Dawdling Ducks

Meet Vinnie

Vinnie Wesley lay flat on his back in his single sized bed laughing. He raised his arms to placed both hands on his head phones to adjust them to hear better the B side of the George Carlin album the “Seven Words You Can’t say on TV” for the hundredth time.

Vinnie’s mother came in and said, “How many times have I told you not to lay on the bed with you shoes on! I’ll make you wash the covers next time and see how much you like it!”

Vinnie turned his eyes away from his mother to a cob web in the ceiling corner of his room. With a sigh, he removed his head phones and layed them on the single size bed that had a brown checkered blanket. He looked at his watch lazily before Vinnie sat up in bed slowly turning his head toward his mother but did not look into her in the eyes. Instead his unfocused eyes gaze more at her fuzzy slippered feet and bare knees.

His mother continued, “When you gon'na clean up this room, it’s a pig sty. Don’t wad up your blue jeans and throw them on the floor in a heap….God damm’et! What is it going to take for you not to bring them muddy boots into this house? You’re lucky you didn’t walk through the living room with em muddy like that…I want you to leave them on the front step. Vinnie weakly replies, “Then they will be too cold to put on.”

Both of them stop to tilt their heads to better listen to John who had just pulled into the drive way to revving his engine.

“You going out with John tonight?" Said, Vinnie’s mother. Vinnie replies “Yea, I talked to dad and he said it was all right and that I could take the car.?” Vinnie’s mother snorts, “So you will talk to him instead of me, asking to go out with your fancy friend, will ya.”

“He’s not fancy…he only lives in Shore Akers” retorts, Vinnie.

“Vinnie’s mother said, “You’ll most likely be out drinking like your worthless father.”

Vinnie jumped out of bed vigor to startle his mother. He stepped over to his dresser to pick up his wallet that he placed in his right pocket with his left hand across his back. He quickly grasped the wallet’s dog chain dangling down his hip. In on motion he hooked the chain’s hook on his belt loop. With that task completed Vinnie spun around to scan around the room for his black leather motor cycle jacket that always found a new spot to rest when ever he took it off in his room.

Vinnie’s mom blurted out, “Where you going?” “I don’t know.” “Who are you going to be with?” “I don’t know.” When you coming home?” I don’t know…I’ll get home when I get home.” Said, Vinnie as he put on his coat. “Vinnie’s mom spits out, “You sound just like your father.” “Both of you sound like such big men” “If you don’t stop going out and drinking every night you’ll end up just like your father a drunken bar singer that has to work in a grocery store to pay the bills.”

Vinnie brushed past his mother to leave the room. Mrs. Wesley turned around to see Vinnie’s back while he made the required three steps to the front door. Mrs Wesley yelled, “Don’t be making a bunch of racket and turning on all the lights when you get home and expect me to get up to make you something to eat…and don’t slam the.” Vinnie slammed the door shut behind him. Standing on the front step Vinnie looked in the passenger side window of John’s car to see John sitting there just at the same moment he realized he did not have keys for the Torino. “Shit!” shouted Vinnie as he looked down then spun around on his boot heal to reopen the front door.

As Vinnie walked back into his house he gladly saw that his mother has already gone in the bathroom with the door closed. “Who is that?” She yelled through the door. “Just me.” Vinnie yelled back to the closed door.

Vinnie walked to the kitchen where next to the 30 year old Philco refrigerator was a hook where the family car keys were stored. Vinnie grabbed the keys before he started back to his car.

“What is he doing?” John wondered when he saw Vinnie disappears back in the house. “I’m freezing my ass off in this car waiting for him!” Just at that moment Vinnie bursts back out of the house to swing the door closed behind him. He jumped down off the cinder block step to sprint to his car door with his keys in hand. Vinnie pulled the cold metal door latch on the Torino with his left hand as he gestured with his right in a waving motion and a big smile on his face. Vinnie yelled, “We’ll come on John what are you waiting for?”