I’ll be right back
It was mind-boggling. How could he leave me alone with that beast?
“I’ll only be out for a while, no longer than an hour. I’m sure you can handle her,” was all he said, and then he was gone.
“Now what?” I muttered to myself. “What am I supposed to do for an hour to keep her happy?”
I thought for a while and decided…games, maybe? No, she’s too young to understand. I could maybe feed her. Of course, what does one feed someone like that? All I get from her is growls and complaints when I get near her. Is there a special diet she’s on? If I try to feed her and she chokes or gets a reaction to what I feed her, what would I do then?
How about taking her for a walk outside? No, I’m pretty sure I am not supposed to leave the house with her. But what if she has to go to the bathroom?
Why didn’t he give me any instructions? And where was he going that was so important right now?
All right, now think, Harvey, your smart, well maybe not that smart; otherwise, you wouldn’t be in this position. What would my mother do?
Oh yeah, she would probably pick her up. Not if she’s growling and whining like that. I need to find a way to comfort her first.
I start pulling at my hair and making all sorts of crazy faces out of stress and frustration. I don’t know what to do.
Wait a minute…what’s that I hear? She’s not whining anymore. In fact, she’s looking at me and looks very much like she’s enjoying my frustration.
Maybe that’s it…I need to act totally silly in front of her. That I can do. I was born to be an idiot. So that’s what I do. I make a fool of myself. In fact, she even likes it. I get close enough so that I can even pet her on the head. She’s even smiling at me.
Okay, here’s the real challenge. Can I pick her up? Yes. Yes. Yes! She likes that too.
She starts whining again when I put her back down on the ground. You’ve got to be kidding. Here I go again.
Well, I have to admit Ronald did come home within the hour, and by the time his mother came home, his baby sister was fast asleep in her crib.
I asked Ronald what was so important that he had to leave at that time in the morning. He said, “Oh, I forgot that I was supposed to pick up the newspaper at the local candy store before mom got home.”
I didn’t mention to him that he didn’t return with a newspaper when he came back and that he was carrying a number of new comic books. He probably didn’t want anything to do with the task he left me with.
Either way, next time I’m invited to go to Ronald’s house to play with his sister, I’ll make sure it’s his older sister or his mother is going to be home.
