Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Pink Lady Apple Yeggs and my friend, and brother-in-law, Deviled Yeggs suggested that I record each project that I set up in the hopes of reforming the people who continue to work for Lily the Pink Enterprises.  If for no other reason, it would show how God is at work.

I was having an odd group of people in my office.  I guess that I have written that a lot, but the Evidents were all there including the boy they wanted to adopt, Clarence Bell.  But I also had Mildred Aufdringlich from child services with the birth mother of Clarence Bell, Tina Bell.

But before the Evidents arrived, Mildred wanted to catch up with Menzie.  She had been the child services counselor that agreed for the Lily the Pink staff to teach Menzie in about nine months what should take two school years.  She also approved Missy to have her daughter once she was satisfied this was a stable situation.

Menzie gave Mildred a hug.  Mildred was surprised Menzie remembered her.

Menzie said, “I can remember that whirlwind of events like they were yesterday.  You were all business, but I could see that you had my best interest at heart.”

Then Mildred took a step backward and asked, “And what is that on your finger?”

Menzie showed her the engagement ring.  “Samuel Farquharson proposed at the ‘Return to School Bash’ at the Snazzy Taz a month ago.”

Mildred said, “I need to sit down.  Mrs. Yeggs, I thought Menzie was in capable hands, but isn’t Samuel the boy who impregnated her the second time?  Is Menzie just now a Sophomore in high school?”

I snickered, “Yes. The children were in a car wreck.  Sophia Yeggs was driving and the boy in the other lane was trying to get a look at Menzie.  He shoved Sophia’s car off the road and then veered across to oncoming traffic.  His passenger was killed, and we are here to resolve how we handle Clarence Bell who was in the backseat of that offending car, not wearing a seatbelt.”

Mildred nodded, “I knew Clarence was injured in an automobile accident that took the life of the other passenger, and I know the driver is out on bail, pending his day in court, vehicular homicide.  But I did not think the passengers in the other car was germane.  But how does that explain being engaged to someone who basically raped her?”

Menzie asked if she could explain.  She talked about how sweet Samuel was.  He was there strictly because his mother insisted that he prove he was a man.  Elspeth, Samuel’s mother, is still in counseling, but Menzie and Elspeth get along great now.  Samuel insisted on being part of Sammie’s life, and he wants to adopt Sammie and Lauren as soon as they get married.  But that will not be until after Menzie graduates high school.  Samuel is a senior this year.  Since he had been so considerate under adverse conditions, Menzie already liked him.  Now, they are a dance duo, swing dancing.  And now that Samuel is a bit larger, Sophie has hired him to be Menzie’s bodyguard.  He has been taking martial arts classes.

Mildred sighed, “Young love.  I would have waited, but young lady, you have been through a lot.  What do you want to do with your life?”

Menzie shrugged, “I sing at the Snazzy Taz, and I sang at a music festival in Scotland this past summer.”

Mildred asked, “You sing at the Snazzy Taz?  I have never developed a love of Jazz.  If I know when you are singing, I will try to attend, but you are not old enough to get in.  And how did you end up in Scotland?”

Menzie giggled and told her how she started singing while imprisoned by her grandmother, but then Emmett Dalton was the saxophonist at the Taz part-time, and Mommie Pinkie and Emmett worked with her.  Menzie explained how she was now the featured singer, and the house is packed each night that she sings, but the club works it around her school schedule which included her being the starting second baseman for the state champion softball team this past Spring.  Mildred hugged her and congratulated her.

Menzie was not invited to the main meeting, but she stayed.  There would be three teenaged mothers, past and present, in the room: Tina Bell, Missy, and Menzie.

For this reunion, Missy had given Tina Bell, Clarence Bell’s birth mother, a tour of the Crystal Mountain, from the ground level only.  Tina was impressed.  She had never seen a theme park before, but the Crystal Mountain was what she imagined them to be like.  But there was not much of a theme to the greenhouse.  The water sluices above their heads grew water lilies, tropical African plants, and a variety of vegetables and fruit.  The waterfall and the water tanks that were disguised as banyan trees made everything look like a jungle.  Then there were two water slides.  But then there was a beach volleyball court with grandstands and an Olympic-sized swimming pool that was set up to be a water polo pool, along with grandstands.  But some of that was removable so that a stage could be set up for nightly vespers, and the vespers area rearranged slightly for a popular wedding venue.  We were not advertising ourselves as a wedding destination, but the word was getting out in Tracy.

