like a giant present. Molly saw me looking at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my one birthday present from mom and dad\u201d, she said, still holding David\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d I asked. Molly made her shoulders go up, but didn\u2019t open her mouth. I guess she didn\u2019t know, though she always seemed to know what present I got her before she opened it, even when I didn\u2019t tell her.<\/p>\n
There were a bunch of grownups in the living room, some standing up and others sitting on the couches and those big puffy chairs. It sounded like they were all talking at the same time, or when they weren\u2019t talking they were laughing, or drinking that special colored stuff that made them silly. There was a big bowl of it on a table with ice cubes and these round orange things and round green things floating in the red liquid.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Molly\u201d, said one of the grownup men after he took a big drink of that red stuff, \u201cWhat do you think is in that big box?\u201d Molly did that thing again with her shoulders but didn\u2019t smile. She was still holding David\u2019s hand and he had been staring at the box but was now looking up at Molly like he wanted to know what she thought too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s the little guy?\u201d the man asked her, with a kind of silly look on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid\u201d, she said, then pointing at me, \u201cHis brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man looked at me and said, \u201cYou must be Jane and Eric\u2019s son, I can see the family resemblance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Normally I didn\u2019t like talking to grownups I didn\u2019t know, but this one was silly so I thought I might try to ask questions and see what happened. \u201cYou can?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah\u201d, he said nodding, \u201cYou look like your dad. Maybe a little of your mom too. Now she\u2019s the real looker!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real looker?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
The grownup woman next to him, also drinking that red stuff, did that laugh through her nose and said, \u201cOkay Bill, now dig your way out of that one!\u201d She seemed like she really liked him but was \u201cteasing\u201d him. I was figuring out that was a thing people did when they wanted to be silly. They would say a bad thing about someone but not really mean it. Even kids did that sometimes, though other times they really did mean it.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a problem\u201d, he said to her, putting his hand on her shoulder then looking back at me, \u201cSuffice it to say, your mother is a very charming lady!\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman did the laugh through her nose again and then slapped him on the arm. \u201cShut your trap Bill!\u201d she said. Even though she hit him, he seemed to like it. And she seemed to like that he liked it. They were both pretty silly, and I wondered if they wanted to be \u201ckissy face\u201d with each other.<\/p>\n
She looked down at me, smiled, and said, \u201cYou seem like a charming young man, and given your mom and dad, I\u2019m not surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost asked, \u201cNot surprised?\u201d, but I heard Molly\u2019s mom\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cAre you and Bill behaving yourselves?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I AM\u201d, the woman said, putting her hand on that Bill guy\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom looked at me and said, \u201cCooper, this is Rachel. She\u2019s a graduate student studying English literature like your dad. And Bill here is\u2026\u201d. She looked at that Bill guy like she was asking him a question but she didn\u2019t say anything. He nodded but didn\u2019t say anything either. Grownups had these tricky ways of telling each other secret stuff without saying any words.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cHe\u2019s now an adjunct professor of psychology. Congratulations Bill, your hard work paid off, though I\u2019m insanely jealous!\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill nodded and looked at me. \u201cNice to meet you Cooper\u201d, he said. Rachel leaned down towards me and said the same thing. I noticed that Molly and mom had taken David down to the dining room where I figured all the other kids were.<\/p>\n
Then I heard an older kid\u2019s voice behind me. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on up here?\u201d It was Ricky. \u201cMolly sent me up here to rescue you\u201d, he said looking at me, \u201cYou getting friendly with the grownup team?\u201d Then he looked at Molly\u2019s mom and said, \u201cNo offense, Missus W!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom did a regular laugh with her mouth and shook her head, and then that Bill and Rachel laughed too.<\/p>\n
Ricky looked at me and said, \u201cI have this effect on them, especially when they\u2019ve been drinking the grownup kool-aid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel started laughing really hard and kind of spit out what she was drinking, which made that Bill guy laugh at her, and Molly\u2019s mom too. Other grownups stopped talking and turned and looked at Rachel, who held a napkin over her mouth and waved her other hand in front of her face.<\/p>\n
Ricky looked around at the other grownups, and I could tell he was having fun. He said, \u201cAs you were, nothing to see here!\u201d And then, \u201cYou might want to catch the rest of the hockey game down in the basement. The U.S. team tied it up in the second period.\u201d He held his fist up in the air and moved it back and forth.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo U.S.A.\u201d, he said, \u201cThough I\u2019m actually Italian!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not, Ricky!\u201d It was Ricky\u2019s sister Jill coming up the stairs from the dining room.<\/p>\n
Ricky shook his head and made his eyes look up like he was trying to look at the hair on his head. \u201cKid sisters\u201d, he said, \u201cWhat can you do with them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he looked at her, still shaking his head. \u201cJill, Jill, Jill\u201d, he said, \u201cYou weren\u2019t even alive when I was born. How do you know I wasn\u2019t born in \u2018Italia\u2019\u201d. He held his hand up in the air and shook it as he said \u201cItalia\u201d, whatever that was, and all the grownups laughed again, including dad, who I saw across the room. Dad was shaking his head with a big smile on his face, looking really happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren\u2019t\u201d, said Jill fiercely, \u201cI just know!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly came up the stairs behind Jill to see what was going on. Ricky saw her and put his hands out in her direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s our birthday girl!\u201d, he said, and started to clap his hands. Some of the grownups in the living room looked like they couldn\u2019t figure out what was going on, but some of the others started clapping. And when some of them started clapping, others started too. Even dad did, but Molly\u2019s mom put her hand above her eyes and shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHappy birthday Molly\u201d, several of the grownups said.<\/p>\n
