JR (44 page)

—No no it's my, it's not school business no it's just my mortgage, my application to refinance my mortgage, I didn't mean to take school time just for…

—Yes well I don't think Vern would…

—No go ahead Dan, go ahead. You sit here picking your nose on school time why shouldn't you talk about your mortgage on school time.

—Yes well of course Dan the ahm, let me see the letter yes I think in terms of the ahm, nothing personal in this of course Dan but down to the bank that is to say we operate under certain regulations ahm, restrictions on mortgage outlays dictated by what you might call the actual construction of the house and the ahm, standards, the standard spacing of the wall studs of course is sixteen inches and yours appear to be ahm, twenty-four, inches apart that is to say…

—But I didn't know…

—Yes no nobody's blaming you Dan, we know you didn't build it yourself it was, of course it was the builder who ahm, who built it of course but the, since the term of a mortgage is related to, dictated by the number of years the house is reasonably expected to stand depending on its, directly related to the way it's built, constructed you might say, the wall studs having a direct bearing on the part, you might even say actually part of the structure so that of course the farther apart they are in a given space the fewer there are of them because

the fewer there are of them the farther apart they have to be placed so that under certain conditions such as a, even the passage of time which is directly related to the term of the mortgage and the

reasonable life of the dwelling, if the wall studs were closer together of course there would be more of them which in turn could be reasonably expected to provide a more substantial structure timewise over the

time period the, the period of time the mortgage is being amortized and the bank of course, banks that is to say, in order to protect their borrowers in granting these mortgage applications because you understand there's nothing personal in this Dan, the same thing comes up with other applicants, the banks usel, utilize the safeguards set

forth in the building code stating the safe legal minimums for materials and construction in terms of course that's what building codes are for such specifications as the spacing of wall studs in the ahm, the Hyde house yes I think you have your mortgage with us Major but of course it was built back in ahm, a Cape Cod ranch type split when they were still building those fine old homes back in the fifties yes the sort of home you pass on to your ahm, to his children that is to say his son when he grows up of course if he, if you see what I mean Dan?

—Yes that's why I was surprised he was moving, the…

—Who was moving Dan, what…

—No I thought you were, aren't you? That moving van at your house right after lunch I …

—Probably just parked on the street there, nobody around us moving that I know of.

—No, no it was backed up to your house they were carrying things out, a stereo…

—Now wait a minute Dan let's yes let's just get this clear you saw a moving van at my look, those houses aren't all that different even the streets they, probably the same house a street or two over mine has the …

—The eagle yes and that chimney sticking up out of your…

—Ventilator Dan part of the shelter's generator-driven forced air system that what the hell do you mean carrying things out!

—And a big console television and, is something wrong? I could ride you over, my car's…

—No no mine's right out front here I'm, I don't believe it but what's happened already today I'm, where my keys … looming, slapping pockets like a man infested —must have left them in the car … and the inside door threatened its hinges.

—Ow… !

—Well get out of the way!

—Yes well what ahm, sorry Vern here, what are you doing out here.

—Me? Nothing Mister Whiteback I'm…

—And what's all this trash on the floor pick it up, is it yours? And you, what do you…

—I just came to ask when's rehears…

—There aren't any, there are no opera rehearsals they've been postponed you've been told that, even when there are you're not supposed to wear your costume to school you've been told that too, now…

—This ain' a costume Mister Whiteback it's my clothes.

—You call tails and horns and, and those reflectors you call that clothes? Your mother know you come to school like this?

—Who?

—Your mother, your mother!

—She's ugually asleep.

—If you come to school like this again you'll be sent home to wake

her up. Now you, what are you doing here they weren't supposed to send you down, they said they were sending down that what's that boy's name, Percival…

—I don't know all I saw was Buzzie.

—That's the one yes the one you call Buzzie, where is he.

—I don't know, he sat here a second when they brought him in then he ran up the hall there.

—Well why didn't you, what were you sent down for.

—Well see Mister Whiteback I needed this here typewri…

—Playing with a school typewriter? do you know how much they cost?

—No I wasn't playing with it see I just had this here thing which I had to type it so …

—You'll take typing when you get to ninth grade, until then don't touch one again. Have you picked up all this trash you dropped?

—I couldn't help it I was just…

—Look ow, sorry Whiteback damn, Dan? still here? Can you give me that ride?

—I'm coming yes…

—My car, somebody stole my car right out front there. You out this way… ? they came down the corridor, pulled, pushed the doors —get over there fast but I still don't believe it … and behind them a hand severed a minute's remnant on the clock beyond the shelter of the lockers.

—Holy, look what time it is the bell's going to ring, didn't they finish that telephone booth yet?

—There's still this one guy there, boy did you just see my father hey?

—Did I see him he almost knocked me down, here…

—What's he so pissed off at.

—How do I know he said somebody stole his car here, hold this stuff a second while I, wait quick lend me a dime.

—What do you mean a dime look at all the quarters you…

—I need to make this call what do you think, I'm giving them fifteen cents extra free?

—Who you calling up, your buddy Major Sheets to tell him you got his forks stuck in the freight office which you're scared to go get them? Boy if Whiteback finds out …

—Why should he, I mean this deal's all fixed up and paid why should he find out anything unless the freight office calls them about all this here ammunition boy I never heard anything so dumb, I mean you get this rifle association to send you this here free ammunition which you haven't even got something to shoot it off with boy I never…

—Okay how did I know they'll send it by freight hey look, there goes the phone guy…

—Give me the dime then will you? he came up the range of lockers juggling his armload wrapped in a battered newspaper, dredging the handkerchief wad from his pocket —hurry up … he got in with the

heap on his lap thumbing the pages of Alaska Our Wilderness Friend for a torn envelope with a telephone number, jammed the wad into the mouthpiece and dialed. —Hello … ? the door clattered closed —is Mister Bast there … ? Who me? I'm his, I'm this here business friend of his is he still at the city? See I have this urgent matter which I have to discuss my portforlio with him to … No I said I have this here urgent mat … he went where … ? No but look lady, he … no but holy … no but how could he be someplace accepting some reward see we have this here ouch, boy hello… ?

