Chapter 22
My Mama has a new boyfriend and you’re not gonna believe who it is. Bruce Dean! Remember, that’s my Aint Ruby’s ex-husband!
Mama said he came in the restaurant one day for lunch and he got to talkin’ to Mama and she said he looked so handsome, all dressed up in his soldier uniform. He asked Mama if she would like to go out with him after work and she said she talked to Aint Ruby first, just to see what she had to say about it since he did use to be her husband but she said it didn’t bother her none because she ain’t got no feelin’ left for him.
Him and my Mama started datin’ right away and it wasn’t like when she went datin’ with that railroad man, or when she dated Uncle Henry’s brother because Bruce Dean took all of us out together. We went eatin’ in the restaurant where Mama works and even to the carnival. Mama’s face was the happiest I had ever seen it and when Mama’s happy, that’s when me, Jason and Phil can be happy, too.
I don’t think the rest of the family is too happy about it, though. Mama says her sisters ain’t sayin’ nothing to her about it at all. She said she knows they are probably low-ratin’ her to the dogs, but she don’t even care no more. She said they just can’t stand seein’ her happy.
Bigmama ain’t sayin’ much of nothing either. She just says, humph! And keeps her lips in a straight line when I talk about how wonderful he is. Bigdaddy says he don’t see nothing but trouble comin’ outta that relationship.
But I figure that since Mama ain’t hurt us in a long time then maybe everything is finally gonna be happy and that’s all that matters to me. I wish it would matter to everybody else, too. Then they could be nice to Mama and start sayin’ good things behind her back.
I think Bruce Dean really is wonderful because he plays with us all the time. He takes us everywhere they go just like a real live daddy. He even carried me on his shoulders at the carnival. As big as I am!
It would be nice to have a real daddy. Now that she has Bruce, Mama don’t never talk about wantin’ to be dead anymore. Plus, I saw on television that daddy’s are supposed to be good at fixin’ things so I figure if I did something that made Mama mad then a daddy could fix what ever I did and keep Mama from hurtin’ me so hard.
Charles Ingalls on The Little House on the Prairie is a real good daddy and who knows, maybe Bruce Dean could be just like him.
