Annabelle laid out her three outfits for the day and set to work on her hair. She was overdue for a perm, but her appointment wasn’t until next week. With her Sunday best, a spring green dress with a bright beaded bonnet, finally on, Annabelle looked everywhere for her hot pink lipstick.
“Oh Sisi,” Annabelle said to her dog, Sisyphus. “I simply cannot go to the lord without looking my best. I am plain dumb as a bag of hammers! I’ll just have to go to Father Hammond some other time this week. Oh lord, I am so sorry. I do hope you will forgive me, I just ain’t trying to look bad for you.”
Annabelle changed out of her Sunday gown and into her Dan’s Diner outfit. As Annabelle scooted towards kitchen to give one last rummage through her bag for her signature facade, she heard a humble knock at the door.
“Now who would want to come see me in this unpresentable state?” she wondered aloud.
With a deep arthritic sigh from her wrists, she turned the cold aluminum handle and cracked the door a third of the way open, but as she peered around the edge at the hulk of a man with a shell of a person inside of it that stood before him, with yellowed teeth, yellowed eyes, and an exquisitely square jaw hidden under a week’s worth of stubble, she nearly fainted.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” Annabelle cried.
“Hey momma”, said Dominic.
A long pause ensued, while Annabelle eyed the rabid chipmunk that she saw at her threshold.
“I cannot believe that you came from my loins”, she said. “I’m going to work, and if you think you have any chance of convincing me of how you’s a better person and all, I suggest you come along. Last I seem to remember, our last meeting ended with you telling me that you hated Jesus Christ, and that you were gonna take that baseball bat with nails in it and get my money. Next I knew, you were in prison and didn’t even call your own momma. I had to figure it out from that falafel vendor you stole from.”
“Now momma you know that ain’t fair”, he protested.
Annabelle edged past Dominic and into the hall, shut the door, and locked it.
“Well let me guess, this ain’t your first day out either. You’ve been kicking around St. ---- for quite some time, I can tell.”
“Now just let me explain momma”, he pleaded.
They worked their way onto the street, full of dog walkers and other church goers. Annabelle was going to go to the drug store to get more Lavish Lip #66, but they headed to the park. The park may be known for rabid chipmunks and saber-tooth tigers, but the lawnmowers had cut the grass recently, and there were hardly and chipmunks to be found. Instead, they trudged right up to the falafel stand, which was bustling on this fine fall Sunday.
“Boy, I haven’t been proud of you since you was a quarterback in high school.” Now, you have a chance to change all that”, said Annabelle.
Dominic pursed his trouty lips, still with fear. He stole a puppet from the stand and had been locked up for months. Now, he had to go apologize if he wanted to get right with his mother. After standing there with him for several minutes, Annabelle sighed, and, abashed that she still sported a naked lip, went off in search of her favorite lipstick, leaving her son standing there.
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