May, a month of MADAM Mayhem ends ! ! !

Friday, May 30 4:30pm :

Mr. Cooper, after much deliberation with the Mrs., and many hours looking at the brochure, decided that Suzanne was NOT going to get an in-ground pool, or the arcade she wanted to impress her friends. Her stunt was definitely crossing every line imagined. Besides he had his eye on a new sports car. Suzanne could just go swimming at the pond like the rest of the kids in town. Mrs. Cooper could only walk away from the discussion mumbling something under her breath when Mr. Cooper put his foot down. Often she tried to be the one who wore the pants in the family, but the bottom line was this: Mr. Cooper was the head of the family. The god-head. They didn’t attend church every single Sunday, but this was a biblical principle they both grew up with and wanted as part of their marriage. Besides, since Mrs. Coopers name wasn’t on the checking account, and credit cards were a huge NO NO in the Cooper family. Too many problems with those things. So when it came to the big decisions like new furniture, appliances, and in-ground swimming pools, there was always fair and open discussion, but Mr. Cooper had the final word. ‘Princess’ would just have to do without until she was able to prove that she has matured. Suzanne was very angry with having not gotten away with her stunt, like she had with so many others. She thought, for a very small brief moment ‘I’ll show him. I’ll run away. But the thought of not sleeping in her own soft and comfy bed just made her pout a little quieter. Then Mr. Cooper called Suzanne down stairs to offer her a trip to the store. Though she would not be getting her very own pool, she had grown this past year and would need a swim suit for the pond. So he stated “You can go on pouting the rest of the summer or you can go with your mother and pick out a suit for this summer.” And in perfect Suzanne form she asked, “Just ONE?!?” “Yes! JUST ONE!” Was her father’s quick and final reply.

4:55 pm:

Stephen and Jarred rode past the intersection that Mrs. Cooper and Suzanne were stopped at. They could see Rochester and Rudolf, the Cooper’s Romanian Hairless, jumping from the front seat to the back. I would have jumped too. All those girl germs. Probably the only smart thing those smelly cats ever did. Cats?! Usually they make good shoe shine rags, but these two were hairless. Just plain weird. No hair means you can’t rub a balloon on their fur and watch 'em freak out. To us dogs, it’s real funny.

5:07 pm:

The boys arrived at their destination in record time. They removed their backpacks, walked up the sidewalk and knocked on the door. They were at Bradley Millers house. Mrs. Miller opened the door. “May I help you?” she asked. “We’re Jarred and Stephen. We’re here to see Bra….” “Hey guys, come on in.” Bradley said from behind his mom. All three boys walked over to Mr. Millers den, and Bradley closed the door. Just as they were figuring out where they were supposed to sit, Mrs. Miller knocked, opened the door, and asked, “Would you boys like some milk and cookies?” Jarred and Stephen just looked at Bradley, as if to say, ' it's up to you dude ’. Bradley replied. “Yes, thank you Mama.” Stephen reached into his backpack, past the squirt gun, over the bag of water balloons, and just under his Cleveland Indians Baseball hat and pulled out his History book. Jarred did the same. “Thanks again, Bradley.” Jarred said. “I know that we can pass the final exam, but we don’t want to risk any possibility of failing.” Yea, thanks Brad.” Stephen said. “Please, call me Bradley. And I’m happy to help.” Bradley said. He felt that it was the name his parents gave him and there were no real shortcuts in life, including names. “I always study even when I know the material. Cause you never know when you might forget something.” He finished as he opened his History book and began to recite just about everything Mrs. Stintenhutt said throughout the week.

Mrs. Miller brought in the milk and cookies, whispered something to Bradley, and then he whispered back. The three boys all gave mouthful of cookie 'Thank You’s, being extra careful not to let any crumbs hit the floor, and went back to studying. Bradley covered the chapter’s highlights for the whole book in what seemed like only an hour, but was actually almost 3 hours. Stephen looked at his watch, and jumped to his feet. “Oh man. It’s almost 7 o’clock. My moms gonna kill us. We were supposed to be home by 6:30 for dinner.” He said urging Jarred to pack up his bag and get moving. They started to cram their books into their backpacks as Mrs. Miller walked into the room. “You boys ready for dinner?” she asked. The boys tried to apologize for running off, and since there was such a sense of urgency, they seemed to stumble over each other’s words. “Nonsense boys.” She said. “I called your parents and asked if it was okay for you to stay for dinner here.” “But my parents aren’t home. They’re out of town.” Jarred replied. “Yes, that is what I found out when I called and spoke with Mrs. Myers. I hope that they enjoy their weekend.” She smiled her happy homemaker smile at all the boys. “So then, you will be having dinner with the Millers tonight. And Stephen, please be sure to thank your mother for her Cinnamon Apple Fritters recipe. We’ll be having that for desert tonight.” The boy’s eyes just about jumped out of their sockets. They loved the Fritters, and usually only got them on very special occasions. All four of them, met Mr. Miller in the dinning room. Introductions were made, and they all sat down to Mrs. Millers succulent blue ribbon roast beef,

8:00 pm:

Mr. Cooper, upon the return of his wife and daughter, called them into his study. He lowered his newspaper, lying it down on his desk and made an announcement that Suzanne was going to host a party. Suzanne’s excitement was breathtaking, until… “You are going to be the hostess of a party this summer. For any and all of the people that were even partially related to anyone that was involved in any of your disgraceful behavior since we have arrived in Gruberville. You will serve them, and make every effort to make sure that they enjoy every single second of their time in our home. And the highlight of the gather will be you making a very public apology to all you have caused trouble for. This will include students, teachers, parents and anyone else your mother and I deem a victim of sorts.” Suzanne started to pout and tried to get some sympathy from her mother by leaning her head on moms shoulder. Mr. Cooper, lifting his paper back up to finish his evening reading, finished. “If either of you give me any sort of grief over this…or you act up even once any time soon, for the next year we will do all our shopping in every salvage store for all of out house hold needs. Food and supplies, clothes and Christmas. Don’t think for one second that I won’t go through with it for the entire year.” And he would too. He once gave the clothing allowance (6 months savings) Mrs. Cooper saved for the Fall line, to a University for the study of sleep deprivation. Something Mrs. could never understand as when her head hits the pillow she is sawing logs louder than a lumberjack.

Henry the Dog.