by S. E. Burr
Behind her, Clarity started to sing the song.
Audrey stepped back and looked at Andrew’s face. There was no response, but glancing at Clarity, she started to sing along.
The corner of Andrew’s mouth lifted in one momentary twitch.
Audrey broke off. “See!” she said. “You saw that.”
“I did see it,” said Anna. “But I’m sorry. It was a twitch.”
“It was a smile.” Audrey looked at Clarity. “Right?”
She smiled encouragingly. “Right. Maybe. It definitely might have been.”
The front door opened, and Maria came in.
“Thank goodness,” said Anna.
“I'm so sorry,” said Maria. “My father wasn't feeling well tonight, and I had to get him settled before I could leave. I tried to call, but no one was answering.
Anna walked over to the cordless phone and picked up the handset. “Someone didn't get it in the cradle right again. It's dead.” She positioned it properly so that it would charge and glanced at Clarity.
“Hey, don't look at me,” the girl said. “It was probably the absent-minded professor.” She made a head nod toward the kitchen where Dr. Harman was banging pots and pans around.
“I think we need to get a simpler phone,” said Anna. “Neither one of you seem to be able to put it back correctly.”
She looked at Maria. “Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're here now,” and with that, she grabbed a garment bag from by the door. “You get the patients to bed. I’m going to get changed. Nick is taking me to the theater.” She hurried up the stairs and out of sight.
“Alright,” Maria called after her. She turned toward Clarity and Audrey.
Clarity looked uncomfortable, probably remembering the lunch tray she’d thrown at Maria’s son. “Do you want help getting the patients to bed?”
“No, that's okay,” said Maria. “I'll do it. You girls do something fun.”
“Okay,” said Clarity. She turned to Audrey. “You want to go for a walk?” she asked.
“Sure...” said Audrey. “See you later, Maria.”
8
I put on my jacket—Audrey was still wearing hers—and we went outside. The night was clear but chilly, with a big, bright orange, almost full moon coming up over the horizon.
"Where do you want to walk to?" I asked.
"Wherever." She smiled at me. "You lead the way, and I'll follow."
"Ok," I said, looking around. "How about the schoolyard?"
"Lead on."
I grinned and said, "Let's take a short cut."
With Audrey watching, I stepped onto a bench in the yard and from there climbed into a tree. I shimmied out onto a branch, hanging over the wall, and dropped down into the schoolyard.
She followed and, both of us back on the ground and standing side by side, I turned to her and said, "So where should we start?"
"Start?” she repeated.
I looked around the schoolyard. I kind of thought of it as my playground since I lived right next door. It was large, with slides, swings, monkey bars, and a big dome jungle gym. "Look around, Audrey. It's a virtual wonderland of playground equipment. In the day, the kids hog it, but at night, it's all ours."
Laughing—only a little nervously—Audrey looked around. "Are we going to get arrested for swinging?"
"Arrested?" I gave her my best are you crazy? look. "No. Why?"
"Trespassing?"
“No. The gate's open." I gestured to the open gate nearby.
"Then why'd we take the tree?"
I smiled at her. "For fun. Why take a gate when you can take a tree?"
She laughed out loud. "Why indeed?"
"Besides," I said, "I just saved us like a full thirty seconds of walking. That's time you would never have gotten back."
"I guess not." She looked around. "You pick where to start. I don't care. Swing. Slide. I'll do whatever you want."
"Well, if you're going to let me pick..." I said and started walking. "It's the jungle gym, no contest."
She followed behind me and, reaching it, we began to climb. "I was the jungle gym queen when I was younger," I told her.
"Oh yeah?" she said.
Reaching the top, we sat down, our legs dangling. "Yep," I said. "I once hung upside down for a full forty-five minutes after school. None of the other kids even got close."
"Wow, that's impressive. So you went to elementary school here?"
"Yep. This jungle gym is a monument to my childhood."
Just then I heard a gruff, unfamiliar voice say, "Hey," and a head popped up through the bars of the dome.
