Chapter 8 – Lake Michigan

Sunday, October 4

Mommy came in.

“Mommy!” I threw my arms around her neck and she lifted me up.

“Shayla! Mmm, I love you too.” She stopped kissing me. “Is that the washing machine I hear? Lamar, did you start a load of laundry?”

“Uh, yeah. My shirt got dirty today. I threw in all the dirty laundry.”

“Oh, no!” She ran to the washer in our apartment. My underclothes are in there!”

“So? They’ll all get clean.”

“No, they’ll get stained. But thanks for helping.” She rubbed his head and hugged him. She opened the washer and looked inside. Picking up her pantie, she scrutinized it. “Eh, not too bad.” She dropped it back in the washer. “Was this your shirt you got dirty?” She held it up.

“Yeah.”

“There’s still a stain on the back. What’d you get on it?”

“Blood!” I said. Lamar gave me a look.

“What?”

“Uh, yeah, I got blood on it.”

“How’d that happen? Oh, here’s a hole. Did you get hurt?”

“No,” Lamar said.

“Yes,” I said.

“Wait a second. Somethin’s goin’ on. Tell me the whole story.”

“We went to the park,” I began.

“And I played basketball,” Lamar interrupted.

“And I was feeding Pinkie bugs when I heard some poppin’, like fireworks.”

“A gang chased us off the courts,” Lamar jumped in.

“And I ran to Lamar and he fell down.” I continued the story.

“And I got bloody when I fell.”

“He was bleeding all over when I got there.”

“I passed out for a while.” Lamar kept looking at me.

“And then Pinkie ate all the bad guys.”

“What?!” Mommy shouted. “Are you making things up again, Shayla?”

“No, honest truth, Mommy. I wisht he’d gobble them up like bugs. They were shooting back and forth.”

“Lamar, was there shooting?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

“You know I told you to get Shayla outta there ASAP.”

“I was! I was running as fast as I could!”

“And you got shot?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“And here’s the bullet!” I pulled the bullet out of my purse.

Mommy’s mouth stayed open as she took from me. “Lemme see your back, Lamar.”

He pulled off his shirt. His back showed clean, brown skin, like always. Frowning, Mommy lined up his shirt on his back. “Where’d you bleed from?”

“Right from the back here.” He pointed to the spot.

“There’s no wound. But your shirt is still stained and that is a bullet.”

“Oh, I just wisht him better, so he could take me home, Mommy.”

“C’mon, Shayla, be serious.”

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“Uh, Mom?”

“Yes, Lamar?”

“When I woke up, I felt the bullet against my skin.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Maybe you’ll believe Pinkie. He was there.” I held him up to Mommy.

“Now Shayla, I know he’s your pretend friend, but he’s not real, honey.”

“He is so! I wisht him alive! He gobbled up those gang bangers.”

“Be serious Shayla.”

“I’ll show you.” I stomped over to our porch carrying Pinkie. The porch looked down on the street below. I opened the sliding door.

“Whatcha doin’?” Mommy followed me.

“I’ll wake up Pinkie and you’ll see.” I put him on the porch.

“Why on the porch?”

“He needs room to grow. Okay, Pinkie, wake up! Talk to Mommy!” My stuffed animal just sat there.

“Shayla, ya gotta keep straight what is real and what is pretend.”

Maybe he needed a hug. That’s what I did last time. I picked him up and said, “Wake up Pinkie! Mommy needs to see you.”

He began vibrating against my chest.

“Yay, Pinkie!”

“What—?” Mommy stopped as Pinkie grew to the size of a horse on our porch. He leaped into the air and his pink wings buzzed like a bee. He grew to an elephant’s size and then a whale. The wind whooshed around us and into the house.

“What.” Mommy’s mouth fell open again.

“Good Pinkie! Now tell Mommy what happened at the park today.”

Mommy, Shayla woke me up and helped me grow. Then . . .”

* * *

Mommy’s mouth opened and closed while Pinky told her what had happened today. When she heard how Lamar was shot and then woke up again, she started crying and hugged Lamar very hard and then me.

“Oof! Mommy! Not so hard! You’re hurting me!” I poked her and pushed her away.

“Sorry, Shayla. I couldn’t help myself. This day could have been so terrible and you saved yourself and Lamar.”

“Nah, Pinkie did.”

“You woke up Pinkie and Lamar.”

“Yeah, but that was just wishin’.”

Mommy took a deep breath while the air from Pinkie’s wings rushed past us. “Ah, the air smells so good!”

