COMIC RELIEF by Patricia Gligor
The
novels in my Malone mystery series, Mixed
Messages and Unfinished Business,
address some serious subjects. My main character, Ann, is married to David, an
alcoholic so, of course, there are “issues” involved in her marriage. Also, she’s
raising two young children with all that entails and she’s dealing with a “difficult”
(to put it mildly) mother-in-law. As if that weren’t enough to cope with,
there’s a serial killer on the loose in Ann’s neighborhood, attacking women in
their homes. Serious stuff!
But
even with all the problems she has, Ann manages to find some comic relief in
her life. The main source of humor for her is her six-year-old son, Davey, an
adorable little boy with light blonde hair, big blue eyes and the typical inquisitiveness
and precociousness of a boy his age. In this excerpt from Unfinished Business, Davey interrupts a serious conversation
between his mother, Ann, and his Aunt Marnie who are in the kitchen doing the
dishes.
“Mommy,
I’m hungry!” Davey said, charging into the room. He was wearing his mother’s
treasured multi-colored scarf around his neck.
“Davey
Kern, where did you find that?” Ann asked, pointing to the scarf.
“I
found it in the closet, Mommy. In that big box where you keep the ornaments.”
“What
the heck were you doing in there?”
“Hiding
from Sam when we played hide’n seek. He couldn’t find me,” he boasted, “so I
won!”
“Well,
hand it over, young man. I’ve been looking all over for this. Where are Sam and
Dani?”
“Dani’s
in her room, reading one of those Narnia books Aunt Marnie gave her, and Sam
said he wanted to take a nap. He said hide’n seek made him tired.” He sat down
and leaned his elbows on the table. “I’m not tired but I’m starved! Can you
make me something to eat?”
“Poof,”
Marnie said, waving her hand at him and sprinkling water in the air. “You’re a
sandwich.”
It
took Davey a few seconds to get the joke but then he broke out laughing.
“Marn,
looks like our talk will have to wait,” Ann said. She walked over to the
refrigerator and peered inside. “So, what would you like, Davey? I have goat
milk, pig tails and donkey ears.”
“Boy,
Mommy,” he said. “You’re always telling me I’m wound up. I think you and Aunt
Marnie are wound up now.” He stood up, walked over to his mother and pretended
to turn an imaginary key on her back. Then he went over to his aunt and did the
same thing. “There,” he announced, “you’re both unwound. May I please have a
sandwich now?”
We all know that children often have a
way of saying and doing things that brings a smile to even the saddest face. I
remember a TV show when I was a little girl. Art Linkletter hosted a segment at
the end of each show called “Kids say the darndest things.” The show ran from
1952 to 1970 and, during that time, Mr. Linkletter interviewed over 20,000
kids. It brought some humor into the lives of millions of viewers, brightening
their day.
Readers’
Digest claims that “laughter is the best medicine” and I believe that’s true!
Have you laughed today?
Links:
Patricia
Gligor’s Amazon page:
