Mama's

Mama's Story Fini

"No questions from anyone unless Ada May says it's all right." Grandpa ordered. He looked like he was afraid she would run away again if he let go of her hand.

Annie blurted out, "I have to ask one question. Why did you come back now? You had thirty years to do that?"

Mama smiled. "I followed you. I knew you had found that picture and I saw the letters that came from a Private investigator. Then, when you said you were going to Kentucky to do some research for a new book, I thought I should be here to see that you got the right story."

Eddie cleared his throat before he told them, "I can't get over how much you two look alike. When Annie came into the station, I knew she had to be related to Ada May." He looked longingly at Mama before telling her, " I never got over you, Ada. "

Annie had to ask, "Are you my father?"

Mama held up her hand. "No more questions, remember. And, no, he is not your father." There was a total quiet around the table, waiting for Mama to continue. When she started to cry, Grandpa put his arm around her.

Eddie spoke, breaking the spell, "It was after graduation, wasn't it? I went to St Louis to look into the job market there. I knew you didn't want to move there. But I had to go. Damn me." Eddie said.

Mama patted his hand, "No, Ed, I should have…. shouldn't have. But I guess I was so mad at you that I went with Barb, my college friend to a Legion Dance. I met someone. His name was Theo. I think it was short for Theopholus. Never did know his last name. It was just a one night stand. I didn't even try to find him to tell him when I found out I was pregnant. I was so ashamed of myself , all I could do was run away from everyone I loved."

"To Cincinnati," Annie filled in for her.

"Yes," Mama sniffed and wiped her nose on her napkin. "College girls talk about a lot of things. One of the girls knew about a place that took in girls like me. I thought I would give the baby up for adoption. But when Edna, the lady who ran the place, saw that I couldn't do that, she got me the accounting job at the brewery. I had set up an accounting system for Edna's Place. She helped me until I was able to take care of Annie and myself."

Annie sighed, "So, that's how Edna became such a good friend. I always wondered. Neither one of you ever told me. But why didn't you come back here?"

Mama turned to Grandpa, "I thought about it so many times but, when I did, the old shame came back. I told myself that I was too busy or that it was best not to turn over old leaves."

Eddie Took out his handkerchief and blew his nose. "You should have trusted us. I spent many nights with your Dad. We consoled each other, wondering if you would ever come home. We surely didn't think it would take this long." He looked at Mama. "I had to take over the gas station when my Father died. Mom didn't last too long afterwards. So, I own a gas station if you'd still like to be engaged to me." Looking at Annie he told her, 'I'd be glad to have a daughter in the family."

Mama opened her purse and took out a ring. Putting it on her finger, she held her hand up. "You won't need to buy a ring."

Grandpa looked at all of them. "Well, I'm glad I got that settled," he stated.

They all laughed until Annie held up her hand, "Wait a minute. Mama, we've got to go to the forest and look up all those little people. I'll right another Children's Book. If it becomes a best seller, I can hire a detective to find out who my father is." When she saw Eddie shaking his head, she said, "Or maybe not."

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Mama's Story Cont.

MAMA'S STORY, THE BEGINNING
Joyce Peterson

Annie pushed the fallen leaves ahead of her with the toe of her 3 inch
heeled shoes, as she stumbled along the path through the forest. It had
diminished to a few rows of trees since the picture in her hand had been
taken. She knew she should have worn sneakers, but if she did find the
small cottage, that she hoped was there beyond the end of the path, and
it was still inhabited, she wanted to make an impression for her Mother's
sake. Mama didn't know she had come to this particular place, only that
she was going to Kentucky to do some research for a new book. Mama had
had that look on her face that said, "I'm not sure I believe you but
we'll talk about it when you get home."

Annie had reached her thirtieth birthday, but she still couldn't lie to
her mother without feeling guilty. Her Mother, on the other hand, had
kept her whole life, before Annie was born, a secret except for a few
facts that had sneaked out in their conversations.
She wondered if the forest in the picture was really the place, about
which Mama had told her all those wonderful stories when Annie was small.
Tales of tiny beings that made servants of the ants, and carriages of
the leaves , carriages drawn by centipede horses. Those stories were the
reason she had been able to hire the detective to seek out this sight.
When he had asked if she wanted him to find out anything about the
forest, she told him, "No," she would handle it . Mama's story belonged
to no one but the two of them.

Annie had worked for years in the same office of a small brewery in
Cincinnati where her mother had worked since she had been born. But,
her ambition had always been to be a writer. She had had a little
success with some of her other books. But nothing like her best selling
Children's Book. It had included all the stories her Mother had told her
about the "Little World in the Forest". She had to laugh to herself
every time she thought "Forest". All that was left now were these few
rows of straggly trees but the detective had given her specific
instructions and this was the place. Now, if there really was a cabin at
the end of this path, she felt that her money had been well spent.

She had found the photo by accident when, as a child, her Mother had
asked her to bring something from a dresser drawer. Although Mama
wouldn't answer any questions about it, except to say "It's just some
dumb old cabin in a forest in Kentucky", Annie had guessed that it had
been Mama's home before she came to Cincinnati. The forest had
diminished in size because of the new houses built at the edge, but there
was still enough of it left to be recognized in the picture, since the
gas station, where she had left her car, was still there on the corner.
It had a few minor updates but was much the same. The middle aged man
who seemed to run the station had looked at her as though he was going to
say something but changed his mind.

She had always felt the frustration of having to make up everything that
had happened to her Mother before she was born but, whenever she
questioned her about it, Mama would just say, "You don't need to know
about all that."

She had surmised, from some of Mama's brief answers, that the cabin had
been Mama's home where she had been raised by her Father after he own
Mother died. Mama had gone so far as to say that her Mother died when
she was born. Because of Mama's hesitation to mention anything about
the man who would have been Annie's Grandfather, she had visualized him
as so cruel, that Mama had to run away . She had gone to Cincinnati, the
closest big city to the small cottage in the Kentucky forest. Annie
decided Mama must have been pregnant with her, so she had wondered what
her Mother's father had done to her, when he found out, to make her run
away.

Mama had told her those exciting forest stories but had never told any
stories about herself. Annie had always liked stories to have a
beginning, a middle and an end. She felt that the life she and her
Mother had lived together was the middle of the story. She knew that the
beginning was the time Mama had lived in a cabin in this forest. When
the path ended, she looked across a big field and saw a cabin. She hoped
that, today, she could put some truth to the story she had made up as the
beginning of Mama's story.

Looking at the picture again she could see that someone had certainly
kept the cabin up to date. The yard in front was fenced in and there
were flower beds being tended by a man who didn't see her approaching.
She could see that he was quite old and wrinkled. He was smiling and
humming as he dug a trowel into the dirt to loosen some weeds.
This couldn't be her Grandfather whom she had always envisioned as tall
with a scowl on his face. Of course, her Grandfather must have died and
the property had been sold. As she walked up to the gate, the man looked
up. He dropped the trowel and came to meet her.

"Well, Ada May, I see you've come home. Got tired of the big city, did
you?" He asked as the smile seemed to encompass his whole face.
Annie didn't know how to answer him. Many of her friends had told her
that she looked like her Mother but who was this man who seemed to know
her Mother. She decided to play along as she told him, "Just thought
I'd drop by and see the old place. Did you know the man who used to own
this cabin, his name was Mullins?"

He laughed as he told her, "Knew him quite well. Still do, because I'm
that old scallywag. Surely I haven't changed so much you don't recognize
me, Ada May."

Annie looked at him for a few minutes trying to decide how to answer him.
She decided that only the truth could get them both threw an awkward
situation. "I'm not Ada May, Mr. Mullins. I'm her daughter Annie."

He reached across the gate and took her face in his hand. "Sorry, Annie.
I've waited so long for her to come home. Guess you might as well start
calling me Grandpa. Will Ada May be coming, too?"

When she shook her head, she saw misunderstanding in his eyes. She
hurried to tell him, "She's fine but she's not with me." Then she added,
"Not this trip." Annie knew at that moment that she was going to have to
make up a whole new story for Mama's past life.

"Is there a hotel nearby? I'd like to stay around for a while and get to
know more about some things that Mama never told me. I left my car at
the gas station near the path that brought me."

"Ada May's room has been waiting for her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind
your using it. I hope she will be coming soon but right now it will be
good to have it occupied. Your car is in good hands. Eddie Bleecken
owns that station. Eddie Junior has been running it since his Dad died.
Junior went to school with Ada May. I'll give him a call and tell him the
car belongs to Ada May's daughter He'll take really good care of it."

Annie smiled, "But I'll need the suitcase that's in the trunk if I'm
going to stay with you. I hope I'll still be welcome when I change into
jeans and sneakers. I can walk back and get it."

The old man held up his hand. "You'll do no such thing," he told her.
"Besides, Junior would have my skin if I didn't let him do a favor for
Ada May's daughter. He'll bring it down. I'll invite him to come for
dinner. I did learn to cook when I had to."

