Daylight brought the sound of birds chirping and fussing in the large Willow tree in our back yard. I hit the snooze button on the alarm. Just five more minutes, I thought to myself. Fred got up and turned on the coffee pot then headed off to the bathroom. In my dream state I thought I heard Mother's voice. I strained to listen. It was her voice all right, and she was none too happy at being woke up so early! "David, go home! It's too early for you to be over here. Your grandad is still asleep!"
I rolled over and smiled to myself. Sorry Mom, I thought. You may as well be talking to the wind. On cue, I heard a window being raised and I knew Daddy was leaning out the window to retrieve his grandson. By the time Mom made it back down the hall and into their bedroom, Daddy would have David all snuggled down under the covers.
Mother and Daddy had lived with us for quite awhile when they first moved to California. Daddy was a carpenter and worked for a lumber company in Buena Park. Mother was a stay at home wife with a wonderful talent for sewing and cake decorating. She managed to stay busy but unfortunately her hobbies left no room for clean up, or she just didn't see it. I'm not sure which. I, on the other hand, could not stand a mess. A sink full of dirty dishes or a floor full of material scraps and thread just did not appeal to me.That summer Mother went back to Arkansas to visit her Mom and sister's and I have to admit, I saw a vision and took advantage of it! The house directly behind us came up for rent. I talked Daddy into renting it then had all the utilities turned on. When Mother called, I said I had a surprise for her. I told her to hurry home because we were going furniture shopping-----for her new house! Needless to say, she wasn't as excited as I was for some strange reason! We painted the inside and shampooed the carpet so everything was nice and fresh. Next, Daddy built a style over the back fence. A style is a ladder that goes up one side of the fence and down the other! Of course, the first one to try it out was David, and right behind him was our wiener dog, Puddy! They thought it was their private stairway to the stars! From that day forward David took every opoportunity to "go see Grandad."
Now my granddad and I had a strong bond between us but it was nothing like Daddy and David. It was like they were joined at the hip. Everywhere Daddy went, David followed. When Daddy put our new roof on, he tied a piece of rope around David's waist then back through his belt loop. He gave David a hammer and nails, a piece of wood to practice on and they'd stay on the roof for hours at a time. I listened as Daddy carefully explained to David what he was doing and why he was doing it a certain way. David was only four years old but took it all in with a serious look on his face. He studied the shingles as if he knew exactly what Daddy was talking about and to my knowledge, Daddy continued explaining himself to David as if he were talking to an adult and not a small boy.
when David started to school he drew pictures for his granddad. Mom's refrigerator was covered with his artwork. Daddy would hold up something he'd made and talk about it as if it were a Rembrant. Daddy talked about color, dimension, texture, etc. and my baby boy took it all in, logging and storing it in his little encyclopedia of a brain.
Our house was constantly full of kids running in and out. The ice cream truck and the local dairy/petting zoo were the two things that quickly became a favorite with the kids on our block. One summer day it was especially hot. We'd had a day filled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Eskimo Pies, and trips through the water sprinkler. It was getting close to dinner time when I realized I was out of milk so I piled eight kids into our Chevy and headed off to the dairy/petting zoo.They all piled out and headed for the baby animals while I tried to get my wits about myself and do some quick shopping. Finally, ready to go, I honked the horn and the kids ran toward the car, screaming and shooving eack other, fighting for the front seat, and dripping ice cream all over the upholstry. I gave a big sigh. The heat was getting to me. I could feel sweat trickle down my neck and between my breasts. I felt sticky all over and silently promised myself a nice, cool shower once dinner was over. I pulled into the driveway as kids started piling out of the car. They reminded me of the Keystone Cops and I giggled to myself. It was short lived. I counted heads. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. I blinked quickly and looked back inside the empty car. Wait! I left with eight and returned with seven. It was then I realized my little David was missing! Quickly I jumped back into the car and sped off toward the dairy/petting zoo. "Oh Lord," I prayed,"please let him be there! I'm so sorry I didn't pay closer attention! I'll never let it happen again! Only PLEASE let him be there and be ok!" I saw him standing at the entrance, little arms crossed over his chest, his frown and pouty face told it all. I was in deep doo doo with my small son! I jumped out of the car. Relief flooded me as I threw my arms around him. I hugged him close. " Oh honey, I'm soooooooo sorry. Mama didn't mean to go off without you! I thought you were with the other children! I'm so sorry. It will never happen again! I promise!" He remained stiff and aloof as he broke away from my grasp and got into the car. Only when he was safely buckled in did he give me a hateful look.
"Gonna tell my granddad on you," was all he would ssy. And he did. Through the years I cannot recount the times I was in trouble with Daddy. As David grew into a fine young man "David Leftatthedairy" was one of our favorite memories, and when David became a father, the story was told to his young sons. As for me, I'll never live it down. I am forever branded as "the bad Mother who left her baby at the dairy/petting zoo.
