“Ma, Denny spit in my ear!” Squalled a little boy with a buzzcut, swatting his arms around and attempting to lay the smackdown on his much older brother. They both went to the floor and started wrassling around, smacking into random furniture in the dining room and causing the plasterboard walls in the trailer to shake around.
Sue went to catch a velvet paint-by-the-numbers Jesus with his flock as it went cricked and just about slammed into the floor. Shooting a look to the two boys attempting to beat the tar out of one another, she thrust a fat finger out.
“You two boys got as much common sense as the turkey in the oven!” She told them, the two looking up momentarily before the older of the two, Denny, got his younger brother Michael in a headlock and dragged him squealing down the hallway toward their shared bedroom.
Hearing one of them get on top of the bunkbed and (she could guess) was preparing to launch himself down at the other, she called on down the hall to them: “You wanna wake yer daddy!?”
The rustling and wrestling moves stopped from the bedroom back there. No, they sure didn’t. Their father had a rare day off and was not to be bothered. A ropey-muscled man with a permanent tan from carpentry, he was laid out on the couch in nothing but a pair of flannel pants. There was a Camel Filter jutting out the corner of his cracked lips, a growing pyramid of Budweiser cans on the coffee table in front of him.
Youngest of the children was Sissy. Nothing much to say about her except she was pretending to feed a baby doll and watching the Thanksgiving parade on television.
“Ma, Cinnamummah is on TV!” She called out to her mother. Her dad chucked an empty beer can at the TV set, spilling out dregs of beer to the floor. The big-ass mare in balloon form drifted across unabated on screen despite his annoyances.
Sue couldn’t be bothered with any of this right now though. The squat, portly woman was working herself to the bone putting up a Thanksgiving meal with all the accompaniments. Covered trays of food or pots were balanced on just about every surface. Green beans, a big dish of mashed potaters, yams though nobody ate the goddamn things, scalloped corn. A rack of freshly baked yeast rolls were cooking and luckily the turkey fat hadn’t spilled in the oven this year. Last one back the entire place had been filled with roils of stinging smoke.
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Much less festive was Cherish’s holiday. This orange and purple mare had once had a home but now all she had were huwties and tummy owwies. Fur which had once been pretty and well-groomed was now covered in burs and mud. Five little chirpies clung to her back and shivered against her, trying their best to nuzzle in to any warmth every time a burst of chilly November wind blasted into them.
Cherish had been dropped off on this lonely stretch of country road by her daddeh awhile back. It was scary out here and what little nummies had been around when it was warmer had gone away. Other fluffies which had been abandoned out here flocked together in scrubby woodlands, out in the middle of now barren fields, or hid away in hay sheds or what have you.
One of these fluffies had been very mean to her. A big mean stallion who’d pinned her down and given her wowstest huwties. Her no-nos still hurt with each step because of the attack, each movement of her hooves causing a dull ache of pain to shoot through her down there. The pain didn’t bother her, because she needed nummies for her babbehs.
She’d given birth to the little fluffballs out beneath a tractor one day and seeing them had caused her broken little heart to flare up with joy. Even if her little mummah and daddeh didn’t wub her anymore, these chirpies did. Their sweet peeps and widdew hoof waggles were so nice.
“Mummah…mummah am gib yew babbehs miwkies. Pwomise.” Cherish whispered to the harsh winds as she made her way down the trash littered highway. There weren’t any garbage cans or anything to raid out here. No houses either, really. This was a lonely stretch of road where grey skies hung overhead and everything seemed empty. A semi came barreling by on the road, the driver gleefully laying on his horn to send the mare screeching and flopping to her side. Rolling down into the ditch below, she whimpered pitifully and began coaxing the fallen chirpies onto her back once more. They were OK.
Why were humans so mean?
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Inside the modest little trailer, dinner had taken place and concluded. Though he’d already been sleeping on the couch all day, the patriarch family had retired to his bedroom where an episode of COPS played loudly on the television. Not loudly enough to cover up the saw-like snoring.
“Check this out, Denny.” Michael looked around as if planning a grand crime. Sue was in the kitchen putting away sides and mauling the turkey in order to make it fit into bags. Their dad was sound asleep and wouldn’t wake up unless you went and poked his eye with a stick. Sissy was just innocently pushing around her beloved babydoll in a carriage, minding her own business, when her brother came rushing up to snatch the doll away. Flinging open the front door which was knocked back into the wall with a gust of wind, he punted the babydoll hard and caused it to sail out over the porch and into a pile of weeds outside.
