Never Is a Long Time

~ One ~

Staten Island, New York, 1985

"I am so glad it has stopped raining. My girls are bouncing off the walls. They need some fresh air and some room to run and play," Mrs. Bowen said to a friend over the telephone as she leaned against the wall, twisting the olive green phone cord around her finger.

She paused for a moment, listening through the receiver. She hummed answers like "mm" and "uh-huh", "yeah" and "oh" as she listened to Mrs. Taylor. She even involuntarily nodded though her friend could not see the gesture of agreement.

When it was her time to speak again, she replied, "Well, for now, I'm going to just turn them loose in the yard. If the ground is dry enough tomorrow, I may take them over to the park. I'm not letting them go over there and traipse through the mud, though."

Listening again for a few moments, Mrs. Bowen walked down the hall, as far as the cord would allow, to peer into the living room. She looked in on her two daughters, who sat on either side of the coffee table, playing a board game. She was bracing herself for the inevitable meltdown of one of them when the game ended and someone had to lose.

Finally, Mrs. Bowen said, "Oh, hey, Deb, I've gotta go. Miri's about to win a board game and I already know that Ceci is going to throw a fit." She walked back to the phone's base. Stopping there, she said, "Call me if you want to send yours up to go to the park with us." The two said their goodbyes and hung up their phones.

Just as she rested the receiver on its cradle, Mrs. Bowen heard the beginning of Ceci's wail. She turned and started back toward the living room, but she stopped in her tracks. The bawling, which she expected to come from her younger daughter, did not come. Leaning her head closer to the girls while staying out of their sight. She listened.

"Shh, Ceci. Please don't be sad," Miri was heard to say, followed by muffled sniffling. Then Miri said, "Here's a tissue. When you feel like it, we'll play something else. Whatever you wanna play."

Mrs. Bowen smiled and placed a hand to her heart. She could hardly believe what she was hearing--the older girl consoling her little sister. Suddenly, she squinted as a thought came to her mind. Does Miri know I'm standing here? Is this just a show she's putting on for me?

She quietly crept back toward the phone. She paused. Then beginning to walk back to the living room, she called out, "Miriam! Cecilia! You two are awfully quiet. What's going on in there?" At that moment she appeared in the archway between the hallway and the living room.

What she saw touched her more than what she had heard just a short while ago. Her daughters were hugging, and Miri was patting Ceci's back, comforting her. The older girl looked at her mother and softly said, "Ceci, here's Mommy."

The younger girl lifted her head from her sister's shoulder. She said, "Mommy, Miri won, but it's ok. We're gonna play somefin' diff'rent nex' time." Then removing her arms from around her sister, she went to her mother and hugged her. Finally, she asked, "Mommy, it's not raining. May we play outside?"

Though she had already decided to take them out, she teased them a little bit. She said, "I don't know, girls. It's still pretty wet out there."

"Please, Mommy. We'll stay on the sidewalk and driveway instead of playing in the wet grass. We can jump rope or play jacks. I could get the sidewalk chalk, and we could draw pictures together," Miri suggested.

Noting the pleading expressions on both the girls' faces, Mrs. Bowen sighed. She kept up her charade for just a bit longer. Shaking her head, she said, "Four days and nights of rain? It's going to be pretty messy. Messy clothes and shoes lead to messy furniture and carpets."

"We pwomise, Mommy. We not be messy. No mud or spashing," Ceci begged.