Tina rejected the invitation for apple cider until Missy said that we had the non-alcoholic variety.  After smelling the hint of apple and cinnamon, Tina was getting thirsty.

When Missy and Tina entered my office, Georges, Jochebed, Dinah, and Clarence were there.

Missy asked, “Menzie, did you show Mildred your photo?”  Menzie shook her head.  “We can get started a minute late.  I think she needs to see that photo.”

Mildred was led by Menzie into the entrance.  Menzie said for her to look closely and see if she recognized anyone.  When they came back about a minute later, Mildred said, “Pink, can you have the mayor send me a copy of that picture.  One of the children we handed off to you from the system has appeared on stage with Paul McCartney?  We need to set up a wall of success stories.  Menzie wasn’t with us for long, she is now our star, and she played second base on the state champion softball team.  But now, I think you can get the show started.  Maybe Clarence will be our new star.”

I chuckled, “Okay, this is not a court proceeding, but we will try to keep it formal.  There may be court proceedings that come out of this.”

Kanok came over from the play area.  I said firmly, “No introductions, Kanok.”

Kanok huffed, “I don’t know everyone.  Can I welcome them?”

I nodded, “Sure, sweetheart.”

Kanok smiled and bowed, “Sawasdee Kah.”  Those that knew what to do bowed and said, “Sawasdee Kah.”  But Georges and Clarence said, “Sawasdee Khrap.” 

Tina looked confused.  Then Kanok giggled, “They are boys.  They said it right.”  Then she ran to play with the others.

Mildred asked, “And who was that?”

I laughed, “Soon after you allowed us to keep Menzie, Gwen Quinn, my company president, returned from a world tour.  She brought six children with her, orphans from around the world.  They worked out the legal paperwork.  I adopted Kanok from Thailand, and Joon from South Korea.  Then, Gwen adopted Valin from India, Thanh from Vietnam, Asha from an undisclosed country in Africa, and Catalina from Chile.  It is a long story as to how the families of these children were connected to GrandPa, that is my husband’s grandfather who is nearing one hundred years old.  We have a lot of skin colors in our play area at times.”

I cleared my throat, “As you know, the Evidents have been taking care of Clarence Bell since the automobile accident.  Menzie was one of the passengers in the other vehicle.  And praise the Lord, they were all wearing their seatbelts.  No one in the other car was.  Clarence is so blessed to have not been hurt very badly.  He spent one night in the hospital for observation.  The other passenger in the car Clarence was in was killed.  Clarence made a comment, very innocent comment, that he wondered if the driver had gotten a glimpse of Menzie.  So that pointed to why the accident occurred, and to an extent, why the two boys in the car proposed to their girlfriends that night.  They realized how fragile life can be.  But, when the driver’s father heard what Clarence had said, he washed his hands of being Clarence’s foster father, and Georges immediately stepped in.”

Tina interrupted, “I don’t think that’s going to work.”

I asked, “How so?”

Tina shrugged, “Look at them.  How is that going to work?  They are black, and Clarence is white.”

I sighed, “I just told Mildred how color of skin means nothing around here.  We judge people on their abilities and their character.  And we either deal with the warts, or we get to love those warts.  If they live according to God’s law, the best they can, their skin color means nothing.  I am not exactly white.  I do not tan.  I just turn a darker pink. … Okay.  Let me offer another couple to be your child’s foster parents.  The man is a police detective, in line to be promoted to detective sergeant when he has enough time in grade.  He is already doing the work of a sergeant, running the Organized Crime group and helping out in homicide.  He is more than half Italian as far as ethnicity.  And he has distinguished himself in the past few months by closing down an organized crime warehouse with enough guns that it was clear they were ready to start a gang war.  He rescued several girls from human trafficking.  And while working for homicide, he got a confession from the murderer of one of my security guards here at Lily the Pink.  Now for the woman.  She is doing experiments with exotic African plants to find healing properties.  The first of several medicines, excuse me, first two, are in the early stages of clinical trials.  The process takes a long time.  She is also a wet nurse if we have need of someone to nurse a starving baby.  She is a certified midwife, and the doctors know not to mess with her when she is in the delivery room.  She has delivered many of the recent babies here at Lily the Pink.  We have a Mommie’s club here, so we get to know each other very well.  And if all of that does not impress you, she runs the nursery here with a large staff of full-time and part-time personnel.  Does that couple sound more qualified in your way of thinking?”

