For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
The Meeting of Mrs. Smith
I blinked a couple times when I woke up, surprised that I had fallen asleep in the first place. I looked around... I was still at the nursing home... How much time had passed? Was my Mother still here? "Good morning, sleepy head." my Mother said in a kind voice. "Well, that answered my second question." I thought. "What time is it?" I asked through a yawn as I rubbed my eyes. "Ten minutes of 1:00, dear." my Mother smiled. What? We were supposed to leave at 12:00, we always do! "What are we still doing here then?" Why didn't my Mom wake me up sooner?
"I figured I would let you finish resting. Joseph and Amelia are having so much fun here, everyone just loves them. And I didn't want to disturb you from any dreams you might be having."
"Dreams...? The circus! What happened with the circus?!" Had that been a dream? It must have been, there could never be a circus at a nursing home. Although old people are freaks, so they would fit right in, I suppose.
"The circus?" my Mother responded, sounding quite confused.
"Yes, the circus! I got to ride the elephants! And there was a beautiful acrobat lady!"
"I think it was just a dream, hunny..."
"It wasn't a dream, Mother!" I practically yelled, getting aggravated that she wasn't believing OR explaining what happened to me. She's my Mother, she's supposed to know everything that happens! Tears started forming in my eyes. What was going on? Why was everything so confusing here at the nursing home?
My Mother noticed and put me in her lap while I cried, she shushed me and told me everything was going to be okay. I eventually stopped crying and agreed that it must have just been a dream. My Mom and I went to go find my Brother and Amelia, then we left. One part of me was thankful to be leaving and never ever wanted to return again, and now I don't think my Mom would force me to, but part of me actually WANTED to continue going now. I wanted to know what had happened. Was it really a dream? Did I really meet Ms. Smith and Mrs. Taylor? And Mr. Schulz? And did Mr. Kite really find me?
------
A week had passed, so it was once again the day to go to the nursing home. This time, just like I had expected, my Mom asked me if I wanted to go, instead of forcing me. I had told her that I wanted to go, though. She wondered why, of course, but didn't ask why. She just asked if I wold be okay, and I told her that I would be fine.
The truth is, I don't know if I would be or not. I'd have to wait and see. I was curious to figure out what happened last time. It was crazy... Insane! I needed to know, even if that meant talking to Mr. Kite again.
------
We got to the nursing home and immediately I went looking for Mr. Kite. Strangely, I couldn't find him anywhere, I even had some old guy go in the men's bathrooms and check for me! Still no sign of him... Maybe the people who run this place found out just how insane he was and sent him to the nut house where he belongs.
Eventually I came across Ms. Smith. She was in the dining room, sitting by one of the windows, with a piece of coffee cake and a cup of Joe on the table in front her. She was sitting very lady-like, not slouching and no elbows on the able, and she was just gazing out the window. Not like she was lost in a trance or anything. It was just like she had something on her mind, but she could still focus on other things at the same time.
I walked over to her slowly, afraid that if I interrupted her she might get annoyed with me. But I needed to figure out what happened last week, and now why Mr. Kite wasn't there today. And it's not like I could find Mrs. Taylor or Mr. Schulz either. Who knows, maybe she wouldn't mind me at all. There was only one way to figure out.
"Ms. Smith?"
"Oh, why hello Olivia! How are you today?"
That was odd... Ms. Smith didn't call me "Little Miss. Porter" unlike Mr. Kite and Mr. Schulz had, even though I informed them that I didn't not like being called that. "Ms. Smith, you didn't call me 'little Miss. Porter'?"
"Well, of course not, dear. You hate being called that, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then why would I call you something you don't like to be called?"
I had no answer for that question, and it had made me happy that SOMEONE in this nursing home was being a decent human being and respecting my wishes. That didn't change the fact that she was old, but it did make her a slightly better person.
Ms. Smith patted lightly on the spot across from her at the small table as she asked, "So, did you come over to me for any particular reason, Olivia?"
