NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? part seven

NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? Part seven

Max

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He was lost as to what he could do. He’d only seen a girl cry in the orphanage. Even then, he was only a little child. Time after time, year after year, he watched as new children entered the home. Each time a frightened child walked through the doors, the terrified crying could be heard echoing throughout the rooms. He also remembered watching how the frightened children were calmed and comforted.

Keeping those thoughts in mind, he followed his instincts. He gently, put his arm around Mary Ellen’s shoulders, pulled her head on to his shoulder and allowed her to grieve.

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He comforted Mary Ellen the only way he knew how: by saying in a soft tone of voice, “I can’t pretend ta know how ya feel, Mel. I never lost a pet. It’s gotta be real tough. Here.”

Tommy handed her his handkerchief.

“Cry. Cry ‘til ya can’t cry no more. That’s what they tell ya in the home. That’s what I did when my mom and dad died. It’s okay ta cry. Really. It’s okay.”

He tried controlling his voice so Mary Ellen wouldn’t detect his own sadness.

For the longest time, Tommy and Mary Ellen sat beneath the mighty tree with her head on his shoulder and his arm holding her as she cried. His thoughts drifted back to the time when he found Max.

Max, only a puppy, managed to get his head stuck in a hole in a half-rotten wooden fence. Trying to free himself, he scratched the fence until his paws bled. Tommy heard a sad and frightened yelping and ran down the alley where he found the thin and ragged pup, whose little body shook with fright.

Tommy quickly broke the thin slats with one kick and freed the dog. Without so much as a second thought, he carried the injured pup home where he stayed up all night, watching over the frightened dog. While trying to keep the dog’s wounds clean, Tommy tried to calm his own rattled nerves.

Geez! I had ta hold him in my lap all night, Tommy recalled. It took hours ta calm him down. And he’s just dog! I guess Mel’s just like Max, in a way. When ya get hurt, even if it’s inside, ya just gotta cry ‘til ya get it all out.

Slowly and wearily, Mary Ellen picked her head up and wiped away almost the last of her tears.

“Mom says we can’t have another pet. She doesn’t want to go through that pain again if anything should happen. Dad agreed with mom, so, the only pet I have now is Max.” Looking up at Tommy, as if for approval, she sadly forced a small smile, and continued, “Sort of.”

Tommy took back his no-longer clean handkerchief and wiped her face. “I don’t see why we can’t share Max. After all, he’s a good dog and he does like ya. Don’t forget, ya got me, too. I can’t be a pet, but I am yer friend, right?”

Mary Ellen’s smile grew as she finished wiping her eyes and said, “Yeah.”

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Lying in his bed that night, Tommy thought of nothing else but Mary Ellen. Poor kid! Geez, and here I thought she had everything. Geez! His head kept spinning with thoughts of Mary Ellen’s little puppy lying ever so still in the street. Tommy’s sadness for Mary Ellen was overwhelming.

She had helped him overcome some of his shyness and now he felt the overpowering need to help his friend overcome the bitter pain he knew she felt.

He suddenly sat upright in bed, his eyes open like saucers, as a bright idea flashed in front of him. I know what I can do! First, I gotta find out her birthday. She said Kat died last year, so maybe I didn’t miss it yet. I gotta find out. Tomorra, I’ll take a walk on Tuppler Street before I go ta school. Maybe I can see where she lives. Geez! Is she eva gonna be surprised?

With his new idea burning in his mind, Tommy finally fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

His dreams were interrupted with a quick but heavy rap on his bedroom door.

Come on, kid. Time ta get up!”

Jimmy Raake, a tall, thin man in his early forties with broad shoulders and bulging muscles exhibited a thick mass of black hair lined with strands of silver. His once bright blue eyes, now held the worn and tired look of a man in his late sixties that grew too old too soon with overwork and worry. He adored his nephew and always tried to do his best for him. However, he worried constantly that his best would never be good enough.

Since taking Tommy from the home three years ago, money was short. It just cost so much to feed and clothe a growing boy. Things got worse when Tommy brought home Max, who showed all the traits of growing into a very large dog with a ravenous appetite.

He wanted to tell Tommy the impossibility of keeping the dog, but when he saw the look on his nephew’s face, his heart melted. After all this time, he finally saw a spark in Tommy’s eyes and didn’t have the heart to put it out. He’d find a way, somehow, to make things work.

Jimmy knocked again at Tommy’s door. “Come on, Tom, breakfast’s on the stove. Ya don’t wanna be late, now, do ya?” he said in his thick Irish brogue.

Rubbing the sleep form his eyes, Tommy responded, “Okay, Uncle Jimmy, I’m up.”

Tommy showered quickly and found to his surprise that his uncle had indeed made breakfast. Usually, Tommy made the breakfast. It was a chore he thoroughly enjoyed. “Uncle Jimmy, did I ovasleep that much? Am I late?”

Jimmy laughed. “No, Tom, me boy, but ya did have a restless sleep. I heard ya tossin’ all night. I thought I’d get up early and make ya breakfast while ya slept a bit longer.”

Then leaning over the table toward his nephew, gently placing his broad hand on Tommy’s arm, Jimmy asked in a teasing sort of way, “By the way, who’s Mary Ellen?

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Thank you for reading Now Will Ya Leave Me Alone? I’m working on another segment. Please stay tuned to see what else might happen to Tommy and Mary Ellen.