28 May 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2750: a stray bullet

[Source](https://pixabay.com/vectors/bullet-weapon-cartoon-funny-eyes-149407/)

"Listening to Edwina talk is a bit like listening to Lil' Robert talk, except their personalities are the complement of each other: he's sunshine and sweet innocence, and she's stormy and is going to hit you with a stray bullet or two because there was way too much violence enacted around her in foster care, and the warrior side of her grandfather is all riled up in her."

Mrs. Thalia Ludlow was explaining this to her daughter Tallie about life with her second husband's grandkids … all loved, all frankly understood. Adding ten-year-old cousin Glendella through adoption added one more personality to learn … but eight-year-old Edwina? A known quantity, consistent, tried and true.

“And potentially deadly on road trips from the back of the car,” Capt. R.E. Ludlow said when they got home and the eight little Ludlows were playing in the yard with the Trent and Stepforth little ones or hanging out with their big Lee cousins … and so out of the way for the big Ludlows to just fall out laughing.

Ten-year-old Glendella was a stout-hearted little girl, not easily disturbed, so conversations she started with Edwina could get wild because she was never bothered.

“So, why is purple a deep, spiritual color?” she asked. “I mean, I like purple, but I don't get it.”

“Because it does what Jesus said to do: it's a peacemaker in a stupid world,” Edwina said. “See, out in California where my and your new Grandma is from, you got folks calling themselves Crips and Bloods and wearing red and blue and killing each other over colors – it makes no sense because red and blue are good colors, but they need to get saved, put on some purple, apologize, and get over it. But then everybody wants to pick on them because they look more like our Trent friends, but every four years we gotta see this map of the country with all this red and blue and having people yelling at each other like they don't have to figure out how to live in the same country the day after whatever this election thing is!”

“Yeah, that is pretty stupid,” Glendella said.

“Let me tell you just how dumb it is. My and your new brother Grayson likes blue, and my and your new brother Robert likes red. You don't see them fighting like that! And Grayson is 6 and Rob is 5!”

“I'd rather be Lego-ing,” Grayson said.

“I'm not going for it because people get to like whatever color they want,” Lil' Robert said. “Leaves more red for me!”

“See?” Edwina said.

“Adults are dumber than I thought,” Glendella said. “Now, I'm a little older than y'all, and I've really been catching up on my reading with Andrew and Eleanor, so it's actually more about what the colors represent, but it's still dumb, because you can't be out here acting dumber than our baby brothers and be right.”

“The thing is,” Grayson said, “they aren't being raised right, and don't know there's better stuff to do.”

“Yep, because, see, even if Grayson and I did want to fight, no, because Papa, and Grandma,” Lil' Robert said.

“Yep,” Glendella said. “That must be it.”

“And that's why I'm out here with the deep spiritual purple because I'm putting a stop to all of this!” Edwina said. “We're going to go back up there and paint City Hall purple, and then we're going to the White House in 30 years when Robert is president and make that the Spiritual Purple House, and stop all this foolishness! I just need to get a few more perpetrators to help me with the job, and –.”

“That was when I was so glad Big Robert was behind the wheel, because you know he used to drive military vehicles in Iraq and never once got blown off the road by hidden explosive devices,” Mrs. Ludlow was saying to her daughter Tallie.

“Yeah, Papa Robert took that stray bullet and kept on driving like nothing happened,” Tallie said. “Just laugh out later!”

“Didn't even flinch,” Mrs. Ludlow said, “although he did heave a great sigh before stopping all conversations with that huge voice by saying, “Edwina … the words sound alike but they are not the same. Spell purple for me.”

“P-U-R-P-L-E,” she said.

“Grayson, our upcoming first-grade Virtual Lofton County Spelling Bee champion, spell perpetrator for me.”

“P-E-R-P-E-T-R-A-T-O-R,” he said.

“The PU one is the color,” Capt. Ludlow said. “The PE one is a criminal – a perpetrator is a criminal.”

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds “while Edwina reloaded,” Mrs. Ludlow said to Tallie.