Audrey and I both screamed and scrambled backward.
"You guys here for the farmer's market?" the man asked.
"What?" said Audrey.
"You here for some produce?"
We climbed down the opposite side of the dome from the man.
"No..." I said.
The man ducked down and,75 hunching over a bit, walked toward us across the ground beneath the dome. "Apples, quinces, oranges, lemons, cherries?"
On the ground, we faced the man, Audrey slightly in front of me. "No man," she said. "We don't want any fruit."
The man—the fruit dealer—climbed out from under the jungle gym as we backed away. "Oh come on! You wake me up—" he gestured to some bedding lying on the ground under the dome— "and you're not here to buy!"
We turned and started walking quickly away. "Sorry," Audrey said over her shoulder. "We didn't know."
We hurried through the open gate and onto the sidewalk. I could hear the fruit dealer’s footsteps pounding behind us. "Hey, that's not cool!" he yelled and grabbed onto the back of Audrey's jacket. She stumbled and fell. I screamed.
"Buy some fruit!" the dealer said.
More footsteps came running toward us, this time from the other direction, as two trench-coated men, Nick and Marcos, approached. They were both solid and muscular, though Marcos, huge and hulking, was much bigger than Nick. But Nick was in charge. "What are you doing?" he said. "Get away from them!"
The fruit dealer backed up, his gaze darting between the men.
Nick spoke again. "These kids are from the catatonia center. Have some respect!"
Marcos stepped close to the fruit dealer, staring down at him.
"No..." said the fruit dealer. "I...They didn't say."
“Apologize," said Nick.
"Sorry," said the fruit dealer. "Sorry, sir."
"Not to me," he said.
The fruit dealer looked at Audrey and me. "Sorry," he said, stepping back. Then he turned and fled back through the gate.
Nick turned and faced us. "Are you two alright?"
I nodded.
"Thank you," said Audrey.
"Yeah," I said. "Thanks, Nick." I turned toward the bigger man. "Thanks, Marcos. Should we call the police?"
Nick shook his head. “No need. He’ll no doubt be gone by the time they get here. And he won’t be back. These types live in the shadows. They’re quick to flee when spotted by someone who poses a threat to them, and Marcos definitely poses a threat.”
I looked at Audrey, unsure, but she just shrugged.
We started walking up the sidewalk toward the gate to the center, and Nick introduced himself to Audrey. Then he said, "Anna's mentioned you to me.” His voice was calm and commanding, as always, “A talented musician, very exciting."
When we reached Nick’s fancy car, Marcos picked up two bouquets from where they'd been set on the trunk. He handed one to me, and I did my best to smile. "Thank you, Marcos. They'll be beautiful on the table at dinner."
He nodded, giving me a brief smile back. "Good." Marcos wasn’t much of a talker.
We went inside, and Marcos carried the second bouquet across the living room and into my mother’s room.
Anna came down the stairs. She was wearing a black evening gown, her red hair smooth and done up. Nick kissed her and wrapped his arms around her. "Sweetheart, you look beautiful tonight," he sa
id.
Dad came out of the dining room holding a small silver bell, which he rang. In a bad British accent, he said, "Dinner is served," and then laughed.
As Nick and Anna started moving toward the dining room, Audrey held back, looking at Dad uncertainly.
Dad smiled good-naturedly. "You'll stay for dinner I hope. I already set a place."
“Oh, well, okay,” she said with a nervous smile. Dad patted her lightly on the back with a closed hand as they went through the dining room door. Marcos, returning without the flowers, followed them into the room. I grabbed an empty vase from the bureau and went in last.
The lights were off, and tall candlesticks illuminated the large dining room table. I put the flowers in the vase and set them at the center of the table. In serving dishes were scrambled eggs, sausages, biscuits, country gravy, homemade waffles, and syrup. I felt kind of queasy from what had happened, but there was nothing to compare with my dad’s cooking. My mouth watered.
