If y’all read the last thing I told y’all, you know I am kind of in hot water with my best friends. They even rode their bikes over here last night without me even knowing they were coming, just to tell me what I done. Jasper was good for the most part, but Stinky and Tank were some kind of upset that I have quit having so much to do with them, after I met and started going with Jewel just over three weeks ago. Heck, we are just in jr high, how bad could it be I reckon?

Anyway, they left it up to me to fix it, so they wouldn’t feel all hurt I ain’t spending that much time with them anymore. I still don’t how how I am supposed to fix how somebody else feels. Little did I know the turn this was all about to take.

Let me tell y’all what Mamaw did while I had no clue what she was up to. You see, when Mamaw was in town talking to Jasper’s mama about all this, she called another lady, who just happens to be one of her friends from the knitting circle club. But I didn’t know that, until after it all happened. She wanted her and that lady to have some sort of get together.

Generally, I am allowed to sleep a little bit later on the weekend, and I get up at 9 on Saturday most times, but this morning at 7am I heard a knock on my door, and Mamaw wakes me up. “That’s weird.” I thought that to myself while waking up. Mamaw told me, “Pete, you need to get up, get cleaned up and help me get this place presentable. We have some special company that’s coming at 10am this morning.” I asked her, “Who is it? Sure I can get up and help.”

Mamaw answered me, “I got one of my knitting circle ladies coming over, and she aims to set here and knit something, and have me help her. We gonna eat a little food that ain’t breakfast food, and I need you to help me get things ready.” Now this was really really odd, Mamaw NEVER asks me to help her with indoor chores, unless its me and Shady taking out the trash, moving something for her or hauling in firewood, something like that. Now I smelled a rat, but I KNEW better to say anything.

Mamaw only has knitting meetings once per quarter at her house, and she shoos us all out to go play, or go help Uncle Muddy or go fishing, and packs us a lunch so we don’t starve. And she gets us a big jug of cold water to go with us, or tea. I slyly checked the table, no lunch, no water or tea bottles anywhere. I walked by Shady’s room, nope. Still snoozing away like he always does, grumbling little grumbles in his sleep.

We got the house all ready, and all the food set up on the table. Apparently Uncle Muddy already ate his, because Mamaw had some biscuits and a plate of eggs and bacon for me, covered in the stove and I ate my breakfast by myself. She told me, “Don’t wake the little one up, I aim to let him sleep as long as he wants. He will probably be in bed awhile, since I had him juning around in his bedroom late. I told him he could stay up late on purpose and play with his Army men.”

So Mamaw runs Uncle Muddy off, has me help set up the house for the knitting lady who I probably have never met, and she let Shady stay up as late as he wanted, and let him sleep in. I did NOT like what was coming, no sir. I wondered what she was going to spring on me, since this is exactly how she acts when she is trying to pull something on me. Whether or not its punishment, a birthday, a surprise party for whatever for me, or anything like that, Mamaw had THE LOOK. The look that means she is up to something.

I played along with her, and for the life of me, I could not figure out what was going on. I asked her, “Mamaw, when I get done with this, can I go fishing at least? Its Saturday, and I know the bass are biting, the weatherman said so. I would surely love to catch a big ole string of them. And the week I had, I sure could use some pond time.”

Mamaw replied with a slight grin, “Pete, you can go fishing if you want, but if I was you I would stay right here. Besides, you look like a cat dragged up a fisherman right from the disciples, all rumpled and peaked like you been marching through Damascus! No, son. Go get you a good shower, and change into that nice new set of clothes I got you.”

Now my mind was really going, first my best buds come over here all like a bunch of Russian spies all hush hush with some secret meeting. Then I found out I hurt all their feelings, and now Mamaw acting like this?

So I stood in there and got my shower, hoping I haven’t made some other kid mad and their mama is coming over to give me a once over. I felt kind of sick again, that same feeling like when you about to get a butt whipping? That’s the one, yep, stomach in my throat. I got out of the shower, then I dried off and went and got dressed. Maybe I made the absolute wrong person mad?

Nah, mind, hush. Sometimes my brain won’t shut up though, and I try to make it behave. Not much luck doing that this time though.