Late this afternoon, Tony and I went to the big H-E-B to buy groceries for us and dog food for our rescued dogs. And when I was leaving the store with our groceries, I was pushing the cart and was oblivious to the world, because I was visualizing the end of my mini-mystery. "Nancy. Hey Nancy! Over here." I heard Tony half-holler. So I paused, on the sidewalk and looked out towards the parking lot.
First, I saw our good friend, Jay Pennington, walking across the parking lot towards me, then Tony waving at me and then Jay's sweet wife, Sarah, who was standing, by their SUV, with Emma, their beautiful, three-year-old German Shepherd. And after apologizing to everyone for being in my "writing zone" we had a very fun visit with them. Then we came back home.
Last night, I was up until nearly 2:00, because I had figured out the rest of the plot for my mini-mystery and I was so excited about it, I could not fall to sleep, because I kept coming up with more lines, etc.
It's Seedless To Say: Part II Guilty!
The following morning, while I was walking, in the big room and kitchen with Leslie Sansone, the phone rang—it was Jon. "Good morning, Nancy. How are you?"
"I'm fine, but I want to let you know that I am not breathing hard because of you—I'm in the middle of walking four miles with Leslie Sansone." Jon chuckled.
"What's so funny?" I heard Sandy ask, in the background.
"I'll tell you later," Jon said. "I'm back, Nancy."
"Okay. Just a second. Let me pause my walking video. Okay, what's going on?"
"Are you and Tony coming to Kerrville today?"
"No, not today, Jon. Because Tony is fixin' to leave to go meet our good friends, Jay & Sarah, in Bandera, because they are going to one of those Renaissance festivals. Wow! I just realized that you & Sandy have the same first initials as Jay & Sarah. J & S. How cool is that?" Jon chuckled, again.
"What?" Sandy asked, in the background.
"I'll tell you in a minute, Sandy," Jon stated. "Are y'all coming to Kerrville tomorrow?"
"Yes. We have to, because we need to pick up a refill of Roy's arthritis medicine, at Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic and then run a few other errands."
"Good. We'll come see us tomorrow, because Sandy has found four more Carl Hiaasen books for you to read."
"That's great. We'll see y'all tomorrow and please tell Sandy that I said hello."
After Tony left, I finished my sweaty workout with Leslie and then I rewarded myself by eating one of Carol's delicious, homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. Then I spent ten minutes feeling guilty about it, so I ate one more to calm my nerves.
While I was taking a shower I started feeling guilty about Jean and me getting sideways with each other, over a petty, pretty, pink pot-holder that we had made. And I worried about it hurting our life-long friendship. Then I worried about why I worry so much.
So, to stop me from doing anymore worrying, I grabbed my iPod, found the song "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin and then I cranked up the volume, on my new, awesome Harman/ Kardon Wi-Fi speaker and let it blast me into a much better mood.
After that song had finished playing, Louis Armstrong started singing one of my all-time favorite songs, What A Wonderful World—I teared up like I always do when I hear him sing that beautiful song and it inspired me so much—I pulled off my pink boots and slipped on my "almost-all-leather" pair of moccasins, that still have the dried on glue, on the bottom of the soles, that Aaron had made out of pity for me, because the directions on how to make them didn't make any sense to me.
Then let's just say, "I went outside and did some serious Earthing." To free my soul and make things right with the Universe. And that night I slept like a baby, except I didn't cry or drool and Tony will vouch for that.
When I woke up the next morning life was great, once again. I was so happy that I cooked Tony a delicious breakfast of bacon and Belgian Waffles and I could tell that it puzzled him, because I rarely do that anymore. So sadly he spent most of his morning doing his chores and worrying about why I was being so nice to him. And then that made me worry about why he was thinking that.
After we ate lunch—leftover waffles and a couple of strips of cold bacon, we decided to take off for Kerrville to do our errands. And before we walked out the front door, I quickly slipped a small package, inside my red, insulated H-E-B shopping bag.
Our first stop and most important stop, was at Hoegemeyer's, to pick up Roy's refill of pain pills. Then we went down, Sidney Baker Street aka Highway 16, to Wolfmueller's Books.
Jon greeted us from behind the checkout counter, and then said, "Perfect timing! Sandy and Jean just got back from eating a late lunch together. They're in the back office putting away their purses."
"Good," I said. "Because Jon, I'm scared that I hurt Jean's feelings the other night and made her mad at me."
"Why?" he asked.
"After we quote settled our pot-holder dispute she kept giving me this weird look with her left eye. And I feel terrible about it." Jon burst out laughing.
"No. No. No, Nancy," Jon said, in a hushed tone. "You've got it all wrong. Jean isn't mad at you. She has pinkeye and she is almost over it." Then all of us burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Sandy asked, as she and Jean walked up and joined us. I quickly glanced over at Jean and her left eye still looked pretty weird, but not as weird as it had the other night.
"Nancy's been worried that Jean is mad at her over that stupid pot-holder they made, because she said Jean kept giving her creepy looks with her left eye." Jean shook her head sideways. Then she walked up to me and gave me a great, big bear hug which I wasn't comfortable with, because I was afraid that now I would catch pinkeye from her.