I wasn't sure how I was going to answer that. I knew what I wanted to ask, but I hadn't thought of before hand how I was going to word the questions.
"Something's on your mind, dear. Just tell me what it is."
It took me a second, but I finally answered her thought of "What is it" with, "What happened last week? I mean... I'm confused. You obviously know me, so I must have met you last week, but... the circus...?"
"Ahh, the circus..."
"So it did happen!" I yelled, happy that I wasn't just imagining things, or that it was just a crazy dream. It WAS Mr. Kite's fault my Mom didn't believe me, and that I had started crying.
"Hypothetically." Ms. Smith said, and then added on, after she noticed the excited look on my face turn to confusion, "It depends on how you look at it. If you look at it from Mr. Kites point of view, it was real. If you look at it from my point of view, it didn't happen, but it's still nice to pretend. And if you're looking at it from your point of view, I'm gonna assume you just want the facts, whether it was real or not. Am I right?"
I nodded my head, but in my brain I was confused. "Do you mean how a kid see's it compared to how an old person does? Or a women compared to a man?"
"You'll figure out eventually, Hunny."
"But I want to know NOW!" I complained. Was it really that hard to just give me a simple, straight-forward answer?
"Do you know how hard it is to be locked up in this prison?!" Ms. Smith whispered so that I was the only one who could hear her, but she was loud enough to indicate that she was yelling at me and not just merely talking. "It's one of the hardest things to deal with sometimes. Especially for Mr. Kite. Before this, he had so much adventure in his life. You'd be surprised with all the things he's done in his life, all the places he's gone to, all the people he's seen. But now he's stuck in this bird cage. What is he supposed to do, just sit around all day doing puzzles? That's not what he wants. He wants adventure."
"But Ms. Smith, that doesn't answer my question."
"I'm not the one you should be asking, Olivia."
I thought for a second and then said, "I don't know where Mr. Kite is..."
Ms. Smith explained to me then that Mr. Kite went out for breakfast with his wife, children, and grand children. She explained that they left about an hour ago, so he'd probably be back in a half an hour, but until then I could keep her company. Ms. Smith had apologized for yelling at me, and all was fine again. She may have been old, but so far she was probably the coolest old person I had met who I actually enjoyed talking to.
"I figured I would let you finish resting. Joseph and Amelia are having so much fun here, everyone just loves them. And I didn't want to disturb you from any dreams you might be having."
"Dreams...? The circus! What happened with the circus?!" Had that been a dream? It must have been, there could never be a circus at a nursing home. Although old people are freaks, so they would fit right in, I suppose.
"The circus?" my Mother responded, sounding quite confused.
"Yes, the circus! I got to ride the elephants! And there was a beautiful acrobat lady!"
"I think it was just a dream, hunny..."
"It wasn't a dream, Mother!" I practically yelled, getting aggravated that she wasn't believing OR explaining what happened to me. She's my Mother, she's supposed to know everything that happens! Tears started forming in my eyes. What was going on? Why was everything so confusing here at the nursing home?
My Mother noticed and put me in her lap while I cried, she shushed me and told me everything was going to be okay. I eventually stopped crying and agreed that it must have just been a dream. My Mom and I went to go find my Brother and Amelia, then we left. One part of me was thankful to be leaving and never ever wanted to return again, and now I don't think my Mom would force me to, but part of me actually WANTED to continue going now. I wanted to know what had happened. Was it really a dream? Did I really meet Ms. Smith and Mrs. Taylor? And Mr. Schulz? And did Mr. Kite really find me?
------
A week had passed, so it was once again the day to go to the nursing home. This time, just like I had expected, my Mom asked me if I wanted to go, instead of forcing me. I had told her that I wanted to go, though. She wondered why, of course, but didn't ask why. She just asked if I wold be okay, and I told her that I would be fine.
The truth is, I don't know if I would be or not. I'd have to wait and see. I was curious to figure out what happened last time. It was crazy... Insane! I needed to know, even if that meant talking to Mr. Kite again.