Molly stared at Ricky with a fierce look on her face, pushing her lips together and wrinkling her nose. \u201cI\u2019m going to kill you Ricky!\u201d she said. All the grownups laughed except for Molly\u2019s mom, who was still shaking her head with her eyes closed.<\/p>\n
Ricky made a kind of silly sad face with his eyes and mouth, and put his hand on his chest. \u201cI guess I\u2019ve offended the birthday girl. For that, I\u2019m eternally sorry and beg forgiveness!\u201d<\/p>\n
An adult woman appeared on the stairs up from the dining room and put her hands on Jill\u2019s shoulders. She had a fierce look in her eyes and said, \u201cRicky, what the hell are you doing?\u201d A bunch of the grownups laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey mom\u201d, Ricky said, \u201cNot very well apparently! How\u2019s the hockey game?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad appeared behind Ricky\u2019s mom. \u201cJoan\u201d, he said, \u201cI heard the commotion and the applause. What\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, said Molly\u2019s mom, \u201cIf you weren\u2019t watching the hockey game you\u2019d know!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI literally just went down for a minute to check the score and see if anyone needed a refresh\u201d, Molly\u2019s dad said. Then he looked at everybody in the living room and said, \u201cWe\u2019ve got pizza down here getting cold, help yourselves!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJack\u201d, she said, sounding mad, \u201cThat\u2019s for the kids. I made quiche for the adults.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, he said, \u201cWe bought plenty of pizza, and it\u2019s delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt IS delicious Missus W\u201d, Ricky said, and then raising his hand up in front of him, \u201cBut your quiche, it\u2019s BELLISSIMA\u201d. I remembered from Molly\u2019s party last year that Ricky didn\u2019t even like that \u201cquiche\u201d stuff, but he loved to get silly and say things that weren\u2019t really right.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad looked at Ricky\u2019s mom and asked, \u201cAre you guys Italian?\u201d She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Ricky\u201d, one of the grownup men in the living room said with a loud voice, \u201cWho do you like for President in the fall?\u201d<\/p>\n
Other grownups laughed and Ricky smiled. I knew he was having fun being silly with the grownups, who were all silly from drinking that red stuff. He always said some things that weren\u2019t right or were even stupid, but still I liked that he was on our kids team against the grownups, so they didn\u2019t think they could win all the time in talking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, Ricky said, and I could see in his eyes he was trying to figure out the most extra best thing to say, \u201cI think I\u2019m a Nixon man, but if I drank enough of that adult kool-aid I might go for that Kennedy guy. I like his hair!\u201d<\/p>\n
All the grownups laughed except for Molly\u2019s mom. \u201cWhat about Humphrey?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d Ricky asked, and again all the grownups, except for Molly\u2019s mom, laughed.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom saw Margie looking through the railing from the dining room below. \u201cOkay\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, clapping her hands together twice, \u201cHow about we let Cooper and David have some pizza, and the rest of the kids. Then whatever\u2019s left, the rest of you help yourselves!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMolly! Cooper! Ricky! Jill!\u201d Margie said, waving her hand for us to come, \u201cCome on down and join the cool kids in the dining room!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I come too?\u201d asked Rachel, waving her hand in the air, and doing it the way adults did stuff when they were pretending to be kids. All the other grownups laughed, even Molly\u2019s mom this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d have to discuss it down here\u201d, Margie said, like she was trying to be silly too, \u201cAnd bring it to a vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShucks\u201d, said Rachel, making her fingers do that clicking noise and making her mouth look like she was sad. Most of the grownups laughed again and she put her hands on that Bill guy\u2019s shoulder, and I could tell they really liked each other, and maybe really did want to be \u201ckissy face\u201d, but I didn\u2019t think they\u2019d do it with other people around. Mom and dad only did that stuff when they thought I wasn\u2019t looking.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad and Ricky\u2019s mom, came up from the stairs into the living room and let Jill, Molly, Ricky and I go down. James, Paul, Kenny and Danny were there with Margie. David was sitting by the table in his special chair with a piece of pizza on his plate and cheese and that red stuff from the pizza all over his fingers and around his mouth. Mom was using a knife to cut his pizza triangle piece into little pieces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can do that Missus Zale\u201d, Margie said, \u201cYou should go enjoy the party.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks Margie\u201d, mom said, \u201cAnd please call me Jane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure\u201d, Margie said nodding, \u201cAt your place I\u2019d always call you \u2018Jane\u2019, but I wasn\u2019t sure if here at a party I needed to be more polite.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then I\u2019d have to call you Miss Stavropoulos\u201d, mom said, looking at Margie with her big eyes and big smile showing all her teeth. Margie did one of those little laughs that grownups called a \u201cchuckle\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah okay neat\u201d, she said, \u201cBut what about Mister Zale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, mom said, \u201cThat\u2019s one thing I can say for my husband. He doesn\u2019t have a formal bone in his body. I\u2019m sure he\u2019d tell you to call him Eric.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t get that part about the \u201cbone\u201d, so I figured I\u2019d ask. \u201cFormal bone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom and Margie both looked at me. \u201cWhich word are you wondering about?\u201d mom asked.<\/p>\n
If she had just answered my question, I probably would have just listened. But since she asked ME a question, I thought I should try to answer like an older kid like Margie or Ricky so mom would think I could do more older kid stuff by myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, I said, using that word that grownups started talking with a lot, \u201cI think I know what a \u2018bone\u2019 is, those hard things inside you, but I don\u2019t know what \u2018formal\u2019 is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDear, it\u2019s one of those many \u2018expressions\u2019 we have in our English language that means something a bit different than what the words say\u201d, mom said. \u201cAnd \u2018formal\u2019\u2026 how can I define formal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDefine?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain what it means\u201d, said Margie, then looking at mom, pointing her hand at her and smiling. David stuck little pieces of pizza into his mouth and watched us all talk to each other as he chewed.<\/p>\n
