No Big Deal

CHAPTER ONE:CRIES UNHEARD



  Mary was suddenly startled from her afternoon nap when she heard the twins crying.  It was not unusual for both babies to cry at the same time. When Dolly cried, Molly was sure to follow.

Boy, could they be loud, especially Molly! She was born physically and mentally disabled. Molly’s' cry alone could pierce through the soul.

It was loud and shrill, almost as if she was in excruciating pain. Deborah said Molly cried like that from the moment she was born and it was her "normal" cry, therefore, Mary wasn't concerned, besides, Deborah was downstairs with the babies and she would tend to their needs.

Grandma's job was to spoil and dote over her grandkids. She didn't have to do the "mommy thing".

  Mary got up from her worn-out old recliner and went to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. She figured the coffee would be a good pick-me-up. 

The aroma of the fresh coffee was too enticing for Mary to wait, so, she poured herself a cup while it was still brewing. Mary liked her coffee strong and bold so this first cup would be just perfect!

She blew in the cup to cool the coffee down before she took her first sip.

It tasted kind of stout and bitter. She took another sip. As she sat there enjoying her coffee, she realized, the babies were still crying!

Mary got up from her kitchen chair and walked a few steps to the basement door. The babies’ cries, by now, were ear-splitting!  Mary called out "Deborah....Deborah are the babies ok?" She got no reply.

Again, she called out to Deborah, but this time it was more of a shout! "Deborah....the babies are crying! Aren't you going to see what’s wrong? Deborah? Deborah?" 

Mary was getting a little perturbed that Deborah wasn't answering her. She didn't want to have to go down the stairs because her heart condition and arthritis made it difficult for her to go up and down steps, but, with no response from Deborah, Mary had no choice.

She hung onto the railing as she slowly hobbled down the stairs. Mary was halfway down the steps when she bent over to peer under the rafters. She figured she could save herself a few steps that way! 

Looking across the room she sees the twins still in their crib, screaming and crying.

She hurried down the last few steps and when she reached the bottom she spotted Deborah, sprawled out on the bed.

Mary was angry that Deborah was sleeping while her children were crying and needing their mommy. She also wondered HOW Deborah could sleep through the loud crying anyway!

Then it dawned on Mary.....Deborah takes so many different pills. Could she have maybe taken the wrong pill? Or maybe she took too many pills!

What if she is........dead? Mary suddenly started to feel very scared. She slowly walked over to where Deborah laid sprawled out in the bed.

Mary reached down and nudged Deborah while saying her name "Deborah?"  She then grabbed both of Deborah's arms and shook her as she loudly called out her name..."Deborah! Deborah!

Finally, with a faint grunt and one open eye, Deborah lifted her head and said "huh?" Mary was so furious!

She looked at Deborah and said with a firm tone, "You need to be watching your children instead of sleeping!

I'll take them upstairs and watch them till you get yourself together! If you were my daughter, instead of my son's girlfriend, I would have taught you to be a better mother!

  Mary gathered up the twins in her arms. Their faces were red and they were sobbing from crying so hard. The babies smelled so horrible!

She could feel the urine from the soiled diapers soak through her clothes. With both babies in her arms and leaning on the wall for support Mary slowly made her way up the stairs.

When she made it to the top, emotion took over. She cried. She cried for her grandchildren.

She doesn't understand how pills could be more important than children.

She looked in the little faces of her grandbabies, rubbed their cheeks with a gentle stroke of her finger and gave them a soft kiss.

“Come 'on girls, let's go get a bath before your sissy gets home from school.”