Freaky Friday

Once the children are gone, Annabel starts to wonder what has become of her mother. She hopes that her mother is having fun, whatever she is doing, and that she will not pop back into her own body too soon. Annabel definitely does not want to suddenly find herself in school, facing her teacher without her homework. She looks in her mother’s appointment calendar and finds that she has made a note to buy scotch and that she has some kind of appointment at 2:30. Unfortunately, she has not noted where or with whom.

Annabel is not sure how much scotch costs. Finding only $17 in her mother’s purse, she mentions buying scotch to Bill, hoping to get some information. When he asks her to add three more bottles of alcohol to her shopping list, she tells him she may not have enough money. Bill chides her, saying that he gave her $50 just yesterday. He demands to know where the money went, speaking to “Ellen” as if she is a child. Annabel stammers out some guesses about where her mother may have spent the money. She remembers that she lost her raincoat and boots for the third time that year, and her mother had to buy her new ones. Bill chides “Ellen” for being too easy on their “careless and sloppy” daughter (21).

Bill offers another complaint about money: He is irritated with Ellen for promising Annabel that she could go to an expensive camp with her friends. Annabel tells him the truth: She pestered Ellen until one day, distracted by a phone call, Ellen finally said yes just to get Annabel to be quiet. Bill tells “Ellen” that he knows she wants Annabel to be happy, but decisions like this interfere with the family’s happiness. Now, they will not have enough money to go on the family vacation they had planned. She apologizes to him, and the spat blows over. Knowing that she will not be able to make dinner, she asks whether they can get a sitter and go out to dinner and a movie that evening, and Bill agrees. Before leaving for work, he asks her to make sure to launder some of his shirts during the day, noting that he does not want their usual cleaner to do it, as she does a poor job.

Annabel starts a load of laundry. The doorbell rings, and Annabel sees her neighbor, 14-year-old Boris Harris, waiting outside. Annabel has a crush on Boris, and she affects a sophisticated charm as she opens the door to him. He explains that he has come to return a colander his brother borrowed, although it is difficult to understand him due to his nasal congestion. Annabel invites him in, but she has to slam the door of her bedroom when she sees the shocked look on Boris’s face. Boris says that the room’s owner is a slob.

Annabel offers him some Vitamin C and then asks him to join her for a game of Nok Hockey. He is impressed that a grown woman would be so good at the game, and she says that she plays often with Annabel. She suggests that he come over to play with Annabel, but Boris says he would rather not. Acting as Ellen, Annabel sings her own praises, assuring Boris that Annabel has matured into a very interesting person who is entirely different from “the person who cut [his] scalp open with a tin shovel” when they were younger (29-30). Boris expresses doubt, saying that Annabel is “a bad seed” (30). Boris says that he has to be getting home. His speech is much clearer when he thanks her for the Vitamin C.

After Boris leaves, Annabel discovers that she has overloaded the washing machine and put in too much detergent. The machine is making a horrible noise and spewing bubbles everywhere, but before she can do anything about the problem, the phone rings. While she is picking up the call, the washing machine dies, leaving the floor full of suds. Max starts lapping up the soapy water. She picks up the phone, intending to call a washer repairperson, but then she realizes that whoever called is still on the line. It is her grandmother, irate that Ellen has not called at 9:00 as she usually does. She invites Ellen and the family to visit on the fourth of July, and Annabel has a sudden idea.

Annabel suggests that the family come and stay with her grandmother for the entire month of July, thinking that this will be a suitable family vacation and she can still go to camp. She is confused when her grandmother says something about Bill clearly having clearly had a “change of heart,” but she does not pursue the matter (35). She hangs up the phone feeling pleased with herself: In her mind, she has saved both camp and her father’s vacation, and now she simply has to figure out what to do about the washing machine and her father’s shirts.