Tag Archives: Kitchen

Cramped

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maxineI must be feeling better today. I woke up and did not cry.

Instead I looked at the cramped conditions in my living room.

I have shifted and shifted in order to get Al‘s wheelchair to fit properly to the kitchen table.

Today I had had it. Everything looked cramped. No matter where I turned I felt stress.

Stress is the last thing I need in this  house. I have enough of it without inviting more in. So, I got to work. I am not done yet. I had to take a break from where I have moved big a big roll top desk and my furniture.

I have more space but now I found dirt hiding behind where the furniture set. Now this leads to more cleaning. I have also cleaned the living room walls as good as I could. I have cleaned ceiling lights and fan blades.

I smoke in the house so every six months I have to at least clean well the living room. I hurt a little in my arms, feet and neck from pushing and shoving but Advil should kick that out. When Al comes home he may or not notice anything, but I do. I smell Pine-Sol fresh.

Back to work, see you soon, if I am not eaten up by dust bunnies.

Continuing Story Part 24

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മലയാളം: ഡാലിയ പൂവിന്റെ ചിത്രം.

When Dahlia heard the knock on the door, she asked who it was, and the deep voice answered. She went to the door and opened it and let Drake in. He shut the door behind him and turning towards her, he took her in his arms and kissed her passionately and firmly on the lips. She responded back, not even thinking twice, letting his hands run through her hair, down her back and around her waist.

She could feel herself shiver inside, muscles twitching, as his love poured through his fingers. Before anything could be taken further with the mind, he let go of her and walked her towards her bed. He sat her down, and took her hand and wrapped it around the flower. She instantly inhaled its perfume, and then he took that away from her and replaced it with the small box.

Dahlia asked him what this was, and he said to open it. She did as she was told, and her fingers grasped the bracelet. Fingers encircling the delicate band, he asked her if she liked it, and she exclaimed that she loved it, that he had given it to her and she would always cherish it. With these words, he asked her if he could have the honor of placing it on her wrist, and she held her arm up for him to put in on.

Taking the rose back she leaned in close to him, thanking him and telling him that she was so in love with him. He laid her on the bed, and laying beside her he kissed her once again, with tenderness and passion. Her body rose to him, but he would not let himself do anything that would bring disrespect to her. He treasured her and he would not shame her. The right time would come and then he would show her how he felt about her, and profess his love to every part of her being.

He had a hard time controlling himself, and so he sat her back up, and taking both of her hands in his, he asked her if she was certain that she loved him, and she said oh yes, Drake, I love you more than life itself.

He then stood up from the bed and kneeling in between her legs, he pulled her head close to his and whispering in her ear, he asked her if she would consider being his wife. A gasp came from deep in her throat, as she threw her arms around his neck, and said yes. Drake could see the tears forming in her eyes, and this in turn, caused him to want to burst with love. He stood back up and once again laid her down, and found himself lying next to her body.

He touched her hair, then moved gently down her cheeks  touching her nose, and running his fingers over her closed lids. Excitement was building from within him and he could see her rib cage expanding faster with her own hidden desires. His hand found its way down to the curves of her breast, and he cupped his hand around one, holding it like it was gold. Her own hands reached around his neck and drew him closer. Their breathing became one, as he found his hand raising her dress and sliding into areas of deep pools of love.

She guided his hand to places that had never been discovered before, and he touched the virgin spot. Her body rose and lowered to his touch, and she could feel warmth flowing from her veins. His hands began to tremble as his heart was beginning to take over. He looked into her face and saw that she was in sync with him, but he knew this was wrong.

He slowly took his hand away from her pool, and lowered her dress, and sat up. He pulled her gently up and told her he wanted her so badly, but he could not spoil her innocence with his desires. He made her promise that when school was out, that she would marry him the day after graduation, and she agreed. Both sitting on the bed, they held each other and whispered love into each others ears, and then he sat up, and looked into her eyes, and said he  must go now before he could never turn back, and he walked out of her bedroom door, leaving her sitting on the bed, touching the bracelet, and her heart trying to slow down. She was in love and she wanted to scream it to the world. All she could do was smile and dream of her wedding day.

Sunday she floated through the activities of church and meals and chores. She tried to study but found it hard, as her mind drifted back to Drake. Six month to go, six months until she became Drake’s wife. Soon the day was over, and school began again the next morning, and she drifted off to sleep with visions of Drake.

In the kitchen while everyone else was asleep or in their rooms, Rachel and Ralph were sitting at the kitchen table with Drew. The discussion was about his illness and what had happened. Was he willing to go back to the doctor to see if something had happened to make this bad part of him come to life once again.

Although, Drew seemed cocky earlier in the day, the truth was, that he had plenty of time to think about what he had done to Dahlia, and he was ashamed. He loved his brother and he would never want to hurt him, and he himself didn’t know why he had even went to her. What had caused this? He hung his head down to the table and asked his parents for help. Please help me, I don’t want to be like this, I feel so sick inside. Ralph and Rachel took their sons hands and promised to call the doctor in the morning, and they said that together they would find the answers, but he, Drew, must stay away from Dahlia or any other lady, and if he felt something coming over him, he should come immediately to them.