“Scooooooreeeeee!” He called out and began to do a gloating victory dance. Sissy, meanwhile, began screaming her face off and flopped to the floor. It looked like she was having a seizure as Sue rushed in from the kitchen, rubbing off greasy palms onto her already stained apron.
Glaring at Michael she’d shake her head and point to the open door. “You’d better hope her doll aint dirty. Or broke.” By now Sissy had stopped freaking out to watch her brother get scolded, clearly amused by it. Was a whoopin’ in order? Maybe and she wouldn’t miss it for the world. Giving a roll of his eyes, Michael went to stop outside to fetch the doll. Only he’d be beat to the punch.
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Walking a fair spell, Cherish had stopped on the gravel lined side of the highway and looked longingly over to a housie. It was a funny looking housie, not like the one she’d live in before. There were lights on and she could see people in there and it made her happy to see. They looked so nice.
While thinking about how nice it’d be to have a family like that too, she watched as a door got flung open and a babbeh flew out of it. Not a fluffy babbeh, it was a human one. A widdew human who had huwties! Even though she’d experienced lots of cruelty and heartaches from humans, she couldn’t watch as a widdew one just got thrown into the weeds.
Despite the hunger which ate away at her and the pain from her brutal attack, her hooves flashed out underneath her. Fluffies couldn’t really gallop or charge so it was a funny, fast waddle that caused her to scurry over to the bushes where the babbeh had flown. Braving the pokey weeds and more burrs, she found the little thing in it’s pink onesie, grabbing ahold of the back of it’s clothing and getting it up into her arms for a huggie which would make everything better.
“It am otay, widdew babbeh. Chewish hewe.” She told it in a soothing voice though it wasn’t crying. Or making any noise. Of course it was a doll but fluffies were slow on the take. Watching as a boy human exited out the trailer, she clumsily began to carry the baby doll up to the porch with determination in her eyes.
“Fwuffy hab widdew babbeh!” The mare grunted, taking great care to keep it safe instead of dragging it.
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“Ma! There’s a fluffy!” Michael called out over his shoulder. A little too loudly since Sue was standing right there to make sure he’d actually gone out to fetch his sister’s plaything.
Getting her slippers on and stepping out to the porch, Sue watched as the bedraggled mare struggled to get the baby up the steps, huffing and puffing. Finally standing in front of the big human woman, she offered the doll up to her with pleading eyes.
“Hewp babbeh?” She whimpered, hoping it wasn’t hurt. Taking the doll from Cherish, she’d brush off a few twigs and dirt splotches from it’s onesie and return inside to return it to her daughter. Giving a weak smile, the mare turned to leave. Before she could do so, hands gently grabbed her up from behind and she was hugged against doughy arms.
“C’mon, honey.” The big mummah told her in a soothing voice.
+++++
Cherish and her babbehs were brought inside. Immediately to the bathroom, where she was plopped down into a beige tub and watched somewhat fearfully as water began to rise up her hoofsies and cover a bit of her weggies.
“Wawa am bad ‘fo babbehs!” A tearful plead before a hand rubbed at the top of her head. Sue was bathing her, already lifting up a bottle of children’s tear-free shampoo to work into the mare’s filthy coat. There was a dog brush which’d have to be good enough to work out her fur.
With a big smile, she’d waggle the dog brush over to the open bathroom doorway where her gaggle of children watched with great interest. They weren’t allowed to have fluffies so seeing one right here in their teeny washroom was of great import. “Got three of m’own. Don’t let ‘em lie to you, ‘haint dead yet are they?”
Cherish didn’t really understand a lot of how this woman talked. It was a different way than any humans she had been around spoke. One thing was clear: This was a woman with good intentions. First the chirpies were washed off, each receiving a good and gentle once-over with a washrag before being deposited onto a fluffy white towel where they peeped cheerfully. Hungry but warm. It was a start.
Dunking down a plastic cup into the water, Sue got the fluffy’s coat all wet before working shampoo in. Working on her mane, she’d dutifully instruct: “Close yer peepers” before dumping warm water down her head. Working with deft certainty over many a mangy mongrel grooming, Sue led the dog brush through the fluffy’s coat and got all of the yucky debris out.
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After Cherish and her babbehs were all cleaned off and fresh, Sue carried the fluffy back outside. Immediately, the fluffy’s ears pinned down. Of course. This big mummah had already done something so nice for her by making her pwetty again. It’d be a lot to ask for more.
“Wub yew.” She said, her voice pitiful and hoarse. They’d just met but the fluffy really did love her. For showing her even a small bit of kindness. It made her so sad to have to leave already. Tears flowed down her eyes and her body noticeably sagged in defeat.
