this story picks up from Things Didn't Turn Out the Way They Was Supposta, October 12, 2013
'Loveworth was always having get togethers,' smiled Estelle. 'I loved em cuz I didn't have to cook! And there was always such a bussle about, kids running this way and that, dressed as Supergirl and Peter Pan. That Peter Pan outfit...' she laughed.
Rita, seeing the imminent detour in Estelle's story, asked, 'So, Loveworthy invited you to dinner?'
'Oh right, yes. Welll, you know Loveworthy was not what I call a cook. I mean, the kids was well fed and all. And, she tried really hard in the kitchen, but well...it's better soma us just don't set foot in there. But, like I said, I didn't have to cook, so I went.'
'This day, Loveworthy got it in her head to cook a chicken...whole. My ma taught me how to do that when I was just a girl, but I think Loveworthy's ma never got around to teaching her,' Estelle recalled. 'Oh oh, I know where this is going!' laughed Rita.
'So, Loveworthy announced that she was doin a experiment,' Estelle continued. 'She was gonna roast this chicken whole, complete with stuffin. She got the stuffin made and was goin about cleaning the chicken. They is really slippery, ya know,' she said, to which the women nodded in agreement. 'So, she couldn't get hold of it and kept dropping it in the sink. I was tryin to tell her, but now her hands was all greasy and this time the chicken bounced in the sink! That was too much. I started laughing so hard, tears was rolling down my face. And Loveworthy, she was laughing too, grabbin that chicken everywhich way and dropping it,' laughed Estelle.
'I'm amazed she didn't tear it from limb to limb!' started Rita. 'Or strangle it!' Claire added, choking on her laughter.
'Well, she couldn't strangle it, cuz it didn't have no head,' Estelle corrected. 'That was a good thing!' laughed Rita. 'Imagine what she would have done with a head?!' The women were on a roll now, savoring the levity of the moment, lusting after the freedom to simply laugh.
'You is right bout that, Rita. Loveworthy woulda had quite a time with a head,' Estelle reflected. 'So, then what happened?' encouraged Tomasina.
'Well, eventually the kids had to come in to see the bouncing chicken and the crazy ladies laughing. They danced around for a bit and then ran off. Last I heard, the girl was telling the little boy they oughta name their pet chicken.' 'Pet chicken??' asked Hazel. 'Why would they call it a pet chicken? It was dinner?!'
'But mind you, they was used to Kentucky Fried,' Estelle explained. 'So, anyways they left and me and Loveworthy finally got hold of ourselves. And Loveworthy finally got holda that bird. It was right clean by then. So she stuck it in the pot and stuffed it full othat stuffing. She didn't know nothing bout tieing the legs and I didn't want to boss her, so she stuck the whole thing in the oven, just like that.
'We set the timer and went to find the kids. A little later, the timer went off so Loveworthy went to check the chicken. She was gone a long time. We was playing Monopoly - I hate that game?! And, it was her turn. So, the kids started calling her. They was getting crazy cuz she wasn't answering, so I went to get her.
'When I got to the kitchen, I saw her standing in front of the oven, staring.
'"It's alive," she whispered. "What?!" I asked. "What's alive?" "The chicken," she whispered, staring into the oven. "Whachu sayin, girl?" I laughed. "That bird is dead as a doorknob! If it weren't dead when you got it, it was by the time you wuz done washing it!"
'"No, Estelle! It's dead?! Look!" So, I leaned over and looked. There it was, plain as day. "See," pointed Loveworthy. "Look, it's breathing..." Sure enough, the chest was rising and falling, just like it was breathin?!'
'No way,' started Rita. 'Yes, it was breathin!' countered Estelle. 'But that always happens,' offered Tomasina. 'The liquid was boiling and causing the skin to rise and fall.' 'Yes,' agreed Hazel. 'I've seen that.' 'Me too,' agreed Claire. 'But it really does look like it's breathing.' 'Now, that's a picture!' laughed Rita. 'A headless chicken, half cooked, in the oven, breathing!'
