“Would you like something to eat?” Bettie asked me as soon as the wind carried the storm back out to sea.

“What do you have?”

“I hope you like fat.”

I did not like fat.

Bettie went through a tube of real butter each week.  Deep fried chicken nuggets to turkey.

“Can I have some salad?” I saw some lettuce and tomatoes to the side.

“Would you like something else?”

“Do you have toast?”

“You asked that as if we went outside and put toast over a camp fire,” she smiled with a snort.

I sat down at the table with my lettuce, tomatoes, dressing, and I am not sure what else. I had a couple pieces of toast with peanut butter.

“I will bring you and the kids to school tomorrow to get you enrolled.”

I looked and said Okay.

“After when you are done, I was supposed to be done with your room. I’m not. You can sleep in my bed tonight and I will sleep with Rebecca.”

The kids were talking and asking me questions, mostly about my stuff, what I wore, and what kind of music I liked.

“We only listen to Christian music,” Rebecca said. “Do you know any Christian music?”

“No, I don’t.”

Rebecca started rambling off Christian music artist that I would for sure love.

There was one bathroom in the house, which is off the kitchen. The stairs to our rooms were steep and shallow; at least 12-14 stairs. The stairs creaked and there was no stairwell light. The hallway had a light at the top of the stairs and the living room at the bottom. I put on my glasses when I went down the stairs, gently, not wanting to fall on my face.

At the top stairs my room was the first door on the right. Like Bettie said, it was not finished. Old buckets, broom, furniture pushed and shoved in disarray. Bettie wanted to paint the room yet. She said she was a fast painter. “Okay.”

I walked in Bettie’s room. I unpacked a few things and organized what I was going to wear in the morning. Got my bag organized. I put my pajamas on. I thought about writing something, but words did not come.

I put my headphones on and at the time I had a CD collection of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals. I listened to a lot of Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which I still have. Songs like “I Don’t Know How To Love Him,” “The Music of the Night,” and “Any Dream Will Do.” Throw in The Sound of Music and Rocky – all these songs still make me smile. 

I climbed into bed and laid on my back because of my headphones, and hugged my Cabbage Patch Kid like a kid.

I shut my eyes, then –

“Good night, Tessa,” Rebecca said.

“Good night,” I said.

“Good night, Tessa – see you in the morning,” Jacob said.

“Good night.”

“Everyone go to sleep – it’s late,” Bettie said.

And that is what I remember about my first night in Brandon, MN.

Oh – and no dog.