customers in the restaurant were looking beyond the swinging double doors curiously. Derrick and I pushed through the doors and followed the ruckus. Eliot and my mom were a few paces behind.
The voices were loud – and familiar.
“What the hell are you doing? Is this some type of whorehouse?” My grandfather was bellowing from the top of the stairs.
I raced up the stairs to see what kind of situation had suddenly evolved. I was shocked to find my aunt Sally cowering on the floor. She was shirtless – and she was trying to cover herself.
“What’s going on?”
“I was painting,” Sally gasped; reaching for the tarp she had placed on the floor to protect it from the paint.
“Naked! She was painting naked,” my grandfather was beside himself with disbelief.
“I didn’t want to ruin my clothes,” Sally said lamely.
I felt a warm body move in behind me and turned to see Eliot taking in the scene with a small smile.
“Like I said, you’re never boring.”
Nine
I left my mom and grandfather to deal with the naked painting incident. This is why you don’t live in a place where you have no privacy – or where family can just wander in unannounced.
“Why didn’t you lock the door?” I heard my mom ask disgustedly. She’s always practical.
“I didn’t think I needed to,” Sally answered.
“You know he needs his bathroom time after breakfast,” my mom countered.
“I forgot.”
Derrick, Eliot and I descended the stairs and exited the restaurant through the back door. When we got outside, Derrick and I burst out laughing. Eliot watched us curiously.
“I take it this doesn’t’ surprise you,” he said.
“It’s not even the weirdest thing Sally has done all week,” Derrick answered truthfully.
Eliot and I followed Derrick to Sally’s house – which was only a few blocks away. When we pulled up to the house, Eliot seemed surprised. “Why would she move out of this house and into a small apartment?”
Sally’s house was beautiful. It was an older, yellow farm house that she had spent a lot of time fixing up and decorating.
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s scared of Steve.”
“Why would she be scared of him?” Eliot looked surprised.
Describing Steve is difficult. He’s one of those guys that comes across as amiable, but after talking to him for a few minutes you realize that he’s got a lot of old world attitudes. He believes women should cook, clean and shut the hell up. Most women believe that he should just shut the hell up.
“Wouldn’t she have known that he was like that before she married him?” Eliot seemed confused.
“She did, but I think she thought she could change him,” I offered lamely.
“Well, that’s pretty stupid. You can’t change someone. They are who they are. You either accept that, or you move on.”
“Is that a warning for me?” I asked him curiously.
“No, it was just a reminder to me,” he teased.
We got out of the car and joined Derrick on the front lawn. No one else had arrived yet.
“We’re fifteen minutes early,” Derrick said. “Do you think we should just go inside and start getting stuff?”
“I don’t know, “ I shrugged. “Is Steve here?”
Derrick nodded his head towards the pickup truck in the driveway. “His truck is here.”
We opted to wait until someone with at least a semblance of authority arrived. Thankfully, Marnie and my mom were only a few minutes behind us.
“What are you waiting for?” Marnie chastised us. “Don’t just stand there. Start moving stuff.”
“We weren’t sure if we were allowed to go in the house,” Derrick argued.
Marnie waved Derrick’s protests off disinterestedly. “Come on.”
We started following my mom and Marnie up the porch steps when the side door swung open. Steve was standing in the door with one of his brothers – and they didn’t look happy to see us.
“What are you doing here?”
“We’re here to get Sally’s stuff,” Marnie challenged him.
“Well,
The voices were loud – and familiar.
“What the hell are you doing? Is this some type of whorehouse?” My grandfather was bellowing from the top of the stairs.
I raced up the stairs to see what kind of situation had suddenly evolved. I was shocked to find my aunt Sally cowering on the floor. She was shirtless – and she was trying to cover herself.
“What’s going on?”
“I was painting,” Sally gasped; reaching for the tarp she had placed on the floor to protect it from the paint.
“Naked! She was painting naked,” my grandfather was beside himself with disbelief.
“I didn’t want to ruin my clothes,” Sally said lamely.
I felt a warm body move in behind me and turned to see Eliot taking in the scene with a small smile.
“Like I said, you’re never boring.”
Nine
I left my mom and grandfather to deal with the naked painting incident. This is why you don’t live in a place where you have no privacy – or where family can just wander in unannounced.
“Why didn’t you lock the door?” I heard my mom ask disgustedly. She’s always practical.
“I didn’t think I needed to,” Sally answered.
“You know he needs his bathroom time after breakfast,” my mom countered.
“I forgot.”
Derrick, Eliot and I descended the stairs and exited the restaurant through the back door. When we got outside, Derrick and I burst out laughing. Eliot watched us curiously.
“I take it this doesn’t’ surprise you,” he said.
“It’s not even the weirdest thing Sally has done all week,” Derrick answered truthfully.
Eliot and I followed Derrick to Sally’s house – which was only a few blocks away. When we pulled up to the house, Eliot seemed surprised. “Why would she move out of this house and into a small apartment?”
Sally’s house was beautiful. It was an older, yellow farm house that she had spent a lot of time fixing up and decorating.
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s scared of Steve.”
“Why would she be scared of him?” Eliot looked surprised.
Describing Steve is difficult. He’s one of those guys that comes across as amiable, but after talking to him for a few minutes you realize that he’s got a lot of old world attitudes. He believes women should cook, clean and shut the hell up. Most women believe that he should just shut the hell up.
“Wouldn’t she have known that he was like that before she married him?” Eliot seemed confused.
“She did, but I think she thought she could change him,” I offered lamely.
“Well, that’s pretty stupid. You can’t change someone. They are who they are. You either accept that, or you move on.”
“Is that a warning for me?” I asked him curiously.
“No, it was just a reminder to me,” he teased.
We got out of the car and joined Derrick on the front lawn. No one else had arrived yet.
“We’re fifteen minutes early,” Derrick said. “Do you think we should just go inside and start getting stuff?”
“I don’t know, “ I shrugged. “Is Steve here?”
Derrick nodded his head towards the pickup truck in the driveway. “His truck is here.”
We opted to wait until someone with at least a semblance of authority arrived. Thankfully, Marnie and my mom were only a few minutes behind us.
“What are you waiting for?” Marnie chastised us. “Don’t just stand there. Start moving stuff.”
“We weren’t sure if we were allowed to go in the house,” Derrick argued.
Marnie waved Derrick’s protests off disinterestedly. “Come on.”
We started following my mom and Marnie up the porch steps when the side door swung open. Steve was standing in the door with one of his brothers – and they didn’t look happy to see us.
“What are you doing here?”
“We’re here to get Sally’s stuff,” Marnie challenged him.
“Well,
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