Lesson Two - Writing Assignment

Week Two – Comma Class – Writing Assignment

Whilom

         Andrew picked up the tattered,(3a) calico stuffed rabbit and weighed it in his hand.  “What is in here?” he asked.  Grinning,(2) he continued,(?) “He seems a bit bottom heavy.  I think it’s a case of too much carrot cake and not enough lettuce.”

         With a frown,(6) Beth snatched the dingy toy bunny away from him and said,(?) “Don’t you dare cast any disparaging remarks about Whilom.”

         “Whilom . . .?”

         “Yes.  He was Richard favorite toy.  When he outgrew Whilom,(2) Mother put him away.  Later,(7) when Mother told him he would be a big brother soon,(2) he made her search until they found Whilom.  Richard wanted his soon-to-be brother or sister to have it.”

“So,(7) how is it he’s here?  Didn’t Richard let you have him?”

         “Of course,(7) it was my favorite toy as well.  I kept him on my bed after I’d outgrown him. When Richard first came for me,(2) he saw that I still had him()(1) and told me the story.  We spent a lot of time talking about things that first visit. 

         “He especially wanted to know if I had any regrets about the Morgan’s.  I told him how wonderfully they’d always treated me, but…I had always wished that we didn’t move around so much.  We never seemed to stay in one place more than a year—because of Dad being in the Air Force.  I told him I’d always wanted a real home.  Somewhere that you knew was there,(4a) waiting for you,(4a) no matter where you went and for how long.  A place you could come back to.  Before he left,(2) he asked if he could take Whilom back with him,  He explained()(4c) that when I came to visit,(4a) I would find something familiar waiting for me.”

         “That sounds like Richard,(?)”  Drew said, leaning down to steal a kiss.

         “That’s when he bought the townhouse.  He had this room decorated and waiting for me.  Then he promised me that ()(4c) this would be my home.  That nothing in my room would be changed unless I decided to do it.  And,(7) that he would never sell this house.  No matter where I went,(5) or did,(5) I had a home.

         “And he meant it.  I thought that after he married()(1) and I wasn’t here more than a few days at a time()(4c) that he’d ask me to move to one of the smaller rooms on the third or fourth floors,(4a) especially once Cathy was pregnant with Sarah. 

         “But when I asked if they had a room they’d like me to into upstairs,(6) they got upset.  Cathy explained how Richard had made things clear to her before they were married—the suite across from theirs would always be mine.”

         “So you found a home at last,(?)” Drew said and smiled.

         “Yes,(?)” Beth answered,(?) “Whilom is always here waiting for me.  And sometimes he even has a present for me.”

         “Huh?” Andrew questioned.

         Beth flipped the silly calico rabbit over,(5) unzipped a pocket,(5) and pulled out a small book and then she answered,(?) “He was made to hold pajamas.  But Richard will slip a something in the pocket as a surprise.”