Lady, Are You Rich?
by Marion Doolan
Chicken Soup for the Soul
They huddled inside the storm door—two children in ragged outgrown coats.
"Any old papers, lady?”
I was busy. I wanted to say no—until I looked down at their feet. Thin little sandals, sopped with sleet.
"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
There was no conversation. Their soggy sandals left marks upon the hearthstone. I served them cocoa and toast with jam to fortify against the chill outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.
The silence in the front room struck through to me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady . . . are you rich?"
“Am I rich? Mercy, no!"
I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer—carefully.
“Your cups match your saucers."
Her voice was old, with a hunger that was not of the stomach. They left then, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said thank you. They didn't need to. They had done more than that. Plain blue pottery cups and saucers. But they matched.
I tested the potatoes and stirred the gravy. Potatoes and brown gravy, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these things matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my hearth. I let them be. I want them there in case I ever forget again how very rich I am.
It's already past 12 midnight and I'm still sitting here in front of my PC. I feel tired - my back's aching and I've yawned for the nth time already.
It's just that I don't want to sleep yet. It's been like this for days, actually - me not going to bed until I get really very sleepy, until I find myself on the verge of falling face down where I am, my eyelids dropping uncontrollably.
So now I usually go to bed at 1 am (sometimes 2 am) and wake up at 5:30 or 6 am for work. Which means I normally get around 4.5 hours of sleep every day - quite far from the amount of sleep I used to have (dati di pedeng di ako maka-7 hours man lang). Not that I have a sleeping disorder...would this be classified as one? I mean I can't be called an insomniac - I can go to bed right now and fall fast asleep without the least bit of effort if I chose to do so. Sabi nga tatay ko, sumandal lang daw ako sa palito tulog na ako eh ^.^
Antok na 'ko...ayoko lang matulog.
