Bury! The Lead

by Shelley Dawn Siddall

  Go see a Career Counsellor at school and see if you can discover a job you might enjoy. Then, go after it. You’ve got maybe a year or two of school left; chose courses that will set you up for success in your new career.

  For now, try to make a success of the one you have, namely being a kid. Yes, I know your halfway to being an adult, but the other half of you, the kid part of you, needs direction, chores, a sense of accomplishment.

  Also, you need to sit down with your Mom and go over the family budget and see where you could contribute by way of a part-time job.

  It would only be fair.

  Sincerely,

  CeeCee.

  Marjorie watched as Crystal went over to the copier.

  “Getting a copy of your latest column for your scrapbook?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Since you’ve already turned in next week’s column; you can go early today.”

  Crystal laughed. “Don’t you leave at five?”

  “Yup. I’m giving letting you leave a whole ten minutes early; that’s ten unpaid minutes by the way. Not mentioning any names, but someone took an extensive coffee break today. I’d check with Matt and see how many hours a day he expects you to be here for…”

  “And how many hours a day he’s going to pay me for!”

  ***

  They were in the basement of the old, but large house. Fourteen women, most in their mid thirties and one elderly woman. All except the elderly woman were sitting cross-legged on the carpet.

  “Why don’t you bring your chair over here, Gloria, so you can feel part of the group?”

  The woman on the outskirts of the group looked briefly at the speaker then turned away. “I’ve told you before; I’ve got a bad back. I can’t move furniture around.”

  “That’s fine, come and sit on a cushion with the rest of us.”

  Gloria looked at the counsellor. “Really? I can’t sit on the floor like an animal.”

  The other women either rolled their eyes or laughed. By now they were used to Gloria and her superior ways.

  One woman elbowed another. “The princess is too good to sit with us.”

  “This is a safe space,” the woman leading the group intoned, “Let’s treat one another with civility.”

  One woman coughed and said, “Rich bitch.” The women around her laughed.

  “Okay ladies, no name calling. Let’s get on with the exercise. Gloria, I think you can take part in this; all you need to do is stand.”

  “I’m just here for a rest; my Doctor said I needed to rest.”

  “Please?”

  Gloria got up and walked over to the counsellor who by now was standing. “Fine, Kathy, but if my back starts hurting…”

  Kathy nodded. “This is an exercise called ‘family sculpting’, we will start with Gloria’s family and then see how much time we have left in the morning before we continue with anyone else.”

  The twelve women watched as Kathy retrieved a long rope from the back of the room.

  “Yeah! She’s going to hang her!”

  Kathy ignored this and tied the rope around Gloria’s waist. She held up one end. “Now who is the closest person to you in your life? Who do you think of everyday?”

  Surprisingly, Gloria answered. “I think of my little girl. She died decades ago but I um, think of her everyday.”

  “What was her name?”

  “Her name is Helen.”

  “What a beautiful name. Now Gloria, pick someone from the group to be Helen and put them as close to you or as far from you as you want.”

  The rest of the women were standing and interested.

  Gloria picked the smallest woman in the group. “I want Claire to be my Helen and I’m going to put her right next to me.” She tied the rope around Claire’s waist and put her arms around her.

  The other women were surprised, this display of affection was the first they had seen in the three weeks that had known Gloria.

  “Wow,” said one woman, “You must really miss her!”

  “Not really.”

  All the women in the room collectively gasped.

  “I don’t miss her because I talk to her everyday,” Gloria said proudly.

  Margaret, who was still trying to make sense of what she had seen, put up her hand.

  “You don’t have to raise your hand, Margaret, just ask your question,” Kathy advised.

  “Is your daughter dead or not?”

  Gloria smiled. “She’s dead, but I still talk to her everyday.”

  “That’s almost sad,” Dana said, “I almost feel for you.”

  Kathy wisely initiated the next phase of the family sculpting exercise. “Okay, who else is close to you?”

