6/5/13

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
By Lela Marie De La Garza


Mrs. Hollister taught Beulah how to make Robbie’s favorite chicken pot pie. She showed Beulah how her son liked his clothes put away, told her what brands of soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc., he preferred. Beulah obediently copied recipes, made lists. “Are these things really so important?” she asked once.

Mr. Hollister fixed her with a cold eye. “Of course. Maybe not at first. But after the honeymoon is over, they’re very important.” Beulah believed her. She was Robbie’s mother, and she should know. Beulah kept copying down recipes and taking notes, and then she and Robbie were married.

Beulah was eager to start putting into practice what she had learned. But the marriage got off to a slightly rocky start. Robbie never complained, but she never heard a word of praise out of him either. Beulah did all she could; making his coffee just the way he liked it—two sugars, no cream—always buying his preferred brand of toothpaste. One evening she made his favorite chicken pot pie, and Robbie ate it without a word. “Did you like it?” she asked timidly.

“Oh sure—it was fine.” Fine? Beulah had worked for two hours on that dish, and all it rated was “fine.” She redoubled her efforts. Robbie didn’t seem to notice. For the first time the dark thought of divorce crossed Beulah’s mind. She’d never felt so unappreciated.

Recklessly she bought a new kind of air freshener, another brand of toothpaste. She put Robbie’s Tees away with the sleeves up instead of facing down and folded his underwear lengthwise instead of across. He never said a word. One night Beulah made pot pie. She didn’t have any chicken so she used roast instead. And substituted tomato gravy for milk. Robbie took a few bites. “This is really good,” he said. Beulah was elated. She’d pleased her husband at last—and done it on her own.

Beulah told her mother-in-law, who scoffed. “Fine, for right now. But wait till the honeymoon is over. Then you’ll see.” What Mrs. Hollister didn’t realize was that the honeymoon had already ended, and the marriage begun.

Together the couple began to explore new paths—finding dishes they both liked, a new brand of coffee, another kind of dental floss. Together they discovered “favorites”. And Beulah came to realize that, out of all the world, she was Robbie’s favorite thing.


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Lela Marie De La Garza has had work published in “Behind Closed Doors”, “Pound of Flash”, “ChickLit”, “Daily Romance”, and “Creepy Gnome”. She was born in Denver, CO. in 1943 while her father was serving in WWII. She currently resides in San Antonio, TX. with two and a half cats and a visiting raccoon.