I see my dad’s truck turn onto our street. I yell to my brothers and sisters, “Dad’s home!” We take off running raising a cloud of dust as each foot strikes the ground. I reach for my handlebars on my bike and lift it to its wheels. Without missing a beat I jump to the seat. I throw my right foot over the bike and down to the pedal. The bike starts to move forward. I raise the left to place it on the pedal only to catch it with my shin “ouch.” I am the last one to leave the field but it doesn’t matter. I reach the front yard as his truck pulls in the drive. I don’t wait for my bike to stop. I leap off and it crashes to a stop. We meet dad at the unopened door of his truck. He is leaning over to the passenger side to grab his Thermos bottle and lunch pail. I can hear him saying, “What on God’s green earth is going on?” over the screams of my brothers and sisters. My oldest brother Mike screams over us, “Mom said you might take us to get hamburgers and root beer tonight.”
“She did?” he replied. “Well let me see what she has to say. Now move away from the door so I can get out.” He exits the truck.
I turn to follow my siblings between the two vehicles toward the porch. Dad following behind me grabs the handle of the door as I walk through it. I hear Tim say to mom, “dad’s home.” Dad reaches the kitchen to greet mom and gives her a peck on the cheek. He drops down to the chair at the head of the table. He raises his leg to remove his boot and Brain helps him with his struggle. Mom says to move away from your father and let him rest a little. We move to the living room and turn the TV on.
I hear them discussing dinner plans. Mom tells dad how she had a big workload today with doing the laundry, ironing and shopping for our school supplies, that she wasn’t up to making dinner. Dad sounds like he is not up to the task either so it looks as if we are going to get hamburgers and A&W root beer tonight. “We’re going.” I threw my hand up in the air to get a high-five from Chris.
The sound of the gallon glass jug coming out of the cabinet in the kitchen is followed by my mom telling us to get our shoes. By now she is in the living room asking who is going. Pat and Lance tell her that they are staying behind. “That’s fine”, as she reaches for her purse. The rest of us have already stepped out on to the porch. Bev shouts, “Shotgun.” “No It is my turn”, I said. Mom looks at me as if to say your sister said it first. I let it drop.
With the car rolling up Seneca Street we reach the driveway to Griff’s Hamburgers. Then mom turns the car into the drive and over to a parking stall. A girl skates to the car catching the pole near the driver side window to slow her down. She asks my mom, “What will it be?” “I will have the ten for ten and two double patties” mom says. Moments later the girl returns with a bag in hand. Oh man I can smell them as she passes the bag to my mom who in turn gives it to Bev. With her coin changer she extracts the change for the bills mom hands her. Mom palms the coins as she starts the car, the next stop root beer.
The A&W root beer stand is just up the street. When we get there mom hands the jug to Ron. Him and Tina walk up to the stand and place it on the counter. The boy behind the counter removes the cork stopper and turns away to fill it. He returns to the counter and places the once empty jug on the counter and replaces the cork with a pound of his hand. Reaching up Tina hands the boy the quarter mom gave her. They return to the car. The car is filled with the aroma of what is in the bag. I cannot wait to eat.
At the house Curtis pours the root beer into glasses as mom places chips on the plate next to the hamburgers. I grab my plate and cup and make my way to the living room where the TV trays are set up and the TV is tuned to The Wild Kingdom of Omaha. Now this is the life.
Married a Gypsy 