Peace and Tranquility Bought for $1.10
The picture seemed to glow on the wall of the darkened bedroom; a beautiful chestnut horse and a kind faced man with two dogs at a campfire. Kitty could gaze at that framed bit of peaceful tranquility and the cacophony from the living room would disappear from Kitty’s awareness. The strident voice of Jackie Gleason “You’re going to the moon Alice”, could not completely drown out Chester, her stepfather. “Do we eat tonight Verna, or do we await the Second Coming? Get me another beer” “Get it yourself you slob. I been working all day, in addition to which I’m the one brought it home for you”. Which was true, thinking to keep Chester calm enough to get through an evening in a semblance of harmony. Wrong! Harmony and Chester did not occupy the same space. His employ as a postal worker was suffering the slings and arrows of increased beer intake, mornings often claiming another nod on the pillow until, “Verna, call Leroy, tell him my war wound is acting up”. You could get away with that to a certain degree on his sort of job but there comes a time when reality overtakes an alcohol soaked unreality. “I told you Verna, you dense or something?” NO STEW! He threw the bowl at her and it smashed against the wall.
The room was quiet, both passed out from their beer and stew battle in respective corners, Chester claiming the La-Z-Boy and Verna the couch. Kitty tiptoed past them and thought to find something, anything to eat. Two empty tins of Dinty Moore Stew were on the sink and a saucepan of congealed brown gravy with protruding objects, probably potatoes, looking as though they were edible so Kitty fingered one loose. Not too bad, was the verdict, so she licked her fingers and got a spoon for a little of the gelatinous gravy.
One has not gained a great store of knowledge by age 12 but in small matters, Kitty had a system worked out. A stipend of 25 cents daily was meant for a sandwich and milk at school, so she took the sandwich, abjured the milk and 10 cents went into her Fund, meant to pad a saving for luxuries such as movie magazines and occasional movie tickets. She presently had a grand total of ten dimes, one dollar, a magnificent sum. She dared not bring movie magazines into Chester’s line of sight. Of that there would be hell to pay, there could be no doubt. Mr. Adams, of Adams Pharmacy and Sundries, looked the other way when Kitty thumbed through the many movie mags on his news stand, even though she purchased few of them. He often invited her to taste a double dipped ice cream cone and he would say “just finished the bottom of this barrel out and I need to set up a new one, be my guest Kitty”. Kitty was so skinny if she needed an x-ray you could see through her without a machine. This most likely caused his empty barrel excuse to be used more than was actually a fact.
I can’t turn in another “incomplete” homework was the thought wearing a track in Kitty’s brain. It was happening so often now, the teacher was giving her sidelong glances when she turned her paper in of a morning. How am I supposed to do home work with fireworks going off ? she asked herself. Mrs Waters her teacher, motioned her. “Kitty, please take this note to your parents and I would like their reply tomorrow.”
The note sent Chester into a fit of rage, the word abuse, abuse, abuse, and malnourished, issuing from spittle flecked lips. He also had Kitty’s little red coin purse in his hand, found under a corner of the linoleum beneath her bed, 10 dimes and now two nickels. “Where did you get this you slut, where, where?” His face red from possibly an already consumed six pack. Where was her mother? Kitty screamed as he approached, eyes bulging. As she passed the window she saw the form of her mother lying on the grass out in back.
NO, CHESTER, NO
She reached for the picture, the horse’s chestnut coat was warm, and trembled slightly. The kind faced man’s hand reached towards her and the dogs whimpered happily. She grasped the man’s hand as Chester grabbed her long ponytail but the beautiful horse was stronger and pulled her away and they were off to that land of peaceful tranquility.
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