'Well, Loveworthy was just starring at it, not movin. And, as I watched, the breathin was regular, steady, just like normal,' Estelle mumored. She sat silently, as if watching that chicken breathe. 'Pretty soon, the kids come runin in. They was tired of calling their ma and was arguing over who would take her turn.
'They saw us standin there, so gathered all around us and looked into the oven. The biggest boy saw it first, "Ma, it's breathin." "See, I told you she is alive," said the little guy. "She is Chicky. And, she is alive." The girl just stood there, staring like her mother. "Ma!" cried the little boy, "We have to get Chicky out of the oven! She's getting too hot!"
'At this, Loveworthy broke out of her trance,' recalled Estelle. 'Without closing the oven door, she gathered her kids asked about the Monopoly game. "No, we can't play!" shouted the little guy. "Yeah, we have to save Chicky first!" agreed the girl. "Yeah, mom. That is pretty weird," agreed the oldest.
'So, Loveworthy took the chicken out of the oven as the kids watched. Then, relieved that Chicky was safe, we all went down to finish Monopoly,' Estelle continued. 'Monopoly never ends!' claimed Rita. 'I've been in games that lasted days!' 'Me too,' agreed Claire and Hazel in chorus.
'After the kids got goin in the game again, Loveworthy snuck into the kitchen and put the chicken back in the oven. Later, when I was bout to explode from that damn game, Loveworthy called us all into dinner, thank god!' smiled Estelle. 'What Loveworthy couldn't do in the kitchen, she made up for in her table setting. She used her momma's dishes and silver and a pretty lace tablecloth she got from Goodwill. It was a right pretty table. There was sweet potatoes and stuffin and greens and milk for everyone. We all sat down. The kids was hungry.
'Then, Loveworthy went to the kitchen. She came back with that chicken on a nice dinner plate and a carving knife. The kids was chattering bout who won the game when they all saw the bird. The older kids stopped talking. Then, the little guy recognized it and said, "Chicky?" The older kids looked from Chicky to Loveworthy. The little guy asked, "Mommy, why is Chicky on a plate?!"
'Loveworthy didn't respond. We all just sat there in silence. "Why isn't Chicky moving?" asked the little guy. Chicky just laid there, all dressed up and not breathin. Loveworthy weren't doin nothin and I was hungry, so I grabbed the carving knife and pulled Chicky to me.
'Just as I was bout to carve up dinner, the little guy screamed, "Don't kill Chicky! Mommy, don't let granny kill Chicky!" The girl said, "I'm not eating Chicky! How can I eat our pet?" And the oldest boy said, "I'm no really hungry, ma." The little boy was crying now, "Chicky, don't kill Chicky," he kept sayin. Estelle paused, lost in the memory.
'Well?' prompted Rita. 'What happened? Did you cut up that old bird?' 'No,' said Estelle. 'I didn't cut it up.'
'What about dinner?' asked Hazel. 'Didn't you guys eat dinner?' 'Yes,' Estelle said, 'we ate the taters and greens. But we couldn't eat the stuffin that was in the bird cuz the biggest boy said we'd be gutting it if we did and that set the little boy to cryin again.'
'But, what about the bird?' insisted Rita. 'You didn't eat the bird?' 'No,' said Estelle. 'We never ate the bird. It just sat there in the middle of the table while we ate.'
'And then what? What became of the bird?' asked Hazel.
'We had a funeral,' stated Estelle. 'Chicky is buried in the backyard next to the bird and fish and cat...and whatever else is buried back there, stuffin and all.'
The women laughed, their faces lined with puzzlement. 'That's a great story, Estelle,' laughed Claire. 'Yes,' agreed Tomasina. 'And, the moral?' asked Rita.
'Well, it's what I said in the beginning,' reminded Estelle, 'Things don't always turn out the way they was supposta.' Looking at the confused women, Estelle continued, 'We was supposta have chicken for dinner! Me, I woulda told those kids that Chicky was dinner and cut it up. But not Loveworthy.'
