Miriam awoke to the sound of the light drizzle tapping
on the roof of her room. Sliding back
the curtains, she studied the intricate patterns that the rain was making on
the window. It was one of those
occasions when the sun was competing with the rain for supremacy. The sun was trying its best to shine through
and the rain was not prepared to give way without a fight. She recalled that her friends used to say
during these times that the devil and his wife were fighting for the cou-cou
stick. She could not tell how long she
was staring at the patterns but suddenly she remembered that this was an
important day in her life. Eleven years
ago to the very day she was born and she always looked forward to her birthday
since birthdays were special occasions in the Lashley family
Miriam wondered what form the celebration would take
this time. She had always tried to work
it out but she was never able to anticipate her family. They always seem
several steps ahead of her. She had
planned to stop trying to figure them out but she had to confess that the game
of trying to find out was quite intriguing.
Pulling herself away from the window, she rose from the side of the bed
where she was sitting and began her morning ritual which included fixing her
bed, changing from her night clothes and saying what for her was recital of a
simple morning prayer which her mother had taught her when she was barely able
to walk and talk.
Having completed her ritual, she hurried from her room.
On reaching the kitchen, she repeatedly
called out to her parents but received no reply. “What could they be up to now?” she
wondered. While she was pondering what
her next step should be her younger brother entered the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator and peering in, he
asked, “What’s up, Sis?” He was clearly
trying to hold back a burst of laughter.
His behaviour only served to heighten her curiosity.
“Where’s mum and dad?” she asked.
“How do you expect me to know? Like you, when I came from my room this
morning I did not see them either. I
guess they will be along presently.”
With that he was off with his mouth full of leftovers from the day
before.
Disappointment number one was the rain attempting to
spoil this Saturday on which her birthday fell.
Disappointment number two was that her parents were nowhere around to
wish her happy birthday. This was not
the kind of birthday that she had envisaged.
She decided it was no use sulking and commenced to make her own
breakfast which consisted of toast, cheese and a hot beverage. She had just sat down to consume it when the
telephone rang. “Good morning,
Lashley’s residence. How may I help
you?” she answered.
“Good morning,” replied the caller. “May I speak with Mrs. Lashley, please?” For a moment Miriam thought that she had
heard a snigger in the background but she couldn’t be sure.
“I am sorry,” she replied, “but Mummy is not here at
the moment. Can I take a message?”
“All right, may I speak with your dad, then?” the
caller continued.
“He is not here either,” she stated, somewhat puzzled
by the caller. There was something
strange about this caller but she was unable to tell what it was. Perhaps strange was not the word but
familiar. Why was she not able to
tell?
“Well, I guess I’ll have to call back later. Bye.”
There was a loud click and then silence.
Miriam stood poised with the phone for some considerable time. She wondered about the strange behaviour of
the caller. Invariably when someone
called for either one of her parents and they were not at home, the caller
would leave a message. This was not the
case this time and it was rather puzzling.
She returned to the table and began to munch on her
toast taking a rather dainty bite and a mouthful of ovaltine. She continued to wonder about the events of
the morning. She was deep in her
thoughts when the ringing of the phone caused her to jump. It sounded unusually loud. She allowed it to ring about five times
before she answered it. “Sis, aren’t you
going to get it?” her brother called out.
“I’ll get it Ryan,” she shouted back. “Good morning, Lashley’s residence.”
“May I speak with your mum, please?” the caller
requested. Miriam was sure that this was
the same caller of a few minutes ago.
“But why would she call back so soon?” she thought.
“I am sorry but mummy has not returned yet.” Too late she realized that she had treated
the caller as if she had called before.
“I am sorry. I mean she is not at home.
Can I take a message?”
“Never mind. I guess I will call back a little later,”
the caller replied. With that there was
silence again.
“There is something very strange here and yet I cannot
put my finger on it,” Miriam said. She
was only aware that she had spoken aloud when she heard her brother say,
“Talking to yourself, Sis?” He called
her nothing else. They enjoyed a very
close relationship unlike many brothers and sisters of that age. Though just a year difference, they were more
collaborative than competitive. He
always used the name "Sis" as an endearment.
“Not going crazy, I hope,” he said laughingly. “You seem perplexed and bewildered for the
entire morning. What’s wrong?”
“Why can’t you tell me where Mummy and Daddy are?” she
countered. “You are hiding something
from me. You wouldn’t tell where they
have gone and you didn’t even wish me happy birthday. That’s not at all like you.”
“Oh, sorry Sis.
Happy birthday,” he apologised, the apology never reaching his
eyes. Miriam was now certain that there
was an orchestrated attempt to keep her in the dark about something.
“But what could it be?”
Her mind was working overtime to solve the riddle. Of one other thing she was certain. This whole state of affairs had something to
do with her birthday.
Finally and without further interruption she was able to complete eating her breakfast. By
the time she had finished, the ovaltine had gone cold. She simply put the cup to her head and drank
it down in one continuous gulp. Stuffing
the remainder of the toast in her mouth she took the cup and plate to the sink
and washed them. She felt on edge and at
the same time she expected the phone to ring again. She was about to leave the room when it did
ring. Even though she expected it she
was still startled. “Hello Princess,
happy birthday!”
“Daddy, where are you?” she inquired.
“Closer than you could ever imagine.” her father
responded, struggling to hold back his laughter.
“Is mummy with you?”
“Yes, she is right here with me. Do you want to talk to her?”
“No, I want to know when you two are coming home.”
“Coming home?
What are you talking about, Princess?”
On a day like this we would not dare leave home without you.”
“So where are you?”
Miriam’s impatience became obvious in her tone. “Where are you calling from?”
“The garage,” came her father’s reply followed by a
roar of laughter. Miriam dropped the
receiver and hurried out to the garage.
There were her parents standing with a new brand bicycle. Her father was still holding the cellular
phone in his hand. Miriam stood in her
tracks gazing from the cellular to her father, to her mother and then to the
sparkling red bike. She was temporarily
speechless. They had tricked her again. But how was she to work it out? They never used the same idea twice.
“I now see,” she said as the realization began to dawn
on her. “It was mummy who called twice
on the cellular. I knew there was
something familiar about the voice but I couldn’t place it because of the
background noise. Mummy and Daddy, you
are something else and so is Ryan. He
knew all along where you were and what you were up to but refused to tell
me. You are the greatest family a girl
could have. Thank you Mum and Dad and
you too, Ryan. Pay back time is only a
month away. With that they all huddled
together enjoying this great moment.
“Ruff! Ruff!” even Rosh appeared to have been in on the
surprise as he stood looking at them, his tail wagging from side to side. “Everyone knew except me,” Miriam thought
happily.
Stewart Russell © 2013