Mom put her hand on Margie\u2019s shoulder, looked at her for just a second and said, \u201cThanks, lady\u201d, then looked back at me. Margie seemed to really like mom saying that to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cFormal\u201d, mom said, looking up at the ceiling, nodding her head and pushing her lips together like she was thinking, then looking at Margie. \u201cCoop, you know when your dad and I get really dressed up, dad wears his suit and a tie, I wear my blue dress, panyhose and heels. They call that \u2018formal\u2019 clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike when you go to a party?\u201d I asked, trying to show them that I could figure it out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, mom said, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose, \u201cThat\u2019s a bit different I guess. Yeah we dress up to go to a party and I put on makeup, but it\u2019s not usually that \u2018formal\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked up, nodded her head, then looked down at me and said, \u201cRemember when I took you to the hospital so you could get those vaccine shots?\u201d I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember the woman that checked us in and told us where to wait, who called me \u2018Missus Zale\u2019 and called you \u2018Jonathan\u2019.\u201d I nodded again. \u201cWell she was being formal. Proper. Official. Not sure what words you already know.\u201d She looked at Margie again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like when someone gets really official\u201d, said Margie, standing up straight and putting her hands on her waist with her elbows out and made a funny expression on her face like she didn\u2019t like you, \u201cAnd they want to do everything by all these exact rules and they expect you to do the same thing and they aren\u2019t really friendly or care about who you are as long as you behave yourself and act properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
That all did not sound very good. I still hadn\u2019t really figured it out and mom and Margie could tell.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know Coop\u201d, mom said, \u201cI think you\u2019ve had very little experience with \u2018formality\u2019, that is being formal, in your life so far. It\u2019s more of a thing in the adult world.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. I knew that grownups, what mom called \u201cadults\u201d, had all these strange ways of talking and doing things that were sneaky and tricky, to try to get you or someone else to do something you didn\u2019t want to do, or to try and be in charge. I noticed Ricky was listening to us talk.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, okay\u201d, Ricky said, \u201cMister Z doesn\u2019t have a \u2018formal bone\u2019 in his body. So tell the kid what the deal is with that, Missus Z, with all due respect!\u201d<\/p>\n
Margie did that laugh through her nose and pointed her hand toward Ricky. \u201cThere ya go, Ricky\u2019s pretending to be formal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPretending?\u201d Ricky said, making his eyes really big like he was surprised she said that. Margie did more laughing through her nose.<\/p>\n
Mom looked at Ricky with a fierce look at first but it changed to a smile. \u201cI was getting to that young man! It\u2019s just harder to explain than I thought it was going to be!\u201d Ricky nodded.<\/p>\n
Mom kept looking at Ricky and her eyes got smaller. \u201cOkay young man\u201d, she said, \u201cYou seem to have a take on everything. How would you explain not having a \u2018formal bone in your body\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, Ricky said wrinkling his nose, \u201cI\u2019d rather hear what you were going to say Missus Z.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s smile got bigger. \u201cChicken!\u201d she said. Ricky laughed, but I could see that he liked that she said that, even though calling somebody a \u201cchicken\u201d was usually a bad thing to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay\u201d, mom said, raising her finger in the air in front of her and moving it back and forth. \u201cRicky calls me Missus Z. That\u2019s more formal. I don\u2019t, but a lot of adults expect young people to be more \u2018formal\u2019 with them and not use their first names but call them Mister or Missus whatever their last name is. Or in Ricky\u2019s case, the first initial of their last name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky nodded and smiled but didn\u2019t open his mouth. I think that\u2019s what they called a \u201cgrin\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mom kept talking. \u201cSo Margie thought that at a party like this she should be more \u2018formal\u2019 with your dad and I, and call us by our last names. So I prefer not being \u2018formal\u2019, being \u2018informal\u2019 instead, and have her call me by my first name, Jane.\u201d Margie nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow Margie\u201d, mom said, \u201cWas appropriately respectful and polite to ask if your dad wanted to be addressed formally as \u2018Mister Zale\u2019 here at a party. And then I wanted to let her know that your dad didn\u2019t care a bit about being formal, so I used the phrase \u2018he doesn\u2019t have a formal bone in his body\u2019 to tell her that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Ricky. \u201cLike Ricky doesn\u2019t seem to have a shy bone in his body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky grinned again and said, \u201cWell, maybe one Missus Z, but don\u2019t tell anybody!\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom laughed. \u201cYour secret is safe with me\u201d, she said, \u201cAnd Ricky\u2026 if it is even possible for you to do so, you are welcome to call me Jane if you like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGot it Missus Z\u201d, he said, his eyes twinkling like he was telling other things to mom but not with words.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom came up behind mom and put a hand on her shoulder. \u201cJane\u201d, she said, \u201cI just wanted to check in with you since you were spending a lot of time down here with David, to make sure everything was okay. Margie\u2019s been doing her usual great job taking care of all the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom looked at Molly\u2019 mom. \u201cThanks Joan, everything\u2019s fine. Margie seems to have everything well in hand.\u201d Margie nodded. \u201cWe were just all having a good conversation about the meaning of the word \u2018formal\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean done in accordance with rules of convention or etiquette, suitable for or an official or otherwise important situation or occasion?\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly Joan\u201d, mom said, \u201cBut in plainer English.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I\u2019ll leave that to you\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said smiling, \u201cBut once you\u2019re done, come on up so I can introduce you to somebody.\u201d Mom nodded<\/p>\n
\u201cGo Missus Zale\u2026 I mean Jane\u201d, Margie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing\u201d, mom said, winking at Margie and following Molly\u2019s mom up the stairs to the living room.<\/p>\n
