The Last Week Of November

The Last Week Of November

My grandmother never drove. It's not that she was afraid of cars or of the road; rather she was very fond of vehicles in general and over the years, had developed an irritating habit of backseat-driving. But she never learned because she never had reason to. Back when she was a teenager, in the 50's, women never drove all that much. And then she got married to her first husband, John, at the age of 20 and then he drover her around. So she never bothered to learn.

Now John was an interesting fellow. I think I should talk about John first before I explain the real reason why I am sitting on this very cold, dank bench on a Monday night in this last week of November. John had a lot of jobs throughout my grandparents' brief 5 years of marriage. I shouldn't say brief, because to Nonni it felt like anything but brief. But in the relative expanse of a human's lifetime, 5 years is merely a breath. He did have a lot of jobs though, and it took them all over the country. He was a paper salesman for a while, operating out of a kiosk in _______, North Carolina. Then he took up an interest in buying and selling various collector's items, some art, some furniture, but mostly junk, in the underground market. Without a college degree, and only a meager family inheritance, it was hard to make ends meet for a while. But all of that was not the reason Nonni left.

She was pregnant. It was the eve of their fourth anniversary and they had decided to have a little family and friends get-together. John had kept his current job as a newspaper photographer for almost seven months. He finally liked what he was doing and it just so happened that it was located in _________, Indiana, where all of John's family was settled. Everyone was in a fine mood, and things were going well. She decided to tell John the news before dinner so they could make the big announcemement together.

She walked into the dining area where John and a few of his old high school buddies where smoking and reminiscing.

"Honey, could you come over here for a moment? Marge and I just can't decided on the wine for tonight and we want you to be the tie-breaker." Nonni said coming up behind him and applying just enough pressure on his shoulders to make him get up.

He got up and glanced briefly at her before turning back around and politely excusing himself. Once they were in the bedroom and the door was closed, John reached for her and started to kiss her.

"Oh, is this why you asked to talk to me?" He said softly rubbing his lips on hers, his hands squeezing her waist and pulling her closer.

"I-uh..no," she sighed as his hands started wandering further down. He pressed her closer and started to remove the tie of her dress at the back. Nonni knew she had to say something right then, or the next twenty minutes would go very differently.

"John…" she said trying to rearrange her thoughts back to the speech she had prepared. John bent his head and started kissing her neck, "yes, Connie?"

"I actually do have something to tell you. And I was hoping you would be looking at me when I said it." she said, grasping his chin and moving his head up. John looked at her questioningly.

She smiled a little

Ellie crouched down

Ellie crouched down behind the deck and tried to breathe as softly as possible. Her knees gently grazed the ground as the sounds of her parents shouting filled the air for the second time this week.

"Not this again! Oh, you just love to throw that in my face!" her mother screamed while laughing hysterically. "One time, it happened just once but you just can't fucking let it go, can you?"

Ellie couldn't see where they were standing but it seemed to come from the backyard. She wished she hadn't come home. In fact, today she was supposed to be playing with her friend, Michelle, today. She lived down the street, and they often played in her pool on Saturday mornings. But today, Michelle's mom had told her that Michelle wasn't feeling good, so Ellie had come home.

"Annie, can you please lower your goddamn voice? We have neighbors." her father said.

Maybe I can just walk over to the park, it's only a few streets over, Ellie thought, feeling an overwhelming urge to not be home at the moment. She peeked above the brown slabs of the deck to see her parents stand facing each other, her mother with her arms crossed and her father pointing his finger at her. Ellie turned back around and gazed absently at the vegetable patch that her mother spent hours every day tending. She didn't like vegetables and didn't understand why adults constantly took it upon themselves to force it down theirs and everyone else's throat. If it was up to her, everyone would eat Kit-Kat bars and ice cream every day. It always put her in a good mood and maybe would make everyone happy too.

It didn't look like her parents were going to be done any time soon. She crossed the yard  behind the deck on all fours until she reached the front yard. She was going to the park. Her parents could go on for hours before they both retreated back inside, her father to his office, and her mother to their bedroom. The house was always eerily silent afterward. Ellie couldn't even turn on the television. Well, they never told her not to, but she felt so supremely uncomfortable in the midst of their discomfort, that she felt bad.

Ellie crossed the street and began walking to the little park that all the neighborhood kids came after school to play in. She tried to walk in a straight line, making sure to step in every concrete slab in even steps. When she was younger, she had to take two giant steps to make sure the steps were even, which ensured that she was always leaping instead of walking in normal steps. But recently, Ellie had started to notice that she was able to walk quite normally even though she was stepping in even steps.

The sun warmed the back of her head as a chilly gust of wind blew on her bare legs. Ellie was wearing her _______ shorts even though her mother had told her not to wear those in the cold. But she had wanted to show Michelle the holographic design on the shorts

To be continued...

TONY MOLY I'm Real Avocado Sheet Mask Review

This is the first time I've reviewed any product on here. But I had to write a review on the scent and feel of this mask. And it is AWESOME!

First of all, before I get into the good stuff, the packaging alone makes this mask worth it. It retails on Amazon for $10.02 for 11 sheets with different masks. But you can purchase individual masks in a set of 10 for about the same price. I figured buying the collective would be a good way for me to try out the products and see how I like each of them. Hence this review.

Now, onto the fragrance and the consistency of the product. BTW, I'm sitting here with the mask on my face as I type this and it just smells so wonderful! The product is white in color and smells clean and fresh. Because it's an avocado mask, I think it smells like avocados but with a hint of maybe...oats? Very soothing and calming.

I've heard of lavender masks for relaxation but those are always too strong and played out, that I always need like jasmine or tea tree oil for relaxation. This is also kind of like a substitute for lavender if you were like me and not into that scent at all, and needed something different. 

Ooh, another thing! The sheet is soaked with product, so much so that there is an excess in there that can be used at least 2-3 more times with just your fingers. I love that these Korean beauty products are so affordable and you get so much for your dollar!

Anyway, thanks for reading. 😃

Au revoir!