Looking down to the fluffy, Sue lugged her through the backyard to a rickety woodshed. It’d once belonged to their family mutt but ol’ Joe was gone now. The area was still filled with sweet smelling straw, and there were a great pile of old blankets and comforters, along with pillows that had been slightly too lumpy for the family’s use. “Why you ballyhooin’?” Sue asked with a look of amusement before placing Cherish down onto the straw covered floor. It wasn’t a perfect place to live but it was warm enough, certainly out of the wind.
“You can stay here awhile. My husband don’t like fluffies much but you stay right out of his way and he won’t complain. Much.” Oh they’d certainly have a talk about this later but Sue always got her way with these things. Cherish gasped, ruffled her tail around.
“Housie? Housie ‘fo Chewish? Weawwy!?” This was just a musty old woodshed but you would have expected it to be a mansion with the way the mare reacted. Giving a delighted squeal, she popped under the straw and wormed her way under it. Head popping out one end of the pile, she gave Sue a goofy smile which elicited a laugh.
“Woodshed, but close enough. You just hold yer horses, get’cha some leftovers.” With that, Sue left her new charge to stand there. Trembling now. Not because of the wind that continued to roar outside, but because it didn’t seem real. Though she’d lived in a real housie with a family, they hadn’t even treated her this nicely. Mostly like a toy. Fluffies were toys. But this big mummah treated her like she was real!
It took a few moments but Sue returned with a tin plate she’d used to feed Joe before his passing. Chunks of turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy that had gone to congealing, mushy green bean casserole, stuffing. Even a little wedge of pumpkin pie. Setting it down before Cherish, she could see the fluffy already begin to drool.
“…Fo fwuffy? Nu am bad? Am hab nummies?” She asked in a voice as if she’d just seen God. Sue gave a nod, watching with interest and maybe a little disgust as the mare begin gobbling down food with slurps and such enthusiasm that she had several coughing fits.
Just cleaned face now smeared with a bit of gravy, Cherish flopped down onto her side on a blanket and spread out to allow her babbehs to have nummies. They wriggled around and nestled in close to her teats, squeaking and peeping as each vied for a place to greedily suckle from.
As she turned to leave, Sue was caught from going so quickly by Cherish speaking quietly from atop her little blanket kingdom.
“Wry yew su nice tu fwuffy? Nu am bad fwuffy?” It was a question that had been on her mind ever since the woman had taken her into the trailer for a bath. Before her daddeh had kicked her out of the car and left her stranded on the highway, he’d told her how bad she was. Even though she couldn’t remember ever having done anything bad. If she had any kind of intelligence, perhaps the mare would be able to figure out that he’d told her that to make himself feel better. To justify basically guaranteeing an innocent creature’s death for convenience.
“Yer a good momma. I could see that soon as you picked up my Sissy’s dolly.” Sue thought of her own life. Having run away with a man where the two had little more than themselves to rely on. It’d been a hard start, still weren’t easy neither. Her folks would scoff seeing her live in a trailer and likely call her trash to boot.
A simple smiled played over her lips. Yeah, things had been hard but watching her children grow had been worth it. Life was difficult at times and sometimes she worked herself to the bone to make it all work, but it was worth it. “I guess I want you to be as happy as I was when you watch your own lil’uns grow up.”
With that, Sue left the fluffy to marvel over her words. Looking down to her chirpies nursing and kneading their little hoofsies against her teats, her heart swelled with renewed love.
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It was springtime at the little trailer home and Sue was out hanging laundry on the line, breathing in the fresh breeze and feeling relieved the hard winter had gone out.
Cherish and her babbehs were running through the wildflowers which had broken through the hard winter soil to the gentle sunshine of the newly arrived season. Sue watched with a small smile as the mare faked falling over so that all of her little foals could pile on top of her and begin to babble excitedly.
Was she their family pet? In a way. The old man still didn’t like her but as Sue had said: Tough tiddy. They weren’t truly bothering anyone and there was always an excess of scraps to feed ‘em with, just as had been the case with Joe. Sure they remained out in the woodshed, but they were a fixture in the family now.
“Mummah! Wook!” The brown foal, Peanut, had gotten on his back legs and was clumsily stepping around in a dance. Sue giggled, remembering a time that didn’t seem so far away where her oldest boy had taken to walking then trying to dance. Poor kid always fell and busted his ass.
“Yessum, I see, Cherish.” Sue pinned a Sunday dress up on the line. Not too long until the boys got home from school and started playing out in the mud, just like the foals were currently doing. Just like she’d be doing then, she’d watch the mare softly scold her foals and pulls them out from the muck.
She was a good momma.
Thank you!