JR (45 page)

—Yes I meant to tell you, he called again.

—Edward?

—No that, Stella's husband, he sounded more confused than ever and finally put his little friend Mister Cohen on to say he'd heard nothing yet from Mister Lemp.

—I scarcely know what he expects to hear, he's the one who's making the difficulties with his prying questions about our shares, and all that talk about going public. Is that what they tried to start again?

—Selling some of Thomas' shares yes, just selling them to total strangers. I'm sure Thomas is turning in his grave right now.

—Well I shouldn't blame him a bit if he were, when that's all they'd been waiting for. Simply sitting there waiting for him to die so they could sell it right out from under us, to people we wouldn't even know in the street.

—I'm sure they'd know one another Julia. You never saw them in the trenches Father used to say, just let them have one foot in the door

and…

—That name was changed from Engels somewhere along the way.

—Julia you don't think, those stock powers we signed and mailed back to these Crawley and Bro people Edward found? that they might use them to sell our shares and James'? They were blank after all, and there were so many…

—I'm sure they don't even know we have it. It's right out there in the kitchen drawer, I don't see how they could possibly sell it so long as it's in the kitchen drawer, Anne? If you're going out there you might turn the fire down under those beans. We'll just let them simmer overnight

… from there, and then from room into room their aroma moved slowly, taking on a near tangible presence, finally mounting the stairs with the ease of the night and remaining, long after it had descended and gone.

—Anne? I thought perhaps the mail had come.

—It's on the shelf over the kitchen sink, I left it there when I tasted the beans. They do seem a trifle overdone but that was the way Father always…

—I thought I saw the newspaper somewhere.

—Yes that's the only thing I opened, I put it right under the, here it is. Did you see this picture of the old Lemp home? It looks like they've torn off the porte cochere to put up a monstrous kind of chute that's meant to serve as a fire escape now it's become a nursing home. Here, it says it's to speed the evacuation of residents who have trouble with stairs.

—Old Mrs Lemp walked with a stick of course, but I can't see her leaving like a bundle of laundry.

—And I don't see a word in here about Edward or the strike that woman called about, the one who calls herself Ann and told us to look in this week's paper.

—She called again yes wanting to speak with him, I suppose those are the chances one takes, going to teach in a place like that. It puts me in mind of James and his asylums, she seemed quite eager to find Edward something right in music as she put it, music therapy to rehabilitate criminals and handicaps, of all things.

—From the way she sounds on the telephone I'm sure she knows a number of both. Is that who called while I was sewing?

—No, no that was Stella, asking for Edward. She said she'd just called to see how he was getting along, and not a word about anything else.

—It's the things she doesn't say that disturb me.

—Yes I don't quite know why it is, I find even the sound of her voice disturbing, that almost languid, uncurious manner…

—I'm sure it's just that languorous way that makes her seem attractive to men, I recall her as such a high-strung child but after her marriage to this what's his name, he struck me as quite slow that first time I met him…

—And that scar of hers yes, now you speak of it someone said she'd

had that thyroid operation simply in order to subdue, one might better say to match her pace to his…

—That does seem a lot of trouble to go to, why she wanted to marry him in the first place…

—I think it's perfectly obvious Anne, if there was any doubt it's quite clear now the reason he married her plain and simple was to gain this foothold in the company. Once he got those twenty-three shares out of Thomas he was in a position to step right in about the time Thomas became less active. Now with Thomas gone and no one to look after things we and James have only twenty-seven among us, and if Stella's to have all twenty-five or so from the estate they can bring this gang of strangers in and run it all however they please. Why else would she and that husband of hers have come out here turning things upside down, hounding Edward to kingdom come. He's just afraid that if Edward claims half they'll end up with something like thirty-five shares, we'd have almost forty with Edward's half and keep things in the family as Thomas intended.

—But Julia I don't think Edward…

—Let's not drag it all up again, I think we'd be wise just to keep our own counsel until we hear what James has to say.

