Sam rose early, showered and combed his hair, only one
more day until the weekend. After a
quick glance out the bedroom window, he knew from the swaying bare trees
outside it would be a perfect day for a warm sweater.
Digging through the closet, Sam found his favorite
blue bulky sweater, the one that made him feel thinner. Each time they shopped for school clothes,
his mom would reassure him with "You're not overweight. You're husky." or "You're big boned
like your father." Other boys at
school teased Sam about his weight, making him self-conscious and feeling bullied.
After getting dressed, Sam ate breakfast of cold
cereal and crunchy wheat toast. His mom came into the kitchen.
"Are you ready for your spelling test?"
asked his mom cutting a bagel in half.
Sam looked up from his cheap mystery novel he'd
checked out from the library.
"Yes, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.”
Emily poured herself a cup of coffee adding, "Don't
forget to brush your teeth. The last
time, the dentist said you need to brush more." She disappeared back into her bedroom.
Finishing breakfast, Sam put his dirty dishes in the
sink and went to brush his teeth.
During the whole ritual of 'up-down-front-to-back,' he practiced spelling
in his mind. Apothecary...
A-p-o-t-h-e-c-a-r-y... Apothecary...Brushing... B-r-u-s-h-i-n-g... Brushing...
Cuckoo! The
cuckoo clock in the living room sang out, signally 7:30. Sam spit out and rinsed into the bathroom
sink. After washing his hands, he
grabbed his jacket and book bag from his bedroom. Emily put on her coat. They hustled down the stairs.
Sam enjoyed their morning ritual of walking with his
mom. Somewhere deep inside, Sam feared
his mom might leave him as well, like his dad.
“Promise me you won’t leave me,” said Sam.
Emily was surprised by his comment. “Why would I do that?”
Sam dropped the conversation and shrugged his
shoulders.
Throughout their neighborhood, Sam noticed the several
houses had been decorated for Halloween.
"Mom, can we get a pumpkin?" Emily nodded, adding that the grocery around
the corner had some. "Or... I could
call Grandma and Grandpa and see if they would be willing to take us to that
enormous pumpkin farm up north."
Every October, people could choose their own pumpkin
directly out of the pumpkin patch. Sometimes the farmer and his wife had other
activities to do such as candle-making, old-time games, carving lessons, hay
rides, or Sam's favorite, sampling pumpkin pie.
"That would be awesome!" said Sam. "We haven't seen them for a few weeks." Sam was building a better relationship with
his grandparents. His Grandpa Henry
looked like an older version of his dad.
"Want me to get some movies for the weekend?"
asked his Mom.
"Sure. See
if you can get something scary."
"Okay. I'll
see if we have any with Vincent Price."
"Who?"
"You know.
Remember the ones loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe stories."
"Oh, yeah.
Those were strange. They didn't
follow the stories that well, but I still liked them." Sam was an avid Poe and movie fan.
Now he had even more to anticipate -- scary movies, a
trip out of town with his Grandpa and Grandma Henry, and pumpkin pie tasting. Sam wished they owned a car, but the costs
were too much. Beside his school, the
library and the grocery were both nearby.
Sam's mind wandered to a conversation he had with his
dad a few weeks before the final trip to the hospital.
"Sam, you would make a great travel agent,"
murmured George, his throat bright red and blistered from the radiation
treatment. Sam showed his dad the
Midwestern travel guide from which he planned a long weekend trip to
Indianapolis then up to Detroit. Sam
remembered his dad's bald head, the smell of sickness, and the medicine bottles
lined in a row on the table next to his bed.
Sam slightly shook
his head, chasing away the memory. Stopping at their usual corner where they
parted company, Emily reminded him to be safe and go straight home from school. Sam said the same to her. She went one direction to the library. He went another to school, making a stop near
the school to wipe his tear-filled eyes on his jacket sleeve.
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