Entry # 12 Carol 10

The officers were pretty confused with the entire situation and how Lourdes had made a big deal out of nothing. In the other hand, my mother couldn’t avoid letting out a huge laugh.
“No ma’, it was just a joke, they aren’t taking me anywhere. Relax, relax.” “Oh! Thank God, Ruby, you almost gave me a heart attack!” Both laughed again, the officers as well. I still think they are a bit confused with what happened, but, they laughed at the end.
But their laugh was different from my mother’s laugh. They got the ‘Polite Laugh’. On the other hand, my mother got the ‘Nervous Laugh’. That is the laugh you get when you are watching a suspense movie, you are waiting for something to happen, and you are somehow very nervous. You also get that specific laugh when you get frightened by someone hiding behind a door and the guy yells “Boo!” suddenly and unexpectedly. First, you jump because of fear and then you laugh.
These events’ main cause is poor communication. There are other examples of these events that have occurred at Lourdes’ and Carol’s house. One night, Carol, Fernando my brother, Carol Jr., and I were sitting at the T.V. room watching TVEspañola. Carol Jr. is my mother’s oldest brother. He was sitting at a rocking chair beside his dad, and Fernando and I were sitting at a sofa behind them, all facing the T.V. Carol Jr. had a tray on his thighs that had his dinner plate full of meat and potatoes.
He was eating like a caveman. He put huge pieces of potatoes and meat in his mouth. Strange sounds came out of his mouth as he chewed the food down with his mouth half open. He ate as if the world was going to end the next day. For about two seconds, Carol, Fernando, and I stared directly at him, amazed. Fernando noticed, by a strange expression in my grandfather’s face, that my grandfather was not at all happy with the way Carol Jr. was eating because he couldn’t concentrate on TVEspañola. Fernando read my grandfather’s mind, and said: “He’s eating.” Just to pull Carol’s string and see if he would come up with a funny response. “He’s eating.” Carol said and nodded. Carol Jr. didn’t look at any of us and didn’t seem to know we were staring at him.
“Hey, son, where is your wife?” my grandpa added to get his son’s attention. “Meat and potatoes,” Carol Jr. answered with his mouth full of food. It was hard to understand what Carol Jr. said when he spoke normally, and this time, with his mouth full and the incoherent answer, it was hard to decipher what he tried to say. By the look on my grandfather’s face, I noticed he didn’t understand what his son had answered.
There were a few seconds where Carol just starred at Carol Jr., trying to figure out what the answer was. Fernando and I did understand what happened and what did Carol Jr. say. He was so busy eating he didn’t listen to his father’s question and didn’t mind to give a good answer. A misunderstanding had been created.