As we sat down, Anna chuckled at Audrey's surprised expression. “It’s breakfast for dinner. Clarity picked it. It’s her favorite.”
“Dig in everyone,” Dad said. “I already set a plate aside for Maria.”
After we had passed the food around, Marcos opened a pill bottle and took some pills with a sip of water. I knew he took medicine for his heart.
Anna watched him with a worried expression.
Nick smirked. “You’re lucky you’re so big you scare the bad guys away. Otherwise, I might have to hire someone whose heart isn’t liable to give out in a fight.”
“Who’s fighting?” Anna said.
“No one, dear,” Nick said, giving Marcos a wink. “Thanks to the Hulk over here.”
Marcos grimaced at him.
“You could never hire anyone else,” said Anna. “Only a friend would be willing to act as personal assistant, driver, and bodyguard all rolled into one.”
Nick laughed. “For what I pay him? People would be lining up down the block for his job.” He turned to Marcos. “I pay you fantastically well don’t I?”
“Fantastically,” Marcos answered—dryly. We all laughed, the tension broken.
I poured an ocean of gravy over my biscuit. “Breakfast’s the best dinner in the world,” I said, “especially by candlelight.”
Audrey swallowed and asked, “Do you do this a lot?”
Dad nodded. “I love to cook, and I try to do breakfast for dinner once a week for Clarity.
“We’re not always here, though,” said Anna. “I make Nick take me out, get a little variety in the scenery of my life.”
“The scenery might be different,” Nick said, “but the food’s not any better.” He paused with his fork in front of his mouth, a piece of waffle dripping butter and syrup onto his plate. “I always say that Frank missed his calling. He could make a fortune as a chef.”
Audrey took a bite of her egg. Her eyes widened, and she started shoveling food into her mouth, as fast as her fork could fly. “This is delicious,” she said between bites.
Dad chuckled happily. He loved it when people appreciated his food. “I’m glad you like it, and we’re glad to have you here.”
“Dad loves guests,” I said. “He likes to show off his cooking.”
“I like to be hospitable to the families of our patients.”
“You like to be hospitable,” I said, “and you like to show off your cooking.”
“Fair enough,” he said, as everyone laughed.
When dinner was nearly over, Dad put down his fork and looked around. “I’m going to miss this while I’m gone,” he said. “Two weeks is a long time.”
“Where are you going?” Audrey asked.
He sighed. “I’m leaving tomorrow for Italy. I’m going to the International Conference on Goblin Fruit Induced Catatonia. I’m hoping to pick up some new treatment ideas for our patients.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be so academic and dry, Dad. This is your first vacation in…ever. Go to the beach, stay up late, meet people, preferably women people.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’ll try, but I don’t think Italy will be much fun. The country has become something of a mess from what I’ve heard.”
Anna shook her head. “So sad. Nick spent a semester there in a study abroad program in college. He had a great time.”
“It was a wonderful experience,” Nick said, “such a rich and ancient culture. What’s happened there is a tragedy.”
“They have a real goblin fruit problem there, don’t they?” said Audrey.
Dad nodded. “The drug appeared in Italy a few years before it showed up here. Actually, researchers recently found a plant there that contains the chemical in goblin fruit.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t heard about that. “Wow,” I said.
“Wow’s right,” said Dad. Then he shrugged. “BUT it’s rare, and it doesn’t seem to be cultivatable. They’re looking for related plants that the drug might be derived from…”He paused and then went on. “Anyway, all that aside, the drug has had a devastating effect on the culture.”
One of the candles spluttered and we all looked at it for a second and then Audrey said, “Do they have a lot of addicts and cataleptics?”
“Yes,” he said, “but the bigger problem is the way the population has responded.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He pushed his plate away from him. “They’re so spooked about contamination that most people wear surgical gloves all the time, and some even walk around in biohazard suits. It’s not exactly conducive to romance.”
“But isn’t it necessary,” said Anna, “If so many people are on fruit?”