That’s why I like flying.

“Hey, Pinkie! Can you give us a ride?”

Sure.

“What?” Mommy looked at me and then at Pinkie.

Lamar grinned. “Great idea, Shayla!”

Hop on. Pinky hovered next to the balcony and stretched his head down to the railing. Lamar got on first, then Mommy, and then me.

“Where are we gonna go?” Mommy asked.

“Let’s go to the lakefront park!” Lamar said. We’d gone there before for a picnic.

“Can you fly that far, Pinkie?” Mommy asked.

I’ve seen the lake from here. It’s not that far.

“What about people seeing us? Can you hide in the clouds?” Mommy looked down at the traffic below.

Of course. It’s night too.

“Let’s go, Pinkie!” I bounced on his soft, fluffy neck. It was softer than my bed.

With a few powerful strokes, Pinkie had us in the dark, damp, cloud overhead.

“Pinkie, I can’t see anything!”

It’s always clear on top, Shayla.

In a minute or two, we were through the cloud. I gasped. I saw millions of stars overhead. The city lights were blocked by the clouds and we skimmed them like a fluffy blanket. The starlight made Pinkie’s fur look dusty rose.

It took a minute for me to feel how cold it was. I snuggled back against Mommy’s warm body.

“Ya cold, honey? Me too. Lamar, gimme a hug.”

“It’s like a Brown family sandwich!” Lamar laughed.

Are you getting cold? Let me turn up my heat.

“What—?” Mommy jumped a little against my back.

Pinkie’s furry back warmed up like a heating pad.

“That really feels good, Pinkie. Thanks!”

You’re welcome, Mommy Brown. There’s the lake.

The Chicago skyscrapers poked through the cloud-like fingers. There were holes in the cloud, like Lamar’s shirt. We saw a big hole where the lake met the beach. We swooped down to land.

Pinkie put his head down and we slid off him like a furry slide. The sand was still warm from the day.

“Thank you, Pinkie. That was one smooth ride. You have a better ride than a pink Cadillac!”

Thank you, Mommy Brown. It’s easy for me to fly.

Lamar ran to the lake and back. “Wow, Mom! It’s so cool to be on the beach at night! Too bad we didn’t bring along a picnic.”

“Hey, maybe Pinkie can go and get us a picnic. What do you think, Pinkie?”

Maybe. I’m afraid I won’t be able to find all your food and picnic stuff. Why don’t you just wish it here?

“D’oh! I didn’t think of that.” I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. “I wish our picnic basket was here!” I pictured it on our refrigerator, where we kept it. I opened my eyes. There it was, at my feet.

“Great, Shayla!” Lamar leaped on the basket. It was empty.

“Oh, you forgot the food, Shayla!” Lamar looked back at me.

“I didn’t think of that.”

“I don’t store it full of food, honey.” Mommy smiled at me. “Why don’t you get a loaf of bread and some baloney and cheese from the refrigerator? And some mustard.”

“Okay.” I closed my eyes again. “I wish for our bread. And baloney. And cheese. And mustard.” I opened my eyes and there they were, packed in the picnic basket.

“I’ll make some sandwiches for the three of us.”

“What about Pinkie?”

Mommy looked startled. She looked at Pinkie, looming over us with his shiny black eyes. “Do you want a sandwich Pinkie?”

I’d love a baloney and cheese sandwich. No mustard, please. It makes me burp.

“Okay, one sandwich, no mustard for Mr. Pinkie. I guess you’re part of the family.” Mommy handed him his sandwich. He opened his huge mouth like a garage door, with a furry red tongue like our living room carpet. Mommy tossed it in and he gulped it down.

Yummy! Can I really be part of the family? Pinkie Brown?

“Of course! I officially adopt you as our family dragon, Pinkie Brown!” Mommy patted his nose, like the side of a stuffed, pink refrigerator.

We all munched on the sandwiches. In the fresh air by the lake, they tasted so good. Mommy made another one for Pinkie.

“Oh, we forgot drinks. Shayla get a gallon of milk from the fridge and our cups from the cupboard.

“Right away, Mommy.” I pictured them clearly. I’d gotten the milk and cups a lot of times, helping set the table. I didn’t even close my eyes.

Pop! The jug of milk appeared on the sand. Pop, pop, pop! Our cups arrived around it.

“Thanks, Shayla. You’re such a helpful girl!”

“I always pretended and wished before, but today it all started working.”

“Today’s a day I’ll remember forever.”

“Me too, Lamar,” Mommy sighed.