Art, The Story Ch. 08

She put the cinnamon buns on the table and poured herself a cup of coffee. She sat down with me on her lap. She buttered a roll and gave me half. When she took a sip of coffee I pointed to it so she held it for me to drink as well. It was very comfortable sitting on Maria's lap sharing cinnamon buns and coffee. She started to tell me her worries about Arilla. When she mentioned Jorge she lapsed into Spanish, but after eight years in the Army, I recognize the word "asshole" in a half dozen languages plus in a couple of sign languages. She talked about raising Arilla and the young son she'd lost. When she mentioned Paul Joyce's name my ears picked up on how she said his name. I thought, "Alright Jones, you're so knowledgeable about relationships, yeah right." Still I tried to picture Joyce as a young widower raising a teen age Maria in his home. It would only be natural to grow close and Maria had to be in her late twenties when she became pregnant. I thought, "Suzanne and Arilla are half sisters?"

I thought, "OK, that might explain things a little. Suzanne's a smart lady so as a teenager she probably figured out that her papa and Maria were doing the fandango. She loved both of them, but that didn't mean she welcomed their 'love child', Arilla. Suzanne's was being schooled to be a ball busting aggressive female and little Arilla took over her spot with Maria. She resented the hell out of her little half-sister and probably showed it. Arilla might have guessed that Paul Joyce was her father, but if it was never acknowledged, she was a second class child in the home. Ergo, resentment right back at you, Suzanne."

OK, so Arilla runs off and gets hitched to this loser, Jorge, who also turns out to be an 'asshole'; make that a 'first class asshole'. So after years of feeling she's been the screwee, this little short guy falls into her hands and she decides to be the screwer. It's one thing to find myself a thirty five year old munchkin, but I'm also caught up in a 'soap opera' and my rear end is taking a beating.