Dad sighed and didn’t respond at first. Long pauses were not unusual in conversations with him. He liked to think before he spoke. Finally, he said, “Maybe, but sometimes I think we’ve gone a little overboard even in this country. It’s sad.” He looked around the table. The candlelight was dancing across our faces. We all looked back at him, except Nick, whose eyes were focused on his coffee as he stirred it.
“Everyone’s so careful about physical contact, so distant from one another,” Dad said. “It’s true that if you touch a user, particularly his hands, a small amount of the chemical may enter your system, but no one’s ever become catatonic or even verifiably intoxicated without ingesting the drug itself.”
Anna shook her head. “Yes, but it’s so dangerous, that people are better off being safe than sorry.”
“You’re probably right,” said Dad, “but I feel like we’ve lost something as a society, something we may never get back.”
I’d heard this argument before, many times. Dad felt one way. Anna felt another. Had we lost something? I wasn’t sure. I had never known a time when I would have just casually shaken someone’s bare hand or held it. The idea was bizarre to me. The possibility of goblin fruit contamination was a fact of life. Like Dad, I thought peoples’ fears were overblown, but still, you had to be safe.
Dad looked around again, his gaze coming to rest on Marcos. I looked at Nick’s burly assistant and my mom’s onetime boyfriend. The large man seemed lost in thought, a sad expression on his face. When he saw Dad watching him, he gave a startled look and then glanced away. We were all quiet for a second.
“Well,” said Nick, “be that as it may, at least try to have some fun on your trip, Frank. Sometimes I think it gets entirely too serious around here.”
“Yeah, Dad,” I said. “Try for some romance. Please.”
Dad smiled. “Okay, I’ll try, and you try to be careful while I’m gone.”
“Of course, I’ll be careful, and Anna and Maria will be here too.”
“We’ll take care of things,” said Anna.
“I know,” Frank said. “I just worry.”
Nick finished the last of his coffee and set the cup down. “I’ll come by more often while you’re gone. Make sure everything’s alright.”
Dad nodded. “Thanks, Nick. I appreciate it.”
“My
pleasure.” He looked at his watch. It looked expensive, and honestly, pretty ostentatious. He turned to Anna. “We better go if we’re going to make it in time for the show.”
Nick, Marcos, and Anna all stood up.
“Have a nice trip,” Anna said. “Everything will be fine.”
“Thanks, and thanks for coming to dinner,” said Frank. “Have fun tonight.”
They left, and Dad stood and began collecting dishes.
“Can I help?” Audrey asked.
“That’s okay. I’ve got it. Do you need a ride home? I’d be happy to give you one.”
Audrey shook her head. “Thanks, but no need. I borrowed my mom's car.”
Dad carried the dishes into the kitchen and Audrey and I went into the living room.
“Are you sure you're okay to drive at night?” I asked.
“It’s fine,” Audrey said and leaned toward me. “I’ll be sure to stay away from deserted playgrounds,” she whispered.
That didn’t make me feel any better. “…if you’re sure,” I said.
Audrey hesitated for a second and then put her arms around me in a quick hug. Smiling awkwardly, she opened the door and walked out.
I watched her through the open doorway as she got into her car and drove away. About to shut the door, I saw that small man-like figure beneath the trees again, but I blinked, and it disappeared. It was just a shadow, I told myself, a trick of the light.
Shutting the door, I locked it and turned away. Then I smiled. I liked Audrey. A lot. There was something very genuine about her. She was a lot easier to be around than Jamie and my other old friends.
I went to help my dad finish cleaning up in the kitchen. We didn’t talk much as we worked, just enjoyed each other’s company and the old routine of working side by side. I thought about telling him what happened with the fruit dealer. Maybe I should have, but I didn’t want to worry him and ruin his trip. I kept quiet.
9
Before dawn the next morning, Frank stood in the doorway of his daughter’s room, the light from the hallway illuminating her peaceful, sleeping face, the covers pulled up to her chin. Frank smiled and switched off the hall light, carrying his suitcases carefully and quietly down the stairs.
