<<Woman hits the car steering wheel with her hand, and
swears>>
God damn it!
Mom, I know you’re
angry, but it’s just gonna be ok! You
don’t hit things though. You don’t hit
the steering wheel. You might break it,
you know?
I know, honey. And I
want you to know I am not angry at you.
I am angry at myself and the situation.
I think I left the lights on in the car and now the car is dead, and we
are going to be late. Again.
I know, but Mooooom,
you don’t have to be angry because it’s just going to be ok.
I know, honey. Hop on
out and we will take the other car.
Let’s go back through the house to the garage.
<<Woman gets out of the car, and opens the rear
door. She grabs her purse, a large
diaper bag, and lifts out an infant car seat.
She helps her other daughter down from the car and then holds her hand
while slipping/walking on an icy walkway back to a house>>
OK. 9:50. let’s hustle, ok honey?
<<The little girl walks up the steps to the house at a
glacial pace while peering into a party favor bag she is holding, the woman
following behind her and becoming visibly irritated while struggling to hold
the purse, diaper bag and car seat>>
Hustle up Lu, please.
I’m carrying a lot, ok, and my arms are getting sore. And we are going to be late to church.
<<They make their way through the house and into the
garage in back>>
OK. OK, here we
go. Hop into your seat and buckle the
top buckle please. I will finish your
buckle when I get your sister in.
<<Woman skates around the ice covering the garage
floor to put the infant seat into the other side of the car, skates across the
back driveway to open the gate, and skates back to the car. The clock reads 9:56am>>
Lucy. Lucy why didn’t
you buckle your seatbelt?
Well…sometimes I just
don’t understand that it’s a little tricky for me.
Were you looking at your princess wand?
Yeeeaaaahhhh. Oh,
mama. I wan’t to sit upstairs when we
get there. Can we do that? Can we sit upstairs mama? Can we sit upstairs? Mama?
Mama?
What? Oh…yes. I think we will probably have to sit upstairs
because we are going to be late. But we
will see.
<<Woman parks the car.
She unbuckles the sleeping baby, and in the parking lot attempts to wrangle
her into a Moby wrap that is wrapped too tightly. The now awake, freezing, and unhappy baby
protests. Loudly. She unbuckles her other daughter and, holding
the bobbing infant into the wrap, they run across the street and enter the
church. She is not carrying her diaper
bag, but she is holding a pacifier in her mouth.>>
Lucy. Lucy, over
here. Lucy. LUCY!
<<The woman hisses to her older daughter in a loud
whisper as her daughter wanders through a crowd of priests, alter boys and
girls, and families whose babies are being baptized that are gathered in the
back of the church. It is very crowded,
and the pews are all full. She wrangles
her daughter to the back of the church to try and wait until everyone has
processed up the aisle. However, her
daughter starts dancing in the back and singing loudly while the priest starts
the mass. All eyes are on them>>
Lucy, please come here!
Sweetie we are in church, please stand still back here until we can find
a seat.
<<Her daughter glares at her, folds her arms over her
chest and sinks to the floor against the back wall of the church>>
Mom. I know.
<<The scene changes.
The mother and her two daughters are seated up in the balcony, and it is
now halfway through mass. Her daughter
has just returned from the children’s liturgy, and is sobbing loudly>>
But Moooooooooooom I can’t
help it. I just caaaaaaaaaan’t. I don’t even understand why we can’t dooooo
it! Puuuhlease let me do it!
Lucy, please come here so I can talk to you.
<<The child backs away from her mother, her eyes wide,
looking as if she is afraid of being beaten.
They are seated in the front row of the balcony, so her daughter is
drawing the eyes of literally everyone seated there.>>
Lucy. Please come
here love.
<<The child shakes her head no and backs father away,
her hands clasped to her chest>>
Lucy. Please. Come.
Here.
<<The mother kneels down on the floor, trying to
appeal to her daughter, while still rocking back and forth to keep her infant
asleep>>
Sit on my lap, sweetie, and we will talk.
I just want to stay
until the end I want to STAYYYYYYYYYYY!
We can stay until the end, we can stay until after
communion. But you have to be able to
calm down. Ok?
But sometimes I just
caaaaaan’t!!! I don’t even understand I
will try but I can’t control it!!
<<The woman is very purposefully not looking at anyone
except her daughter.>>
Come sit in my lap and we will talk and figure this out, ok?
<<More time passes.
The priest begins the Lord ’s Prayer.