'Yes,' said Claire. 'I think Loveworthy saw something more in that situation...more than dinner.' 'What do you mean?' puzzeled Hazel. 'She saw her kids facing death for the first time' stated Claire. 'Woah!' started Rita, 'That's intense! It was dinner, for God's sake!' 'But, I think Claire's on to something,' said Tomasina. 'If all you ever saw was Kentucky Fried, would you know you were eating chicken?' 'Good point,' Rita agreed, 'and...'
'And,' continued Claire, 'correct me if I'm wrong here, Estelle, but I think Loveworthy decided that guiding her kids through their introduction to death was more important than eating that chicken.' 'So,' pondered Hazel 'the way things were supposed to go was to eat chicken for dinner.' 'Right,' said Claire. 'But,' chimed in Rita 'the way things went instead was a lesson in life.' 'Right again,' smiled Claire. 'So,' offered Hazel 'Loveworthy had the wisdom to see that this lesson was far more important than the money she spent on the chicken.'
'Yes,' I think that's it' affirmed Claire. 'And, she was able to step back from her original plan and allow a different course of events to follow,' added Tomasina. 'I think I get it,' reflected Rita. 'If she had stayed focused on chicken for dinner, she would have missed something else that was even more important.'
In the following silence, Hazel ventured, 'So, do you think my granddaughter might be missing something different...' she started. 'or more important,' interrupted Rita. 'if she stays focused on job search?' Hazel finished. 'Perhaps,' agreed Tomasina. 'Or....' pondered Claire, 'if she gets too focused on feeling bad and like a failure, she might forget that she really is a kewl young woman, and talented...' Pausing, Claire turned to Estelle. 'What do you think? Are we understanding what you meant?'
'That's all too deep for me,' bristled Estelle. 'I just know that things don't always turn out the way they was supposta.' With that, Estelle pushed herself up from the table and tootered off, muttering....and, when her back was safely turned to the women...smiled.
'Loveworth was always having get togethers,' smiled Estelle. 'I loved em cuz I didn't have to cook! And there was always such a bussle about, kids running this way and that, dressed as Supergirl and Peter Pan. That Peter Pan outfit...' she laughed.
Rita, seeing the imminent detour in Estelle's story, asked, 'So, Loveworthy invited you to dinner?'
'Oh right, yes. Welll, you know Loveworthy was not what I call a cook. I mean, the kids was well fed and all. And, she tried really hard in the kitchen, but well...it's better soma us just don't set foot in there. But, like I said, I didn't have to cook, so I went.'
'This day, Loveworthy got it in her head to cook a chicken...whole. My ma taught me how to do that when I was just a girl, but I think Loveworthy's ma never got around to teaching her,' Estelle recalled. 'Oh oh, I know where this is going!' laughed Rita.
'So, Loveworthy announced that she was doin a experiment,' Estelle continued. 'She was gonna roast this chicken whole, complete with stuffin. She got the stuffin made and was goin about cleaning the chicken. They is really slippery, ya know,' she said, to which the women nodded in agreement. 'So, she couldn't get hold of it and kept dropping it in the sink. I was tryin to tell her, but now her hands was all greasy and this time the chicken bounced in the sink! That was too much. I started laughing so hard, tears was rolling down my face. And Loveworthy, she was laughing too, grabbin that chicken everywhich way and dropping it,' laughed Estelle.
'I'm amazed she didn't tear it from limb to limb!' started Rita. 'Or strangle it!' Claire added, choking on her laughter.
'Well, she couldn't strangle it, cuz it didn't have no head,' Estelle corrected. 'That was a good thing!' laughed Rita. 'Imagine what she would have done with a head?!' The women were on a roll now, savoring the levity of the moment, lusting after the freedom to simply laugh.
'You is right bout that, Rita. Loveworthy woulda had quite a time with a head,' Estelle reflected. 'So, then what happened?' encouraged Tomasina.