Margie looked at all of us. \u201cOkay\u201d, she said, \u201cCooper needs a plate, a piece of pizza and a napkin. Danny, can you do the honors?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure\u201d, Danny said, standing up and walking over to the stack of paper plates.<\/p>\n
Jill, who was sitting next to Molly, grabbed for a paper plate and said, \u201cI want to do it! It\u2019s a girl\u2019s job!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJill, Jill, Jill\u201d, her brother Ricky said, slowly shaking his head and making his eyes look up at his hair, \u201cYou\u2019re so old-fashioned!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not\u201d, said Jill, \u201cBoys only cook food outside on the grill. Girls give it to people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cYOUR MOTHER is\u2026 or was\u2026 watching a hockey game down in the basement with the guys. Is THAT what girls are supposed to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s YOUR mother too!\u201d Jill said, sounding really mad.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down everyone!\u201d Margie said, waving her arms in front of her. \u201cWe\u2019re the COOL kids. We make our own rules. We all help out.\u201d She looked at Jill. \u201cI asked Danny to get Cooper a piece of pizza. Can I ask you to get him a Seven-Up from the refrigerator? Do you know how to use a bottle opener?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jill nodded and jumped up and ran into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never does that when I tell her to do something!\u201d said Ricky.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s cuz you\u2019re her annoying big brother\u201d, said Margie, chuckling.<\/p>\n
Ricky put his hand to his chest. \u201cYou cut me to the quick!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure I do\u201d, said Margie, nodding her head and making a big smile. Ricky smiled too.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad came down the stairs from the living room. \u201cHow\u2019s everybody doing?\u201d he asked. Then looking at Molly, \u201cHow\u2019s my birthday girl?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly just nodded while she was chewing on some pizza.<\/p>\n
One of the adult men up in the living room called out, \u201cJack, Martin says the French nuclear test in Algeria was maybe 60 or 70 kilotons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWow\u201d, said Molly\u2019s dad, taking a couple pieces of pizza and putting them on a paper plate, \u201cThat\u2019s a fairly big yield, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo France has an \u2018A\u2019 bomb Mister W?\u201d said Ricky, then raising his hand in the air, \u201cMy Italia is next!\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time Ricky was saying that, Molly\u2019s mom, sounding mad, said from up in the living room, \u201cJack? Is this appropriate conversation around the kids?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s dad blew air out of his mouth and said, \u201cProbably not\u201d, then looking at all of us, \u201cSorry about that kids!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s okay Mister W, Missus W\u201d, Ricky said, \u201cWe kids know that everybody wants the Bomb. Heck, I want one too!\u201d Then he grinned. \u201cI think my sister wants one so she can drop it on me!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not!\u201d said Jill.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t joke about that stuff Ricky\u201d, said Danny. James, Molly and Paul all shook their heads like they thought Danny was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah RICKY!\u201d said Jill.<\/p>\n
\u201cMister Wheeler\u201d, said Margie, \u201cDo you know anything about that submarine that went five miles underwater in the Marianas Trench?\u201d<\/p>\n
That was interesting. I had just heard some older kids in the park say that there were REAL submarines, not just in Tom Swift books.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do\u201d, said Molly\u2019s dad, biting off a piece of pizza and talking while he chewed it, \u201cThey actually call it a bathyscaphe, but it looks sort of like a submarine.\u201d He looked at Ricky and said, \u201cThey actually built it in your Italy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricky grinned. \u201cMy \u2018Italia\u2019 doesn\u2019t have the Bomb\u2026 yet. But we have the Bath!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, they sold it to the U.S., so now we have it\u201d, Molly\u2019s dad said.<\/p>\n
There was a roar of voices from the basement. Ricky ran into the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement. Molly\u2019s dad followed him, and then Danny and finally Kenny and Paul too.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey guys, woah!\u201d said Margie holding up her hands. But they all kept going down in the basement, leaving just me, Molly, Jill, James and Margie at the table.<\/p>\n
I was thinking of following them, but I looked at Molly and her nose was wrinkled and her lips pushed together. The tip of her thumb went into her mouth. She looked at me and I could tell she was mad. I thought that since I was her best friend I should say something good that she liked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait for you to open your big present\u201d, I said, smiling at her. She took her thumb out of her mouth and nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe too\u201d, said Margie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose boys are all alike\u201d, said Jill, shaking her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, said Margie, \u201cNot ALL alike. Cooper and James are still here!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s because they want to get kissy face with Molly\u201d, Jill said to Margie. Then Jill looked at me and her nose wrinkled. She looked at me like I was somebody really different than she was, like we were on different teams. I thought of that boy at that nursery school place who wanted to fight a war with the girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do not!\u201d said Molly. Her voice was fierce. \u201cCoob and James are my best friends!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about me?\u201d asked Jill, turning to look at Molly and sounding worried, \u201cThey\u2019re just boys!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey guys\u201d, said Margie, holding her hands out over the table between the rest of us, \u201cIt\u2019s not a competition. You\u2019re all Molly\u2019s friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just boys!\u201d said Jill, fierce this time, folding her arms over her chest and pulling them against her and pushing her lips together.<\/p>\n
