• Maye fell in and out of troubled sleep. She awoke at twelve midnight shrieking. Madge ran in and leapt onto the bed and began to hold her daughter. Maye shook with sobs and shrieked.

    "Shh, baby, it's okay, it's okay," crooned Madge.

    "I keep having dreams...dreams about the crash," sobbed Maye. "I keep seeing him on the Ducati...up comes a semi, then, CRASH. A huge explosion and my beloved's body torn into pieces." Maye shuddered and then broke into fresh whimpers, tears running down her pink cheeks. Madge looked at her daughter and then kissed her.

    "Would you like me to stay in here tonight with you, Maye?" Madge asked.

    "Yes, Mommy, please," she whispered. She looked at her mother with her bright green eyes, swimmng with tears. Madge crawled under the blankets and Maye edged closer to her. Madge wrapped her arms around Maye.

    "It's just like when you were little, Maye," Madge said softly. "We'd have mommy-daughter slumber parties in here and we'd stay up all night playing with your Barbie and Ken. We'd put them into the Barbie Cottage or in the Barbie Corvette and just have fun. We'd also play games or have a pillow fight. Do you remember that, Maye? It's okay if you don't, you were onll four or five when we did that."

    "I remember. I remember well, Mom," said Maye. "I also remember the time we took Foosie, the guinea pig out and put her in the house and, oh, did she knaw at Skipper's head. We laughed so hard. Poor Foosie, it took us so long to pull the little blonde hairs out of her front teeth." Maye began to laugh.

    "Remember when we brought Theodore, the puppy home? Foosie put Theo in his place." Madge giggled.

    "Oh, yes. We took Foosie out of her cage and let her and Theodore sniff each other. Foosie just shrieked Ma, shrieked! I thought that she was scared, but her little guinea pig teeth were bared and her ears were up. Oh my, Theo knew who was boss that day!" Maye and Madge were crying again, but this time out of laughter.

    "Speaking of Theo," said Madge, looking toward the door. Theodore, now fifteen years in age, ambled into the room. Madge picked up the little white bichon frise and placed him on the bed.

    "He must have heard us talking about him and Foosie," stated Maye. At the sound of Foosie's name, Theo cowered. After all these years he still was intimidated by Foosie! And Foosie had been gone for ten years already!

    Maye and Madge chuckled at their precious Theodore and drifted back off to sleep.