Free The Happiest Season by Rosemarie Naramore

drycleaners ASAP,” she
said, stifling a laugh.
    He still appeared frozen and didn’t unthaw until Maggie
said, “Do you happen to have the phone number of the guy who owns the…”
    “Ass,” he interjected with a smirk.
    “You said a bad word, John!” Rickey accused.  “Mama, get the
soap!”
    John burst out laughing.  “I need soap all right, and not
just for my mouth.”  With a shoring breath, he pulled a notebook from his back
pocket.  He scanned it and found what he was looking for.  This time, when he
called the owner of the animal, he wasn’t nearly so understanding.
    “Come get this a—er, donkey out of Miss Dulane’s yard, or
I’m calling Animal Control.”
    He hung up and turned to Maggie
and said sweetly, “He shouldn’t be long.”
    “Let’s hope not,” she said, biting back a smile.  “So… 
Would you like a cookie?”
     
    ***
     
    “The donkey’s gone,” Rickey declared, as he watched the
beast being led out of the backyard.  “I’m going to miss him,” he said sadly.
    “I’m not,” Maggie and John said in unison.  They turned
toward one another and smiled with chagrin.
    “Would you like to clean up?” Maggie asked him then, noting
he looked horribly uncomfortable in the soiled uniform.
    “I would,” he told her.  “In fact, I’m going to head home
and do just that.  Fortunately, I have another uniform cleaned and pressed.”
    “Fortunately,” she agreed, her eyes doing a pass over his
uniform.  She couldn’t help it.  She began laughing.
    “You think this is funny?” he asked in a mock-stern voice.
    She shook her head, but the action morphed into an up and
down motion.  “I can’t lie,” she said, still laughing.  “It’s kind of funny.”
    “You think?”
    She nodded.
    “You really think?”
    She nodded again.  And as had happened in her kitchen
before, their eyes locked.  A silent communication passed between them.  When
he reached toward her and took a lock of her hair, she wasn’t certain what his
intent was.  Was he going to fondle her hair?  Was this an unexpected romantic
gesture?  Because, if so, it needed to stop and it needed to stop now. 
    She attempted to take a step back, but he held onto her
hair.  It wasn’t until he tugged at the strand, studied it and made a face, and
then wiped his hand on his already soiled uniform that she realized what he was
showing her.  She had donkey snot on her head!
    He registered the look of disgust, and then anger, on her
face.  “Not so funny now,” he whispered into her ear, and then reached for
another clump of her gooey hair.  He shook his head and moved to the sink and
washed his hands.  When he turned back, he smiled.  “You really need to wash
your hair.”
    Now she stood frozen, contemplating the goo on her head.  “I
don’t like donkeys,” she muttered forlornly.
    “Me neither,” he agreed.
    “We’ll get a camel instead,” Rickey said reasonably.

 
    ***
     
    “Wasn’t it great that Officer John could come see us again,”
Rickey said cheerfully, as he climbed into bed.  He’d already said his prayers
and was relatively agreeable about bedtime.  Maggie realized he must really be
tired to be so accommodating.
    “Honey, Officer John’s visit wasn’t a social call.”
    “Social call?  What is that?”
    “Never mind,” she said, smiling.  “You’re right.  It was
nice of him to come by.  It was especially nice of him to remove that awful
donkey from our backyard.”  She gave a shudder at the memory.  She’d already
taken a long shower, had washed her hair four times, but she still felt filthy.
    “The donkey wasn’t so bad.  I think he just had a cold.”
    Maggie chuckled.  “Could be.”
    “And at least he didn’t kick the back of our house.”
    “You make a good point.”
    “And he didn’t spit at you.”
    Maggie conceded the point with a nod.  “That’s true.”
    “I wonder how he got in our yard,” he said.  “Officer John
made