Annie couldn't believe her luck. Dinner with her Grandfather and a man,
who had been a friend of her Mother's, was more than she could have hoped
for. "If you're sure he wouldn't mind, that would be great. I did leave
my key with him. By the way, I learned to cook, too." She laughed.

When her Grandfather pushed the gate open and offered his arm, Annie
linked her arm through his and smiled as she told him, "O.K., Grandpa.
Let's see this cabin that I've dreamed about for so long." When she saw
him looking at her with a question on his face, she added, "I'll explain
later." When they entered the cabin, she saw a big room with a fireplace
that was dark and empty.

When he saw her looking at it, her grandfather explained, "It's been
pretty warm lately, besides, I had a furnace installed when we added on
to the house. I only start a fire, occasionally to save on the gas bill.
Now let me show you to Ada May's room. There's a bath room next door to
it, if you want to freshen up a bit."

Annie followed him down a long hall. When he opened a door to Mama's
room, the sunshine poured through a large window and lighted the hall.
Annie saw a room that held furniture that might have been purchased 40
years ago but, like the other furniture she had noticed in the living
roon, was so fine that it would probably last another 40. The doilies,
on the dresser and side tables, looked like the ones Mama had made for
their condo. When she saw the cover on the bed, she couldn't help but
exclaim,as she touched it, "How beautiful!"

Annie heard tears in Grandpa's voice, as he replied, "Ada May made it
just before…" He let the words trail into nothingness, then cleared his
throat to say, "She was going to have it after she married."
Annie wanted to ask him more but thought better of it.

"I better make that call. You'll like Eddie. He's a bachelor so I'm
sure he'll appreciate getting his dinner made for him," he told her.
As he started down the hall, Annie called after him, "Remember I can cook
if you need any help."

Cont.

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Black Hole

BLACK HOLE BANK 2

Ted Moller had finally worked his way up to the ATM machine at his bank. He had a few things to say to the machine so he was glad he was the last in line.

As he stepped inside the small enclosure, he patted the ATM gently. "Good evening, Clarissa," he told her. Ted always named the important inanimate objects and gave them gender. That way he could converse with them on a human level, which was good since he had few human friends to talk to. "You know I'm going to be 50 years old the 24^th of this month, April," he told her, then continued, "I'm only a janitor and my relatives all think they should send me money on my birthday. Since my folks died, my aunts and uncles…let'see there's, Uncles Elmer and Henry and Aunts Matilda and Helen…well, anyway, since Ma no longer reminds them of the date, they send me checks any time during April. A few days ago, I gave you Uncle Elmer's check and you gave me back my bank card but no deposit slip. I went in the bank to talk to the bank manager who turned me over to a nice looking lady of color like me, who checked and found just a piece of my check. She said the bank was sorry and wondered if Uncle Elmer could write a new check. I was sure he could but, when I got my pay check yesterday, I came inside to deposit it just to be sure. The same lady saw me. When I told her why I was there, she said that she was sure you would never do that again, so, here I am with Aunt Matilda's check. Please don't eat this one."

He had put in his bank card and punched his pin number then the Savings Account button and slid the check into the slot. He wasn't sure, but thought he heard an "Ummm" like someone swallowing a delicious morsel of food. When his card came back without a deposit slip he shouted, "Clarissa, you did it again.."

"Hey you," a man shouted. " What are you doing? Having a romance with the damn ATM? The wind is getting cold. Besides, some of the rest of us would like to get our turn." Ted hadn't realized that there were some new people in the line.

"Sorry." He apologized. " Didn't realize you were there. She ate my check again. Must be a black hole bank in there. Now I'll have to go in the bank and get it straightened out."

"Did you hear that? SHE ate his check. Wouldn't you know? There's a WOMAN in a Black Hole in there." Only the men in line laughed. The woman next to the man hit him with her purse.

Ted hurried to get inside the bank where he sought out the woman who had helped him before.

"Ah, Mr. Moler. Good to see you again. I hope all is well with you."

She did seem glad to see him, Ted thought. Maybe he shouldn't tell her.

The woman saw his hesitation. "Don't tell me Clarissa is acting up again."

Ted forgot he had told her about the name. Actually, she had told him she thought it was a nice thing to do. "I'm afraid so, she did it again," he answered. "This time it was Aunt Matilda's check. You won't believe this but it sounded like she enjoyed the taste of it."

The woman opened her eyes wide, saying, "We're going to have to have someone check her over, Ted."

He really liked the warm feeling he got when she said his given name out loud. "That's all right," he said. "I'm sure Aunt Matilda will write another check. I'll try Clarissa when I get another birthday check. Maybe I'll see you again soon."

The woman smiled. "That would be….nice."

