"Momma hold on!"

Ring, Ring Ring  

“Sandra, bring me the cordless phone!” I yell from the laundry room. I decided to go ahead and put the rest of the laundry in the washing machine.  “My god! What does that boy do when he’s at school?” I say holding up my son's dirty t-shirt.  

My daughter comes into the room holding the phone up to her ear.  

“Yes Grandma, I’ll be over this weekend,” she says. “No, I passed the test. I got a B+.” She nods her head as she listens. “Okay, cool. Can I get anything I want?” 

I watch my daughters face lighten up as she smiles from ear to ear. I can only imagine what my mother is saying in her ear.  I hold my hand out, to let her know her time was up.   

“I have to go Grandma, you know how she gets,” Sandra says with a chuckle. “Love you too!” She places the cordless phone into my open palm. She kisses me on the cheek and leaves the room.  

“Hey momma!” I say into the receiver. The phone beeps letting me know that the battery is low.  “I don’t why the hell they can never put the phone on the charger!”  I put the last of the clothes in the washing machine as I listen to my mother rant about the people at her church. I have the phone cradled between my shoulder and my neck. The beeping sound starts to increase.  

Click, Click 

“Ho....ho... hold on Momma!” I say interrupting her story. I click the button the phone to answer the other line. “Hello!” I answer.  “I’m on the phone right now Charles, you’ll have to call Sandra back later. Or better yet, don’t call back. I’ll have her call you.” I don’t wait for a response before clicking the button to get back to my momma. “Okay, momma I’m back. So, what else happened?” My momma continues with story of drama at the pull pit.  

I walk into the kitchen to grab the phone attached to the wall. I pick up the handset and turn off the cordless phone.  

“Hold on Momma!” I say in the receiver. “Junior, come and get this cordless phone and put it on the charger for me.”  I set the phone on the counter. “Okay, Momma!”  

As a teenager I’d become a pro at cradling the phone between my neck and shoulder. It had become second nature to me. I took my chicken out of the refrigerator and put it on the counter. It was time to start preparing dinner.   

“What you cookn’?” Junior asked as he entered the kitchen. He picked up the cordless phone. “You do know that it be your daughter that don’t put the phone on the charger?”  

“Hold on Momma,” I say into the receiver. “What are you talking about? Don’t you see I'm on the phone!” 

“Hey Grandma!” he yells over me. “Chicken again?” He lets out loud sigh and leaves the kitchen.  

“I’m sorry Momma keep going,” I say, as I wash my chicken under some warm water. I take my seasoning out of the cabinet and line them up. I nod and laugh at the way my momma is talking about these people she calls her friends.  

Ding, Dong 

I put the last of the seasoning on my chicken and throw some chopped broccoli in the pan along with some butter.   

“Hold on Momma!............Sandra......Junior......one of you guys open the door,” I yell. I put my chicken in the oven and turn the knob to 400.  I walk towards the front door, still cradling the handset between my neck and shoulder. I had purchased a 100-foot cord the week before for moments like this. I moved around a lot and since my teenage children couldn’t keep the cordless phone charged; it came in handy.  I looked through the peephole to see my neighbor standing on my porch. I opened the door.  

“Hey girl! What’s going on?” I ask my neighbor. “Hold on Momma!”  

“Hey girl! I just wanted to stop by and give this to Sandra,” she says and hands me a little pink paper bag. “It’s the Avon she ordered from me last week. She got some good stuff.” 

I take the bag. “Where the hell she get some money from?” I say jokingly, while looking in the bag. I can hear my mom yelling at my dad through the phone.  

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t even notice that you were on the phone,” she says. “Will you just give that to her for me? We can talk later.”  

“Okay, girl! I’ll catch up with you later.” I close the door.  “Okay, Momma I’m back!” And she starts blabbing again.  

I turn to head back to the kitchen and bump into Sandra. I hand her the bag.  

“Wait a minute Momma! Where did you get some money from?” I ask my daughter.  

“From Daddy!”  

I head back to the kitchen just as she turns to go to her room.  The phone cord is so long that drags on the floor. She trips but doesn’t fall.  

“That phone cord is stupid,” she says as she stomps up the stairs.  

I chuckle and go back into the kitchen to finish preparing our dinner.   

Click, Click 

“Hold on Momma, somebody calling,” I say interrupting her again. I wondered if she talked about me like this with them. “Hello,” I answer. “Yeah, um, no! I’m not interested.” I listen. “I said I’m not interested.”  I shake my head. “Dad why are you calling me from the office phone with this mess. I said I’m not interested, that has nothing to do with me. Mom is the boss, and you know it. Stop trying to act like it’s something new,” I say.  “Well, she’s on the other line, I have to go. Yes, Sandra will be other tomorrow for sure. I’m not sure about Junior. Okay, I have to go. Bye!” I shake my head before press the button to get back to my momma. “Okay Momma! I’m back!”