RAE: Doug was shucking corn on the porch as it started to rain.
LINDA: He was worried that his mother, Anna Mae, wouldn’t make it back before noon.
RAE: Anna Mae was going to get chili and limes and Doug wasn’t going to eat his corn without chili and limes.
LINDA: It was a special day for Doug.
RAE: Every year he celebrated Salvador Dali’s birthday.
LINDA: He didn’t know much about Salvador Dali, but he liked the name.
RAE: And his mustache.
LINDA: Anna Mae thought it was a strange thing to celebrate.
RAE: Anna Mae liked celebrating May Day better because she had been a trade unionist.
LINDA: She wanted Doug to be a happy child so she let him choose a day to celebrate, even if it didn’t make sense to her.
RAE: Doug had been bullied at school so badly that Anna Mae had decided to home school him.
LINDA: He was surprised when he saw his mother pull into the driveway with Lester, one of his school bullies.
RAE: Anna Mae made Lester carry the shopping bags from the car to the porch.
LINDA: He greeted Doug and asked him politely, “How are you doing?”
RAE: “Fine,” Doug mumbled.
LINDA: Anna Mae gave Lester a look and he said, “I’m sorry for being mean to you in school.”
RAE: Lester admitted that he had always thought Doug was cool but had been afraid the other kids would think he was weird so he threw Doug in a trash can.
LINDA: Anna Mae told Doug that Lester would be helping with the corn.
RAE: She made Lester cut all of the limes and clean all of the silk off the corn, the task Doug hated.
LINDA: The corn came off the grill perfectly and everyone enjoyed it.
RAE: Lester asked if he could come over again.
LINDA: Doug thought about it and asked, “Can I go to your house?”
RAE: “Yeah, sure. Tomorrow is Tony Hawk’s birthday.”
Picture Credit: Tanya Dobraya, “Salvador Dali,” 2015