—Well I'm not at all sure that Stella doesn't know more than she tells. The way she questioned us about Nellie's death…

—I'm afraid for one I've never doubted it, those stories about Nellie and James that woman spread right after the fair that summer up in Tannersville, the one with the tip of one finger missing there was only one way she could have learned them. I certainly don't want to see it dragged up again even if it costs us what's rightfully ours, though I must say I can't picture selling to strangers. It would be like selling the telephone stock, if these Crawley and Bro people find someone to buy them.

—Yes I think there was something in the mail from them Julia, I'll get it now when I look at the beans. There's enough of that nice pork butt left for dinner.

—It would be nice to get back what we paid, but heaven knows how likely that is the way the telephone behaves. Do you recall that halfwitted boy who always drove the honey wagon? that rather alarming laugh he had? I hadn't thought of him all these years until I answered it this morning, someone sounding exactly like him who asked me to sing a Campbell's Soup jingle…

—Yes here it is Julia. I don't see a check, they've just sent us some sort of statement.

—It was just over four thousand dollars I think, I seem to recall that figure because…

—This just seems to say you sold, you bought spelled b o t. You sold, one thousand sixty-eight A T and…

—That can't mean shares Anne that's absurd. We sat right here with Edward and counted them out, I think there were a hundred and

seventy some.

—At forty-four, it says it right here Julia and not a word about that mining stock. And then over here where it says you bot, five hundred Quaker Oats at twenty-nine, two hundred Ampex at twenty-two and an eighth, five hundred Diamond Cable at eighteen and a quarter, five hundred Detroit Edison at seventeen and three, Julia? Where are you going…

—It all just sounds like nonsense Anne I don't know where Edward finds these people, bought spelled b o t indeed. I'm just going up to

the landing while it's still light, I want to make certain our trees are still out there. I'm sure I heard something…

—No I heard it too, it's just the branch outside my window. When the wind blows and whenever it rains…

—I think it's starting to rain right now … and streak mounted streak down clapboard and glass from gutters filled and sodden with leaves thrashed down in the dark from what apple limbs remained.

—Anne? was that you at the side door just now?

—At the back door Julia, the side doesn't open. I thought we might pick up some of those nice apples the wind brought down in the storm last night. Did I hear you on the phone just now?

—A lady called yes, asking for Edward. I can't imagine who it might have been.

—Not the one who calls herself Ann?

—Heavens no, this was a lovely contralto. I was certain I'd heard it somewhere before but the voice I was thinking of was Homer, Louise Homer when she did Gluck's Orfeo, she said she'd just called to thank him for something.

—She must be getting along in years, I wasn't even aware he knew her. I thought he might be out this weekend and ordered two nice chickens, they're here on the drainboard.

—I thought the mail might have come.

—Yes I'm bringing it in. This is all that came, perhaps you can make sense of it …

—Well, I never! It's a tax assessment for new sidewalk, three hundred feet of concrete sidewalk…

—I don't think we asked for a sidewalk, Julia.

—We most certainly did not but you know who did, to march to their Wednesday night bingo games, to parade right past our front door Sundays the women like housemaids in cheap new clothes and the little boys they dress like midgets with elastic neckties and fedoras, did you leave something on the stove Anne?

The curtain stirred. —I've never seen such heavy mist, I think the sun is breaking through but I never will get used to it, this feeling of everything out in the open, of everything out there coming in, over where frost killed those acres of flowers now it all just looks blacker than ever…

—I do smell something, I'm going to look.

—I think it's coming from outside, Julia. It's odd how even the faintest smell can suddenly bring the past to life, but we'd just been talking about James hadn't we, that summer up near Tannersville? when they tarred the roads… ?

—These two chickens out here you ordered, they've got one heart and three gizzards between them. It makes one wonder when even a chicken can't, Anne? did I hear you say Edward was coming?

—Julia… ? the sound of a siren rose closer, —Julia? I didn't hear you

…

—I said is Edward coming?