“Well, OK, then I'mma become a purpler and I'm gonna need a lot of other purplers because what these perpetrators do not want is for me to have to become one and shut them all the way down! I'm trying to be a sweet little girl but these red people and blue people need to stop acting like they want to hurt everyone not them if they win, and get together and start taking care of the children, the old people, and everybody in between because I will have to break bad and perpetrate – but I'm trying to purple here! I'm trying to purple here first! I just need one more person in red or blue to be calling my house cussing out Papa one more time – I just need one more – but I'm trying to keep it purple here! I'm trying to keep it purple here!”

“And that's why it's spiritual,” Glendella said, “because blessed are the peacemakers! I got it, Edwina! I got it, and I'll help you!”

“And, I'm helping too because if you're not keeping it purple, that's not safe,” seven-year-old Amanda said. “That's not safe at all.”

“So then, Robert took the van off the road at Fruitland Memorial Park and we loaded up on purple plums and when people asked about how we were dressed we told them about our little political movement here in Ludlowville, about not looking at party but policy, and of course Edwina was going to get out there and lead the chant: “Purple up! Stupidity down!” A lot of people were into it – remember, Fruitland is right next door to the Veteran's Lodge, and Bayard Heights is literally just a half-mile from the north end of Veteran's Lodge. You literally cannot go more than 1,000 feet past our house on that north end before the road is closed – there is no road 1,000 feet or so past that. You can hear Bayard Creek roaring, still, from the closure. We had gone by to check on the house and our cul-de-sac neighbors' homes, and Robert walked the kids down that 1,000 feet and let them see and hear.

“'We don't vote for people who don't care about other people,' he said to them. 'This could have been us if we lived just a little down the road from where we do, and we almost did. I applied for housing in Bayard Heights, but the Veteran's Lodge came through first. This could have been us. These people had parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and children just like us. We don't vote for people who don't care about other people, and this is why. I voted for a lot of the people that did this because I didn't understand. Your grandmother helped me understand, and then this happened. We have to protect you from people who don't care about other people, so we don't vote for people who don't care about other people. We don't care if they wear red or blue: we're getting with the people who want to do the right thing, period. Purple up! Stupidity down!'”

“I must say, Mom, you have been super patient with the former Republican who nonetheless stepped up in our family,” Tallie said. “Election years have had to be difficult.”

“No, not really,” Thalia said. “Robert said to me he knew who he was marrying, and in California terms I am a conservative, though not in Virginia. I have had to allow him some temporary insanity based on him not being able to process losing his children as he did while other demographics have a full family set, but it was temporary, and you see he is coming right along … the little Ludlows are leading him. Robert knows they can't thrive in a racist, nationalist country when the whole world is becoming global in outlook and opportunity, and he also knows the Lord isn't with all that. Robert is a Christian first. Now, again, that family really does have moments – he's named for his most famous Lee uncle, a Christian first, but that temporary lapse was really bad. So, I knew who I married, too – but he's coming along, and he came and thanked me today for just holding the line and being patient while he figured it out.”

“Papa Robert isn't Daddy Sam because Dad can't be replaced, and we respect him because he came in saying that,” Tallie said, “but as crazy as Ludlow life is, I can see why you are happy in it. Papa Robert did step up for you as husband, and has been a good step-up dad and grandpa. Politics in Virginia are still crazy, but, he's all right!”

“That's all we can ask,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “And, bonus points: Robert looks good in deep, spiritual purple. It fits him very well, at this stage of his life.”

“Purple is royal – it makes sense for him that way, too,” Tallie said, “with Lord Tristan and all them back there.”

“Don't even mention it,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “I have to tell you about Glendella and why we had to adopt her out of that whole mess on Tarquin's side of the family – we are disavowing any knowledge of everybody over there but Cousin Vanderbilt!”

“Vanderbilt?” Tallie said. “For real somebody named their child Vanderbilt?”

“And his big dumb brother Astor believed his own billing and found out that Baby Bob has been replaced by 'Hell to Pay' Ludlow – and had Edwina chasing his wife down the street with Andrew's toy bat, talking about, 'It ends today!'”

“Wait, what?”

“It's all on Uppity Foolery Watch for you to get caught up while I go feed these kids – Robert is making sliders but I'm doing the salad so I gotta go.”

“Lil' Robert still filling up his two hollow legs?”

“That's why I gotta go, Tallie – of course. Kiss all your children for me, and tell them Grandma loves them.”