The Three of Us

Every week, my mom leaves Sambuca and I in our home alone.  She turns on the radio, has her purse around her neck and says to us, “Mommy will be back in five minutes.  I will see you soon.  Love you!”

And the door shuts and I hear the key in the lock. 

She is gone. She. Is. Gone. 

Where did she go? 

Why did she go?

What does “Mommy will be back in five minutes” mean? What is five minutes?  What is a “minute”? 

I hear the car door open and slam.  The engine starts. Music is blaring.  My Mom loves the tunes and, if it is a song she loves, the volume goes way up.  Like way, way up.  I can hear her already singing.  

Momma? Come back.  Mom? Moooooommmmmmmmmm!! Tanya. Tannnnyaaaaaaa!!.

The car drives off up the driveway.

She. Is. Gone.

In. The. Car.

Gone.

I turn to Sambuca, my older sister who is twelve years old.  “Hey, is Mom coming back?”

Sambuca rolls her eyes at me, “Of course she is.  She always comes back.  And didn’t you listen? She said she would be back in five minutes.”

My eyes well up, “Yeah, I know.  But how long is five minutes????????”

Sambuca shrugs and goes into the living room.  She jumps onto the leather sectional and snuggles into her usual spot.

I follow and jump up to my spot, on top of an old pillow. I guess I will wait and hope five minutes isn’t too long.

I wait.

I wait some more.

I look over and say something to Sambuca.  No response as she’s fast asleep.

I continue to wait.

And then it happens.

Sambuca and I hear the car in the driveway.

Youpppie! My Mom is back! 

The five minutes felt long. I must have dozed off to the music on the radio.

Sambuca immediately jumps off the couch and goes to the door, with me right behind her.  We both start to bark with excitement.

Where is she?  Why isn’t she here already?

Then I see her through the door window.

She’s back!  She’s back!!  She came back to me!!!  Sambuca was right after all. She did return!

My world is right again.

I am going crazy now.  I am barking and jumping up and down.  She’s back! She’s back!

The door finally opens.  It’s really her. She smells good. She looks good. And she is so happy!

She bends down greeting us. “Hello my girls!!!  Did you miss me?”

“Hello, of course I missed you!!!! You left me!! You left Sambuca!!  I really missed you!

Sambuca is crying and licking Mom’s face.

I’m trying to get in there too, and I shove Sambuca out of the way so I can greet my Mom. I’m kissing her face. I love her face cream. It’s very yummy! 

“Okay, let mommy get the groceries in.” She goes out the door and comes back with two plastic bags.

I’m jumping up and down.  “Momma, is there anything for me?”

“I have some treats for me and some treats for my girls as well.”

Oh. Oh. Oh.  Me love da treats!  Me love Mommy’s treats too.

She adds, “I also have an apple pie from Dave’s because John and Trish are coming for dinner later.”

Great…. but what is apple pie?

She puts the two plastic bags down on the floor and leaves the entrance way.  Sambuca and I follow her to the bathroom.  Then, Mom goes into the office and sits at her desk. She begins typing away on the keyboard.

Sambuca settles into a bed under the desk.

I decide to go back to the entrance and check out those plastic bags on the floor.

I sniff in one bag and I smell something familiar.  It smells like apple, but in a large round shape.  There is a covering over it.  But that doesn’t deter me. I start to lick it.  It is delicious!  Better than cut grass. There is this nice fluffy crust on top and I later learned that this was apple pie.

I’m in heaven, eating away when, suddenly, I hear my name. “Appy??  Where are you my Little Love?”

I ignore.

“Appy, come here. Come see mommy.”

I continue to pretend I don’t hear anything.

Then the tone completely changes, “Appy come here now!”

I stop eating. I freeze with my face in the apple pie.

I hear her footsteps. “Appy what did you get into?!”

“APPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

Mom rushes to me and picks up the apple pie from the floor.

“No, no, no. NO APPY!  Bad girl. Bad, bad girl!”

She raises her hand and taps me on my bum. “BAD GIRL! What did you do?  What DID YOU DO?”

I think I’m in trouble, as I lick the crumbs from my beard and swallow that last bit of deliciousness.

I get another light tap on my bum.  My ears are back and I’m looking up at her with all the love I can muster.

“I’m sorry, Momma. Please don’t be mad at me.”

She lets out a heavy sigh.

“Okay, Appy, it’s not your fault.”

My ears tilt slightly forward.

“It’s mommy’s fault.  I left the groceries on the floor instead of putting them away. I should have put the bags on the counter.” Her voice is calmer.

The bags go up and she takes a closer look at the damage.

She looks down at me, “So you ate a full serving. Was it good?”

“Oh Momma, it was lovely.” And I stick out my tongue to get a few remaining crumbs from my beard. 

Mom pulls out her phone and starts taking pictures.  She goes into the living room and sits next to Sambuca.

“Who’s my best girl? Sambuca is.”  Mom’s voice is loving and sweet and I watch as she gives tons of kisses and pats to Sambuca.

I walk toward them and sit on the carpet.

Mom takes another picture of me. “Oh my God, Appy” she says. “Your beard is full of apple pie crumbs!”

She is trying hard not to smile.  And then she starts to laugh and snaps a few more photos.

“Okay Appy, mommy is not mad at you.  I love you my girl”

“I love you too, Momma.”

And me loved that apple pie!