The Man from the TV

TW: Derogatory language

Momma used to have a lot of visitors, but I wasn’t allowed to talk to them. She would send me out into the yard when her visitors came by. But she was nice about it. She’d make me breakfast and tell me I needed to go outside while she talked to her visitors. Sometimes, the visits were really fast, and other times, I’d be outside until my belly started talking. Momma always said she was sorry when that happened. Momma was always really nice, so I guess that was why people liked to visit so much. But that was before, and now Momma only gets one visitor. 

The Man started visiting a few months ago, I think. I only know that because he looked different than the other visitors. The other people looked normal, I guess, but The Man wore fancy clothes, and he had shiny shoes. I didn’t even know shoes could be that shiny. My shoes aren’t shiny, but I don’t wear them a lot. Unless we were going somewhere, but Momma liked to stay home. She said that I was so sweet, she didn’t need to go out to see anyone else, and I said that’s awfully nice of you, Momma, and she kissed my forehead.

Momma had been sick lately. She was throwing up a lot, and I had to help her wash her hair. She had said she was sorry, but I liked helping her because she enjoyed helping me when I needed it. Plus, I liked how it made her hair smell like strawberries. I would do anything for my Momma. She was my best friend forever.

Today, Momma said she was getting a visitor and spent the whole morning cleaning up our house. She had never cleaned for visitors before, so I made sure I cleaned up my room real good. When I was done, Momma told me I did a great job and could have a sip of her pop as a reward. She never let me drink pop, so I know I did good. Momma made me a PB&J and then looked at the microwave clock after I was done eating and said it was time to go outside. She kissed me on the forehead.

I was in the backyard digging a hole when the big car pulled into our driveway. The Man got out of the back seat and went into our house, and I heard Momma laugh at something he had said before she closed the door. Momma had a good laugh. The kind that made you want to laugh with her.

Another person stayed in the car; I could see them in the front seat, and I thought it was weird that The Man didn’t drive the car himself. I thought about asking the driver if he wanted a drink or something. Momma always did that when people came over, but I stayed where I was. These holes wouldn’t dig themselves. 

I don’t know how long The Man was in the house. My belly hadn’t started talking, so it wasn’t dinner time yet, but I think it was almost time. I had stopped digging my hole and moved on to making potions from sticks and mud when The Man came outside. The Man had never spoken to me before–Momma’s rules, but he walked into the backyard this time. His shoes were still shiny, and I was worried that the hole I dug might get them dirty. I didn’t want to make Momma’s visitor upset. 

The Man was wearing a black suit, but his shirt was untucked. I had never seen someone in a suit that untucked their shirt. The Man walked over to me and squatted down to see what I was doing. Momma’s rule had been blaring in my head all day, so I didn’t say anything. 

The Man spoke to me first. “What are you doing, kid?” 

I was scared to talk to him but didn’t want to be rude, so I said, “Making potions, but I think I’m all done now.” 

The Man seemed to find this funny, “What kind of potions? Maybe you can make me a good luck potion.” 

I looked at his face then and wondered if maybe he was stupid. Momma didn’t like it when I said so, but I thought that a lot of grown-ups were kind of dumb. Didn’t he know that this was make-believe?

The Man rubbed at his jaw and looked at the car in the driveway. I think he wanted to leave, but he said to me, “Kid, do you know what a whore is?” 

I shook my head. I never heard of that before. It sounded like a rated-R word.

The Man nodded and leaned in close to my face. He smelled like toothpaste. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Well, let me tell you. Whores are scum, and they ruin people’s lives if you’re not careful. And sometimes they get these ideas in their head that they aren’t just whores. That they’re more than that, but they’re not. Don’t ever go near them. OK?”

I didn’t know why he told me this, but I said OK.

“Sometimes you have to do difficult things when you want something. Things that are mean or bad. You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet. Do you know that one?” 

I thought about it. It didn’t sound like another rated-R word, so I asked, “What’s an omelet?”

The Man blinked a couple of times and sighed, standing up again, “Right. I’m leaving. Your mother is in her bedroom. She said she didn’t feel well and she’s taking a nap. So don’t go in there bothering her. She needs to rest and might not get up for a long while. Got it?” 

I said OK, and The Man left. I went inside the house, and Momma was in her room. I waited for her to come out, but she never did. I made a ham sandwich for my supper and checked on Momma. She didn’t wake up when I called her name, so she must’ve been really tired.

I shook her shoulder to see if she would wake up, but she didn’t. Her arm was cold, so I tucked a blanket around her. It smelled like pee in her room, so I lit her favorite candle and put it on the dresser. She didn’t like me using lighters, but I thought she would prefer her room not to smell bad. I’d explain it to her later.

I left Momma’s room and turned on the TV to watch until she woke up. Momma had been watching it last, and the news was on. The Man was on the screen. He wore a blue suit, but his shirt was tucked in now, and he had his arm around a lady beside him. People were clapping for him, and he kissed the lady. He said he was “running for office.” I didn’t know what that meant, so I changed the channel to Loony Tunes. 

I went into the kitchen and heated water in the microwave. Momma liked to have ginger tea when her belly was messed up. I put in her two-spoons-of-sugar-thanks-hun and went back into her room. I set the cup on her nightstand just as Wile E. Coyote ran into the wall and went SPLAT. 

In the morning, I checked on her again. The tea was cold, and she was still asleep.