Margie looked up at the ceiling and blew air out of her mouth.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom came to the railing of the living room and looked down on us at the table. \u201cHow\u2019s it going down here? Where\u2019s the rest of the kids?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margie looked up at Molly\u2019s mom and rolled her eyes. \u201cThey went downstairs to see what they were cheering about. The big hockey game you know!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom blew air out of her mouth. \u201cWell\u201d, she said, \u201cThough I\u2019m certainly glad the U.S. and the Soviets are battling it out on a hockey rink rather than a battlefield, that\u2019s not the point of today\u2019s gathering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margie shook her head. \u201cI agree, Missus Wheeler.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDear. Please call me Joan. I hope I never stand on ceremony\u201d, said Molly\u2019s mom. Margie grinned and her head quickly turned to look at me. \u201cFormal bone?\u201d she said, raising her eyebrows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that dear?\u201d Molly\u2019s mom asked from above.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2026 sorry\u201d, Margie said nodding, \u201cJoan it is. I didn\u2019t want to presume.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course dear, you\u2019re a sweetheart\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said. I could continue to hear grown ups talking to each other behind her, though mostly women\u2019s voices.<\/p>\n
Then mom appeared next to her on the railing looking down at us. \u201cJoan, would you like me to go down in the basement and get folks back on the agenda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you would Jane\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, putting her hand on mom\u2019s shoulder, \u201cAs hostess I feel a bit constrained.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019M not, and I don\u2019t\u201d, mom said, with a kind of smile on her face but a fierce look in her eyes. Her voice was a little slower, more like singing, when she was drinking that red stuff.<\/p>\n
Mom came down the stairs to the dining room, stopped for a moment to bend down and look at Molly\u2019s face and say, \u201cHappy birthday dear!\u201d, then continued into the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement.<\/p>\n
Then Molly looked at me and her eyes looked kind of concerned, and I knew she was wondering, \u201cWhat was that all about?\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard mom\u2019s voice from below. \u201cHey folks. There\u2019s a birthday girl upstairs that wants to blow out the candles, have a piece of cake, and open all those presents in the living room!\u201d I heard a bunch of other voices saying things but sounding farther away.<\/p>\n
Mom came back up into the kitchen, looked at me, winked, and headed up the stairs back to the living room. One by one, everybody else came out of the basement stairs, and through the kitchen. The grown ups all said something to Molly as they walked by her and headed up the stairs to the living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey birthday girl!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFive year old, that\u2019s a big milestone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour cake looks delicious!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t wait to see what that big present of yours is!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Danny and Kenny came back, grabbed pieces of pizza and sat back at the table. Finally the last person was Ricky. He was singing\u2026<\/p>\n
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’ \nThough they’re disapprovin’ \nKeep them doggies movin’, rawhide \nDon’t try to understand ’em \nJust rope ’em, throw, and brand ’em \nSoon we’ll be livin’ high and wide<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Margie heard him singing and nodded her head. \u201cI\u2019m not much for Westerns\u201d, she said, \u201cBut that new show has a GREAT theme song!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know Ricky\u201d, said Jill, sounding fierce, \u201cThis is not YOUR birthday, it\u2019s Molly\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah I know that\u201d, Ricky said, \u201cI\u2019m just helping out. Somebody\u2019s got to make these grownups behave. They\u2019ll just keep drinking their special kool-aid, watch the hockey game, and talk talk talk all night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey call it \u2018punch\u2019 Ricky\u201d, Danny said, \u201cAnd it’s got \u2018booze\u2019 in it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, yeah\u201d, said Ricky, \u201c Of course it’s got \u2018booze\u2019 in it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Margie blew air out of her nose and said, \u201cRicky. Do you even know what \u2018booze\u2019 is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure\u201d, said Ricky, doing that grownup laugh through his nose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then explain what it is to all your friends here\u201d, said Margie, waving her hand across the table.<\/p>\n
Ricky wrinkled his nose and looked at Margie and Danny. \u201cThey\u2019re too young to understand\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t even know Ricky!\u201d said Jill.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah Ricky\u201d, said Danny, chuckling.<\/p>\n
Ricky made a strange face by twisting his mouth. \u201cHey\u201d, he said, \u201cI can\u2019t know EVERYTHING! Geez!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom and dad put vodka in the punch at their parties\u201d, Paul said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, okay\u201d, said Margie, waving her hands, \u201cPaul\u2019s got it actually. \u2018Booze\u2019 is liquor, which has alcohol in it. The punch has gin or whisky or most likely vodka in it.\u201d She pointed at Paul who smiled like he had won the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids aren\u2019t supposed to drink it\u201d, said Kenny.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d I asked. I had just been watching them all talk but I was really interested.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it will rot your brain\u201d, Danny said, looking at me and shaking his head and making his eyes look up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell not \u2018rot\u2019 exactly\u201d, said Margie, \u201cBut Danny\u2019s basically right. It\u2019s not good for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt must be good for grownups\u201d, said Jill, \u201cCuz they drink it all the time!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood one sis\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cI taught her everything she knows!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did not!\u201d said Jill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, said Margie, making a funny face and looking up at the ceiling, \u201cIt\u2019s not always good for them either. They have to watch how much they drink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey get drunk\u201d, said Kenny, \u201cThat\u2019s what mom says. That\u2019s why she and dad don\u2019t come to parties at Molly\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargie dear\u201d, said Molly\u2019s mom from the railing above us, \u201cHave the kids had enough to eat? Should we do the cake?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margie nodded. \u201cI definitely think we should do the cake, uh, Joan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill you help me in the kitchen dear\u201d, said Molly\u2019s mom, coming down the stairs from the living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure will\u201d, Margie said, and she and Molly\u2019s mom went into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Ricky walked over by where Molly was sitting on the end of the big table by the kitchen door and said, \u201cHey birthday girl. You\u2019re pretty quiet. What do you think that big present up in the living room is?