MOMMY'S OFFICE

From the collection A Bit of Fantasy

Copyright March 2005

[Part 3]

Mommy tried to be a good sport, but every time she moved a load of things in her car from the apartment to the “fixer-upper,” more things got lost.  In the fall, when it was time for me to go to school in the mornings, my homework papers would be lost in a sea of botany papers Daddy had to grade and medieval literature papers Mommy had to grade.  One morning I wore Mommy’s apple design sweater to school—it almost touched the ground and made a “stylish wrap-coat” on me, Mommy said—to keep me warm in the fall wind, because no one could find the box with my sweaters in it. 

My bed got taller like in the story of the “Princess and the Pea,” because we stacked up the mattresses from the apartment on the floor of my room at the farm.  It was nice to have my own castle of seed-pea crates, too, but I missed my desk which had been stored somewhere.  Lancelot liked climbing the castle walls just beside Laundry Mountain.  I couldn’t find Guinivere.  I had put her in the box with my sweaters.  Sometimes Mommy would serve us a little picnic lunch on crates outside with a view of the farm.  We left a chair for Lancelot and one for Guinivere—for when we find her. 

Almost every night Mommy would cry about something during supper.  She couldn’t find her crêpes recipe, or Grandma had kept her too long arranging chrysanthemums, or it was her turn to wash and press all the church choir robes, or one of her students had wondered how a botany paper got into his medieval homework portfolio.  

        One night at supper I tried crying with her to help her out, but that just made Mommy and Daddy think I was feverish or having an asthma attack, so they forgot dessert and called Aunt Louise to come over and check my temperature and listen to me with her stethoscope.  Aunt Louise said I was fine, but to give Lancelot a bath.  Then Mommy cried because she didn’t have time to give Lancelot a bath.

Yesterday, Daddy had a surprise for us.  We drove to campus to see an art exhibit, then Daddy took us by the apartment.  It was still empty, and he said Mommy’s desk and school files could be moved back there, along with his workout equipment, the extra mattresses, and my desk.  Mommy didn’t cry at supper last night, and this morning we’re going swimming.  Daddy is acting silly and wearing his swim fins at the breakfast table.

Whew! That was a close call.  I know I’ll be able to concentrate on my work so much better, now that I’ll have my office again.