  Gloria pointed to Dana and Margaret. “My Mom and Dad.”

  Dana took one step forward but stayed away from the rope. “Are they dead or alive, I don’t want to play a dead person, even in pretend.”

  “They’re alive. They live in the States. I talk to them everyday.”

  Kathy watched as Gloria tied her ‘parents’ close to her.

  “Aren’t you married Princess? Where’s your Prince?”

  “Please; no name calling. We are trying to foster an atmosphere of respect here so that when you go back out in the world, you will know what being respected feels like and you will expect people to treat you well. Gloria, do you want someone to play your husband?”

  A woman sitting in the back yelled, “What does he look like? I’ll play with him!”

  Kathy pursed her lips and shook her head.

  Gloria pointed to another woman.

  “This is my Winston. I’ve known him since we were thirteen years old. Kathy, I’m going to need someone to be my Son. He is a bum, but he’s mine. Plus, he brings the grandchildren around every week for Sunday supper. I need my boys right here.”

  Kathy smiled as Gloria arranged her family.

  “Well, Gloria, you have literally run out of rope.”

  “You’ll have to get another; I have cousins and nephews that I need all around me.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean Kathy?”

  “Why do you need your family so close to you? Look at them, they’re all around you. Why do you hold them so close?”

  “I need to keep tabs on them. You know; find out what they’re up to. What they did, who they talk to; where they go. Regular family stuff.”

  Kathy didn’t say anything; but raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay, I need to know who to keep in the will and who I should disinherit.” Kathy had placed her arms around Claire at the beginning of the exercise and Claire continued to stand immobile; staring out the small basement window with a fixed gaze.

  “Let’s hold off on getting another length of rope. I have several questions for you Gloria; do you think you’re in control of your life?”

  As the only grandmother in the room; Gloria felt completely at ease. She had lived far longer than any of these young women and her life was next to perfect. Plus she liked the fact that Kathy had started with her; Gloria’s family was well known and it was only fitting.

  “Of course Kathy, what a stupid question.”

  “So no one can tell you what to do? What you should do with your life?”

  “Really, Kathy; this is tiresome. I’m an independent woman; no one tells me what to do!”

  Several women in the room agreed by shouting, “Right on!”

  At that moment, Kathy dug a sandwich out of her large purse. “Sorry, but I need to eat regularly to keep my blood sugar stable.” She took a couple of bites; then continued. “I need everyone who is tied by the rope to stay in their spot for the next part of this exercise. No matter what happens next, stay put, alright?

  For the first time that day Claire smiled. Kathy was still holding on to her, and the young woman playing Gloria’s mother was tied to her.

  Claire was quite literally ‘Stuck in the Middle’.

  “Move,” ordered Kathy.
r />   “What?”

  “I want you to move Gloria.”

  Gloria tried to drag Claire with her but couldn’t.

  “How can I move? I’m trapped by…” Gloria waved her hand in a wide arch. “All these people!”

  “Exactly,” said Kathy. “Remember, these aren’t young women in the Arbutus Treatment Center with you; these are members of your family. You set up the family dynamic yourself. So, I’ll ask again; why can’t you move Gloria?”

  “Everybody in my family is stopping me?”

  “That’s a question. I’m looking for a statement.”

  “Well that’s all your going to get. This is stupid. Tying people up with ropes. Where did you get your counselling degree? Are you even licensed?”

  Kathy took another couple of bites of her sandwich. “This is how we get to the truth of our addictions. We look at relationships; both healthy and unhealthy and see what keeps us tied to our addictions.”

  Gloria stopped hugging Claire and attempted to untie the knot around her waist. She couldn’t. Her face started getting redder as she explained loudly, “I don’t have an addiction. I take the pills just like the Doctor prescribed. How dare you imply I’m addicted to anything like some common street person.”