Tina nodded eagerly, “Yes, those people will be great!  But I want to get Clarence back, but there are a lot of things that have to happen first.  I need to know that he is in good hands until then.  We can’t have any more automobile accidents.  And I want to be there when he meets a girl for the first time, if you know what I mean.”

I waved a hand at Georges and Jochebed, “Meet Detective First Class Georges Evident and his wife, Jochebed, our head of the nursery here at Lily the Pink.”

Tina huffed, “You tricked me.”

I asked, “Jochebed, what has Clarence learned special for this meeting?”

Jochebed whispered to Clarence.

Clarence said, “Maman, je t’aimerai toujours.“ Then he smiled, ”That means, ‘Mom, I will always love you.’  Mamma Jochebed is teaching me French.  She read the Bible in French before she ever learned any English.  And we go to church and a fun Sunday school class here ahead of time that is taught by Aunt Jemima, but some people call her Stinker.  And we have Vespers every night.  I love it here.”

Tina started to cry.  “We always called you Clay.  I named you after my parents.  My Mom was Clara.  My Dad was Lawrence, Larry.  They did not like Clarence, but some people shorten it to Clay.  Your grandma would always sing, ‘Clay Bells ring, are you listening?’”

I asked, “This may never come up in the court case, but I would like to know what happened.  How did you get pregnant with Clarence or Clay, whichever he prefers.”

Clarence said, “I have gotten beaten up because of the Clarence, especially Clarence Bell.  I have no idea who the clown was, but some people call me Clarabell the clown.  I think Clay might be nicer.”

I nodded, “Then, it is Clay.  And Clarabell was even before my time, but I saw some of the old reruns.  Clarabell was on the television show, Howdy Doody, back in the 50s.  And no, I am not that old.  And I doubt if Mrs. Aufdringlich is either.  Now ask GrandPa, and he might remember.  Thou might have grown up watching the show, if they had a TV.  But, Tina, give me an idea of the trauma in your life up to now.  I counsel ladies who work here, and some who don’t, and I have a young man who is working on his last course to finish his Master of Divinity.  He is also taking Psychology classes.  He is my full-time counselor on staff, and both of us are rather busy.  Just a brief history.”

Tina nodded, “My parents were blue collar.  My Mom worked two jobs and my Dad worked as much overtime as he could get his hands on, but we were in an upper middle-class neighborhood, and they wanted the best for me.  But that meant neither of them were at home most of the time.  I became a latchkey kid early on.  When I finished the seventh grade, I had developed a reputation in the neighborhood that I could climb higher in the trees than any of the boys and I could run faster.  I played all the sports in the sandlots around the neighborhood.  One summer, in August, just before school was going to start, I had been with one of the boys all morning.  It was extremely hot that day.  I asked him if he wanted to come to the house and I would fix him a sandwich.  I went all out.  I had cold cuts, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.  We ate the sandwiches, but then we both got groggy.  Maybe it was the heat, but my head started hurting and I felt really sleepy.  I told the guy that I needed to lie down.  He said he needed to do the same thing.  He said we could spoon.  He said his brother had told him how, but he had never done it.  So, we laid in bed in a semi-fetal position.  He was behind me, and he draped his arm around my waste.  As we were getting cooled off a little, feeling sleepier, but unable to sleep, his hand started roaming.  I said that I did not think that was the right thing to do, but he said it was part of the rules of spooning.  Then, a little later, he asked if he could put his finger in my butt.  I said, no, but he said it was part of spooning.  Well, he slid my skort down a little and I told him that was not my butt.  His reply was that it wasn’t his finger anyway.  It was a joke that only worked when you spooned.  Some joke.  I had no idea what he was doing, but it felt okay.  Then it was three months before I realized I was pregnant.  Like I said, I had no idea what he was doing.  My parents looked for the boy, but I had not seen him since that afternoon.  I think he told his older brother and then his parents and they sent the boy off somewhere else in case I was pregnant.  So, I delivered Clay and everything was fine.  I mostly stayed home with him.  I dropped out of school to take care of Clay, and then when Clay was four years old, my parents were in a car wreck.  Dad was taking Mom to her second job of the day because his pickup was in the shop.  They were both killed.  Since I was older than sixteen, I did not come up on child service’s radar, and they must not have known about Clay at the time.  They figured it out later.  I had insurance and a driver’s license.  The house was paid off by then.  But I could not get a job, and if I could, the job would go to babysitting Clay, with nothing left over for food.  A couple of guys came by and said they would move in and help with the bills.  They fixed me up with birth control and used me.  They were making drugs in the basement.  They threw parties and it was at one of those parties when child services showed up and took Clay.  I was deemed an unfit mother.  I went to rehab for alcohol and drug abuse.  I came out and the two guys had burned the house down.  I had not gone to school so I had no friends.  I slept under bridges and such, but then earlier this year, I heard some policeman give a talk and they fed everybody.  I found a way to go back to rehab again, and this time, I want it to stick.  I want Clay back.  But I have no job, no prospects of a job.  I have no place to live.  And the vultures are out there, and they will see that I am vulnerable.”

