Dialogue: Chores with a 4-year-old

Jeff Meller

30 Oct 13

559 words

“I’ll get it, I’ll get it,” squealed 4-year-old Marilyn Little Bear as she raced down the hallway, proud that she was big enough to answer the front door herself.

When the doorbell rang, Walter and Marilyn were in the kitchen cooking breakfast while Marilyn’s mother and baby sister slept.

“Good morning, Marilyn,” said Jason Wood squatting down to child height and shaking hands. “That smells gooood,” he continued, sniffing the air. “What’s for breakfast?”

“French toast and bacon,”  Marilyn exclaimed with excitement as she ran back into the kitchen. “And I’m helping. I mixed the eggs.”

“Good morning’” said Walter, Marilyn’s father, over his shoulder from the stove. “Pull up a chair and I’ll get you some coffee. What do you want in it?”

“Good morning. Milk, please,” Jason replied.

“I’m just fixing Marilyn’s French toast. I’ll make yours next,”  Walter said.

Jason sat at the kitchen table. He was wearing blue jeans, worn and frayed at the right knee.  Jason and Walter, 41 and 45 respectively, work together and Marilyn usually sees Jason wearing business clothes. 

Pointing to the hole Marilyn said: "Look daddy, Jason is dressed like a college kid today."  

***

“Your French toast and bacon are ready Marilyn. Sit down and I’ll serve you,” said Walter.

Marilyn asked, “Daddy will you cut it into squares for me?”

“Cut it into squares for me, what?” echoed Walter”

Cut it into squares for me, please,” replied Marilyn 

With a knife Walter cut four parallel lines across the warm slice and then four perpendicular lines to make bit-sized squares.  Marilyn poured on maple syrup and picked up one square with her fork. This square had not been severed completely for the next square.

"Daddy this piece is not unbuttoned" she said.

***

The three finished breakfast and were getting ready to do some chores.

Walter said, “It’s going to be chilly out this morning. We’d better get our fleeces.”

“Daddy I want my Winnie-the-Pooh fleece,”  Marilyn said. They spent 20 minutes quietly, so as no to wake the baby, searching for the fleece because Marilyn had not been worn since last spring.

They found it and set off for the first chore which was haircuts for Walter and Marilyn.

They drove to Massachusetts Avenue and parked the car. Marilyn put the money in the meter and they walked to Charlie’s Barber Shop, enjoying the swirling leaves on the windy autumn morning. As they approached the barber shop, Marilyn sang out, pointing to the rotating barber pole:

“Here we are. The bangers."

“The bangers?” asked Jason. 

"The banger," Marilyn explained, "where I go to get my bangs cut."

***

After the bangs were pertly trimmed, the trio next were to visit Marilyn’s aunts, who live together near by.  As they were about to get into the car, Marilyn proposed: "Why don't we take our feet."

***

The final chore of the morning was to get wood to build book shelves for Marilyn’s room.  They visited a lumber yard and inspected some pine boards to be used for the shelving. One board had a good sized dent in it from a steel band which had tied together a pallet of boards for shipping.  Marilyn said: "That board has a sore."

***

After all the chores were done the three returned to Marilyn’s house where her mother and younger sister were awake and eating their breakfast. “Did you guys have fun?” her mom asked.

"It was starving fun, mommy," by which Marilyn meant it was intensely fun.

- 30 -

Sources:

None.