A Begonia for Miss Applebaum

by Paul Zindel

  “Ifeelveryfunnyaboutthis,”Zeldasaidwhenwegotoutontheeighthfloor.

  “Iknewyou’dsaythat,”Isaid.

  The keys Miss Applebaum gave us worked fine, and in no time Zelda and I wereinsideMissApplebaum’sapartment.I’dbelyingifIdidn’tsaythatitwas

  extraordinarilyspooky.Zeldaranaroundputtingonallthelightsshecouldfind, and she certainly found a lot of them. The apartment went from looking like a mausoleum at midnight to something like the Amazon at noon. Zelda even put on the lights to the Ferris wheel and it started turning. It was as though the apartmentandplantshadallcomecompletelyalive.Isawplantsandtreesand

  scientificequipmentIhadn’tevennoticedbefore.

  “I’llpackMissApplebaum’sthings,”Zeldasaid.

  “I’llhidethemoney,”Isaid.

  “Where?”

  “Someplace no one would look!” I went straight to the ex–Andrew Jackson Highhumanskeletonhangingonitsstandbehindthesofa.Eventhoughitsskull

  wascrackedanditdidn’thaveallitsribs,itsjawbonehingeworkedperfectly.I

  openeditsmouthandputthemoneysmackupinsidetheskull.Itmadearather forebodingpiggybank,Ithought.

  “That’sdisgusting,”Zeldasaid.

  “It’sutilitarian,”Isaid.

  Zelda just looked at me like she was going to gag and made for Miss

  Applebaum’sbedroom.Istayedinthelivingroomcheckingoutafewficustrees

  and Miss Applebaum’s collection of magnets for a while, and then decided to look through some of the closets. The hall closet was sort of regular with functional ladies’ coats and practical wool hats, and an umbrella that had a stylishwoodenduck’sheadforahandle.Andtheclosetdownthehallnearthe

  bathroomhadonlycleanwhitesheets,dulltowels,lotsofbarsofDovesoap,and

  a bottle of Head & Shoulders. On the whole, the closets’ contents looked very traditional, not that I was expecting to find gold bullion or wolfbane or black candlesoranythinglikethat.Thosetwoclosetsjustlookedlikeaniceoldlady

  livedintheapartment.Igotboredfairlyquicklyandbegantocheckoutthearea ofthelivingroomjustbeyondtheLbendwheremostofthebookshelveswere.

  Evenwithallthelightsblazing,Icouldhardlyseethewallsbecauseofallthe

  trees,butIdidspyaclosetdoorthatwaspracticallyovergrownbyivy.Thelong vines had grown down from huge hanging baskets of moss, and I wasn’t even going to open that closet. Then I thought, Why not? Actually, it was the only spot where I did feel a little strange prying open the door. It was like I was violatingapharaoh’stomb,andKingTutmightpopouttobopmeonthehead.I

  actuallyhadtobreaksomeofthevinecreepersthatpressedagainstthedoorlike very thin, ghoulish fingers. By moving a couple of large palms, I was finally abletogetthedooropen.

  As the light flooded in, I was quite shocked at what I saw. The closet was completelyfilledwith men’s clothing.Idon’tmeanlikeattirefromlastseason’s Barney’s sales. I mean men’s clothing like you might see in a World War II museum.TherewereNavysailorshirtsanduniformsthatlookedliketheywere

  from the 1940s. There were polka-dot bow ties and a flashy tuxedo with huge lapelsandabouttenpairsofantiqueshoesthatwereeverythingfromflashytwo-tone black and white to powder blue. There was even a raccoon coat like you sometimes see people wear in Laurel and Hardy films. I couldn’t resist putting thecoatrightonandbargingstraightintoMissApplebaum’sbedroomtoshow

  Zelda.

  “Lookatthis,willyou?”

  Zeldascreamed.“Ithoughtyouwereabear!”

