The Broken Knight

It is early evening in January. Patches of snow form random patterns on yards of townhouses in northeast Baltimore. Cars speed up and down on Loch Raven Boulevard making a continuous humming sound. A front porch light is lit, and a young woman stands behind a storm door looking outside.

“It wasn’t them.”
“Are they coming together?” a man’s voice asked from within the house.
“I’m not sure.”
“Why do you always get so nervous when your parents come over?”
“I’m not sure why.”
“Can you come get your daughter?  She is trying to climb up my leg.”

“Okay.” The young woman walks through a sitting room and dining room and enters a narrow, long kitchen. The kitchen has white cabinets along one wall. The kitchen appears clean and orderly, and has the aroma of garlic and cheeses. A young man is adding ingredients to a sauté pan.
“It smells good,” she said bending down to grab a small child less than a year old. “Isabel, dear, what are you doing? Let’s leave daddy alone for now.” The woman turns in response to a noise. “I think I heard them.”
“Again?” he said.
“Not them,” she replied disappointedly.
“Can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Can you keep your mother out of the kitchen?”
“I’ll try,” she said.
“Please do. I have enough trouble getting dinner together without her.”
The woman walks to the door and looks outside onto the street. “They’re here. I guess they did take separate cars. I don’t see my dad. The twins are here though.”
“I think your dad said he was coming from a concert.”
“Not on a Tuesday. He probably said he was coming from rehearsal.”
“That sounds right.”

While holding the baby, the young woman opens the storm door. “Hi, Keith and Kyle. Hi, mom.”

Twin boys enter the house followed by a middle-aged woman. The twins respond in unison, “Hi, Jodi.” The boys make nervous half smiles and take off their jackets.

“Hi, Jodi. Hi, Isabel,” the middle-aged woman said. “Can I hold her?”
“Sure,” the young woman passes her baby to her mother.
“Mom, can Keith and I go play chess downstairs?” Kyle asked.
“Go ahead.”
The twins run recklessly through the dining room and kitchen. Quickly, the two boys open a closed door in the kitchen and run down a set of stairs.
“Hey, you guys, take your shoes off please,” the young man in the kitchen says. “And don’t use my good chess set. I’ve already had to super-glue one of my knights back together because of you guys.”
The middle-aged woman enters the kitchen holding the baby. Jodi follows behind her. The kitchen is hotter than the other rooms in the house.

“Hi, Brad. How are you?” the middle-aged woman asked, and kisses the young man on the cheek.
“Hi, mom. I’m good. How are things on your end?”
“Great! Great! We have been so busy the last few weeks.”
“Jodi, can you check which chess set the twins are using? I think I hear marble down there.” The young man gestures towards the staircase.
“Okay,” Jodi replied.
“Last week was so exciting. The twins had a basketball game, and they were playing against this really hot team. The twins’ team is good, but this other team is supposed to be really good. On the other team, they had this one guy who was almost your height,” the middle-aged woman began.
“No! Use the other set under the counter,” Jodi said halfway up the basement stairs.

“Shut up!” a child’s voice yelled up from the basement.
“Don’t tell me to shut up! God!” Jodi walks up the stairs holding a marble chess set in her hands. “I am going to put this in our room because the twins won’t listen to me.”
“Thanks,” Brad said.
“The game was really close. In the third quarter, you wouldn’t believe it the twins’ team took the lead. It was a riot. Then, in the fourth quarter, the other team took the lead.” The baby starts to whine. “The thing is, this team they played is in the nine-ten age group. The twins’ team is in the eight-nine league.” The baby whines louder. “Then Keith makes this shot from really far away. I thought it was a three-pointer.”

“Why would the twins play an older team?” Brad asked.
“I’m not sure,” the middle-aged woman replied.
“Mom! Isabel is crying.” Jodi enters the kitchen and takes the baby from her mother.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I should give her a bottle now anyway.” Jodi opens the refrigerator, and takes out a baby bottle. Jodi nudges her mother out of the way as she puts the bottle in the microwave. The middle-aged woman stands in front of the refrigerator.
“Isabel looks awfully small. Have you taken her to the doctor lately?” the middle-aged women asked.
“Mom, I have told you before Isabel is right around average in height and weight,” Jodi answered.
“I don’t know. I guess she just looks small,” Jodi’s mother said. “Brad, I have got to tell you the rest of the story about that game. It went down to the last minute and finally the older team won. It has been so hectic lately with all the twins’ functions. We have been non-stop from work to school activity with them.”
“Huh.” Brad replied.
“Work has been really tense also. A family filed a complaint against me, and I may lose my nursing license. It was that day that I was on a new floor, and two of my patients died. One of those patients was dying while I was in his room. I didn’t notice the signs, the respiratory discomfort and increased heart rate, and went on to the next room. Later that night, the family of that patient came to visit. The family discovered he was dead. I told them that it wasn’t my fault because he had a ‘do not resuscitate’ order.”
“Mom, can you back up a second? I’ve got to get in the refrigerator.” Brad asked. The middle-aged woman moved away from the refrigerator enough so that Brad could squeeze into it. Brad grabbed a container of heavy cream and closed the refrigerator.

“Mom, did you talk to Dad? When is he getting here?” Jodi asked.
“He should be on his way. He wouldn’t stop home first, would he?”
“Are you asking me?”

“I’ll call him. Is that ok?” the middle-aged woman asked moving toward a phone in the kitchen.
“Go ahead.”

“I got the machine. He isn’t there.”
“He was at rehearsal, right?”
“Yes, uh huh. He had a double rehearsal today.”
“Then he is probably coming straight here.”
“I assume he is. So have you guys decided what you are going to do when Brad finishes school?”
“We are putting both of our resumes on-line, and we will see which one gets the best offer.”
“So, there is a chance that Brad will be home with the baby.”
“There is a chance.”
“Brad you must be excited that school is almost over. How long have you been there now, nine years?”
“No, I have been there seven years.”
“And you are going to have your Bachelors in communicating?”
“It is a mass communications degree,” Brad answered.
“What did I say?”
“You said communicating.”
“Aren’t they the same thing?”
“No, they are not.”
“Jodi, you know your father got his degree in four years. A year after that, he got his Masters.”
“I am quite aware,” Jodi answered.
“Where is your father?” the middle aged woman asked to herself.
“He told you he was coming, didn’t he?”
“Are you going to make any coffee? Because I would like a cup…if you are going to make some,” the middle-aged woman said.
“I can make some coffee,” Brad answered.
“Mom, dad told you he was coming, didn’t he?” Jodi asked.
“Thanks, Brad.”
“Mom?”
“He didn’t say he was coming in so many words, but he is coming. We haven’t seen much of one another lately, but I know he is coming.”
“Why haven’t you seen much of one another?” Jodi asked.
“Jodi, can you tell the twins that dinner is ready?” Brad asked.
“Boys! Dinner is ready! Come up and wash your hands!” After Jodi called downstairs, the shuffling of feet could be heard in the basement.

The middle-aged woman walked out of the kitchen. She walked through the dining room into the sitting room. Finally, she came to a halt at the storm door. The middle-aged woman looked out into the dark street. Puddles of melted snow had refrozen, and cars sped up and down the road. “I’m sure he will be here soon.”