The woman remains seated with her infant in the wrap on her chest and
her three year old on her lap. She tried
to hold her older daughters hand. Her
older daughter repeatedly pulls her hand away>>
Can you hold my hand for the Lord ’s Prayer?
<<Her daughter glances back and glares at her, while
withdrawing her hand once more. The
mother, in a fit of immature anger, removes her older daughter from her
lap>>
NOOOOOOOO! Noooooo please I wan’t to sit on your lap
please NOOOOOOO don’t PUSH me OFFFFFF Mama please!
OK, love. I want you
to sit on my lap too. Can you please
hold my hand while we are praying? We are praying this prayer in
community. And now we are going to the
peace be with you.
<<The daughter climbs back in her lap, and turns to
give her mother a hug and kiss of Peace.
They both give the infant a kiss.
The mother turns to the older couple seated next to her and shakes their
hands in peace, but keeps her face blank.
She does not acknowledge their smiles of pity>>
Mama, can I go over
and give Owen a hug for the Peace be with you?
No, sweetie. He is at
the other side of the balcony and I can’t see you over there. And it is over now.
No MOM NO! I never got to see Owen! I never got to see him and give him the
Peace! Mom PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAAAASE let
me see OWEEEEEENNNNN!!!!
Love, the Peace is over right now. I can’t walk you over there and it is too far
to go by yourself. We can see Owen after
mass.
Nooooooo Mama
NOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO! You never let me see Owen for the Peace! PLEASE LET ME GO SEE HIM!!!!
<<The girl is sobbing again, her nose running, and
tries to back away from her mother towards her friend at the opposite end of
the balcony. All of the other
parishioners are kneeling for the transubstantiation.>>
Lucy. Please come
back here. We are going to go downstairs
for communion and then we can see Owen later, or on Tuesday at school.
Nooooooo!! I don’t understand WHYYYYYYYY!!!
<<The scene fasts forward again. The woman and her daughters are in line for
communion. Her older daughter is
sobbing, not so quietly. She is holding
her daughters hand, her purse and both of their coats. They go through the line. Her daughter shrinks away from the priest as
he goes to touch her forehead to bless her.
The woman takes communion. She
takes a larger than normal sip of the communion wine. As she walks with her sobbing daughter back
down the aisle she very purposefully look straight ahead, ignoring several well
meaning and sympathetic smiles from various friends and acquaintances.>>
Put on your coat, love.
We have to get home to spend some time with Papa.
But mama we have more
things to do in church! It’s not
over! There are more things to do!!!
No sweetie. Communion
is over and we can leave before prayer just for today. We need to get home. We need to spend some time with Papa.
But the juice!!!! There is more to do in church!!
It’s ok sweetie. We
are not going to have juice and cookies today.
We have lunch waiting already at home.
I already had it in the oven.
<<The woman zips up her daughter’s coat, and draper
her own coat over her infant in the wrap.
She gets her keys out of her purse and leads her daughter across the
street>>
Mama this is just
ruiiiiined!! There is more to do in
church! Is that our car?
No, sweetie, we parked in the other lot.
Whose car is it?
I don’t really know.
But we usually park in
that lot.
I know, but we didn’t today.
Today we parked in this one here.
But its soooooo
faaaaaaaaaar!!! I’m so cold!!!
<<The girl stops on the sidewalk, shivering>>
Well, if we get to the car then you will be able to warm up.
But I can’t even know
that Mom! Where even is it!?
Hold onto my hand, its right over here. If you can get into your seat I will put your
sister in and then buckle you. Here let
me move this other seat up a little bit to give you more room.
<<The woman goes around to the other side of the car,
removes the sleeping infant from the wrap, and attempts to wrangle the now
awake, freezing and unhappy baby into the car seat. The girl in the other car seat starts to sob
loudly again>>
Lu, what is it?
My princess
waaaaaand!!! Where iiiisssss it?!!
<<The woman goes around to the other side of the car
and quickly buckles the car seat before her daughter starts to writhe in
existential agony>>
I don’t know, honey.
We can call the church lost and found tomorrow to ask them to look in
the balcony for it.
Mooooooooooooommmm but
there is more to do in church and its LOST NOW!! I NEED IT.
<<The woman goes around the car again, slipping once
on ice, grabbing the car for support.
She gets into the drivers seat, and turns around 180 degrees to put a
pacifier in the crying infants mouth.
She turns around again and starts the car, breathing deeply>>
It’s going to be ok, honey.
We are going to go home. And
spend some time with your Papa.
No comments:
Post a Comment