The line rang with three more piercing notes. —Mercy! they could burst an eardrum, hello? I said Mister Bast is abroad somewhere just a minute, Julia? The card that came yesterday with a picture of a mountain, where, hello… ?

—Who in heaven's name…

—Well I never! The oddest voice, it sounded like someone talking under a pillow. I thought he said he was a business friend of James, the most awful shrill sounds on the telephone line and then it sounded like a loud bell ringing and he simply hung up. I thought we asked Edward to have them take it out.

—No the stock Anne, the stock, we asked him to sell our telephone stock. Once that's done I may take it out myself.

—I hope he can find someone who wants to buy it though I must say, I'd feel a little bit guilty. It's like selling some poor soul shares in a plague, my ear is still ringing. Who was it that called here this morning.

—Some wretched woman who had a wrong number. She asked me to name the second president of the United States, when I told her Abraham Lincoln she congratulated me.

—Oh I think Lincoln came later, didn't he? When Uncle Dick came back from Andersonville prison…

—I'm certainly quite aware of that, I simply said Lincoln for a little joke but it didn't disturb her in the least. She told me I'd won a free dance lesson.

—It sounds like that woman who's called for Edward with an accent like the grocery boy's. Tell him Ann called about the strike, that's all she says and Ann, if you please. Tell him to look in this week's paper…

—It's probably someone from the union, they called last week sounding quite put out.

—Well I'm not surprised, they've been put out at James since the Chicago theater strike after the war.

—I certainly never blamed James for that, and after he had that tooth replaced he never did play quite the same.

—Now that was just something Thomas said, Julia, getting back at James for his remark about all those years Thomas practiced clarinet, that the reed had loosened something in his head. James' teeth never were right once Doctor Teakell weakened them.

—But Father thought he was an excellent dentist, what…

—I know he weakened my teeth Julia, it's almost a wonder I still have

them he was doing it all in exchange, you know, for the lessons Father gave his son. He was Father's only student who appeared every week without two quarters, of course learning to play violin he couldn't very well…

—He could never have learned to play the kazoo, I remember Father saying that boy couldn't carry a tune in a bushel basket.

—Yes and Doctor Teakell put the blame all on Father, I have a lower here in back that's bothered me on and off for years. Whenever I feel it everything stops, I can hear that scraping on the violin and I wonder what's, what's become of them all sometimes I hear so many things, I hear Father's step out on the veranda when it gets dark and, like it is now and then I recall this house doesn't even have a veranda… and from far the wail of a siren rose as though brought into being by that concentration, rose and was lost until, unsought and unheard, it passed again close toward the break of another day.

—Julia! Come quickly!

—I wouldn't peer through the curtain that way, Anne. It puts me in mind of that awful woman who spread that gossip about Nellie and James, how the curtain would move when you passed her house and you knew she…

—But look! our hedge is gone!

—Why, it can't be! It can't be gone. I remember when Charlotte had it planted.

—See for yourself, it's just not there you can look right out across the road on that field of dahlias and, that car going by! Just staring in at us as though, it's like standing out in the yard stark naked we should call the police.

—What would we say. That they came at night and stole three hundred feet of privet hedge? so they'd have a place to park their cars for their bingo parties Wednesday nights?

—I'm afraid to think what James will say.

—James will say what he's always said, that money buys privacy and that's all it's good for.

—I think he just meant the hedge kept noise out, it certainly didn't stop those two dreadful women from the sisters of heaven knows what they called themselves. Marching right up here to the front door to say they'd heard the place was for sale.

—I don't think they dreamed of paying a penny, the stout one said she thought it was vacant. She stood there with one foot in the door just gaping right in over my shoulder and said what a nice room this would make for their teenage dances, of all things.

—Yes that's the way Father always put it, let them get one foot in the door…

—And the rooms upstairs could be used for games. They take such pride in being prolific, I imagine the sort of games they'd be. When I told her we had no notion of selling, she had the gall to go on and ask if we knew of any other old rundown houses they might fix up as a

community project. I found it difficult even to be civil, it was all I could do to keep from asking how they'd like a troop of strangers prancing through their houses.

—I'm sure they'd like nothing better, Julia. From the pictures one

sees of these pasteboard interiors they try to make every inch they own look as much like a public place as can be.

—Own! they don't own the shirts to their backs. They make a down payment and stay just long enough to vote in every desecration they can think of before they move on to do the same thing elsewhere, to leave behind the mess they've made for the people here who've been paying taxes for fifty years. There's hardly a tree left standing.

—I even miss the smell of cabbages there used to be this time of the year.

—I meant to order one yesterday, I thought we'd have that nice pork butt.

—It's a shame that we can't save it for Edward.

—We can't simply save it forever Anne, I'll just put it on. He might even appear, I think I heard a train just a minute ago… and clear the mile away the wind might bring its sound from the tracks when the wind lay right, blowing off the day and finally letting the darkness settle, and damp, for day to return like a rumor of day and lurk in the sky unable to break.

—Those acres of flowers, all of them black. Did you see what the frost did last night Julia?

—Well I wouldn't peer out through the curtain that way, we're naked enough as it is with the hedge gone.

—I still think it wouldn't hurt to call the police.

—After the mess they left things in right back here in James' studio? that night Stella's what's his name, Stella's husband went in and turned everything upside down for a scrap of paper he never found? Edward said things were flung every which way.