Janie
Written by: Atlas Dax
After Church, Andrew, prepared lunch for his eight-year-old daughter and himself. He wore an olive-green bowling shirt and ancient cargo pants. Janie sat across the bar watching him. She was still in her Sunday dress. It was white, and floral. Jeanette, her mother, claimed it was a "preacher's kid" dress. She wore white stockings, and little black flats to accent the PK aspects of it. Andrew was used to cooking for three, but his wife was out of town visiting her sister.
As he chopped potatoes he asked Janie, "So, how was church?"
Janie just sighed. Her facial expression became serious.
"Well..." She paused to collect her thoughts, "I like Sunday School. But...." She paused again.
"But..." Andrew said encouraging her to say the thing she wanted to say.
"Our Church has really weird old ladies." She finally said.
Andrew laughed. Loud. Like a Gorilla. " Okay, I'm not going to argue that. What happened today? What makes you feel this way?"
"They're everywhere Daddy! Remember this morning? When we were greeted by the lady with the motorcycle helmet? She laughs like a Hyena! And then the Horse-lady came up from behind us. She scared me superbad!"
Andrew couldn’t stop smiling at her, "The Horse-lady? Do you mean Mrs. Paisley?"
"Yes. When she smiles she looks exactly like a horse, its uncanny."
He made a face at her. Uncanny was a big word for an eight-year-old, "Where did you learn that word?"
"Did I say it wrong? Is it a bad word?" She asked with mild concern.
"No, you used the right word, and no it's not a bad word. Where did you hear it?" He asked. It was curious to him that she automatically assumed it was a bad word.
"Mommy," she answered.
Andrew laughed. This had to be one of the best conversations he'd ever had with her. Maybe he was just missing his wife, but Janie was talking and acting just like her mother. He finished chopping the ingredients and put them in the pot to let them boil for a while. He put the lid on the pot and turned his attention back to Janie.
She was holding a small Ziploc bag.
"What's that, honey?" He asked.
"The Giraffe-lady decided today was a good day to pull kid's teeth," Janie answered. "Do you want it?"
"Put it under your pillow, when your mom gets home. You know she likes to play tooth fairy for you," He replied. Andrew and Jeanette decided not to teach Janie about the Tooth-fairy, Santa, or other silly things like that. They wanted her to still enjoy the benefits of those said characters, so she still received a dollar under her pillow, but she knew Mommy gave it to her not the tooth fairy.
The part that bothered Andrew the most, was that Mary didn't ask him for permission to pull his child's tooth out of its socket. That Giraffe-lady should have known better, she was a school teacher.
"So, I think you’ve come to a conclusion about our church." Andrew said.
"What's a conclusion?" She asked.
"Hmmm... a Decision? A Judgement? A final thought on a subject?" He answered.
"Oh. Okay. What's my conclusion?" She asked.
"Your saying our church is like a free zoo."
This time Janie Laughed. Like a little chimpanzee.
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