—No… the curtain quivered, —All I see is the sun that makes a haze, and the grass looking wet… and the curtain fell still on the soaking lawns where apples laced in the grass hard as stones snared in seaweed imperiled passage toward the road stretching slick as a breakwater before the burst of the siren toward the highway, swept up the rutted shoulders flowing with rivulets into the flattened weeds forming a pool round the extinct washing machine gone to earth in the sanctuary of Primitive Baptist Church where woodbine renewed its attack on the locusts in the next lot, penetrating to the mangled saplings and torn trunks at the forward edge of the battleline fronting a hill of mud naked but for the protruding legs of a chair and the fluke of a toilet seat pointing on toward Burgoyne Street where the sky opened wide for the siren's shriek that would have flung birds broadcast in the air when there were limbs to fling them from, now merely added a note

of cheer to White Christmas already spilling from the bank, of adventure to the elderly venturing from curbs and indoor hostages to Alaska Our Wilderness Friend alike, even of fugitive relief from hopeless combat.

—Pardon … ? No I didn't hear what you … yes I couldn't hear you a police siren just went by and ahm … oh you did? Yes well of course they probably have more than one ahm … and yes doing a very fine job that is to … I see yes no I'm not calling about your hedge no, no I called once before to … sound like who… ? Yes well that must have been someone else I… no I'm no, no I don't want you to sing the

Campbell's sou… pardon? No well yes of course I didn't mean to dist… I see yes but I'm calling Mist … no no Mister Bast yes is he … Bast yes, b

a … no I'm sorry yes I'm sure you can spell it I didn't mean… Mister Bast yes, is … oh he has? I see yes when do you expect him to … yes well of course he … yes well I'm sure he deserves it of course he … yes no this is a check yes I called to tell him we're putting through a new one for the correct amount, I'm afraid he's been inconvenienced twice now by our … No because yes we wouldn't want the Foundation to ahm, we wouldn't want him to give the Foundation the impression we were withholding funds provided by them for our… yes it's no no not another award no this is in connection with his ahm, his services as composer in … on Mozart's ahm, a very fine job that is to say yes his Mozart presentation created quite ahm, drew quite a response that is

to say from ahm, from other senior citizens that is to say regarding his ahm, regarding him yes as our ahm, our Peter Pan of… Pan yes, Peter he … pardon? Maude yes no I'm afraid I don't know a Maude Adams of course our present enrollment is … that's very interesting yes, I… Yes I see but… it is yes but I'm afraid I have someone at the door I… very fine job I'm sure yes well goodbye, thank… Goodbye yes I'm sure they do excuse me, come in … ? Yes well no I assure you I have a good many other things to do here I'm…

—I'm sorry I didn't mean to inter…

—No no sit down Mrs Joubert I'm… pardon? Hello? yes goodbye thank… good yes, bye…

—I don't want to interrupt you Mister Whiteback, I …

—Yes no it's a great pleasure to see your ahm, to see you that is to say looking ahm, to see you back looking of course you always look quite ahm, feeling as well as you look that is to …

—I'm quite well thank you I'm just still a little tired, I'm sorry I had to be out but…

—Yes well no sit down we all have our ahm, Mister Gibbs conducted your class that is to say doing a, did a very fine job of course he ahm, some of his…

—I'm sure he did yes I must thank him, I just stopped in now about this eighth grade field trip tomorrow. If it's…

—Saturday yes well of course there seem to have been some scheduling difficulties involving the transportation since your basketball game takes place on a Saturday and this trip to the ahm, the schedule's right here somewhere a museum I think it was yes the date was set for a Wednesday but apparently Mrs diahm, someone looked at last month's calendar and the ahm, this month Wednesday falls on a Saturday that is to …

—No that's perfectly all right Mister Whiteback I don't mind the Saturday, all I wanted to ask you see I'm going into town now, and I hoped rather than coming back out I might simply…

—Yes well no that should ahm, now? No no I don't think they can ahm, here's the schedule yes they can't ahm…

—No I meant if I might simply meet them somewhere in town tomorrow, when they get into town? Unless the problem of taking them in on the train is a …

—Yes well of course they're not taking the ahm, they're taking buses that is to say the last time we used the train there seems to have been one less youngster coming back out than ahm, yes well that was your trip wasn't it you don't happen to remember the number of youngsters that ahm, of tickets that is to …