A Promise Is A Promise And Broke Is Broke

 Marlee looked through part of the old book and wished she could read the words that were in it. She had learned how to sound out some words that were printed, but the writing in this book was full of loops and circles. She had no idea what the words said. She soon tired of it and concentrated on her new furry friend that she had named Willow. Willow jumped off her lap and onto the floor. She barked a soft, "Woof!" and ran to the door. "Oh, okay you want outside? What a good dog you are." She opened the door and soon another dog ran up to say hi. He was a big white dog with lots of fur. "Oh, aren't you a pretty dog. Do you and Willow live here? I wish I had a dog to pet and love."

She heard someone come up behind her and saw that it was her mom. "You know animals are a lot of work. They also cost a lot of money. They need special food and medicine. They need to go to a groomer. That is just a beauty shop for animals. Sometimes their fur gets too long and makes them really uncomfortable. There are bugs that like to live on animal's fur too; ticks and fleas. All of that is a lot of responsibility. That's why you don't have a dog. We live in town and don't have a fenced in yard for one thing."

"Well maybe someday we could get daddy to put up a fence around our yard then we could get a dog." "Right now that's the last thing I'm going to worry about. I need to talk to my mom right now. I have something I want to talk over with her. If you want to go outside and play with the dogs while I call her I think it's okay. They seem like really friendly dogs. Make sure you stay right where I can see you, okay?"

Marlee's mom quickly sent a text to her mom who was vacationing in Florida. "This is going to be an interesting conversation. She's going to freak out probably. Hope she gets the text soon. I really need to talk to her." Soon her phone rang with a video chat request. It was her mother. "Hi! Are you having a good time at the beach? Good. Well, there's something I want to tell you and talk to you about. I'm glad you are sitting down. I wish I was there with you about now. That's for sure."

" I bought a ranch in Texas today. Not on purpose, Mom! Of course, not! It was an accident! Yes it was an accident. I was waving at my husband and the auctioneer thought I was bidding. Now I guess we are going to be partners in this big old ranch with another couple until they get enough money to buy our share out. We are going to be in Texas for a little longer than we thought. The lady that owns it is leaving soon. Mom there's not even any food in the fridge. Well, in fact there's no fridge. She sold everything at the auction, but this couch in the living room. I wonder why she didn't put it on the auction. Anyway, how soon are you coming back? I need you to go to our house and check to make sure everything is okay every once in awhile. Okay? Of course, I will let you know what's going on. Yes we are calling our work. Yes, I know we need our jobs. You know this could be a good thing. I thought we could make it into an Airbnb, but the other couple wants to buy and sell horses. They are rodeo people, Mom! Listen to me. It's done. I'll call you again tomorrow. We have to go into town and do paper work. Tell Whit we will see her soon and that we love her. No I don't have time to talk to her right now. I'll call you tomorrow and Whit can talk to everyone then. Okay? Bye, Mom. It's going to be okay. Yes I promise!"

"What's going to be okay, Mom? What did lollie have to say? Is she still on vacation? I want to go to Florida instead of Texas. Is lollie at the beach? Is Whitlee swimming without me? I want to go to the beach too. It's really hot here. Can we go to the motel and go swimming now? You promised!"

Marlee's dad found the box that Marlee told him that she had bought. He put the box of junk in the car and locked it. "My girls are giving me a headache today. I can't believe that we will soon be part owners of a ranch. A ranch! What are we doing? We are going to be so poor until that other couple buys us out. I wonder how my boss is going to take this. I shouldn't be more than a couple of days late coming back from vacation. I'd better call him now while I have a minute. It sounds like there will be a lot of paperwork to get done before this sale is a done deal. It's a good thing that we have been saving for a house. We at least have enough money to get this done, but we won't have anything left in savings. I guess it's going to be hamburger and macaroni for a few weeks. We can do this. Just keep telling yourself this; we can do this."

                                                                     *******

"Shhh! Now get over there and get that box out of that car. If you do that I will give you a good price for that bag of jewels you got there. Now git! I need that box and be careful that you don't get caught!"

"And just how do you expect me to accomplish that? It's broad daylight and I have no clue how to break into a car. I'm not a crook you know. That's your line of work from what I'm told. You are on your own. I'll find somebody else to buy these." The old woman watched the man walk away. "That's just fine. I'll do it myself." The crowd had started to thin away and folks were getting in their cars. "The auction must be about over. Maybe it is over. Rats! How am I going to get my hands on that watch? I never should have dropped it in that box. What was I thinking?"

                                                       ****

David was miserable. That dog had chased him and grabbed him by the pants leg until he fell down. He thought that monster was going to eat him. He could still smell that dog's breath. "Yuk! He slobbered all over me." He wiped off his face with his shirt sleeve, or what was left of it. "He tore my pants and my shirt. Big galoop, but at least he wasn't mean. I guess he just wanted to play." He walked very slowly towards what looked like a doorway in a brick wall. "Yes, there's a door bell. Hopefully this is the right place." He looked around the the area. There were a lot of motorcycles parked there. "I wonder if I have the right place. I think this is the address, but it's hard to tell back here." He looked to see where the revving of a motorcycle was coming from. There sat a rider looking right at him. He quickly pushed the button for the door bell. The door opened up a crack and a deep voice said, "We don't want nothin'. Now get outta here!" And slammed the door in his face. "Well, this was an interesting day. I'll go get myself a room and do some calling. I know there's more than one jewelry fence down here. Man I need a bath."

It seemed like within minutes he felt himself fly through the air. When he opened his eyes he realized how lucky he was. Broke, but lucky. The jewels were gone and so were his dreams of a house on the beach and a fancy car.