The Brooch

Daddy's Home

"Landsakes! Open this door child!" Mama Woods fussed on Maple's locked door. "Remove that chair from this door, this very instant! You hear me, young lady! We ain't through talkin."

Maple didn't answer...

"Maple Joelle Woods!!" Mama Woods scowled banging even louder on the door.

"Scarlett, honey?" A male voice suddenly speaks from behind an upset Mama Woods. "What on earth is goin on?"

"Oh Fred..." Mama Wood's deeply sighed as she defeatedly walked away from Maple's unopened door. Frustrated she walked past her husband and into their small kitchen.

A now hot and bothered Mama Woods, sat to the kitchen table... slowly removing her gloves. Her confused husband Fred, soon followed.

Taking his hat off and wiping his perspiring brow, he stood at the kitchen's slim entrance...

"Honey... what is it?" Mr. Woods questioned...

"Oh..." Mama Woods exasperated rolling her eyes and raising her hands in the air...

"I swear I could hear ya, clear outside down the road shoutin at Maple. And I do believe my eyes are playin tricks on me... cause I swear I just saw what I think was Mrs. Crowder? runnin down the street.... and is she bald?" Mr. Woods said dazed and confused.

"Oh Fred... ya wanna know whut happened?"

"That's whut I'm askin hun-eee."

"Get in line." Mama Woods replied.

"Whatchu mean Scarlet?"

"Just that! I don't know! I came home to a hollerin child! And yes... that was Mrs. Crowder all right! Bald as yo uncle Cleaver on a month of Sundays!"

"Why?"

"Honey... do I look like I know? I swear, all I know is yo sweet daughter in there... was not so sweet when I came pullin up in that driveway with the.... Oh landsakes!!" Mama Woods gasped! "The groceries!"
She cried, running out the screen door in the same manner as Maple... like a bat outta hell...

She came back in with a dripping soggy bag...

"It's ruined!" She cried plopping the drenched sack in her husband's hands.

"Whut is?" Mr. Woods, asked!

"All of it! This day!" Mrs. Woods pouted! "Yo child... and.... em... yo child!!" Mama Woods hissed. "I need to go change! And I need to compose myself before I lose any moe of myself today!" She stressed... leaving an even more confused Mr. Woods now in the living room alone.

Before Mr. Woods could even say another word... the bedroom door slammed... and all the soggy groceries hit their freshly polished wooden floor. Eggs and all...

"Would somebody please tell me what's goin on?" Mr. Woods said as his nicely pressed suit was now anything but nice.. and his perfectly polished shoes were now drenched in cracked eggs and more..
"Well whut's foe supper..." He sarcastically mumbled as the bag split even more at that very moment...

Just then, Mr. Woods heard the door to Maple's room slowly creaking open.. Out stepped a still crimson faced Maple... She stared at her father and the spoiled food around him...

"Oh Daddy!" She said running towards him like a small child to her daddy...

She didn't care about the mess around her father's attire nor the soaked wooden floor... She just grabbed her father and wrapped her arms around him...

"It's horrible! Oh it's so horrible!" She cried...

"What is child?" Her father asked embracing his weeping child...

"Oh I can't tell you! All I can tell you... is it's horrible!! Oh... and Mumma!! Oh Mumma!" She sniffled in his comforting arms... "If she knew... she'd clobber Mrs. Crowder somethin good!" A now fussing Maple said letting go of her father...

"Know what?"

"The Truth!" Maple wheezed! "And I can't tell her! Her life! My life... our.... lives... would be ruined! Ruined I tell ya!"

"Calm down sugarplum... and tell yo daddy what's goin on!"

"Oh Daddy... I can't!" An upset Maple said running back to her room....

Once again, Mr. Woods was left in the living room all alone... And more confused than ever... Just then the screen door opened.. A head popped in.  It was a thick, red headed, curly man that looked just like he was a cherry cheeked, brawny lumberjack type, figure. His long body toppled over the Wood's door, shadowing the sun from Mr. Wood's dazed and confused eyes. Scratching his scruffy red colored beard, their nearest neighbor, and Mr. Woods, old trusted, long time friend, Clarence Beenes, came uh callin...

"Hey Fred!" Clarence said in his most cheerful mood. "What's goin on?"

"Ugh!" A perplexed Mr. Woods deeply sighed falling to his favorite chair... "What... is... goin... on..." He mumbled slapping his now throbbing brow...

"That's what I just said." Clarence replied picking up an egg covered bottle of beer from off the now, soiled floor.

Clarence quickly plopped down of the Wood's sofa, making himself comfortable. He appeared oblivious to the tense atmosphere and what had just happened. Leaning over he popped the bottle beer open, using the edge coffee table as a can opener.

"Em.." Clarence uttered. "Beer's warm my friend. Oh well." He said as he kept drinking it.

A silent and unresponsive Mr. Woods sat motionless, in his trusted chair, still trying to figure out what had just happened. He tried his best to calm his aching head. But Clarence, was not much help. Or much company for that matter.

"Say uh, Fred? Ya see old, Mrs. Crowder down the street? Naw that was a sight." Clarence chuckled, while chugging on his warm beer.

"Em." Fred moaned.

"Ya gotta wonder whut that was all about eh?" He sighed. "I mean I tried askin her, but I couldn't stop starin at her bald head. It was so shiny! And I don't think she liked that very much." He laughed. "Besides, she growled at me. And before I knew it, she had flagged down, the Reverend Mosay. And she looked like she was givin him a mouthful! I bet his red ears are uh bleedin away. Better him than me. Or you... right old friend?" Clarence said picking through the vegetables on the floor, and finding something to munch. "I mean Ya can imagine what gossip the poor Reverend is hearin now."

"Yup." Mr. Woods uttered rolling his now, twitching eyes and imagining the worst away. "Yup..."

"Oh by the way, you don't think it's about sweet Maple do ya? Maybe I'm mistaken, but I swear, I did hear her say yo daughter's name... and well, buddy, it didn't sound too ripe of good." Clarence said patting an apparent frazzled Mr. Woods on the shoulder.

"Maple?" Mr. Woods replied stunned. "My daughter Maple?"

"Yup." Clarence replied still munching and shaking his head.

"Oh dear Lord..." Mr. Woods exasperated rubbing his aching head. "Dear Lawd, what naw?"

"Welp..." Clarence said looking around at the quiet house and at the wasted groceries on the floor... "I'm starved! What's for dinner?"

Poor, blank faced, Mr. Woods could only stare out the window.