Great Disappointment

I watched him disappear into the rain. It was only for one night but I frowned and felt lonely.
“Wish you were coming.” He read my face.

I wanted to join the fun: our first BBQ competition. He was loaded and ready. It was going to be a rowdy, meaty weekend. I was jealous. I wanted to camp and drink beer, smoke ribs, brisket, chicken and pork while making sauces and stoking the fires.
“Me too. Miss you. Have a ball and good luck. We’re all counting on you.”
He smiled at our inside joke and drove away. I went inside to help Maddie get her gear together. We hated having to split up this weekend. There were so many wonderful firsts. I heard her stomping and muttering.
“It’ll never FIT!” she huffed with pleading eyes.

“It will. Be gentle.”

She’s been working so long and hard for her first competition. She stood in front of me in her formals. I cupped my mouth to catch the rain of kisses and hugs I wanted to shower on her. She looked so grown up; so beautiful. My heart swelled with pride and love. We were excited: ecstatic: nervous. Sad. I wanted my little bunny back. I was missing my little girl who followed me everywhere, asked me a zillion questions and ate my lipsticks.

“Good?” she primped.

“Fabulous.” I said softly. My eyes were filling up so quickly that I almost lost sight of the elegant young lady that was almost my height. Soon, we’d be sharing wardrobes. Bittersweet.
She slipped into her gloves and held her crop; too precious for words. Even Boo understood and saw.

“You look really important.” He said accompanied by “farty” trumpet noises to announce her grand arrival.

The phone rang and in ninety seconds her weekend was ruined. Damn rain.
“Nooooo! That’s not FAIR! I worked so HARD and Zoey went in the trailer and and and…I bought CARROTS!”
I reached for her. “Honey…”
“Can I be alone?” her face was flushed, her lip quivered. She swatted her chair with the crop.
I touched her hand and gently encouraged her. “A reschedule—Not a cancellation”
“Feels the same today.” She gruffed.
“Now are we going to go see Daddy? Can we eat BBQ that isn’t from his team?” Ben began to hop up and down with a ravenous gleam in his eye. I confess the thought crossed my mind. But I flipped him the “I’m warning you” look. Maddie seemed to brighten.
“At least ONE of us is competing. I’d like that.” She smiled at her brother.

He juked as if she were going to pop him one. We were both shocked. I called to make the arrangements. The rain kept coming. The temp kept falling. The phone rang. Cheech told us the weather was just too miserable and told us to stay home.

Our weekend was a bust. There was nothing I could do. They sulked and pouted for a while; mad at me. I stayed quiet and out of their way for as long as I could. Finally, I broke them: or bribed them; however you’d like to interpret it. We made caramel apples and drank warm cider. We sat in front of the fire, playing cards and making fun of each other. We laughed a lot. The rain kept at it; steady and cold. Later, we snuggled under the blankets watching movies and eating popcorn instead of dinner. We talked about Christmas. Before we realized it, the day was gone. It was late but no one wanted to move; not even the dogs. We fell asleep.
What a great disappointment.

Last weekend...ups and downs but it was all good. Have a nice evening. Thanks for coming over.