  Dana sincerely asked, “Why do you think you’re here, Gloria? This isn’t a holiday resort you know.”

  Gloria set her jaw. “I’m old enough to be your Grandmother; do not talk to me that way! You need to show me some respect!”

  “She has a valid point Gloria. You were ordered by the court to undergo treatment at a Drug and Alcohol Treatment facility.” Kathy began untying the woman standing in for Gloria’s husband. “Do you want to tell the group the inciting event that brought you to the treatment center?”

  “That’s my business and I’ll sue you if you say anything.”

  Kathy turned to the group. “Gloria was involved in a hit and run accident. A six year old child died.”

  All the women rapidly removed the rope from the remaining participants of the family sculpting exercise and started swearing at Gloria.

  As a group, the young women moved to the back of the room; as far away as possible from Gloria.

  Dana was angry. She had finally started to see Gloria as a person with a heart; but now she hated her. “You killed a child and then drove away? Oh you’ve got all my respect now Grandma.”

  ***

  Crystal unlocked her bike and started riding home. She saw some of the folks she regularly helped and waved at them. Some started motioning for her to come into their yard; but Crystal was feeling weird.

  Something inside her was ticking like a clock. It was marking off the hours, minutes and seconds she had been away from home. The dial of her internal clock started spinning rapidly. Crystal felt her anxiety level ramping up. She had to get home so she ignored the people she normally helped and immediately felt guilty.

  “Great,” she said as she rode, “I can just see the headline now…’Former Good Samaritan Ignores Pleas For Help; Thousands Die’. Why can’t I be normal and just have a job and an apartment like everybody else?” She skidded to a stop as the bike lane ended.

  “How could I forget this municipal folly?” she asked herself.

  The City of Harrogate some years ago had approved the funding for bike lanes, but some bright light on the council decided a trial lane should be installed. A short stretch of road was repaved and repainted with a spanking new bike lane. A bike lane that sprung into existence by City Hall, ran for six city blocks, then abruptly disappeared as the curb of a crosswalk appeared.

  As long as I’m bringing a murderer to justice; I should get this fixed, Crystal thought.

  She moved her bike over the concrete sidewalk.

  “I am; I am going to do this.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Oh my god; Crystal, are you alright?”

  “No; some woman is hugging me so tight I can’t breath.”

  Joanne Schmidt released her daughter. “It’s just that I haven’t seen you all day! Don’t tell me you’ve been at the newspaper this whole time?” She continued to pat Crystal’s shoulder.

  “Mom, you normally don’t see me all day. What’s the big deal?”

  Joanne gave her daughter one more quick hug. “When I’m at the bank, cashing checks and helping people fill out their deposit slips, I always think of you, at home; nice and safe. But today was your first day of work! Who knows what might have happened!”

  Crystal tilted her head to one side. Could it be that her mom had an overactive imagination as well?

  “I smell lasagna. I will sacrifice my dinner of toast to stay and keep you company as we eat lasagna. I will do that for you.”

  “Matt should be here soon. How was it working with him? Oh, grab that trivet, would you and put it in the middle of the table.”

  Crystal did as she was asked. When she reached up for the plates, something crinkled in her pocket. She drew out the two papers she had photocopied.

  “Mom, we need to have a serious talk.”

  Joanne laughed. “Oh my darling daughter, you do not need to have that talk with me. Matt and I are just fine in that department.”

  “Gross, mom. You know that’s not what I was talking about. And now Matt’s here, great.”

  Crystal finished setting the table and barely looked up when Matt walked in.

  “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

  “No, Crystal just wants to have a super secret talk with me.”

  Matt nodded. “Sure. I can do the dishes after supper while the women folk retire to the smoking room or the parlor or whatever the expression was.”

  Joanne took the tray of lasagna out of the oven and popped the garlic toast in it’s place.

  “I’ll need my cigars and a brandy snifter before we retire for the evening.”

