Page 78 of Mark Us Little Bear
“You’re always welcome,” Ronnie winks, “You’ll get VIP treatment.”
“What is this talk about VIP treatment?” Dad strides towards us, lighting his own cigarette. “I have a gig in the city next month. A family hired me for a week so I will visit you as much as you want.” His eyes land on me.
Closing the gap between us, he catches my hand and twirls me in place before I press myself to him and Dad brings his arm around me. “I look forward to it,” I say with a smile.
“Do you know the story about Amber’s purple dress?” I can already hear the laughter in his voice. “It’s time for embarrassing stories about your childhood everyone needs to participate.”
“Dad, come on not this.” I peer up at him through my lashes, begging him to drop this.
“Shh, it’s going to be okay.” He rubs my back and I sigh as the soft music stops.
“Please elaborate,” Bradley encourages.
“I got a call from Amber’s teacher saying she refuses to return to class because she tore her purple dress. I told her she had spare clothes in her bag but nope. Amber refuses to wear anything but that dress. She held on to it for dear life, refusing to throw it away because it was the first dress she picked herself. I had to stitch it several times because she always tore it in the same spot when she climbed to the roof with me.”
I have so many photos with that dress it’s ridiculous, someone would think I didn’t have anything else to wear. Dad tells that story holding his head up high. Though, I loved that dress for a particular reason.
“Amber, can you feel her?” Mom places my hand on her belly and my little sister kicks against it. “Can you feel your sister?” I fist my purple dress in my free hand as I concentrate.
My eyes go up to her and I nod with parted lips, completely immersed in that moment.
That’s the little I remember from that time. I keep it locked in my vault up here. It was the first time I felt her, brewing in Mom’s belly, and I knew I would protect her because I already loved her from that moment.
“I have one,” Tiffany jogs to us with her contagious evil laugh, “Bradley got drunk once as a teen. It was late at night. Everyone was sleeping but he didn’t want to wake us so he decided to sleep in the driveway.”
“Oh, yeah, so considerate of me.”
“Only I got a call in the morning from our neighbor that my son is sleeping in their car. He was so drunk and tired that he went to the wrong driveway.” Tiffany laughs her ass off. “God, I laughed so hard at his stupid drunk ass. You’re lucky he didn’t drive with you inside his car.”
Bradley palms his face. “What was I thinking? Out of everyone it had to be the Morrison’s.”
“Cole on the other hand,” Tiffney eyebrows hike up.
“I’m anangel.“ He points to his face. “Innocent.”
“Innocent my ass. I got a call from school. The teacher’s voice was filled with terror. His entire shirt was covered in a red substance.” She waves her hands around, telling the story with so much passion. “In the morning before he went out, he used to pocket ketchup packs for school because he refused to eat without them. It exploded in his pocket during the day. He didn’t notice that until he returned to class. But the panic in his teacher’s voice was priceless. Cole thought he was bleeding out. I told her to tell him to taste it and he realized it was ketchup.”
“I think I almost gave her a heart attack.”
“Not so innocent after all,” She replies with a sly grin.
My shoulders shake as stories keep piling up.
“What about you Ronnie?” Dad asks.
“I… walked once to the wrong apartment. I accidentally pushed the wrong button in the elevator. I was so tired I ended up in someone else’s house because they kept the door open. It took me several seconds to notice and I snuck out before they did.” He chuckles. “Another one was when I went with my mom to a shop, I think I was six. She ordered something and I looked around but when I returned to where she was and slid my hand in hers, another woman looked down at me in surprise.”
“Oh no, you poor thing.” Bradley purses his lips together, trying to hold his laugh with pinched eyebrows. “I think she was surprised as well.”
“She was in complete shock.”
“My dad took me to the beach once.” Tiffany starts. “I don’t know why he only had a towel and a skewer. I seriously can’t remember why. But he started doing magic tricks with the skewer as a wand… I was four, I think, and very eager to try it myself. So I took the skewer, did the magic spell while I waved it, and pushed it straight into my dad’s nose.”
“Oh, no!” Bradley immediately covers his mouth. Dad and I die laughing, Ronnie does too.
“Was he bleeding?” Cole’s eyes widen.
“Of course. Good thing he had a towel.” She burst out laughing.
