Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: TRIAL (05/10/18)
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TITLE: Sansom and Dahalia | Previous Challenge Entry
By Wilma Schlegel
05/16/18 -
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The doll he carried slipped in his arms as he turned the corner from the gas station and headed for the line of row homes. “No, not here,” Sansom thought but too late. The thing in the doll that made it cry was activated by that little ‘slip’ and it started in.
He wished he could stuff the thing in his backpack and he just might do it, failing grade or not.
Old man Greely next door was sitting in his ‘about-to-bust-through’ lawn chair as Sansom walked up to his house, bouncing the doll to stop the crying.
“You playin’ wit baby dolls now?” he laughed and slapped his knee. “That is the craziest thing I see all day.”
“It’s for school, Mr. Greely. My whole class gets a chance to take this thing home for a weekend. See what it’s like to take care of a baby.”
“Like you need that! In my day we learnt readin’ and writin’. That baby doll sho make a ruckus. You best turn it off fo' it wake up the whole mess of ‘em. You know who I mean.”
“Sure,” Sansom moved along as fast as he could. He turned his key in the lock and gave his door a hard shove while clinging to the doll.
The air inside was stale and hot, but all he had time for was to deposit the still-wailing doll on the floor, or should he take it along? No, enough was enough, he had to get up the street as fast as he could. Dahalia was waiting. He dropped his backpack, pulled the door shut against the noise of the crying doll and ran back out.
“What you call that baby?" Mr. Greely asked.
“Annoying,” Sansom needed to keep moving.
“Noiyang – funny he don’t look Ethnic.” Greely slapped his knee again. “Anyways you best get him quiet ‘fo 'Chillin' and Youth' shows up.”
“OK, I will,” Sansom kept moving.
Dahalia was waiting for him when he got to the Willis place. The air was thick with the odor of cigarette smoke and burnt toast. They hugged each other and couldn’t wait to get away. Miz Willis yelled “make sure that door shut good,” from the kitchen.
Sansom and Dahalia ran happily up the block chasing each other until they reached the park. They liked the swings best. Sansom let Dahalia have the one with the rusty chains on both sides. He pushed her until she was high into the sky and laughing above the squawking swing chains. Then he locked his legs around the seat that hung from a single rusty chain next to her swing and pushed himself off.
“You brave enough to go down the slide today?” Dahalia’s question was more like a dare. The slide leaned dangerously to the left and Sansom knew the day would come when it would go over. Not today though!
“You know I am! I’ll race you!” he challenged.
“I’ll win!” Dahalia had given herself a headstart.
Up the stairs she clambered than held to the right side and down she went.
“Right behind you!” Sansom yelled. The metal of the slide banged loudly under his weight.
“Again!” Dahalia called.
And Sansom followed.
They stayed out until dark. It was so good to be together having fun. Sansom pulled her close and kissed her. “I love you, you know.”
“I love you too Sansom.” Dahalia clung to him.
Back at the house Sansom got out his key. “Mama won’t be home until late so I’ll make us both some soup. You want the kind with stars in?”
“I love that kind! Hey, what’s this doll?” Dahalia asked as she almost tripped over it.
“Oh no, I forgot." Sansom let out a worried breath. "It’s quiet now, the batteries must be dead. Guess I’m not very good at taking care of babies,”
When Mama got home from her second job it was very late. She found her baby Dahalia clean and asleep in bed, her arms around a strange doll. Her son, Sansom got up from the threadbare couch where he’d had a school book open in his lap.
“Mama, I’m sorry, he said. “I think I’m going to get a fail grade for my trial run with taking care of a baby.”
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