At some point when the snow was very deep on the ground Woody, the family cat we had for several years, decided to sneak out the door never to be seen again. I spent a lot of time wondering if we would find his body laying in the yard after the snow melted. Thankfully as the snow melted there was no body found but the boys were ready for a new cat.
Late winter is not a real easy time to locate a new kitten but after calling numerous pet stores I found some at a pet store fifty miles away. Dennis was never a "cat person" but crying children convinced him to make the trip and we returned home with a tiny yellow kitten whose little legs looked like McDonald's french fries. The boys named him French Fry and he would become one of our legendary cats in the years to come.
Wes was doing okay in school but homework and studying would never be his thing. He was happiest racing up and down the street on his bike with a wing on the back just like a race car or playing soccer or tormenting his brother. Wally wanted to run with the big boys but at four and a half they didn't want him around most of the time. He spent most of his time hanging out with me just being cute and sweet. Ninette blended into the family pretty well, made friends that lived miles away so that at fifteen she needed lots of rides to see friends and go to school activities. I knew this whole situation was hard on her so I tried not to be upset when I found my clothes laying in a mess on the floor of her room.
One day three tickets arrived in the mail for the Billy Joel Laser Light concert at Kemper Arena. Of course I was excited. Who wouldn't want to go see Billy Joel? But where did they come from? There was no return address, no note, just three tickets. Dennis did not know anything about them. I don't think he was even impressed and was going to be out of town the night of the concert. None of the neighbors confessed even though they usually heard his albums blaring when they came over to my house. But there was no way I was going to look a gift horse in the mouth so the night of the concert Wally went to stay with Karen across the street and Wes, Ninette and I headed off to the arena.
Now it seems strange that I would take a nine and a fifteen year old to a concert but there was no way I was going to get out of the house without them. The seats were pretty high up but excellent as the stage was in the center of the packed arena. Wes, of course, had to sit in the aisle seat, then Ninette and me in the third seat in. Just as the lights went out we all had to stand to let a guy come by to sit in the empty seat next to me. More interested in what was going on than someone arriving late to the concert it took a few minutes to realize the guy was Barney. That was a heart stopping moment and certainly answered the question as to where the tickets came from.
Barney sat there looking like the cat that ate the canary with that smile of his. The concert was unbelievable with Billy Joel jumping on the piano at times and singing all his great songs while the laser lights flashed around the arena. Even at age thirty-three I have to admit to a little jumping up and down and maybe even a little screaming. The kids were so enthralled by the concert that they did not notice or think it strange that Barney and I had a few brief conversations or when he bumped my elbow during "Just The Way You Are" and said that that was me. It was definitely a night to remember for the kids and I. Whispering thank you to Barney as we headed out of the arena didn't seem like enough but all he said was that he wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
The medical school test scores finally came. As usual with the mail I had opened what was mine and left the ones on the dining room table that I thought Dennis would like to see. He had never asked about my test or the scores but I watched when he picked them up, glanced at them and put them back down. He did not say a word as to whether they were good or not or what I was going to do now. Yes, it hurt my feelings but I was pretty used to that.
I noticed on the sheet with the scores that I had ranked in the top 25% of those who had taken the test at the same time. My scores were not bad in Chemistry and Biology but Physics did not look too good. Made me wonder if many people took the test that did not get the same degree I did or were simply dummies. Oh well, the applications were typed and ready to go to the two schools I had the scores sent to. I also had all the letters ready to send to past professors for recommendations. Once I dropped them in the mail it was time to sit and wait again.
I have to say that I really had a group of fun neighbors. We took care of each other's children, pet sat if someone was going out of town and just had fun together. Most of us were in the New Neighbors group and participated in some of the activities but the most fun were the monthly luncheons. Once a month somewhere around a hundred women got all dressed up for the luncheon at a country club. There was always a great lunch and a program but the most fun was the social hour before lunch. A few Bloody Marys and I got very social. The hard part was going home and cooking dinner.
Karen across the street was a gourmet cook and had several rows of shelves in her basement that were six feet tall and and the length of the basement. It was like walking into a grocery store with boxes, bags and cans of anything you could need. Need a cake mix to do cupcakes for a school party that afternoon - it was there. Come home slightly tipsy from a luncheon and need something quick to fix for dinner - off to Karen's basement. When I went to the grocery store each week I had two lists, one of things I needed and one of things I had raided from Karen's basement. To top everything off, Karen made me a much better cook since I hung out at her house a lot and began to try new things.
I hardly ever stayed up for the 10:00 news. In fact I hardly ever had time to watch TV except for Sesame Street and the Electric Company. But one Tuesday night I heard a report that a popular Kansas City restaurant had burned down. The restaurant was the favorite Italian restaurant where I went most Thursdays. I called Barney the next morning and he had heard the news also. It was really sad as I was worried about cute Louie in his tux and all the other nice people who worked there. Barney said he had already heard they were going to rebuild and would I meet him at my favorite fountain on Thursday as he had several options as to what to do. I agreed and the call ended before I began to think how strange the word "options" sounded. Why didn't he say I know several other places or restaurants we could go?
As I was getting ready to go meet Barney my neighbor who lived behind me called. Frances and her husband had grown children and I knew she worked for the Johnson County Health Department. Frances was at work but wanted to know if she could come by and talk to me after work that afternoon. I told her that would be fine but did not ask what it was about.
Why would a neighbor I hardly know want to talk to me? Options? What did that mean? Maybe I need to ask a few more questions instead of whipping up worries.
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