Sleeping Beauty

by Judy Baer

• ISBN13: 9780373813292
• ISBN10: 0373813295
• Edition: Large
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-01
• Publisher: Steeple Hill

Excerpts

My sister, Mickey, apologizes a lot these days."I can't imagine what Tommy and Terry were doing to knock it off the top of your china cabinet. You have no idea how badly I feel, Suze. We'll pay for it, of course....""Never mind, I didn't like those Waterford crystal candlesticks much anyway."Mickey has been asking for forgiveness, expressing regret and acting contrite for three years. That's when her twins learned to walk. Before that, life was relatively calm. Since the boys mastered locomotion, however, nothing has been the same. Tommy and Terry are adorable with loose black curls, blue-violet eyes with long lashes as dark as midnight, rosy cheeks and wide smiles that reveal faint dimples. We lovingly refer to them as the Terror You wouldn't be able to take care of the kids while we're gone.""The position doesn't actually open up for four months. Someone is retiring. Besides, if I did have to travel, Mom and Dad could manage an overnight or two with the boys." My parents, though only in their early sixties, can't handle the boys full-time. When I think about it, no one can, not even the boys' own parents. "Mom and Dad would come here to feed the animals anyway.""Speaking of the animals, what have you got now? Other than that crazed hamster, I mean.""He's not crazed. He's sensitive, that's all." Whenever Hammie perceives that I'm upset, he gets upset, tooand begins to run on that wheel of his until I settle down. He's become a great predictor of my emotions. He's also made my home a much calmer place. I have to stay calmdeep breathing and envisioning a sunny place with vast white beaches and dolphins playing in the surfotherwise the sound of that whirring, rattling wheel in his cage would drive me nuts."There's a lady in my spinning class who was very interested in what you do. She is looking for a dog for her mothersomething loving and easy to spoil." "Chipper would be perfect. She'd like a black Pekingese. He's small, dignified, affectionate, a real character. He needs lots of brushing though.""That's fine. Her children have requested that Grandma get a dog to groom so she'll be too busy to tell them to cut their hair and dye it back to normal colors. But what's this dog's problem?"All my pets come with problems. I'm a foster mother for a last-chance pet adoption agency. These are the animals that literally no one wants. When they reach our agency, these are the saddest little creatures on the planet. Health problems, age, bad hair and bad habits bring them to us. I take in these pitiful little creatures, fatten them up, doctor them until they are healthy, teach them manners and make them more desirable in any way I can. Then I attempt to place them in loving homes."His foot is missing. Got it caught in a mousetrap. He wandered around lost, dragging it until it got infected. It may bother someone else but it doesn't bother Chipper."Mickey winced. "Poor little thing. Do you have a photo? I'll take it to spinning tomorrow."At that moment, the mini-watchdog in question set up a commotion in the kitchen. There were no burglars in the house, just two naughty scamps trying to remove a package of Oreos from the top shelf of a cupboard.Terry stood on my kitchen counter tippy-toed on the Minneapolis telephone book reaching for the cookies while Tommy, belly down on the counter, resolutely held on to Terry's ankles. When Terry fell he'd take Tommy right off the counter with him, but they hadn't factored that into their equation. The twins always assume they will succeed at their schemes and spend little time dwelling on the consequences of their actions."Terry!" Mickey screeched unhelpfully. Her guilty son turned to look at her and teetered on his perch. Mickey reached out to catch Terry while I dove for Tommy, still clinging tenaciously to his brother's feet. The impact of Terry's fall sent Mickey flying backward into my kitchen table.