Train to Anywhere
Page 9
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"Eddie, hurry up." It was Sam, one of Eddie's best friends from school. They had just slipped out of class, past the watchful eye of Sister Margaret, the nun the boys referred to as "Sister Broomstick." This nickname was not given to her because she resembled a witch, but because she always had a wooden handled broom in her hand. This was often used to bring the boys back into line by smacking them on the head, or poking them in the ribs.
Eddie pulled his collar up around his ears as much as he could, trying to ward off the springtime wind coming off of Lake Erie. "It's too cold for fishing," he said to Sam as he followed him out onto the pier. Sam was a ringleader among the boys from the home, a position he had secured by sheer charisma, attitude, and a quick pair of fists.
The two of them had just sat down on the pier and dangled the hook in the water when a car pulled up and a man stepped out. "You boys stay right there," he said. He went around to the passenger side door and opened it. Sister Margaret stepped out and glared at them for several seconds before she reached into the back seat and pulled out her broom. An hour later, Sam and Eddie were back in class, each with a new lump on the back of their heads. Although all the boys hated her, they were amazed at how skilled she was with the broom. She had developed a talent for hitting them hard enough to inflict a considerable amount of pain and raise a large bruise but not break the skin.
Eddie had ended up in the school after his mother died during the influenza outbreak in 1918. A few years before that, his father had died on an ore boat on Lake Huron. Once they were all orphans, Eddie had lost contact with his two sisters and brother when they were sent to different schools. At first he was lost at the school, until he realized that the boys had formed a kind of alliance against the nuns. The nuns' mean and unforgiving nature united the boys. The leader of this group was Sam, another boy who had lost a parent to influenza. Neither of them talked about what happened to their parents—just that they were no longer around. Sam and Eddie became close friends, and they stayed that way throughout their time there, as other boys came and went.
When they left the school, they both stayed in Buffalo. Sam started to become more brazen in his actions. He began to commit small petty crimes to which Eddie was always an accomplice. They were picked up a number of times, and both began to get records. The crimes were always small enough to only end up with a fine or a day in jail.
About a year after they were out of school, Eddie had taken a job in a grocery warehouse and had started to not see Sam as often. As Sam continued on his trouble causing way, Eddie began to see the pattern his life was taking and they drifted apart. However, one morning, as he was just beginning his duties, Sam came walking in the door of the warehouse. Eddie saw him come in the large lifting door on the north end of the building. Sam stopped and asked someone a question. The person pointed in Eddie's direction. Sam turned and saw Eddie, then he waved and came walking over.
Sam had a big grin on his face as he approached. "Hey, you have to see this," he said.
"What? My boss is right over there. He'll see me if I take off," Eddie said. He had been working there for about two months. The man who had hired him had not bothered to check into any past problems Eddie may have had with the law. People working on docks and warehouses generally came and went on a regular basis, so background questions were rarely asked. If you could work and show up on time, you had a job.
"One minute. That's all. This is really something." Sam seemed to have the smile permanently attached to his face.
"Okay, one minute, then I have to be back."
Eddie could barely keep up with Sam as they went through the warehouse and into the bright morning sunlight. They walked off the premises to an alley between two buildings. Eddie saw the nose of the thing and knew exactly where Sam was going. Sam walked over and leaned on the fender of the Stutz Bearcat like he had owned it all his life. "How's this for an automobile?"
There was no question how Sam had obtained such a car, but Eddie had to ask the stunned question anyway. "Where the hell did you get that?"
"I borrowed it. Some guy said I could use it for a day."
Eddie looked at Sam for a moment with a combined awe and alert. This was a very expensive and highly noticeable car that had been stolen, and yet he was not able to pull himself away from it. He had wanted a car like that ever since he saw one go down the street a couple of years before. He still remembered the sound it made. In a way, he wanted to be Sam, with the audacity to pull this off. "Can I get in?"
"Sure, jump right in. I don't want to let you drive, since I promised the guy I would be the only one driving it."
Eddie opened the door and climbed into the tiny bucket seat. The hood looked like a big metal doghouse stretched out in front of him. The interior was straightforward, built for speed and nothing else. The driver's door opened and Sam got in next to him. "Ready to go for a ride?"
"Look, I have to get back to the warehouse. Earl's probably screaming already," Eddie said, getting out of the car. "Besides, you have to get rid of this car. The cops will pick you up in no time.
"The cops ain't a problem," Sam said, staring straight ahead. "Tell you what. Tonight we'll take this car for a spin. You and me will drive around before I get rid of it."
"I'm done at 5."
Eddie heard the whine of the electric starter, and the big six-cylinder engine roared to life. Sam put the car in gear with a mild mechanical click, and then slowly pulled away, like he had been driving the car for years. The car sped up as he went through the gears, and then it disappeared around a curve. Eddie went back inside and found that Earl had not noticed his absence, so he would not be receiving the slap to the head that came with meeting with his disapproval. Earl was like a big hairy nun.
That night, Eddie met up with Sam, and they took a ride through town. They had been driving for about half an hour when Sam pulled into a gas station. The service man came out and filled the car with gas. Sam pulled the car over and parked in front of the door. He left the engine running as he climbed out. "Want a Coke?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine," Eddie said. Sam disappeared into the gas station. Eddie was just starting to become mesmerized by the idling engine when he heard a yell. Sam came running back out the door and jumped into the car. He threw something into Eddie's lap, then jammed the car into gear and drove off, leaving flying gravel and a cloud of dust behind him.
"Let's go!" Sam yelled over the roar of the engine.
Eddie looked in his lap and saw a wad of money. He guessed there was maybe fifty dollars there, and he put the story together in an instant. Sam was piloting the car at an ever-increasing rate of speed. The wind coming over the windscreen roared in Eddie's ears. "Stop the car!" he yelled over the noise. "Stop the car! Let me out!"
"What? It's not like we haven't done this before," Sam said, a big grin on his face.
Eddie had been trying to go straight the past six months. Now he was riding in a stolen car being driven by a man who had just robbed a gas station. He could not believe what had happened, after all he had managed to do in the past few months. The new job was steady and had given him a good paycheck for the first time in his life. Sam had been out of his life for a period of time, and he had not thought too much about that. At the first opportunity, Eddie would get out of the car. He did not care where that was; he knew he had to get out and figure a way to go back to the boarding house.
Whether or not Sam saw the stop sign, he would never say. However, when he drove through it at a considerable rate of speed, the policeman immediately took off after them. Within a few minutes, they were pulled over to the side of the road, both of them face down on the ground with a boot in their backs. The car had been reported stolen earlier that day. The cops standing over them had no idea that Sam had just robbed a gas station, though this would come out later at the police station.