I nodded, “Yes, it is roughly fifty-fifty if rehab has a lasting effect.  I think the policeman might be my husband’s brother Deviled Yeggs.”  Tina brightened and nodded.  “And I want to make a few phone calls.  Give me a few minutes.”

I called Tammie to see where Rosie was, and they said they were in Tammie’s apartment, playing Parcheesi.  That sounded a bit fishy.  I didn’t think anyone played Parcheesi anymore, but they would be in my office in five minutes or less.  It was about two minutes.  I called Rota, who no longer lived on campus, now that she married an investment broker.  She called Zuzka and told her what was available, but we might not need to go that route, if Tina became Rosie’s next roommate.  But I had Zuzka come in after she had talked to Rota.  And then, for giggles, I called Emmett Dalton.  He and his sisters were at the top of the Crystal Mountain adjusting the environments for all Jochebed’s exotic plants.  As the seasons change, they needed to be moved to get the optimal sunlight.  It was always warm, and even hot up there.  Emmett said that they were about finished, but if I wanted the two sisters to come to a meeting, they would need to shower first.  And be prepared for Sarah to not say anything, but she would bring her tablet.

So, we had a little time.  I asked, “Georges …”

Tina interrupted, “What is his name?”

I laughed, “It is George Evident.  But his romance got started with Jochebed because he could speak French conversationally.  And she pronounced the name in the French fashion, Georges.  Everyone started teasing him and the name stuck.  He introduces himself as Georges, instead of George.  But George, why have you not availed the bus system?  You have been driving Clay to school every day since he got here.”

Georges said, “He could have easily been killed in that car wreck.  I wanted him to know he was safe.  I think he is about ready to ride the bus, but it has given us time to bond.  We have gone by Dr. Mel’s office to set up an appointment. We had some beverages at the coffee house.  No coffee for Clay.  We visited the penthouse, and he met Amy and Ralph E.  We visited the precinct.  Sgt. Weiss has made him an official junior patrol officer, for what that’s worth.  We’ve done a variety of things over the last couple of weeks.  And he has opened up.  He says he even has a girl that he likes, but he has no idea how to break the ice.  He just admires her from afar.  So, Tina’s desire to be here when he meets a girl is possibly imminent.”

Clay said, “She is in about half my classes.  She is more quiet than I am.  She rarely says a word, and she has this special tablet that she carries everywhere.  The teachers are really careful with her.  It takes her longer to answer questions, but she always has the right answers.  She is super smart.  But I don’t even know her name.”

I turned to Mildred, “Mildred, we have the Evidents who wish to adopt Clay.  Clay has been here a short time, but he loves it here.  On the other hand, we have Tina who is not likely to grant the adoption to go through.  She wants to regain her role as Clay’s mother.  What does the court system say about this?”

