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Lucky Little

The Littles continued...

“Dammit Mary Ann, what do you want from me?!” Bobby Ray yelled from the bedroom as he slapped on his massive belt. It was Christmas day 1965. Inside a little 975 square foot home in Pamela Heights, Houston, Texas. As a police officer you can get a little extra pay if you work on Christmas and the Littles needed all they could get. “I’m sorry”, Mary Ann said as she walked into the bedroom and put her arms around him. Well she put them around him as far as she could. Bobby Ray was a big man. His width was a little off from his height but he was a jolly kind of big and that fit Bobby Ray Little just right. Mary Ann was a tiny thing. Still is for that matter. She’s 5 foot nothing but still to this day reminds me she’ll slap my jaws right off of my face. She’ll say, “I may have to get up on a stool first but…”. She has never done it but has always had that ‘Mommie Dearest’ quality in her that has kept me a little cautious all these years. Mary Ann laid her head on Bobby Ray’s chest and released a deep breath. “I didn’t know it was going to be this hard”, she said. “Me either”, he said, “And I wouldn’t trade it for the whole world.” “Nor would I”, she said. “Bobby I’ve never been so happy in all my life.” Bobby Ray looks himself over in the mirror. As a former military man he had much respect for how one presented himself. He went through his visual once over. His badge was polished and straight, his collar was firm, his tie had a flawless knot, his face was clean shaven, his belt was properly positioned with his gun and handcuffs secured and his chest was out and his back was straight. “Me too baby, me to”, he told Mary Ann. “Momma, come here, momma come here!” came a yell from the den. Mary Ann ran into the den to see Boyd had his new cowboy boots on. Boyd was thrilled that he had put them on by himself even though it was a struggle. The 4 year old had his boots on the wrong feet. Mary Ann was ‘tickled’ to say the least. That’s her way of saying she laughed about something. I can hear her say it now, “When I saw those feet pointing in the wrong direction and thought about how much of a big boy Boyd must of thought he was, well I just couldn’t tell him that they were on the wrong way. I just got so tickled.” Bobby Ray and Mary Ann had adopted Boyd a day after he was born in April 1962. Bright orange hair, or ‘red’ we call it, pale white skin and bright blue eyes. Boyd was like a gem. Unique and special. He didn’t look like he would be there son but by God’s great favor, he was. Mary Ann had an accident when she was a little girl. I know it had to do with a scorching hot bath tub, but I never really dug into the story. As far as I was concerned, if she didn’t have that accident as a little girl then I wouldn’t be telling this story. They had wanted children but on Bobby Ray’s pay and the cost of living in Houston at the time, it just didn’t seem possible to be able to adopt. Life hadn’t just started for Bobby or Mary. They were in their late 30s at this time and Mary Ann’s first marriage was when she was only 15. Bobby had once married a lady that was carrying another man’s child. The man had run off and Bobby Ray didn’t want the baby to come into the world without a daddy, without a name, so he married her. His new bride was not in love with him. They both knew it. The baby would not be taking the name Little. Their time as being husband and wife would be short. In Bobby Ray’s mind he lost a wife and a son. He felt it in his heart too like a knife. After WWII Bobby worked on big rig engines utilizing the skills he had picked up in the Navy. He enrolled into the University of Houston to get some studies under his belt while he decided on his next move. Mary Ann was coming out of her third marriage when she met Bobby Ray. To think one day they would have a child, a little one that called out Mommy and Daddy. They would have never imagined. “I better get going”, Bobby Ray said while hurriedly grabbing his keys off the bar. He picked up Boyd and gave him a big squeeze and kiss on the lips. “Merry Christmas son”. “I love you so much”. “I love you too daddy”, Boyd said with a big smile on his face.” He kissed him again and set him down. He had to hit the streets, to do his duty, to protect and serve. As he started to walk thru the door the phone rang. He hesitated as he looked out in the driveway at his police cruiser knowing that he had better get on that radio fast and officially ‘show up’ for duty. He stepped back in quickly and pulled the ringing phone from the jack on the wall. “Yello.” Bobby Ray’s standard phone answering greeting. “This is B.R.” he said. Mary Ann was climbing over his shoulder trying to hear the caller. “Hey B.R. this is Dr. Lane over at Hermann. I need to meet with you as soon as possible”. “What’s going on, is everything okay?” Bobby replied. “Yes, everything is ok, I mean, we need to talk. Listen, here’s the bottom line. Can you and Mary Ann take on another baby? Or, I, I mean…I need you to adopt a baby that is going to born in about 7-8 weeks. I can’t explain now but you don’t have to worry about the long process this time. All of that will be taken care of. Please, don’t answer now, and don’t, you know, don’t tell Mary Ann about this until you’ve heard me out, ok?” Bobby’s thoughts are racing. Even today it has been clear that having one child is so much more than they could imagine, or afford, or...spend time with. “Fine doctor Lane, I appreciate the call, thank you, bye bye now”, and Bobby hangs up the phone. He tells Mary, “That was just Dr. Lane wishing us a Merry Christmas and seeing how Boyd was doing.” “Why me Lord?” Bobby Ray thinks to himself. It was a common question he asked in situations like this. However, he never did ask as in ‘why would you put this on me?’, but as in ‘why do I deserve such a blessing?’…a wretch like me. “I gotta run honey”, he says as he heads out the door. “I love you” she manages to get out while Boyd is pulling on her robe, knowing that he is too far away to hear her.

A Pursuit on Purpose