  Shewasstandinginfrontofahugebedroomclosetwithitsslidingdoorswide

  open.Rightoffthebat,IcouldseeabouttendressestheAndrewsSisterswould

  havebeenproudtowearforU.S.O.showstoentertainthetroops.Zeldapulled

  outonedressthathadsilversequinsandcrochetedbeadingalloveritandwas

  trimmed with peacock feathers. Actually, a lot of the clothes in both Miss Applebaum’sclosetandtheclosetI’dfoundlookedlikethingsnostalgicrock’n’

  rollstarswouldgivetheireyeteethforwhentheywantedtolookunique.Bothof

  the closets had so much style, we almost fainted. We started running back and forth between the rooms checking out everything in those two closets. Zelda found a second raccoon coat in the bedroom closet that looked like it matched theoneintheman’scloset.

  Ihadanuncontrollableurgetograboneofthepillowsoffthebedandthrowit

  atZelda,catchinghercompletelyoffguard.

  “Youidiot!”shelaughed.

  Inaflashshepickedupthepillowandcamerunningatme,butIgrabbeda

  secondpillowfromMissApplebaum’sbedandwestartedsmackingeachother

  ashardaswecouldwiththepillows.Iwasthefirstonetogetreallytired,soI just plopped on Miss Applebaum’s bed and let Zelda bang me with the pillow aboutfiftytimes.Wehadneverlaughedsohardinallourlives.Finally,Zelda

  was exhausted, too, and she dropped laughing to the floor on the other side of thebed.Wewerepuffinglikesteamlocomotivesandwerereallywhackedout.I

  couldn’tevenliftmyheadoffthebedtoseeZeldaontherug.Eventually,Isaw

  her hand creep up like a tarantula on the other side of the bed, and finally she pulled herself up and lay down next to me. We were still laughing when we noticedsomethingonthebedwherethepillowshadbeen.Itwasaphotograph.

  Anoldandfadedphotograph.IthadtobesomethingMissApplebaumcherished

  andhad kept underher pillow foryears. It was apicture of ayoung girl and a sailorkissinginthefrontcarofaConeyIslandrollercoaster.Wecouldseeplain asdaythatthegirlwasMissApplebaumwhenshewasabouttwentyyearsold.

  And the sailor boy looked like he really adored her. And the photograph itself wassetinalittlecardboardframethatsaid,“AliceandStevenforever.”Itwas

  strange,butupuntilthatmomentwehadneverevenimaginedthatatonetime

  Miss Applebaum had been young and lovely, and dated boys, and did crazy thingslikerideinthefrontcarofarollercoaster.Andshekissed.Shewasonce apretty,sweetgirlwhokissedahandsomesailor,andtheywereinlove.Alice

  andStevenforever!

  ThenwethoughtofMissApplebaumnow.

  MissApplebauminthehospital.

  Foralongwhile,welayonMissApplebaum’sbedholdingontoeachother.

  14

  Zeldastillisn’tfeelinguptowritingyet,soI’llhavetocontinue.Idon’t

  blameher,becauseIguessthisisthehardestparttotellabout.Zeldawas

  abletogiveyouafewhighlightsoftheroutinesatParkviewHospital,butthere

  wasalotmoregoingonwhilewewerelearningaboutthose.Mostofthetime

  MissApplebaumhadusrunningaroundlikechickenswithourheadscutoff.On

  school days Zelda and I would usually get up very early and deliver treats to MissApplebaum’scharityrecipientsbeforewewenttoschool.Whenwedidn’t

  do it in the morning, we did it right after school. Miss Applebaum went to the trouble of making up a list for us so we’d know everyone she wanted

  remembered.ZeldaandIsimplycalleditMissApplebaum’slist.

  Miss Applebaum’s complete list included at least thirty stops. Zelda and I fo
undittookusahalfhourjusttoshopforthethingsatthedelidowntheblock fromtheDakota.WeknewMissApplebaumgaveoutfood,butwedidn’tknow

  shehadaspecificrouteshetookandknewalmosteveryhomelesspersoninher

  sectionofthepark.ShetoldustherewasanotherwomanbythenameofNaomi

  Larsonwhogaveoutfreefoodonthesouthernmostsectionoftheparkaround

  theice-skatingrinkandchildren’szoo,andthataveryniceelderlycouplecalled Mom and Pop O’Malley had a route up near “no man’s land” and the park reservoir.ZeldaandIfoundMissApplebaum’srouteextremelyexhaustinguntil

  wefiguredoutwhoandwhereeverybodywas,buteventhenittookagoodhour

  walkingatagoodclipandpushingaborrowedsupermarketbasket.Also,itwas

  getting cold, so a few of the homeless went south, we were told, to parks in FloridaandNewMexico,andsomedaysoneortwoofthemwouldbemissing

  becausethepolicehadthempickedupandputinanuthouse.

