Bulldog Bandit by Molly Maple

Author:Molly Maple [Maple, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mary E. Twomey LLC

14

Not Benjamin

Aunt Em is just as surprised as I am at the turn this evening has taken. Not fifteen minutes after I enter the house with Deputy Hanson coming in behind me, Phyllis, Dorothy, Edna, and Jada show up with various accoutrement and food to turn the night into a party centered around ushering in the dawning of a new era.

“Don’t anyone touch his hair. I’m on that.” Jada pulls out a pair of clippers. “I do Niles’ hair all the time. Short of calling over a stylist at this time of night, I’m the best there is to offer.”

The deputy covers his head with his hands. “Don’t touch my hair. It’s fine.”

Jada leans over, fixing him with her most intimidating stare. “Do you deserve a bland, fine haircut?”

The deputy shrugs, his answer coming out like a question. “No?”

“That’s right. Leave it to me. Any fussing, and it’ll be mullet city.”

He whimpers at me, silently asking what I’ve gotten him into.

Phyllis rubs her hands together. “I’m on wardrobe, obviously.”

Edna raises her hand. “I want to redo his home. De-funking his bachelor pad is going to be so therapeutic. Think of all the things I’ll be able to throw away!”

Deputy Hanson holds up his hands. “Wait a minute. Don’t go changing me. Slight alterations are fine. I don’t want a complete overhaul.”

Aunt Em sits in the seat across from where he is perched on the couch, sandwiched between Phyllis and Edna. She crosses her right leg over her right knee, studying his fear with a mix of curiosity and compassion. “No one is going to change anything about you that doesn’t need to be left behind. What sort of person do you want to be, Benjamin?”

“A cop,” he replies succinctly. It is clear to me he didn’t even take a breath to consider her question.

“Not profession. What kind of person?” She motions to herself. “I want to be the kind of person who sees people. Really sees them. I want to surround myself with friends who are given the tools to thrive and live their best lives. Most things I do fit into that funnel.”

Phyllis speaks up. “I want to be fearless, so I wear whatever makes me happy. I don’t let other people’s voices get louder than my own when it comes to my self-worth.”

My gosh, I love these women.

Edna chimes in with a hearty, “I want to be the kind of person who doesn’t worry. It’s harder than it sounds, but it’s miraculous once it grows wings and takes you places you never knew you could go.”

Dorothy sips a glass of sweet tea as she sits in the chair beside Em’s. “I want to read something that changes my life. And then I want to read another thing, and another.”

Jada holds her chin up, though I can tell she is struggling in her moment of vulnerability. “I want to be good at all sorts of things. Sometimes I get caught up in only knowing the few things I do, or only being good at the areas of focus that come easy to me.

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