Stinkin' P&J

September 11. 2013

     Daejon certainly won’t show up at my door again anytime soon. He was dropped off at the corner by the big yellow school bus, after a day of second grade, sweaty and hesitant. Didn’t even knock, I simply noticed Tyrus barking at the front door and wagging his tail widely. A peek around the corner produced Daejon, with his flat backpack strapped to his shoulder, a white tag with contact information attached to the top. His hair, in tight braids that wrap his thick wet head, led him, skulking, into the house. He looked more than a bit forlorn and cautious. He claimed his mom told him to come here, if she wasn’t at the bus stop. Of course he is welcome, I assure him his mom had asked me last week and I agreed. If I am not home, I let him know, he can hang out in the sun room to wait. I whisked him into the house and told him we could make a freezing smoothie to cool him down. “A smoooothie?” He responded that he is starved, when I asked him if he’d like a snack.

     I pulled out the bread, fresh peanut butter jar and homemade strawberry jam. He rolled the peanut butter around on the bread until I demonstrated how he can spread it flat. The jam came out in a big glob and he had trouble with that as well. I let him struggle, succeed, then noted his smile behind the disconcerting frown. He clumsily cut the sandwich in half and brought it into the livingroom to park on the pale yellow leather chair at the front window. Soon, he was flinging the sandwich around, swirling it in front of Tyrus’ nose. I realized he was not enjoying it and was wishing the dog would reduce his misery. “What is this?” “It is just real crushed peanuts made into peanut butter and strawberries smashed into jam. I gave you whole wheat bread, haven’t you had it before?” He complained the smoothie is “Kinda watery,” in a despairing voice. Yet, when his mother appeared in the driveway, he ran into the kitchen to pour more “watery” drink into his glass. I poured it all into a large plastic tumbler and told him to share it with his sister on the way home.

     As I leaned into the car to say hello to JJ and mom, I noticed Daejon smashing Red Flame Doritos into his mouth from a giant bag he found on the front seat. I said my goodbyes then returned to the kitchen to clean up the spoils and noticed the peanut butter sandwich. What hadn’t gone into Ty’s mouth, was sitting atop the garbage, in the can next to the stove. Tyrus will welcome Daejon into the house anytime. He’ll probably send him a formal invitation by mail.