  “I’ll need a real job before I retire!” added Crystal. She quickly looked at Matt. “No offense, Matt. That’s not exactly what I meant. It’s just that Marjorie told me that Betty used to take about thirty minutes to write her column and I was there all day. Mind you; I did have an extended coffee break.”

  “I heard about that. You scooped Scott with an interview; when are you going to write it up?”

  “I did nothing of the sort.” Crystal tucked her hair behind her ears; it was warm in the kitchen. “I invited the Filipowitz’s out for coffee which they were happy to accept. We had a lovely visit; quite unlike what they had with Scott. But before I get into that, I want to tell you that I must have worked on my column for way longer than what Betty did. To be fair, I’m green as grass. So however many hours you want to pay me, would be fine.” Crystal gulped. “If indeed you want to pay me for even an hour?”

  “You did put in almost a full day’s work. How about this, we’ll pay you for two hours a day. When the paper comes out on Wednesday; we’ll see how your column goes over. If circulation increases noticeably, we’ll add another hour onto your day.”

  Crystal thought about this. “I think that’s too generous. What am I going to do with myself? I already have next week’s column done.”

  Joanne raised her hand. “I know! Pick me!”

  Matt nodded.

  Joanne cleared her throat and answered with unwarranted seriousness. “Answer the phone and do the filing.”

  “And clean the windows, the bathrooms; do the dishes,” Matt added. “Just keep moving basically. Did Marjorie open all the letters and clip them to the envelopes for you?”

  Crystal nodded. “Yup, except the last batch. I did that.”

  “Okay, I’ll take that off her job description. You’ll get all the mail addressed to “A Bit Of Advice From Betty” and open it, process it and file it.”

  “I can do that. I like cleaning. So do you want to hear about my visit with the parents of Lisa Filipowitz and what they said about their visit with Scott?”

  Matt stopped dishing up the plates and considered. “No, I don’t think so. Not yet. From the
little you’ve said already, it sounds like it didn’t go well. I don’t want to ruin our evening with negative talk. How about we enjoy this meal, and then you and your mom can have your talk.”

  “The garlic bread!” Joanne yelled as she hurried to the oven.

  ***

  Later the two Schmidt women were curled up on the couch, each with a wine glass full of apple juice and a red licorice stick.

  “Now that we are comfortably ensconced in the smoking room with our cigars and brandy, what great matters of state do you wish to discuss?” Joanne asked her daughter.

  Crystal bit off each end of her ‘cigar’ and sucked up some apple juice. “I have made a copy of an important document. Not quite the plans for a new battleship, but something that is as potentially explosive.”

  “Are you serious? Because, it’s hard to take you seriously while you’re sucking up apple juice through a twizzler.”

  Her daughter handed over a copy of the column that included the ‘Sour Sixteen’ response.

  Joanne read it through and then looked at Crystal. “Heavy stuff. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  A crash in the kitchen had both women distracted from the topic of the letter.

  “I think the plate is twirling; I can hear the wobble.”

  “I don’t think it broke.”

  “Even if it did Crystal, I can tell Matt the grocery store is still running the special. You know, for every thirty-five dollars you spend, purchase a real china plate for only ninety-nine cents!”

  Crystal chimed in with the rest of the ad that was being played every hour on the radio. “Shop at the Buy-Low for all your grocery needs and complete the whole set! Actually Mom, you read the letter; that’s what I think we should talk about. I’ve been skating by for years. As per your prompting and my own guilt, I want to start contributing to our household financially.”

  Crystal suddenly glared at her Mom. “Do not get up and dance, either. It would not be proper form at all.”

  Her mom nodded. “Yes, they might kick us out of this gentlewoman’s club. I am happy though. Supremely happy. Anything you can contribute would be great; Matt and I are saving…”

  “I know, for a honeymoon in Hawaii. Please, do not tell me that again. I have to think my pennies are going towards essentials, like lasagna; which was fabulous by the way. As usual.”