Norma's Homemade Banana Bar

Crazy Toy W/C 604

2. You’ve put that stuffed monkey in the cabinet, in the closet, in the attic, but no matter where you tuck it, it always shows back up at the bar. On Halloween night, you come in to find it watching you . . .

Jess gave me a stuffed monkey for my birthday. She hears all the time about the escapades at Andre’s Banana Bar and thought I’d like a little monkey of my own.

You know the toy - the little stuffed monkey that you wind up and it bangs two tiny cymbals. A little kid’s toy, an irritating ugly toy.

So I said, ‘Thank you, it’s so cute!’ Then first chance I got, I put that toy animal away in the back closet. The back closet is where things go to never be seen again. It’s like a black hole. I think I still have some clothes in there from high school. Old papers, old mementoes of an old life.

That monkey was forgotten after I sent the formal thank-you note. It’s in the back closet. Gone, stuffed there with the rest of a life forgotten.

A few months later I sat at the table with Janine. An old friend, she happened by one late afternoon. We spent a few hours talking, rehashing past events.

“Ah, where’d you get that cute toy?” Janine questioned, then pointed to the little cymbal crashing monkey.

“What?” I turned to see the little chimp. That evil smile, those creepy eyes, the little hands holding the tiny cymbals. I know I left it in the closet.

“That little toy, so cute! I saw one like this when I was a kid. It always made me smile.” Janine touched the monkey, a loving look on her face.

“Then it’s yours, take it with my blessing.” I practically shoved it into her hands.

“Oh, I can’t take it. It must be special to you, a keepsake.”

“Trust me, you can have it. I give it to you with my blessing. Let me find a little box for you.” I scurried off, afraid she might change her mind.

Janine was glad to be sent home with the toy. I was glad to see it leave.

A few days later I messaged Hope on the computer. We talk now and again on FaceTime.

“Hi there! Long time, no talk. How are you?” I was glad to see her smiling face again.

She laughed, “Fun to see you as well! I won’t be able to come over next month as planned. Where’d you get that cute little monkey?” Hope pointed to the screen at a spot beside me.

There it sat behind me. The evil monkey-playing-cymbals toy. A wind-up nightmare coming back to me once more. Once more I’m amazed at the appearance of the evil chimp.

“That is like a creepy bad penny, it keeps coming back to me.”

“Can I have it? I’ve always wanted one like it.”

The monkey got FedExed to Janine that very day.

The next day, finally rid of the toy, again, I settled into my favorite chair. A good book on a rainy Halloween afternoon with a cup of tea. Perfect, until the doorbell rang. I saw the brown truck.

“Hi there. I didn’t order anything.”

“Well, this is addressed to you. From Andre.” Mr. UPS left the package and drove off.

A small box with the Banana Bar return address. I hadn’t been there in months. What is Andre up to now? I opened the box to find that rotten little mangy monkey toy. I repacked the box, addressed it to Andre.

“A curse upon you, Andre. This stops now.”

The package left that day. The old closet was cleaned out. I moved to a new place. I called in a specialist to cleanse the new digs. No more weird monkey toy in my life. You hear me Andre?

W/C 604

Queen NormaJean

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