  AllthiswasgoingonwhileZeldaandIkeptupourschoolwork,studiedfor

  tests,andmanagedtogetovertoseeMissApplebaumforatleastanhourevery

  evening. I also kept up the withdrawal of three hundred dollars a day until the skull of the skeleton had loot bulging out of its eyeballs. Of course, Miss Applebaumkeptincreasingherfoodgiftsthecloseritgottotheholidays.From

  November 20th on, she added entire quarts of eggnog, loaves of seven-grain bread,andpoundsofDutchPalcoldcuts.Oneday,shewantedeveryonetohave

  a can of Campbell’s tomato soup and a box of matches. Miss Applebaum kept runningthingsrightfromherbednomatterhowthinorweakshewasgetting.It

  seemed every week the doctors ordered some new test done to her or tube attached to her. It started with an intravenous tube that was supposed to make certainMissApplebaumhadenoughwaterinhersystemtomakeitpossiblefor

  hertogetchemicalsandradiationtreatment.Somedays,we’darrivetoseeher

  and they’d have her down in the laboratory for another biopsy or X ray. But ZeldaandIandMissApplebaumstayedashopefulaswecouldforaslongas

  we could. We played Goonie. Monopoly. Trivial Pursuit. Scrabble. And Miss Applebaumlovedhelpinguswithourhomework.

  “Beoriginal!”shekepttellingus.

  “That’stoooldhat!Thinkofsomethingnew!”

  “Trymakingadioramatoproveanalgebraequation!”

  She’dgiveushintsonhowtodoourassignmentssothattheywerestartling.

  Refreshing,she’dsay.IhadtowriteacompositionforhistoryontheAmerican

  judicialsystem,andMissApplebaumsuggestedIwriteitfromthepointofview

  ofahorsethatwasfoundguiltyofsorceryinNewJerseyandhanged.Shegave

  Zelda a unique way of discussing economics by taking off from the fact that multibillionaireoiltycoonJohnPaulGettyhadapayphoneinhismansion.That

  was the fantastic thing about Miss Applebaum. She knew much more than

  science. Her knowledge spread into every field of study and endeavor. Even whenthechemotherapyshewasgettingstartedtomakeherhairfallout,shestill pressed forward making Zelda and me reach for the unique and inventive.

  Sometimes,we’darriveatherbedsidejustastheyhadaddedanewdripbagof

  chemicalstoherintravenous,andshewouldn’thaveenoughstrengthtolifther

  headfromthepillow.Eventhen,she’djustclosehereyesandtellusthingslike

  “If you got rid of all the space in the atoms that go to make up a camel, you

  could pass the camel through the eye of a needle.” She’d whisper, “Three fourthsofallspeciesofmammalsarerodents.”She’dtellus,“Theeyeofagiant squidislargerthanaperson’shead.”Sometimes,we’dthinkshewasasleep,but

  thenherlipswouldmoveandshe’dsaysomethingfantasticallystimulatinglike

  “On the average, each human being contains two molecules of Julius Caesar’s lastbreath.”Itjustseemedasthoughshecouldneverstopteachingus.

  I don’t think I can put off any longer telling you about our showdown with Bernice,soI’llgetitoverwithrightnow,andthenZeldawillprobablybeable

  towritethenextchapter.Itwasn’tthatwedidn’tthinkaboutBernice.Wemust

  have thought about her at least once a day from that first night when Miss Applebaum,Zelda,andIwereplayingElevatorRoulettedoingthecancan,and

  Bernice appeared. It’s very hard to forget anyone with a hatchet face and a chilling disciplinarian voice. I suppose we were meant only to meet Bernice at elevators, because that’s exactly the way it worked out at the hospital. We had toldMissApplebaumtowritetoBernicesoshe’dknowwhereshewas,andtell

  Bernice that she had decided to get treatment at Parkview Hospital. We knew Bernicewouldbeshowingupsoonerorlater,andwealsoknewitwouldn’tbea

  barreloflaughsifwehappenedtorunintoher.Whatwedidn’tknowwasthat

  she’dbewaitingforussmackinfrontoftheelevatorsontheninthfloorofthe

  hospital at seven o’clock in the evening. Zelda was holding a bag of Miss Applebaum’s favorite treat, which was Pick Up Sticks Restaurant’s shrimp in lobster sauce and pork fried rice, and I was holding a supply of egg drop soup

  and fortune cookies. We had been chatting sedately while riding up in the elevator about how happy Miss Applebaum would be to see the food, even thoughshecouldn’teatverymuchanymore.Wewerereallylookingforwardto

  seeingher.