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly raised her shoulders like she didn\u2019t know but didn\u2019t say anything. She hadn\u2019t done any talking in a long time. She looked like she was thinking about something that I couldn\u2019t figure out. Not like she was mad, but it was her birthday and she didn\u2019t seem to be liking it very much. She looked at me and wrinkled her nose. I really wondered what she was thinking but I couldn\u2019t figure it out. If no one else was around she\u2019d probably tell me, but not here with everybody.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom and Margie came out of the kitchen holding the birthday cake with five candles on top that were burning. Margie started singing the birthday song and then Molly\u2019s mom. Us kids around the table started singing too. Ricky jumped up, turned to look up at the grownups in the living room, and raising his hands in the air said, \u201cEveryone!\u201d and they started singing too and coming to the railing looking down at us at the table. Molly\u2019s dad came down the stairs from the living room and stood behind Molly next to Molly\u2019s mom and put his hand on Molly\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n
I looked at Molly and she was making a smile, but like it was hard for her to do. I didn\u2019t usually worry about her, because she was always just the same way, but now she seemed different. When she saw me looking at her, the smile on her face went away, but then she put it back again when she looked at other people. I didn\u2019t worry about other kids, because most of the time they told you if there was something bad. Grownups most of the time didn\u2019t tell you if there was something bad, unless it was something bad that you did. I don\u2019t think grownups told other grownups bad stuff either. And there was a lot of bad stuff I didn\u2019t tell mom and dad, and I figured other kids were like that with their moms and dads, and other grownups too. That\u2019s why I figured so many grownups seemed worried a lot, because nobody would tell them when things were bad.<\/p>\n
So since grownups probably figured out that people didn\u2019t tell them bad stuff, even when there was bad stuff, that\u2019s why they were always asking people, \u201cAre you okay?\u201d, and then maybe, \u201cAre you sure you\u2019re okay?\u201d Would Molly tell me if there was bad stuff when she got a chance when other people weren\u2019t around? Or did I maybe have to ask her, \u201cAre you okay?\u201d And even if she said she was okay, did I have to ask again, \u201cAre you sure you\u2019re okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
We finished singing happy birthday and now Molly was supposed to blow out the candles on her cake. That was always the next thing at birthdays.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake a wish young lady\u201d, her dad said, \u201cAnd then blow out the candles.\u201d Molly nodded, but didn\u2019t blow them out right away. She looked at me again, like she wasn\u2019t sure what to wish for. Or maybe what she wanted to wish for wasn\u2019t what you were supposed to wish for. She was still looking at me and still not blowing them out, like she wanted to know what I was thinking first.<\/p>\n
Her dad started to look worried, and looked up at all the grownups looking down from the living room and said, \u201cWell, it must be a really big wish!\u201d Then looking down at Molly he said, \u201cDon\u2019t tell us or it won\u2019t come true!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly was still looking at me but I still couldn\u2019t figure out what she was thinking. So I just did that thing where I made my eyes open more and I raised up my shoulders, like I didn\u2019t know what she should do. Her eyes got fierce and her lips pushed together and she finally blew out the candles really hard, the fire shooting away from her as it disappeared. She didn\u2019t look at me anymore. All the adults and Ricky were clapping. Danny started clapping too because Ricky was. Jill, Paul and Kenny started clapping. Even David, who looked around at everybody, tried to clap. But since Molly didn\u2019t clap, I didn\u2019t either, since we wanted to be the same. James also didn\u2019t clap.<\/p>\n
Margie started cutting up the cake and putting pieces on all of us kids\u2019 paper plates. Then on these tiny paper plates, the same pink color, giving them to Molly\u2019s mom and dad to take to the other grownups. Ricky came around the table to help give pieces of cake to the grownups. But Danny then stood up in front of him to be the older kid that helped first. Ricky wrinkled his nose but didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\n
Most people stopped talking while they ate their piece of cake. James started eating his but Molly didn\u2019t start eating hers, so I waited too.<\/p>\n
\u201cDear?\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom asked, \u201cAren\u2019t you going to eat your cake?\u201d Molly nodded, but pushed her lips together, and started eating her cake, so I did too.<\/p>\n
From up in the living room that Bill guy said, \u201cSo Molly, we\u2019ve got a pool going up here on what this big box has got in it. We\u2019re all dying for you to open it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell for GOD\u2019S sake Bill\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, \u201cKeep those guesses to yourselves until she does!\u201d And then said, \u201cAnd I\u2019ll be back up there at some point to make the case for Humphrey over Jack Kennedy. I think it\u2019s pretty compelling!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d, said Bill, \u201cI think Ricky captured Humphrey\u2019s problem!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly\u201d, said Bill, chuckling, \u201cAnd you\u2019ll have to get through Jane too, she\u2019s a big fan of our boy Jack!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, okay\u201d, said Molly\u2019s mom, waving her hands in the air, \u201cJane and I will have it out a little later, but we\u2019re getting way off agenda here. This is our daughter\u2019s fifth birthday party!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked down at Molly who was chewing on a big bite of cake. \u201cDear, are you ready to open your presents?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly nodded, swallowed, and grabbed the small rest of her piece of cake and pushed it into her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cDear, remember to use your\u2026\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, then waving her hand in front of her said, \u201cNevermind. Go up and open your presents.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of us kids followed Molly and went up the stairs into the living room to join the grownups around the couch in the middle of the room with the big present behind it, and all the other smaller presents, including mine, on top of it. I stood next to Molly on one side and James was on the other side. I could tell Jill wanted to stand next to her but James and I had gotten their first. Molly\u2019s mom and dad came up the stairs with Margie behind them.<\/p>\n
One of the grownups said, \u201cNow Molly, just because the smaller presents are on top of the big one, doesn\u2019t mean you have to open them first.\u201d Some of the other grownups laughed. Ricky laughed too, pretending like he was a grownup.<\/p>\n
Molly looked at me and she smiled. She walked over and took the present I had gotten for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s it from?\u201d Ricky and Margie asked at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Ricky\u201d, Margie said, \u201cI got this. Molly\u2019s mom asked me to take notes!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell okay\u201d, said Ricky, making a pretend sad face.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless you want to take over for me\u201d, Margie said, holding out the pencil and paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot me\u201d, Ricky said, \u201cI\u2019m just a kid!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSince when!\u201d, said Margie.<\/p>\n
Ricky smiled. \u201cYa got me!\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
Jill was standing right behind Molly and asked her, \u201cWhat do you think it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a space helmet from Coob\u201d, Molly said, and then started ripping the wrapping paper off the space helmet box.<\/p>\n
Jill looked at me. \u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to tell her! It\u2019s supposed to be a surprise!\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
I shook my head. \u201cI didn\u2019t tell her. She just figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Molly\u201d, Bill said, \u201cDo you know what all your presents are before you open them? That parapsychology guy at Duke will want to study you!\u201d Some of the grownups laughed.<\/p>\n
Molly shook her head. \u201cI only know Coob\u2019s presents\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll want to study both of you then!\u201d, said Bill. More grownups laughed. Ricky did too, but I could tell he didn\u2019t know what he was laughing about. He was just still pretending he was one of the grownups, and they were laughing.<\/p>\n
So Molly opened all her smaller presents, and Margie wrote down what they were and who gave them to her. There was only the giant box left in the middle of the room behind the couch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWay to gin up the excitement Molly!\u201d, one of the grownups said, and others laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill no guess what it is?\u201d, asked Rachel, \u201cI mean you know it\u2019s bigger than a breadbox.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly looked at her, wrinkled her nose, and asked, \u201cA what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know\u201d, said Rachel, \u201cOr maybe you don\u2019t. It\u2019s a thing some people have on their kitchen counter to keep bread in. Not sure why actually, since bread\u2019s usually in a sealed bag. I guess some people want bread right there on the counter instead of on a shelf, but don\u2019t want to see it.\u201d Kids and some grownups looked at her like they didn\u2019t know why she was saying all that.<\/p>\n
She waved her hands in front of her face. \u201cI\u2019ll stop talking now! Too much of Ricky\u2019s \u2018adult kool-aid\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey lady\u201d, said Ricky, \u201cI didn\u2019t make the stuff. That was mister and missus W. I just called it \u2018kool-aid\u2019 because it looks like the popular kid\u2019s drink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably gots a lot of vodka in it\u201d, said Paul, \u201cThat\u2019s what my mom and dad put in theirs!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u201d, said Danny, \u201cMy mom always uses vodka because she says you can\u2019t taste it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I tell you that?\u201d asked Danny\u2019s mom who was talking to my mom over in the corner of the room. Danny nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwice\u201d, he said. Some of the adults laughed. I could tell Danny liked that he could make the adults laugh like Ricky could.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it easier to get drunk\u201d, said Kenny.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know folks\u201d, Molly\u2019s mom said, moving in between everyone talking and raising up her hands, \u201cThis is a very interesting discussion and would make a great basis for a study around the generational transmission of attitudes on alcohol consumption, but one young woman I\u2019m sure wants to finish opening her presents!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom!\u201d, said Molly fiercely, wrinkling her nose. Ricky and some of the adults laughed, and then Danny started laughing too.<\/p>\n
\u201cEVERYONE wants Molly to finish!\u201d, said Bill, and just about everybody, even most of the kids laughed. Molly went up to the giant present and started to tear the wrapping paper off of it. The box had a picture of a bicycle on it.<\/p>\n
Just about everybody made some kind of sound or said a word like \u201cwow\u201d or \u201cahh\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHappy birthday young lady\u201d, said Molly\u2019s dad. Molly\u2019s mom looked at her, nodded and smiled. Molly just stared at the big box.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t had a chance to put it together yet\u201d, said Molly\u2019s dad, \u201cBut I promise to have it ready to ride by the end of the day tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly put her hands on the box and moved them along the top of it. She turned her head to look at me and looked really worried.<\/p>\n
I was worried too. I saw all the bigger kids riding their bicycles. They could go so much faster than us smaller kids on our tricycles. Molly would now be like a bigger kid and we wouldn\u2019t be able to ride together anymore, or maybe she wouldn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n
The grownups started talking to each other again and not us kids anymore. Most of the kids went back down the stairs with Margie to the table to eat more cake. Molly pulled her mom\u2019s arm and told her she needed to go to the bathroom.<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s mom looked down on her and said, \u201cYou don\u2019t need to tell me dear, you can just go up to the bathroom if you need to go!\u201d Molly nodded, looked at me, and then ran to the stairs by the front door and then ran up them. She liked to run up and down stairs just like I did.<\/p>\n
I knew from the way she looked at me that she wanted to tell me something when no one else was around. So I waited until no one was looking at me and I walked in a sneaking way toward the stairs and then ran up them. I ran down to the bathroom door which was at the end of the hall across from the five stairs up to the door to Molly\u2019s bedroom in the top part of the house. The bathroom door was closed and I could hear her in there.<\/p>\n
Finally she opened the door and moved her hand like grownups did when they wanted you to go over to them. So I came into the bathroom with her and she closed the door. It felt strange to be in there with her, another kid. Usually kids went to the bathroom by themselves, or maybe with their mom or dad if they were really little like David.<\/p>\n
She looked at me, not smiling, and said, \u201cI\u2019m older than you again, and if I ride a bicycle we\u2019re going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to get your mom and dad to get you one too\u201d, she said, \u201cSo we can do the same things again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know\u201d, I said, nodding. She nodded too. But then I remembered that she\u2019d looked worried even before she opened her presents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that what you were worried about when they sang happy birthday?\u201d, I asked.<\/p>\n
