Etha and May

Etha and May are as different as night is to day. If we are to be particular, we would say one wore red and the other, shades of mild yellow. Both are strong willed, set in their ways, motherly Black women. Etha lives upstairs in the quaint three story house in the Brookdale neighborhood of East 55th street of Brooklyn, NY. May occupied the apartment somewhere between the ground floor and the middle of the house.

The entire neighborhood knew these two women. Great friends to each other, but with a constant battle of wit and will between them.

May

Mild mannered, kind, graceful, willful and stubborn, May is a soft-spoken angelic wisp of a woman. Although she has no biological children of her own, she has been a mother to countless numbers of little ones who are drawn to her like flies to honey. Most are grown now and lament the fact that May's memory is not what it used to be, and at any given time she may forget who we are.

Etha

Where May is mild mannered, Etha is a raging volcano, a bull in a China shop, a twirling vortex which never stops or slows down for anyone. She spews lava everywhere. Watch out or you will certainly get burned. Etha has three children, a girl and two boys...she scares the holy ghost spirit into them whenever she speaks...she may have scarred them for life with her everlasting search for perfection in everything. But these particular make of children did not need therapy.

The house had to be eternally clean, perfect this, that and everything which existed.

She was kind of a bully, if you ask me - just needing to have her own way.

ONLY PROBLEM WAS...They were one and the same person.

Bertrand met and married the fiery tempered Etha, she was exciting, daring, wild...and full of fun. But somewhere between the talk of children and Etha's mind...May came along.

She lived in the apartment below. What May craved more than anything - was solitude. Except for pets and the neighborhood children. She simply adored them...and they constantly sought her company and kindness...May never knew that the word NO, had been long invented.

Bertrand had learned to give May a wide Berth, until Etha awoke and marched back upstairs.

She would then head to the living room sofa, where the three children sat silently. Never speaking. Never moving.

Bertrand watched...his heart aching for the woman he had met many years ago. How she had changed...how he worried that one day she might become someone he did not recognize. Someone dangerous.

.......

"I'm so sorry". The fertility doctor had said for the last time, they had tried so many times already - with no success. "But, I see no reason why you can't have children naturally...I understand your concern that both of your biological clocks are ticking...but with modern advances in medicine, women are having children yeas after was first predicted".

Bertrand had walked out of the clinic, meeting May for the first time. Etha had grown quiet and distant. May moved in downstairs.

........

The therapist said that the 'children' were who kept Etha from tipping over the edge.

He remembers when she had gone shopping and returned home with the three life-sized dolls.

Somewhere in her mind they were real, she tended them, yelled at them, hugged them and cried with them. It appears that when she reconciles the truth with reality, was when May materialized. The duality of her parallel self sent her into a silent reclusive contemplation.

The neighbors all knew, for upstairs, Etha was a holy terror who everyone avoided.

But downstairs...They loved May almost with adoration...her kindness known to all.

This went on for years. The were now both in their mid to late forties...life went on as it always does.

.......

Until one day, after not feeling well, and thinking she had started a feared transition into menopause - still childless...Etha visited her doctor. After running some tests - He asked her to give Bertrand a call...Dr. Ross feared what her reaction would be to the news he had to relate to them.

"You won't believe what is happening". Both he and the nurse were looking like the cat that swallowed the canary...grinning and trying to mask it.

"You're pregnant, Etha. Such wonderful news needed both of you present to absorb it".

Bertrand jumped from his chair...shock and worry playing a symphony on his face. His first thought was for the well being of his wife. Could she manage such a drastic shock to her psyche. He looked at her for a positive reaction.

Etha sat stunned and silent. May emerged and calmed her down. They were both very happy.

Bertrand almost wept with relief...Maybe, just maybe - life could return to normal going forward.

The dolls were moved downstairs...here, they helped May to entertain the beloved neighborhood kids, some growing, some grown, but still dropped by to visit the twin babies...Alyssa and Maya.

Bertrand is happy. May is still a regular visitor...especially when Etha feels a bit lost and needs some quiet time. Then they both head downstairs...

They now had almost double the number of children to attend to.

He now keeps a very close eye on their progress.