Mildred sighed, “Yes, Mrs. Yeggs, we have an issue here.  Clay is twelve years old.  At sixteen, he can decide where he wants to go in this state.  That only provides a four-year window.  Seven years ago, acting upon reports from neighbors, we had the police break up what has to be described as an orgy.  Three men and five women, all pleasuring each other.  We found Clay in his bedroom.  He was awake, and he was crying.  At that time, the court made the decision that Tina was an unfit mother and the atmosphere that Clarence, since the court used the name on the birth certificate, was in a toxic situation.  Clarence went into foster care.  The Trent family was the third family to be his foster parents, and it has been determined that Mr. Trent pocketed the money and ignored the needs of Clarence.  Mr. Trent was taken off all foster parenting lists.  But the state law is quite clear, Tina cannot have an influence on Clarence unless she has proven to stay sober.  She must have a job.  She must have a home, at least a proper domicile, like an apartment.  And if those are met, the court would prefer she keep her distance from the foster parents or from Clay until the court decides in favor of Tina acting as the mother.”

I sighed, “And how long of being sober would that take?”

Mildred shrugged, “I have seen the courts require in excess of a year, even two years.  By then, Clarence is in high school and very soon after, he can make his own decisions.”

Rosie, Johnny Jacks, and Tammie came in and sat in the back without saying anything.

I looked Mildred in the eyes, “And what if I provide an apartment for Tina, a job for Tina, and if she is willing to go to AA meetings, I know of some people who might be ready to be a sponsor for Tina.”

Mildred said, “I have heard that Pink Lady Apple Yeggs does something called pinking, but the court has to make that decision.  Why do the Evidents wish to adopt a child of this age?  You have an infant.  Why have another child added when your birth child is so young?”

Jochebed said, “Georges is a very loving man.  Like Tina and like Menzie, I had a child when thirteen years old.  My eldest boy should be ten years old.  But raiders with an ideology of killing Christians and taking their land came into our village.  My husband and the pastor were the first to be killed in cold blood.  I was barely eighteen years old and I had four sons.  I gathered the boys close to me and they shot them.  How I was not shot, I will never know.  When these evil men looked to see if anyone had survived, they saw me covered in blood and not moving.  Others were shot again to make sure they were dead.  It was God’s providence that allowed me to not be shot and to escape when they went to the far side of the village.  I went further into the jungle, and some time later, the same men came to that village.  I recognized them.  I was working for the pastor, and I got his children and his wife and Tyler Hill, who works for Lily the Pink in Washington state.  We ran after the pastor had been killed.  We made it into the jungle, but the pastor’s wife had been mortally wounded.  Tyler called his wife Anna once we made it to civilization.  I had never even seen indoor plumbing in my life.  Everything was new, but Anna talked to Mommie Pinkie, and she made some phone calls.  Asylum takes a long time, but not if you know the right people.  I was able to come here in a short time.  With all this, Georges thought that Clarence would be like my child who had died.  But really, we love Clay for who he is, a very special child of God.”

Mildred turned to me, “And what are you about to pink, Mrs. Pink?”

Zuzka came in the side entrance in the play area and smiled.  She was carrying Olu Kulteni.

I shrugged, “I see a person who has completed her second rehab.  The first failed due to her house burning to the ground while in rehab the first time and not having a home nor a family.  Tina, what skills do you have, other than sexual activities?”

Tina said, “I don’t know.  I kept the house pretty clean when I had one.  I didn’t want Clay to put something in his mouth that might make him sick.”

I chuckled, “We are always looking for help there.  We have certified cleaners in the cider house, but we can teach you.  Tammie, do we have any openings at the moment?  I am not averse to adding a person if need be.”

Tammie said, “Mommie Pinkie, the only official opening is our trash collector.  That person collects all the trash from the bakery, the main apartment building and the Big House and the Crystal Mountain.  Each occupant places their trash in the hallway trash receptacles, and the trash collector collects the trash, relines the receptacle, and then rolls the large bins down to the dumpster.  We had a couple here who were temporarily homeless.  The guy worked construction, and his wife picked up the trash collector job to help build up some money when they moved back into their home after it was rebuilt.  They were fire victims.  The custodian job for the main apartment building may be open soon.  That lady is hoping to get a job outside Lily the Pink, a business down the street, next door to Standish Pharmacy, a dental office.  The dentist says if she works out as the custodian, she might advance to a dental assistant with some training.  That’s all we have at the moment, unless you create something.”

