A Mess of People Coming By

Hello and good day!

An old woman sits at her dining room table folding laundry. There is a knock at the back door. She lays aside the washcloth she was working on and carefully stands up. She doesn’t walk too well anymore and has to use a walker.

At the door, she calls out. “Who’s there?” “It’s Dutch, your favorite brother-in-law.” The woman smiles to herself.Dutch is a funny man.

“What do you want?” “I’d like to come in! My hands are full and it's getting cold out here!” '' Your hands are full of what?” “For crying out loud, just open the door. Enough of your little games!” She decides that she better not make him suffer anymore and she opens the door.

 Dutch is the brother of the woman’s deceased husband. He’s an older fellow too. In his arms is a heavy, white plastic bag filled with purple onions. “I brought you onions from our garden.”

“You did! Thank you Dutch! Set them here on the table and let’s have a look.” The man sets the overflowing bag on the table. Onions come tumbling out, rolling around on the tabletop. The woman holds one up and inspects it closely. The man stands proudly while his sister-in-law investigates.

After decades of gardening, he knows he's brought over a very fine batch of onions. “I believe this is the finest batch of onions I’ve ever seen Dutch. I’ll make vegetable soup tomorrow morning.” “I told Lilian that you’d be impressed. I know you know a good onion when you see one.” Lilian is Dutch’s wife.

“Will you stay for coffee Dutch? I’ve got a full pot on the hot plate.” “You kidding me? After making me stand out there with all of them onions in my arms, you owe me. I’m staying for two.” Dutch sits. The old woman shuffles with her walker to the hot plate and serves two cups of coffee.

She holds one out for Dutch to come over and carry and she works back over to the table with her own. She’s on her sixth cup of the day. People had been coming around drinking coffee since early in the morning.

 “You want a cookie Dutch? I baked a mess last night.” “No, I don’t want a cookie. I want many cookies. You better bring the whole plate.”

“I don’t want you eating all my cookies Dutch. It’s early yet. I still have the boy who brings my mail and the man who does my yard coming around. The cleaning lady too. And I don't know who else.”

“I’m not going to eat all your cookies. But I sure didn’t come over here with all them onions to eat just one cookie either. You’ve got to be fair too.”

She sets down her coffee on the table and walks back to the counter. There is a plate stacked high with cookies, covered in aluminum foil. She brings it over and sets it down.

 “I’m watching you Dutch.” Dutch grabs a cookie. She sits. They drink coffee and talk about local news for a couple of minutes until there is another knock on the back door.

 Dutch calls out. “Who is it? “Timmy!”“What do you want Tim?” “I have the mail!”

'Should we let him in? Or should we torture him like you did me? “He’s young yet. He doesn’t have as many indiscretions as you under his belt. Get up and let him in.”

Timmy is a ten-year-old boy who lives in a motel up the road.   He lives with his father and sister. Their mother ran off. He comes in and sets a big pile of mail on the table. the old woman can’t make it to her mailbox in the cold anymore. The driveway is too long to walk down with her walker.“Hand me my wallet from the counter Timmy.”immy brings her wallet. She pulls out a quarter.

“Here is your pay, Timmy. And I want you to take a big handful of these cookies back to your pa and sister.”

“You’re still paying Timmy a quarter? This isn’t the thirties anymore. Take a couple of bucks from me too Timmy.” Dutch reaches into his wallet and gives Timmy a five-dollar bill. “Thank you Dutch. And thank you for the cookies auntie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Timmy walks through the back door, down the porch steps, down the long driveway, along the main road, and on over to his motel.  Dutch stays a while, finishes his coffee, and eats five cookies.

 After he leaves, the old woman’s sister comes by on her way back from the hair salon. She drinks coffee and eats cookies.

 The landscaper comes by. He’s actually a security guard for an office building, not a landscaper. But he likes the old lady and comes by several times a week to work in her yard. She pays him a few bucks and gives him a bag full of cookies when he comes by. After working for two hours, he comes in for coffee. While he was out in the yard, the cleaning lady came by.

The old woman can’t mop the house or make it down to the basement where her washer and dryer are connected. Tne of her nieces foots the bill for the cleaning lady. When the cleaning lady is done, she brings up a basket of laundry for the old woman to fold. Before going, the cleaning lady sits down for cup of coffee.

 After everybody leaves, the old woman puts on a heavy sweater and walks out to the back porch to sit in her rocking chair. She rocks back and forth and looks at the pink and orange twilight sky.   

There are five little kids playing down by a creek that runs through her back yard They are all bundled up, wearing mittens and wool caps, throwing rocks, and poking at the water with sticks they pick up off the ground.

 The landscaper had raked red and gold autumn leaves into a tall wide pile down by the creek. A little girl comes running up from the creek to the porch. “Auntie. Can we jump in your pile of leaves?”

 “My landscaper just piled those up and now you want to destroy the pile?”“Can we auntie? Please?” “Oh, you are shameless. Go ahead, but on one condition. I want you all to come up for cookies when you’re done.”

“We will auntie.” The little girl runs back to her friends. “She said yes! But only if we eat cookies after!” The five kids come sprinting and jump into the big pile, one after another, shrieking, and laughing. The old woman rocks and watches and listens.

Red and gold leaves float into the cold autumn air. When the sun goes down and every leaf from the pile has been scattered, the kids come up to the porch. The old woman sends them into the kitchen to take cookies and then she watches them run home along the creek.

It’s a clear night and the moon is out, and she can see them running under stripped fall trees. She goes in and gets ready for bed. She wants to get a good night’s sleep.

A lot of people will be coming by tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your time today.