"Oh Nancy," Jean said. "I felt bad about it too, so I have a small, peace-offering to give to you." Then she handed me a sealed envelope. "I am giving you a piece of paper signed by me and witnessed by Sandy & Jon—stating that you have full ownership of that pretty, pink pot-holder and you can do whatever you want to do with it. It's yours. I don't want it." So I teared up. Then Jean hugged me against my will, again. And I'm thinking, "Great, now for sure I know that I am going to get pinkeye.
When Jean finally let me out of her tight grasp, I accidentally stepped back, on Tony's big toe, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry Tony. I didn't know that you were standing there behind me." Then I turned and looked at Jean, and said, "Thank you Jean, for giving me full ownership of the pot-holder/(and really thinking pinkeye). You're too sweet (when I'm actually thinking—if I get pinkeye from you I am sending you the bill).
"Can I go use your restroom?" Tony asked. "I think Nancy broke my big toe."
"Sure Tony. Go ahead," Sandy said. As Tony limped away, Sandy said, "Well, I am so glad that y'all's ridiculous pot-holder war is finally over. And not to hurt y'all's feelings or anything, but I have to admit that I have never liked those kind of pot-holders."
"It's true," Jon added. "She really hates them. A long time ago, when our boys were kids and made those things for Sandy she secretly threw them out and then she lied and told our kids that I had accidentally burned them up when I was barbecuing."
"That's sad Jon," I teased.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's broken," Tony stated, as he limped back to join us."It's already black and blue."
"Great!" I joked. "Let's sue Sandy & Jon!"
"It'll never "stand up" in court," Jean quipped.
After we had all quit laughing, I said, "We've got to get back home, but before we go I have a little peace-offering that I want to give to Jean. I'll be right back." Then I left the bookstore to go get my small gift for Jean.
"Oh Nancy," Jean said, as I re-entered the store, "You shouldn't have." Then I handed it to her, so she could open it.
When Jean started unwrapping my little gift, you could have heard a pin drop, inside Wolfmueller's Books store. In fact, all of their customers had gathered, up front, to see my gift to Jean.
"It's not much," I said, trying to sound humble. But little did I know, until she opened the box, that it really wasn't anything to brag about."
"Oh thank you, Nancy," Jean said, trying to sound like she meant it, as she stared into the box. "I love it."
"What is it?" Sandy asked, as the crowd of spectators and us leaned-in to get a glimpse of it.
"I'm not sure," Jean confessed. "It's pretty."
"It's Jean's half of our pink pot-holder," I explained. "Yesterday, while Tony was attending the Renaissance festival, with Sarah and Jay, I exhumed my time-capsule and cut our pot-holder in halves."
Then Jean held the box up for all to see and I about fainted when I saw it, because her half of our pink pot-holder had completely unraveled itself, because the loopers were so tight and the box was now full of pink and white, loopers that were useless, because I had cut them in half.
After the crowd of customers had glared at me and walked away, Jean said, "Well, it's the thought that counts, Nancy." Then we all started laughing about it.
When we were fixin' to adios our good friends, Jean said, "Wait a minute, y'all. I almost forgot my other peace offering for Nancy. I'll be right back." Then she took off for the office.
Seconds later Jean returned with something in a sack. "Nancy, I know how much you love all animals and when I saw this for sale, at Wild Birds Unlimited, it had your name written all over it, because I had called you squirrely. Here."
When Jean pulled it out of the brown sack I looked at it and gasped. "Oh Jean, I love it," I lied.
"Do you really?" Jean asked.
"Yes, I do," and I am pretty sure that she believed me. "Thank you, Jean. We've really got to go."
When Tony backed out of the parking space, in front of Bad Girlz of Texas, I said, "Tony what is that thing that Jean gave me?"
"It's a squirrel shaped seed-cylinder, Nance. For the birds to eat. It's great and I know where I am going to hang it."
"No Tony," I replied, flatly. "It's my squirrel seed-cylinder and it's cute, but I can't bear to watch it day after day losing a part of an eye, or a nose, it's tail or it's paws."
"So what are you going to do with it?" he asked, with disappointment in his voice.
"I'm going to put it in another time-capsule for you to bury. We need to go to Home Town Crafts right now, so I can buy a big shadow-box and then we'll stop by Gibson's so I can buy a metal mailbox."
"What are you going to do with a metal mailbox?"
"I'm going to put Peanut the Squirrel inside it and then hermetically seal it, before you get to bury it. Dang-it!"
"What?" Tony asked.
"I forgot to buy the Carl Hiaasen books!"
The End
3 comments:
Hey Nancy, could you tell Ruthie that i have been watching Laugh In reruns on a network called Decades Tv, and I have been getting a kick out of watching her and the rest of the cast. Oh yea, ask her what it was like to work with Johnny Carson and Jack Benny. :) Thanks a ton Susie G from Fort Worth.
Hi Susie! Ruthie and Kent were here visiting all of us on Tuesday and Wednesday. The next time we see her I will ask her about Carson and Benny. When they were here I was telling them about watching her on the Dean Martin Roasts and she and Kent told us some hilarious stories about those roasts.
If you get the chance and you have Decades Tv on your cable, check out the old Laugh In reruns. They are awesome and this weekend they are going to have Mary Tyler Moore marathon with her old shows and movies. Susie G from Fort Worth
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