Ted left the bank with the biggest smile he could remember ever having. It lasted all the way home on the bus and until he got to his 2^nd floor apartment and saw his neighbor standing in the hall, waiting for him. Ted was trying to think up a new way to tell his neighbor that he didn't have an extra bottle of beer for him when the neighbor reached into Ted's mailbox and pulled out the contents.

"Here you are. No charge unless you can spare a bottle of beer." The man had been looking at the mail in his hand before he offered it to Harry. "Mostly junk but one is from a Henry Moller. Might be important."

Ted's Mother had taught him to always be polite but the neighbor had put an end to Ted's politeness, when he pulled the mail out of the box. He shook the mail in the neighbor's face. "Uncle Sam takes a dim view of somebody stealing mail. And, NO, I don't have any beer for you." He unlocked his door, went in and slammed the door in the man's face.

Ted heard the man shouting, "Drink all your beer yourself you no good…" The rest of the speech was lost as the neighbor slammed his own door.

The smile returned to Ted's face as the vision of the nice woman at the bank came to him. "I'll have a beer and celebrate," he said as he approached the refrigerator. "OK, Eddie, lets see if you do have a beer. I met this nice lady at the bank today. It's the second time I had to get her help and, if that's a birthday check from Uncle Henry in the mail, I might have to see her again tomorrow. That is if Clarissa cooperates. I told you about her and what she did to me. If she does it again tomorrow, I'll have to go into the bank again."

Ted drank his beer and caught a baseball game on TV. Uncle Henry's check had been for his birthday,so, Ted went to bed and dreamed of the lovely lady of color at the bank.

The next day, at work, time seemed to stand still but closing time finally came. As Ted was making his way to the bank, he felt like someone was following him. Looking around, he saw no one and decided it was his imagination. At the bank, he was glad to be last in line, He had a few things to say to Clarissa and he wanted some privacy.

When the person in front of him had finished, Ted stepped into the small enclosure and gave the ATM a friendly pat. "Good afternoon, Clarissa," he told her Hope you're feeling better after eating my check yesterday." Ted put in his pin number and the deposit slip and Uncle Henry's check.

When he heard a female voice say, "I'm fine Ted. I hope you know how much your visits mean to me."

Ted looked around and saw no one. "It's me, silly, Clarissa"

Ted had never had one of the inanimate objects talk back to him. He was so surprised he couldn't speak.

More people had gathered in the waiting line. Someone yelled, "What are you doing, making love to that damn machine. Some of the rest of us would like to get our turn."

"Sorry," Ted told them "But…but…" He couldn't get any farther when Clarissa started to speak again.

"You are so kind that I've grown to l love you. I wanted to get your attention so I ate your checks but today, I'll give your check back and lots more so you can buy anything you want." Teds check came out first then the 20 dollar bills spewed out one after the other.

"What the…" said the first man in line. "He must have done something funny. Somebody with a cell phone, call the cops."

"No, No, please, I didn't…" Ted tried to explain. Then he heard a familiar voice yelling.

"I already called them. Sounds like their coming, neighbor. Let's see how much of your beer you can drink in a jail cell." Ted knew his neighbor had been following him to see how much trouble he could cause.

The next few minutes went so fast Ted could hardly remember what happened. He had been trying to retrieve all the bills. He was sure some of the people in line had helped themselves to a few of them. Then the police were there ordering everyone to turn over the money. One policeman took the money as evidence and the other one had handcuffed Ted and put him in the back of the police car.

He saw the lady from the bank trying to talk to the policemen but they told her she would have to come to the station to straighten it out. The next thing he remembered, he had been booked and put in a holding cell.

He didn't know how long he had been there when a cop opened the door. "Come on you, the one with the bank problem. You're being released." Ted followed him to the front of the station.

There was the lady from the bank talking to someone at the desk. When she saw him, she hurried over to tell him, "It's all right, Ted. I explained and they called the bank manager. He told them about the ATM, too."

Ted felt as though a tremendous weight had been removed from his shoulders. "Thank you, thank you," he kept repeating.

"We really apologize to you for the ATM causing so much trouble," she said.

Ted heard kindness in her every word. Then he heard himself saying something he didn't believe he could say, "But I got to meet you."

"And I got to meet you, Ted. Tell you what, I have some stew cooking in a slow cooker at home. Why don't you come home with me? We can share."

"Won't your husband mind having you bring a strange man home with you?" Ted asked.

She smiled at him. "Never got around to getting married, Ted. Just like you."

Ted returned her smile, with dividends. "You seem to know a lot about me but I don't even know your name."

She patted his cheek. "I thought you knew, Ted. I'm Clarissa."

.