The next day came, and as soon as everyone was at school, Rachel made the call to the doctor’s office. The doctor seemed a little surprised, since so many years had gone by, and had the receptionist set them an appointment right away. With this confirmation, Rachel felt that at least now they were going to get help. They would get this fixed with the doctor’s help.

Meanwhile, at school, Dahlia was working very hard on the dance floor. She was making great progress, and the teacher expressed this to her, telling her that she believed Dahlia was the top student in her class. The teacher went on to say that hard work makes perfect, and she could see that Dahlia had indeed been working hard. The teacher asked her if she thought she may be able to help her tutor another student. That she had received a call of a special needs student, that needed extra help. The teacher said for her to give it plenty of thought, that it would almost seem like a real job with the work that was put into it. Dahlia asked the teacher if she thought she was really good enough to help someone else,and the reply was yes. Dahlia promised to give it some thought.

Continuing Story Part 21

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Dahlia

Morning came, with dew remaining on the ground. Dahlia was woken by the tapping on her shoulder. She blinked her eyes open and guarded them with her hands from the sun. Opening them all the way, she stared up into the eyes of an old lady. The lady was tapping her again, asking her if she was alright, why was she out here all by herself. Dahlia jumped back a bit, startled by the stranger. She rubbed her eyes, trying to focus on what was happening.

Suddenly she remembered why she was here, she had been taken advantage of and had left her nice home. She remembered leaning her head on the tree, and now she realized she had fallen asleep and it was now daybreak.

She looked at the lady again, and murmured that she was alright. There was no broken bones or blood, she had just got too tired to continue her journey. The lady asked her what journey she was making and Dahlia said nothing, because it hit her that she had no plan, but to escape.

The old lady, named Ruth, took her hands and helped her to her feet. She told Dahlia that she would take her home with her, that she didn’t look like she had eaten, and she could use some cleaning up. Dahlia didn’t hesitate, and moving like a robot, she followed the directions being given to her. Together, the two of them walked back in the direction of where Ruth lived, neither of them saying too much.

Ruth’s house was not that far from Dahlia’s house. Dahlia judged that it was about two blocks on the other side of her school she had attended. Once the two ladies got inside the house, Dahlia began to take in her surroundings. Noticing that there was not much, but the house was clean, and their was a warmth to the rooms.

Ruth led her to the kitchen table, and began to prepare some eggs along side with some bacon. She poured her a stiff cup of black mud, and told her to sit down and eat, and after she had finished, she would show her to the spare bedroom where she could rest, and would show her the bathroom. Ruth stated that this wasn’t much, here at the home, but it was paid for and it was hers. Dahlia smiled, and  picked at her breakfast, her nerves still on edge from the day before.

Ruth sat across from her watching her eat, thinking she sure was a  picky eater. If that had been her own breakfast, she would have wasted no time getting the food down. Ruth asked her where she was from and without thinking, Dahlia said that she lived two blocks on the other side of the school. She caught herself, and stopped giving any information. She was supposed to be leaving this area. She didn’t want anyone to know where she lived. She picked up her speed a little, forcing the food to go down, so the questions would stop.

After the last bite was gone, Ruth stood up and took the dirty dishes to the sink, and led Dahlia to the bathroom and spare bedroom. Dahlia said the bedroom looked very cozy and Ruth nodded in agreement. She said this was where her granddaughter used to sleep when she would visit here at granny’s house, but now she was all grown up and had kids of her own.

Dahlia asked if it was alright to take a bath. She was anxious to remove all remnants of last evening, to scrub herself until her skin shined. She wanted to put clean clothes on and just lay down and rest.

When Ruth heard that Dahlia was in the tub, she sneaked over in to the spare bedroom and went through the bag, trying to find any information about this poor girl who seemed lost and so sad. She discovered without much effort, some books, and inside the books were her name and her address,along with a phone number, that said please call to return this book to its owner.

Ruth went to the phone and quietly called the number. Rachel answered the phone, and when Ruth said who she was and why she was calling, she could hear the lady on the other end of the phone praising God for delivering her missing boarder back to her.

Ruth explained how Dahlia seemed upset, and how her clothes looked and that she could tell that something was terribly wrong. She just knew that Rachel would be worried. Without any hesitation, Rachel told Ruth that she and her husband would be over in  no time at all, and to not let Dahlia escape from her house.

Ruth quickly laid the phone in its cradle, and walked into the kitchen, looking through her ice- box to see what she would fix the two for lunch.  Soon, Dahlia came to stand in the doorway, and announced that the bath felt so good, and that she was very thankful to Ruth for offering her home. She said that she would lie down if it was alright, and then after resting, she would be on her way. Ruth said nothing, but let her go rest.

Ruth then went to her rocker and turning on the television and keeping the voice low, she watched her programs waiting for this Rachel lady and her husband to show. She wondered what kind of people they were that what ever had happened would make this poor girl want to run away from home.