Tina said, “I can collect trash.  But where do I live?”

Rosie smiled, “I don’t know what Zuzka has, but if you are willing to go to AA meetings, I have a sofa.  I sleep on the sofa, and you have the bed until you become acclimated.  If you want to enter AA, then I can recommend a sponsor.”

Tina asked, “Who would that be?”

Rosie said, “I can have more than one partner, but Tammie is far enough along.  She could be your sponsor.  I am presently her sponsor, and Tommie Tat, the company comptroller, is my sponsor.”

Mildred asked, “And how do you three stay away from the alcohol?  After all, you make it here.”

Rosie brightened, “A lot of prayer, but I work in raw materials, up above the cooking vats.  I ensure proper working order for the equipment that measures and feeds the ingredients of the cider recipe.  It is more operation than maintenance, but I do both.  I have to wear a respirator or the ingredients would get to me.  And I am as far away from the alcohol as you can get.  That is why I became the raw materials expert.  Tammie is studying to become the HR manager.  Tommie Tat only sees the numbers.  From the legend of Tommie Tat coming here, she was drunk during the interview.”

I smiled, “I hired her.  She went to State and graduated with impressive grades, and she hardly had a day at the university when she was sober.  I had faith that in the right environment, she could succeed, and I was right.  Tina is further down that trail, but it will not be easy, and we have to convince the courts that if Clarence and Tina are under the same company umbrella, Clarence, I mean, Clay will get his parenting from the Evidents only.  Maybe only chaperoned visits from Tina.  Tina, you are only 25 with a lot of life ahead of you.  It is your decision.  But the courts will need a permanent address.  Zuzka?”

Zuzka smiled, “Yes, Mom.  There is an efficiency apartment down the hall from Rosie.  It needs renovation, but we can rush the work.”

Rosie said, “If she stays with me, we can track the progress.  She can even tell the painters and the flooring people what color scheme she wants.”

Mildred smiled and nodded, “I think that is enough information for me to go to the courthouse next Monday.  I think Judge Farquharson may be the one who gets the task.”

Menzie snickered, “You mean my future father-in-law?  Would I be tampering with the court if I buttered him up tomorrow?”

Mildred gave her a pained look.  “Leave it to me, Menzie.  I do not want it to even look like you were involved, but he may call upon his experiences of what has happened here, the reform of the ladies who work here.  All of that adds up to a positive atmosphere.  And Jochebed, I am sorry for your loss, but I am sure you and Georges will be having more children.  I will pray for that boy.”

At that moment, the door to the entrance hall burst open and Emmett, Arabella, and Sarah came into the room.

Sarah saw Clay and turned to Arabella, “That’s the boy…”  The ‘boy’ was a squeak and nothing more came out.  Arabella intently watched her sister’s hand motions and lips moving.

While that was going on, Clay said, “That’s the girl that I mentioned earlier.”

Menzie giggled, “I think we have a new couple for Stinker’s Sunday school class.”

Sarah growled.  She stared into Arabella’s eyes, shaking her head.

Finally, Arabella said, “Aunt Jemima knows that you have selective mutism.  You have difficulty talking until you know someone really well.  There is a big crowd for the Sunday school class, but you can use the tablet.”  She looked at Sarah for a little while.  “No, Sarah, they will not laugh.  They laugh at me a lot, but that’s because I talk too much and I say goofy things.  You are the serious one.  And Aunt Jemima will take all the time you need before she calls on you.  Okay?  And you haven’t asked this nice boy if he will be your Bible study partner, yet.”

Sarah turned to Clay and sang, to the tune of Mary had a Little Lamb, “Will you go to Stinker’s class, Stinker’s class, Stinker’s class?  Will you go to Stinker’s class? I need to have a partner.”  Then Sarah turned red and both hands covered her mouth.

