ARR 1988 - Flipbook - Page 24
after him and gave him a kick in the ass as he was going down the steps. That
made him mad and he turned and swung and hit her in the face with his fist.
She fell and cracked her head with a resounding thwack on the concrete
doorstep and woke up in a hospital bed to find out from a nurse that the
landlady had heard the scuffles and had come out to find poor Mary B.
unconscious by the front door.
She didn't feel too bad, but her head did hurt and the nurse told her she
had a concussion and would have to stay in several days for observation.
Thinking about what had happened upset her since she was sure it was
because she had rushed off in such a hurry that morning and forgotten to say
a prayer for safe journey and this was her punishment. In general it was fun
being in the hospital, though, and getting all that attention; eating good food
was a pastime she'd almost forgotten, and she had the company of several
other ladies on the ward.
She worried about Ophelia..Joy home all alone with no one to give her
vitamins and daily beer or even a drink of water, until finally, gathering up
her courage, she phoned Mrs. Rapinski to thank her for calling the
ambulance and then, reluctantly, blurted out her request that the landlady
use the pass key, go into her apartment and water her plant. Maybe Mrs.
Rapinski would even break up a vitamin pill and sprinkle it around on the
top of the soil? There was a long pause while Mrs. Rapinski thought it over,
probably considered some nasty remarks, and finally agreed to do it.
Mary B. sighed with relief. Then, she thought of what the landlady
might have said if she had added, "Oh, and would you please open a can of
beer and give my plant half of it?" She laughed until her head hurt, thinking
of Mrs. Rapinski holding the phone at arm's length while she looked up the
number of the "nut farm"where she'd commit Mary B.
Finally, it was time to go home. Mrs. Rapin ski came to pick her up and
soon she was back in her apartment. Ophelia-Joy looked fine, strong and
green. And there, on one of her uppermost branches, was the most beautiful
and colorful blossom Mary B. could imagine. She opened her last can of beer,
thankful that she had not asked Mrs. Rapin ski to give it to the plant, and sat
in her armchair to survey their new addition.
The flower was a delicate pink, shaded with white around the edges
and it stood up proudly as ifit were the first flower ever to bloom in plantdom,
instead ofjust a common one found everywhere. Mary B. wept with gratitude
at this exquisite homecoming present and then smiled at Ophelia-Joy and
said, "Now, darlin', wouldn't you like some beer after your long fast?"
The lovely flower nodded in agreement. Mary B. was about to pour the
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