------
We got to the nursing home and immediately I went looking for Mr. Kite. Strangely, I couldn't find him anywhere, I even had some old guy go in the men's bathrooms and check for me! Still no sign of him... Maybe the people who run this place found out just how insane he was and sent him to the nut house where he belongs.
Eventually I came across Ms. Smith. She was in the dining room, sitting by one of the windows, with a piece of coffee cake and a cup of Joe on the table in front her. She was sitting very lady-like, not slouching and no elbows on the able, and she was just gazing out the window. Not like she was lost in a trance or anything. It was just like she had something on her mind, but she could still focus on other things at the same time.
I walked over to her slowly, afraid that if I interrupted her she might get annoyed with me. But I needed to figure out what happened last week, and now why Mr. Kite wasn't there today. And it's not like I could find Mrs. Taylor or Mr. Schulz either. Who knows, maybe she wouldn't mind me at all. There was only one way to figure out.
"Ms. Smith?"
"Oh, why hello Olivia! How are you today?"
That was odd... Ms. Smith didn't call me "Little Miss. Porter" unlike Mr. Kite and Mr. Schulz had, even though I informed them that I didn't not like being called that. "Ms. Smith, you didn't call me 'little Miss. Porter'?"
"Well, of course not, dear. You hate being called that, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then why would I call you something you don't like to be called?"
I had no answer for that question, and it had made me happy that SOMEONE in this nursing home was being a decent human being and respecting my wishes. That didn't change the fact that she was old, but it did make her a slightly better person.
Ms. Smith patted lightly on the spot across from her at the small table as she asked, "So, did you come over to me for any particular reason, Olivia?"
I wasn't sure how I was going to answer that. I knew what I wanted to ask, but I hadn't thought of before hand how I was going to word the questions.
"Something's on your mind, dear. Just tell me what it is."
It took me a second, but I finally answered her thought of "What is it" with, "What happened last week? I mean... I'm confused. You obviously know me, so I must have met you last week, but... the circus...?"
"Ahh, the circus..."
"So it did happen!" I yelled, happy that I wasn't just imagining things, or that it was just a crazy dream. It WAS Mr. Kite's fault my Mom didn't believe me, and that I had started crying.
"Hypothetically." Ms. Smith said, and then added on, after she noticed the excited look on my face turn to confusion, "It depends on how you look at it. If you look at it from Mr. Kites point of view, it was real. If you look at it from my point of view, it didn't happen, but it's still nice to pretend. And if you're looking at it from your point of view, I'm gonna assume you just want the facts, whether it was real or not. Am I right?"
I nodded my head, but in my brain I was confused. "Do you mean how a kid see's it compared to how an old person does? Or a women compared to a man?"
"You'll figure out eventually, Hunny."
"But I want to know NOW!" I complained. Was it really that hard to just give me a simple, straight-forward answer?
"Do you know how hard it is to be locked up in this prison?!" Ms. Smith whispered so that I was the only one who could hear her, but she was loud enough to indicate that she was yelling at me and not just merely talking. "It's one of the hardest things to deal with sometimes. Especially for Mr. Kite. Before this, he had so much adventure in his life. You'd be surprised with all the things he's done in his life, all the places he's gone to, all the people he's seen. But now he's stuck in this bird cage. What is he supposed to do, just sit around all day doing puzzles? That's not what he wants. He wants adventure."
"But Ms. Smith, that doesn't answer my question."
"I'm not the one you should be asking, Olivia."
I thought for a second and then said, "I don't know where Mr. Kite is..."
Ms. Smith explained to me then that Mr. Kite went out for breakfast with his wife, children, and grand children. She explained that they left about an hour ago, so he'd probably be back in a half an hour, but until then I could keep her company. Ms. Smith had apologized for yelling at me, and all was fine again. She may have been old, but so far she was probably the coolest old person I had met who I actually enjoyed talking to.