In no time at all Ruth heard a door knock at and getting up from her rocker she went to open the door, and there stood the nicest looking people she could have ever wished for. What ever was going on with the girl, these two lovely people could have had anything  to do with it.

Ruth invited them in and offered the two of them one of her nicest smiles. She turned the television off, and offered them the sofa to sit down on. Immediately the questions came. Where did you find her, what time did was it when you discovered her? Ruth slowly told Rachel and Ralph about how she was out taking her morning walk. At her age she had to do what she could to keep the body from stiffening up, and with laughter, she pointed to her creaky knees. Rachel and Ralph smiled at Ruth, seeing what a kind old lady she was, and thanking God that she had the sense to call them. They continued to chat, Rachel explaining that Dahlia was a boarder at her house and that she was attending the school close by, and was being educated for a dance instructor. Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, she looked up to see Dahlia standing in the doorway.

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Continuing Story Part 15

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After they arrived home from school, they were each to go to their rooms and study their

 

English: Dahlia 'Graceland'

 

books. Dahlia did her best, but her mind kept wandering to the handsome teacher with the deep voice.

 

Drake was at the kitchen table and he was going over papers that were turned in that day, and placing marks on good papers, and others, making checks where improvement need to be made. After finishing this part, he opened his teacher guide-book and scanned over what tomorrow’s lesson was going to be on, and made some notations of what he wanted to make sure his class understood.

 

Soon, he heard the steps of the ladies coming into the kitchen. They were starting to prepare supper, and as Dahlia entered the room, Drake noticed the room brought a bright ray of sunshine in. His mind flashed for a moment of the view he took in as she entered the room, but hastily closed his books and placed them in his teacher’s bag, all ready for the new day.

 

He started to get up and leave the ladies to their work, but Sue asked him if he could go into the cellar and bring up two jars of green beans and a jar of red beets. She explained how dark cellars just sent shivers down her spine.

 

Drake wasn’t so eager to leave for unknown reasons to him, so he said, of course he would help by going to get them. After he left, Sue and Dahlia’s eyes met and a wink was tossed in each others direction.

 

When Drake arrived with the jars, Ellen had an apron waiting for him, and said that all of them would love to hear about what was planned for the year in his class. Drake didn’t realize that he had been conned into staying with them, so Dahlia could get to know him better. They knew that a man loved nothing better than to talk about themselves, so they set the bait, and he bit.

 

As Drake spoke of his love of teaching and what they were going to learn this year, one was peeling potatoes and carrots, another was browning some meat, Sue was making fresh lemonade, and Ellen was slicing bread, and Drake was found setting the table.

 

The time for preparations went very quickly as all ears and eyes were on Drake, drinking in all of his thoughts, while catching Dahlia sneaking a glance at Drake off and on. The ladies giggles softly, covering their mouths with their hands, so not to force Drake to ask what was going on.

 

Soon Rachael and Ralph walked in the front doors and met up with everyone bustling in the kitchen, finishing up their individual chores. Sue announced supper would be ready in about ten minutes, if Rachael and Ralph wanted to freshen up first. With that the husband and wife turned around and walked out, saying they would be back in a few minutes.

 

The finishing touches were placed on the table, when Drew walked in with a bouquet of flowers, he had picked in the back yard. The table candles were lit, Rachael and Ralph had reappeared, and they once again all sat down, with Drake sitting directly across from Dahlia. All took hands and said grace and thanks for the foods and good things that had happened in this day.

 

Rachael commented on how nice the table looked and Dahlia piped in that Drake had set the table. Rachael and Ralph looked at each other in surprise and then looked at Dahlia’s transparent eyes, and all smiled and began to eat.

 

After dinner, all was cleaned up and since it was such a beautiful evening, they all decided to post the time to sit on the porch, and take a walk, going in no particular direction, just where the feet led them.

 

Drake found himself stepping in line with Dahlia, and Dahlia felt her heart skip a beat, but never let on that she felt him so near. The chatter was nice among all of them. They commented on  the houses that were being decorated for the fall holidays. Wreaths of red and orange leaves could be found on front doors, and kids had pasted real leaves in front windows. Crickets could be  heard, and their was a change in the air, as fall was entering and summer was leaving. Crisp air, filled the nostrils, making breathing a joy. Trees were starting to change colors and all commented on the beauty of this transformation.

 

Once the walk was over they went back to the boarding home, and no one wanted to go inside, so they sat on the porch and most of this time was spent in silence and their own personal thoughts.

 

Rachael yawned, and others took cue of this and they all drifted off to their own rooms, to finish up any book work that didn’t get done before supper, and to get ready for bed.

 

Dahlia spent her time without the books, but instead chose to go to the kitchen, and using a chair for balance, she practiced some dance moves she had been learning. Her legs and ankles felt weak, and she needed much work to sturdy them and make them strong. She used her cane and imagined her distance around the table, and then carefully, twirled herself around, lifting one leg, and standing on tip toe with the other. Her hands delicately went into the air, as if speaking to someone, and gently lowering them. Such grace she was using,and thoughts so intense, that she didn’t notice that someone was standing in the door way smiling and watching.