  ThenthedooropenedandwesawBernicewithherbuzz-sawfaceandfancy

  dyedblondConnecticut-matronhair.Thisnight,shelookedlikeNessietheLoch

  NessMonsteritself.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, as though she were going to rip our throatsout.

  “Hello,”wesaid,steppingofftheelevatorholdingourbagsofChinesefood.

  “Areyousatisfiednow?Areyou?”Bernicestartedtoimmediatelyscreamat

  us. Her voice was so loud, everyone at the nurses’ station turned and several orderliesandnurse’saidescameoutofthewards.

  “MissApplebaum’sgettingthetreatmentsheneeds,”Isaidquietly,stepping

  toshieldZeldaincaseBernicedidtrytohauloffandpunchus.

  “Thereisnotreatmentforher!” Berniceroared.“Thereneverwas!”

  “It’snottoolate,”Isaid.

  “It was always too late!” Bernice bellowed. “You had to tell her she was dying!Youhadtogiveherhope!Well,don’tyouseewhatyou’vedone!”

  “We’vegivenhermoreofachance,”Zeldasaid.

  “She could have been spared this!” Bernice literally screamed. “She could have lived her last days in peace. You’ve let them cut her! You’ve let them experimentonher!You’vemurderedher,youstupid,hatefulchildren!”

  “We’renotstupidandwe’renothateful!”Iautomaticallyyelledrightbackat

  her.AtthatmomentIcouldn’tsensiblyprocesseveryremarkshehadhurledat

  us, but I could see Bernice was in as much pain as we were about Miss Applebaum.Theresimplyseemedtobealotmorethandollarsignsinhereyes.

  “Then you stay with her. You watch her suffer. You’re a couple of sons of bitches, that’s what you are,” Bernice hissed at us. She got into the elevator.

  “You want her to die in this hellh
ole, well then, you’ve got it, you killers!”

  Berniceburstintotears.Wewereshocked,andforthefirsttimewefeltBernice

  actually loved and cared about Miss Applebaum. The elevator door closed and shewasgone.ZeldaandIwereleftstandingthereholdingtheChinesefoodwith

  everyonelookingatus.WithoutsayingawordtoZelda,Iknewshewasthinking

  and feeling exactly the same as me. It had just never really entered our minds

  thatBernicecouldhavebeenactingoutofloveallalong.Everythingwasjustso complex.WehadjustwantedtothinktheworstaboutBernicebecausethatwas

  theonlywaywecouldhaveanyhope.Wecouldn’tbehorriblekidsjustbecause

  wewantedhope.Wejustcouldn’tbe.

  ZeldaandIstartedwalkingslowlytoward9D.Andwefeltsobadthatthere

  wasnothingtoprepareusforwhatwaswaitingforus.MissApplebaumwasin

  thelastbedontheright,asusual.Herwindowstilllookedoutontothebrickair shaft.WeweresostunnedbyourencounterwithMissApplebaum’sniecethat

  wedidn’tnoticethechangeinMissApplebaumuntilwereachedthefootofher

  bed. In addition to her intravenous hook-up, they now had two tubes coming downoverherheadandattachedtohernostrils.Theotherendsofthetubesled

  toanoxygentank.MissApplebaumlookedawful.

  MissApplebaumtriedtosmile.

  “We’vegotshrimpandlobstersauce,”Zeldasaid.

  “And fortune cookies,” I added. I knew it sounded stupid, but I couldn’t be blamedforanywordsthatcameoutofmymouth.AndwhenMissApplebaum

  spoke, all she said was, “Please buy me a small plastic fan? One that runs on batteries.Please?”Itwassuchastrangethingtoaskfor.

  “Asmallfan,please...”