So. Yes. Araceli’s parents are here. “Ricky”, Araceli’s father, was here a grand total of about 5 hours before he took a header in the john, cracked his head on either the toilet or the counter, and had to go to emergency. It kind of serves him right for being such a shit to Araceli. (And no, I wouldn’t say that if he hadn’t turned out to be just fine.)
A combination of age, being the patriarch of a traditional Mexican family, and a touch of alzheimer’s have combined to make him something of a right bastard to people. I try to be understanding, but I still want as little to do with him as possible. Based on what I hear from Araceli and my own experience with him, I think that avoiding him is the best option.
My experience with him: Monacita was out doing an observation. Araceli was at work. I was pretending I was home alone as Araceli’s parents were in her room with her door closed. I’d never seen them come out before, and assumed they wouldn’t be coming out today. (Her mother is pretty much bed-ridden, and Ricky seems to be busy sulking.) I had the dogs in with me in the office. Apparently Ricky came out into the kitchen, which I didn’t hear, but the dogs did. And of course, people in the kitchen COULD possibly represent a chance for a snack, so the dogs went to check it out.
Now, one interesting and important fact about Ricky is that he’s allergic to dogs. Apparently he’s as allergic to dogs as Monacita is to cats. So when he saw them, he started yelling. This is when I realized the dogs were no longer in the room with me. I started calling them, and Polly came running, but the Puggy Wonder stayed. At this point Ricky started yelling at the pug, which alarmed Polly, so she went running back…
I grabbed the aussie’s collar as she headed for the door, and went out to find the pug sitting in front of Ricky, in awe. (Apparently at least one of the Puggy Wonder’s previous owners was a man. He likes men. And when there’s one in the house, he’ll just sit down in front of them and wag and stare… you can almost hear the thought process: “A BOY!!!!” He doesn’t do anything other than sit and worship, but he will do it for hours if left to his own devices. (Poor dog. Trapped in a house of lesbians… Even the Aussie qualifies. Apparently the first time she saw a penis she went running for mom, upset and sulking.))
Anyway, Ricky continued to yell, the Pug continued to worship, the Aussie continued to fret because of the yelling, and I scrambled around like an idiot trying to grab the pug by his harness, while still keeping the a hold of Polly. I started to drag them to the bedroom when Ricky stops yelling and points to the toaster oven on the counter and says something unintelligible. I stood there like an idiot for a second before he said “I want to heat my coffee”. I opened the door to the microwave (dragging the pug with me across the kitchen… Polly will “stay” when ordered to, Pug will not), then dragged the dogs off to lock them in the bedroom. As I closed the bedroom door, I heard beeping and the sound of the microwave running, so I assumed everything was okay, and went to go hide in the office until Ricky retreated to his room.
The microwave went off. Then, for a minute, there was silence. And then more yelling.
“Hey! HEY! HEY YOU! HEY! HOW DO I GET MY COFFEE OUT? HEY!!!”
I went back out and explained about the big button you push to open the door. He pondered the microwave for a moment, and then opened it. I took the opportunity to introduce myself. “I’m Valued, by the by.”
He ignored me for a moment then said, “I’m Araceli’s father”. And then went back to his room.
I haven’t seen him since. I am fine with this fact.
I have heard him yelling though.
Monacita warned me that Araceli was talking about hiring me to make them lunch everyday, but she hasn’t asked me yet.
I’m glad. I don’t really know what to say to this request. I mean, for one, I live in her house rent free, so I feel odd taking money from her. For two, I really want as little as possible to do with her father. For three, it means I’d have to be home at lunch time daily, Monday through Friday. Most of the time this would be no problem to accommodate, but last Monday I had an interview that I had only 2 hours notice for. That and someday I’m hoping to actually get a job.
On the other hand, I don’t feel I can turn down any source of income. I’ve bolstered my bank account back up to $200, but I have a $350 cell phone bill due on the 20th…
But at the same time, I don’t think she could pay me enough to be okay with him telling me how awful the food is and how I suck at taking care of him. (This has been Araceli’s experience. It’s been bad.)
Maybe she just won’t ask me.