ALL THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

Note Worthy Occurrances

I watched the shiny blue car roll away down the street, the sky reflecting over it as it carried Libby and Uncle Simon away. Once it was out of view, The Street was vacant again, except for the kids a few houses down who just pulled out their street hockey gear before school. Their shouts of laughter echoed through the otherwise empty air, as they carelessly tossed their backpacks to the side of the road. I sighed at the small glory of the morning, the sun was out and shining and it has been for the past few days of Simon’s and Libby’s visit. It brought an unfamiliar serene peace to my mind.

            My eyes quickly glanced over the rusted trashcan sitting out on the front lawn, concealing the bouquet of flowers. I looked away, still feeling a little unsure of the thought of somebody leaving those at the doorstep for me. It was just strange, is all, and nothing more. I'm going to move on, live at Grandma Claire’s house for awhile, before returning home to stay with Sherry and Terrance again. Or maybe get a house of my own. That was the plan.             

            The slow hum of the garbage truck ever so slightly moved up the street, ready to obliviously pluck the bag concealing the flowers, and dumping them far from my life. That should have been a comfort, if I wasn’t so intrigued by them.         

            I sat alone on the porch steps reviewing the visit of Uncle Simon and Libby, which was basically uneventful besides moving some of the junky furniture out of my house, and packing up a few things for the new life I was going to receive. A lot of the things from our old inventory were to be sold, most likely, including the house. That was a bridge to be crossed once we came to it, although it seemed like a task that Sherry would instantaneously take over.

            The door opened behind me with a whine, and I heard Sherry’s gentle voice. “Are you coming inside for breakfast, dear?”

            I smiled to her, and nodded, taking one last breath of sweet fresh air, and one more glance at the tall oak trees glimmering in the sunshine before joining Sherry inside.

            I stepped back into the house, immediately seeing Terrance moodily stoop towards the cupboard. I watched him scan the options of cereal, and as I got closer, I could see a droopy automaton expression on his face.

            “Slim pickings again, sunshine?” I asked him.

            He exhaled a small wind of foul morning breath and looked to me saying, “Nah just can’t decide.”

            I scoffed, and quickly picked my favourite cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch without hesitation.

            He shot me a look before deciding to have the same as me. We then worked effortlessly with silent teamwork, getting the milk and spoons out. As we sat down, I looked beside me to see him pour a generous segment of milk, letting it flood the sugary cereal. I stared and hesitated.

            “Could you…would you mind grabbing the rest of my stuff from school today?”

            Terrance turned to me with a blank stare. A sliver of silence sliced through the air, revealing the loss of understanding he had.

            “Stuff. You know my workbooks from school? Anything? No?” I rambled as Terrance remained lost.

            He shook the sleepiness out of him and with a baffled expression, said, “You mean you actually want your books?”

            “Well, yeah. I do want them actually.”  

            “In that case, I would do anything for your studious highness.” He shrugged and nodded.