Arabella explained, “She can sometimes sing what she cannot say due to her condition.  She’s been this way since we lost our farm in the big Tracy flood.  I have seen you with the Evidents, Clarence, but if you and Sarah can work together, then she won’t feel strange going to the class.  Once she gets to know you, she won’t be mute all the time, but even then, her tablet was programmed by Amy G. Dala herself.  The two are buddies.  Ms. Dala programmed a dictation software app to also read lips.  It is not perfect, so Sarah has to edit what it suggests, and then Sarah pushes a button and …”

Sarah’s tablet said what Sarah had sung, using Sarah’s voice.

Clarence said, “I would love to be your partner, Sarah.  I had seen you at school, but I am kind of shy, and I didn’t know your name.  I never knew you lived here.  You can call me Clay, by the way.”

Emmett said, “We live on the same floor, a couple of doors down and on the opposite side of the hall, but Sarah has been going with Michael Rowe Casey and Arabella to the County Line Farm to pick up goat milk.  And they check out the pregnant goats.”

Arabella smiled, “Michael and I are a couple in more than one way.  I take care of the animals on the farm, working with the vet, and the vet lets me do the kidding unsupervised now.  And Michael, my boyfriend, makes goat cheese.  They are selling it at the bakery, and they use some in some of their biscuits.  Thomas ver Waarloosd has finally found something that people love that sells like hotcakes, but they don’t have hotcakes at the bakery.  That’s just an expression.  So, Michael’s goat trip is almost profitable now.  We call his group of goats a trip.  It could be a tribe, and if you have ever heard of a herd of goats, you are not really wrong there either.”

Emmett got a word in edgewise. “What Sarah lacks in speaking, Arabella makes up for, and some have claimed that Arabella simply prevents Sarah from getting a word in here or there.”

Sarah sang to the tune of Tomorrow, “The class will be in the den tomorrow, do I call you Clay by the way or just Clay?”  She turned red again and slapped her hands over her mouth.

I looked at Tina, and she was crying.  She said at the beginning of our meeting that she wanted to be there when Clay met his first girlfriend.  Yes, I think this was all going to work out.  I know that Judge Farquharson has a heart, and he knows the way we run our ship here at Lily the Pink.  He is here often enough.

Everyone seemed happy.  Mildred agreed that Tina could stay with Rosie until she had gotten a judgment from the court, but she would have to be hands off with Clay until the court decision.  Hopefully, with Tina having a job and a place to live that is in a stable environment, the court will ease their restrictions.  Jochebed and Georges would continue to be the foster parents of Clay for the foreseeable future, and maybe the court decision can give a path forward on that also.  But the Evidents did not get to adopt the boy near the age of Jochebed’s oldest son.

Credits

“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?” is a line from the Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland, lyrics by Richard Bernhard Smith.  Clay Bells ring was too much of a temptation, similar to being teased about being Clarabell.  Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody was originally played by Bob Keeshan, who later became Captain Kangaroo.

The legalities that I have danced around here come from cases that I have heard about.  Of course, Tracy is a fictional city in a fictional state, and I could simply make up the rules.

My Dad was the second of four sons.  Rather than having more children, my paternal grandparents tried to adopt a daughter.  The girl they tried to adopt had a mother.  The girl’s mother refused the adoption to go through.  Thus, the unofficial sister of my Dad became my aunt in practice.  She was raised as the sister of the four sons, in foster care.  She married a distant cousin to even have the same last name.  She lived next door to my grandparents and she and her husband helped around the farm as my grandparents got older, running the farm for my uncle who, later, purchased most of the land around the old farmhouse.

But as an innocent bystander of other custody battles, when drug and alcohol addiction factor into a court’s decision over whether the parents are capable to raise the child properly, the court will sometimes insist on the child living sufficiently far away so that there is no influence on the child at all while in foster care.

Besides all of this, this story was getting rather long.  I would love to have gotten into the inconsistency of how Tina originally objected to the differing skin color to be the parents for Clay, but then readily accepted a black sponsor in AA and temporary roommate for herself.  And I have a feeling Mrs. Mildred Aufdringlich will be visiting Dev and Poached Yeggs about a series of child molestations involving a twenty something spooning little twelve- and thirteen-year-olds.