'Well, eventually the kids had to come in to see the bouncing chicken and the crazy ladies laughing. They danced around for a bit and then ran off. Last I heard, the girl was telling the little boy they oughta name their pet chicken.' 'Pet chicken??' asked Hazel. 'Why would they call it a pet chicken? It was dinner?!'
'But mind you, they was used to Kentucky Fried,' Estelle explained. 'So, anyways they left and me and Loveworthy finally got hold of ourselves. And Loveworthy finally got holda that bird. It was right clean by then. So she stuck it in the pot and stuffed it full othat stuffing. She didn't know nothing bout tieing the legs and I didn't want to boss her, so she stuck the whole thing in the oven, just like that.
'We set the timer and went to find the kids. A little later, the timer went off so Loveworthy went to check the chicken. She was gone a long time. We was playing Monopoly - I hate that game?! And, it was her turn. So, the kids started calling her. They was getting crazy cuz she wasn't answering, so I went to get her.
'When I got to the kitchen, I saw her standing in front of the oven, staring.
'"It's alive," she whispered. "What?!" I asked. "What's alive?" "The chicken," she whispered, staring into the oven. "Whachu sayin, girl?" I laughed. "That bird is dead as a doorknob! If it weren't dead when you got it, it was by the time you wuz done washing it!"
'"No, Estelle! It's dead?! Look!" So, I leaned over and looked. There it was, plain as day. "See," pointed Loveworthy. "Look, it's breathing..." Sure enough, the chest was rising and falling, just like it was breathin?!'
'No way,' started Rita. 'Yes, it was breathin!' countered Estelle. 'But that always happens,' offered Tomasina. 'The liquid was boiling and causing the skin to rise and fall.' 'Yes,' agreed Hazel. 'I've seen that.' 'Me too,' agreed Claire. 'But it really does look like it's breathing.' 'Now, that's a picture!' laughed Rita. 'A headless chicken, half cooked, in the oven, breathing!'
'Well, Loveworthy was just starring at it, not movin. And, as I watched, the breathin was regular, steady, just like normal,' Estelle mumored. She sat silently, as if watching that chicken breathe. 'Pretty soon, the kids come runin in. They was tired of calling their ma and was arguing over who would take her turn.
'They saw us standin there, so gathered all around us and looked into the oven. The biggest boy saw it first, "Ma, it's breathin." "See, I told you she is alive," said the little guy. "She is Chicky. And, she is alive." The girl just stood there, staring like her mother. "Ma!" cried the little boy, "We have to get Chicky out of the oven! She's getting too hot!"
'At this, Loveworthy broke out of her trance,' recalled Estelle. 'Without closing the oven door, she gathered her kids asked about the Monopoly game. "No, we can't play!" shouted the little guy. "Yeah, we have to save Chicky first!" agreed the girl. "Yeah, mom. That is pretty weird," agreed the oldest.
'So, Loveworthy took the chicken out of the oven as the kids watched. Then, relieved that Chicky was safe, we all went down to finish Monopoly,' Estelle continued. 'Monopoly never ends!' claimed Rita. 'I've been in games that lasted days!' 'Me too,' agreed Claire and Hazel in chorus.
'After the kids got goin in the game again, Loveworthy snuck into the kitchen and put the chicken back in the oven. Later, when I was bout to explode from that damn game, Loveworthy called us all into dinner, thank god!' smiled Estelle. 'What Loveworthy couldn't do in the kitchen, she made up for in her table setting. She used her momma's dishes and silver and a pretty lace tablecloth she got from Goodwill. It was a right pretty table. There was sweet potatoes and stuffin and greens and milk for everyone. We all sat down. The kids was hungry.
'Then, Loveworthy went to the kitchen. She came back with that chicken on a nice dinner plate and a carving knife. The kids was chattering bout who won the game when they all saw the bird. The older kids stopped talking. Then, the little guy recognized it and said, "Chicky?" The older kids looked from Chicky to Loveworthy. The little guy asked, "Mommy, why is Chicky on a plate?!"
