She knew she wasn’t supposed to bother Mrs. Deezy, Mrs. Dee for short, but she really liked her! She was funny the way she moved her false teeth around in her mouth. She popped them in and out occasionally out of habit as she worked.
Kristie was sitting on the sofa in the music room watching as she polished the hardwood floors. She was on her knees perched on a small folded towel for padding purposes. Her butt wagged back and forth as she worked. It was amusing to the young girl.
Mrs Dee was a hard worker, Dutch by way of birth. She and Ernie, the Italian gardener, kept the estate, “The Big House,” up to par. The old place glistened under their attentive service. The old dam in charge of the estate always treated them fairly, with proper monetary reward, and bonuses on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and their birthdays.
Kristie would have liked to help with any project they had at hand, but she was always “in the way” it seemed. She loved the smell of the polish. She stayed very still slouching in the pillows watching the floors take on a fine shine while Mrs. Dee’s butt continued moving from side to side.
It seemed that even Mrs. Dee’s breath had a Dutch accent. She huffed and puffed in the fricative, “Das ist Gut!”
Back at the small apartment Kristie shared with her family down the street from The Big House, she pretended to be Mrs. Dee. She got a rag, a bucket, and some polish out from under the sink and began washing the ktichen floor. She supposed her butt wriggled like Mrs. Dee’s. When she was finished she repeated the words she had heard earlier, “Das ist Gut!”
She liked watching Ernie too, but he scared her a little with his big loppers. “Snap! Snap!” he smiled at her with a big toothy grin, “Wan’ teh cut deh bushes?’ “Snap! Snap!” She smiled at him, but was wary. She would like to do some trimming and raking too.
She knows where the rakes and shovels are kept up in one of the garages. She sets it upon herself to make a park under the olive trees growing in a wedge of land bordering the long driveway leading up to the big white house. She works out there for hours raking and arranging the leaves to create paths and a sitting area looking out over the landscape. She has no regard for the spiders or snakes that may live there.
She is proud of her work, but decides that she needs a bench, so she asks her Grandma Gigi to come take a look and see what she has accomplished, hoping to procure a bench or two for her finished project. “Just like you would see at a real park!”
Gigi was not impressed. She pursed her lips together the way she did when she was disapproving, “Come inside now, and wash up for dinner.” She offered, “I’ve got you some new paper dolls to play with….”
Gigi thought to herself, “This girl is smart and active. She needed projects and work to keep her mind focused.” She would sign her up for a class: gymnastics, hula lessons, and tap dancing.
Kristie loved it! After her first class, she said, “I’m gonna be a star!”
Gigi just smiled, satisfied that she had made the right decision.