She looked at me and shook her head. She wrinkled her nose and even put the end of her thumb in her mouth and her eyes looked at other things in the room but not me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise I won\u2019t tell anybody!\u201d, I said. Still looking worried, she finally looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really really promise?\u201d, she asked.<\/p>\n
I nodded my head up and down really hard and said, \u201cI do!\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down at the floor. \u201cMom doesn\u2019t like dad anymore!\u201d, she said, her eyes coming back up to look at mine, looking very worried, her thumb going back in her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she tell you?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
She shook her head. \u201cI just know\u201d, she said. I nodded. Molly just knew a lot of things.<\/p>\n
I thought about my mom and dad and if they liked each other. Sometimes mom got mad at dad and would yell at him. Sometimes dad got mad at mom but he wouldn\u2019t say anything and pretend he wasn\u2019t mad, even though he was. But other times they were nice to each other and a few times they were even kissy face. Older kids would say that if a man and a woman liked each other, they\u2019d get kissy face, then they\u2019d get married. There was that song kids sang about two people who got kissy face. They\u2019d sing the two names then\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2026sitting in a tree \nK-I-S-S-I-N-G \nFirst comes love \nThen comes marriage \nThen comes baby in a baby carriage<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Sometimes they\u2019d use kids\u2019 names in that song to tease them, so they could laugh about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes your dad like your mom?\u201d, I asked. Maybe just one of them had to like the other one, but not both.<\/p>\n
She wrinkled her nose and lifted her shoulders. \u201cI don\u2019t know. He used to\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo they get kissy face?\u201d, I asked.<\/p>\n
Her nose still wrinkled, she pushed her lips together. \u201cThey used to\u201d, she said, \u201cAnd they\u2019d close the door to their bedroom and do secret stuff at night, but then open it back up when they were done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom and dad did stuff like that too, but I\u2019d never thought about what they were doing. Molly was better at figuring things out, probably because she was older, or maybe because she was a girl, or maybe just because she was Molly.<\/p>\n
She looked down and said, \u201cI\u2019ll always like you Coob. Will you always like me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded, but then figured I should say it to make it extra. \u201cI always will\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
She nodded and smiled but still didn\u2019t look at me. \u201cI thought so\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
Then she started to cry. She was quiet but still crying. I could remember her crying before, but I couldn\u2019t remember when. I remembered crying when that \u201chorse fly\u201d thing landed on my hand and bit me. It hurt so much I got scared that something really bad was going to happen to me and I\u2019d never get better. Mom knocked it off my hand with hers and it stopped hurting, but I was still scared so I still cried. She patted her hand on my shoulder and said it was a pretty scary thing but it was going to be okay. I felt better and stopped crying. I wondered if I should say that to Molly.<\/p>\n
She just looked down and cried quietly and I felt so sad like I wanted to cry too, so instead I said it and hoped it would work. \u201cI guess that\u2019s pretty scary\u201d I said, \u201cBut it\u2019ll be okay I guess.\u201d I patted her on the shoulder. Her shoulder felt warm, and that felt really good.<\/p>\n
She nodded, still looking down, and rubbed her hands in her eyes. I remembered that mom gave me a hug after that, but I figured I better not give Molly a hug because that was what people did when they got kissy face. If Molly and I got kissy face that might wreck everything.<\/p>\n
I thought about the party downstairs. Would some grownup come up looking for us and find both of us in the bathroom and think we were doing something really bad?<\/p>\n
Molly finally looked at me and said, \u201cWe better go back down stairs before mom or dad comes up to find us, or somebody else has to go to the bathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u201d, I said nodding, \u201cWe better\u201d.<\/p>\n
She rubbed her eyes on the sleeves of her dress and stood up. \u201cYou go first\u201d, she said, \u201cThen i\u2019ll wait then go so they don\u2019t know we went to the bathroom together.\u201d I nodded.<\/p>\n
As I opened the door to go out she said, \u201cRemember, you can\u2019t tell anyone, not even your mom and dad!\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded again and said, \u201cI remember\u201d, and I went out in the hall to the stairs and then down the stairs to the living room where all the grownups were still talking. I saw mom talking to someone and she saw me, and it looked like she did some thinking about me for a second but then went back to talking to that other grownup.<\/p>\n
I walked through all the grownups talking and then back down the other stairs to where the other kids were around the table talking. Margie was in the kitchen doing stuff. Ricky saw me and looked interested.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were gone a while\u201d, he said, sort of like he wanted me to tell him why, even though he didn\u2019t ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to go to the bathroom\u201d, I said. He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Molly?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had to go to the bathroom too\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
He kind of looked like he had figured out that something else happened, but then decided not to say anything. \u201cGirls take longer than boys\u201d he said, nodding his head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We were getting ready to go to Molly\u2019s birthday party. She was now five but I was still four. Mom said I was \u201cfour and five sixths\u201d, but that was still four. I watched her put that red stuff on her lips and then push them together twice. I thought it made her look kind […]<\/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":[4],"tags":[13,1773,515,1775],"class_list":["post-7292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","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
![](\"https:\/\/images.dailykos.com\/images\/1029052\/large\/Redpunchwithfruitslices.jpeg?1642798764\")
We were getting ready to go to Molly\u2019s birthday party. She was now five but I was still four. Mom said I was \u201cfour and five sixths\u201d, but that was still four. I watched her put that red stuff on her lips and then push them together twice. I thought it made her look kind of silly like a clown. She put the shiny gold thing that had the red stuff inside it back in her \u201cpurse\u201d. Grownup men didn\u2019t put that red stuff on THEIR lips, and they didn\u2019t have \u201cpurses\u201d, they just put stuff in their pockets.<\/p>\n