'Loveworthy didn't respond. We all just sat there in silence. "Why isn't Chicky moving?" asked the little guy. Chicky just laid there, all dressed up and not breathin. Loveworthy weren't doin nothin and I was hungry, so I grabbed the carving knife and pulled Chicky to me.
'Just as I was bout to carve up dinner, the little guy screamed, "Don't kill Chicky! Mommy, don't let granny kill Chicky!" The girl said, "I'm not eating Chicky! How can I eat our pet?" And the oldest boy said, "I'm no really hungry, ma." The little boy was crying now, "Chicky, don't kill Chicky," he kept sayin. Estelle paused, lost in the memory.
'Well?' prompted Rita. 'What happened? Did you cut up that old bird?' 'No,' said Estelle. 'I didn't cut it up.'
'What about dinner?' asked Hazel. 'Didn't you guys eat dinner?' 'Yes,' Estelle said, 'we ate the taters and greens. But we couldn't eat the stuffin that was in the bird cuz the biggest boy said we'd be gutting it if we did and that set the little boy to cryin again.'
'But, what about the bird?' insisted Rita. 'You didn't eat the bird?' 'No,' said Estelle. 'We never ate the bird. It just sat there in the middle of the table while we ate.'
'And then what? What became of the bird?' asked Hazel.
'We had a funeral,' stated Estelle. 'Chicky is buried in the backyard next to the bird and fish and cat...and whatever else is buried back there, stuffin and all.'
The women laughed, their faces lined with puzzlement. 'That's a great story, Estelle,' laughed Claire. 'Yes,' agreed Tomasina. 'And, the moral?' asked Rita.
'Well, it's what I said in the beginning,' reminded Estelle, 'Things don't always turn out the way they was supposta.' Looking at the confused women, Estelle continued, 'We was supposta have chicken for dinner! Me, I woulda told those kids that Chicky was dinner and cut it up. But not Loveworthy.'
'Yes,' said Claire. 'I think Loveworthy saw something more in that situation...more than dinner.' 'What do you mean?' puzzeled Hazel. 'She saw her kids facing death for the first time' stated Claire. 'Woah!' started Rita, 'That's intense! It was dinner, for God's sake!' 'But, I think Claire's on to something,' said Tomasina. 'If all you ever saw was Kentucky Fried, would you know you were eating chicken?' 'Good point,' Rita agreed, 'and...'
'And,' continued Claire, 'correct me if I'm wrong here, Estelle, but I think Loveworthy decided that guiding her kids through their introduction to death was more important than eating that chicken.' 'So,' pondered Hazel 'the way things were supposed to go was to eat chicken for dinner.' 'Right,' said Claire. 'But,' chimed in Rita 'the way things went instead was a lesson in life.' 'Right again,' smiled Claire. 'So,' offered Hazel 'Loveworthy had the wisdom to see that this lesson was far more important than the money she spent on the chicken.'
'Yes,' I think that's it' affirmed Claire. 'And, she was able to step back from her original plan and allow a different course of events to follow,' added Tomasina. 'I think I get it,' reflected Rita. 'If she had stayed focused on chicken for dinner, she would have missed something else that was even more important.'
In the following silence, Hazel ventured, 'So, do you think my granddaughter might be missing something different...' she started. 'or more important,' interrupted Rita. 'if she stays focused on job search?' Hazel finished. 'Perhaps,' agreed Tomasina. 'Or....' pondered Claire, 'if she gets too focused on feeling bad and like a failure, she might forget that she really is a kewl young woman, and talented...' Pausing, Claire turned to Estelle. 'What do you think? Are we understanding what you meant?'
'That's all too deep for me,' bristled Estelle. 'I just know that things don't always turn out the way they was supposta.' With that, Estelle pushed herself up from the table and tootered off, muttering....and, when her back was safely turned to the women...smiled.
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