Presidential Shadows

by Michael Cantwell

Football and parades dominate most homes on New Year’s Day. Our house was no different. College bowl games were on right after Mom watched the parades. Her favorite was the Mummers Parade from Philadelphia then the Rose Bowl Parade.

  Somewhere during the afternoon, Dad would pull the boxes up from the basement and we would all help take the ornaments off the tree. Grandpa wasn’t allowed to help. One year he broke two of Mom’s antique ornaments. She told him to sit and watch the last couple of years. He never looked sad sitting on the sofa watching football while we worked.

  When all the trimmings were removed and Dad was about to take the tree to the curb, Star spoke up. “We should all take a moment and thank this tree for giving its life for our enjoyment. Mother nature cares for us in many ways.”

  I had never considered the tree was going to die. The tree was something taken the curb then forgotten about until we shopped for a fresh tree the following year.

  “That’s fine, Star. Say a word or two, but I’m getting pine needles all over me. Be quick about it,” Dad said.

  I bowed my head as Star thanked the universe for all it offers. Dad dragged the tree to the trash. Time to sit and watch some football. A knock on the door. No one budged. I went to answer it. Wendy and her pink bike with a new purple horn were both on the front porch.

  “Do you want to ride bikes, Alex?”

  “It’s too cold out, Wendy. Everyone is watching football. We can ride bikes another day.”

  Wendy lowered her bottom lip and looked at the ground.

  “I like football,” she said. “My favorite team is the Miami Dolphins.”

  “‘Since when? Besides, the Dolphins are a professional team. All the games on today are college teams.”

  “Well, I still like the Dolphins,” she said. “You’re right, it’s cold out here. I should be in a nice warm house watching football.”

  “I’m sure your Dad has the games on at your house, Wendy.”

  “Stop making the young lady stand on the front porch, Alex”, Mom said from across the room. “Invite her in and close the door. Our heating bills are high enough already.”

  Wendy snickered. She leaned her bike against the house and practically knocked me down entering our house. I was miffed she weaseled her way in on one of the best football days of the year. Then I remembered something that President Grant told me.

  “We must respect others even as we respect ourselves.”

  “Offer to take her coat,” Mom said. “We do have manners in our home.”

  I took her coat and hung it on the coat rack near the door. Wendy stood there staring at me. It was painful. She would not stop staring.

  “Come over here and sit, dear,” Mom said. “Alex, offer our guest something to drink.

  She requested some juice. I could hear Mom introducing Wendy to everyone while I was in the kitchen getting her a glass of Hawaiian Punch. Wendy parked herself in my seat, dead center to the television on the sofa. I put the glass on the table in front of the sofa. I had no place to sit.

  “You make a better door than you do a window, Alex,” Dad said. “We’re trying to watch the game. Please move.”

  “Bring a chair from the other room, sweetie,” Mom said.

  Mom was sitting in the cushy chair next to the sofa. Grandpa, Dad, Grandma and now Wendy were on the sofa. Star and Steve were sprawled on a blanket on the floor. I pulled a chair in from the dining room and placed it near the sofa. We were watching the Ohio State versus Georgia Citrus Bowl game.

  “What time do the Dolphins play today?” Wendy asked.

  “They don’t play this weekend. Today are the college bowl games.” Grandpa said. “The Dolphins will play the winner of the Chargers and Chiefs game next weekend.”

  “Oh, too bad. I thought I would come over and watch the Dolphins with Alex. They’re my favorite team,” Wendy said.

  “Yeah, so much your favorite team, you didn’t even know they don’t play this weekend,” I said.

  Mom stood up. “Be nice, Alex. I think it was very nice of Wendy to join us today. She was only trying to be friendly. Would anyone like more veggies and dip? We have plenty more in the kitchen?” Mom started towards the kitchen.

  “You got any real food in the kitchen, Mom?” Steve asked.

  “Knock it off, Stevie, vegetables are good for you and are real food.” Star said. “I might even go full vegetarian once we get back home.”

  “I agree with you, Miss Stargazer,” Wendy said. “Boys are so stupid sometimes. Vegetables are so good for you. My new favorite food is purple eggplant.”

  “When did you ever eat purple eggplant?” I asked.

  “I never have, but my mom is going to make it for me next week. Why are you being so mean to me, Alex? Do you think just because you gave Erin Cleary one stupid kiss last night you can be mean to me now?”

  “Hold the phone,” my brother said. “Is that true, squirt? You kissed the little Cleary girl?”

  “Leave him alone, Stevie,” Star said. “Who he kisses is none of our business.”

  Mom raised her voice slightly. “Oh, it is our business. Alex knows he’s forbidden to kiss anyone for several years. If I have my way, he will have completed his Master’s Degree and have his own home before he gets serious with anyone.”

  “Relax, Maureen,” Grandpa said. “This is the nineties.”

  I sat there listening to everyone talk as if I weren’t even in the room. They kept going back and forth until I let it out. “I didn’t kiss anyone. Erin kissed me for like half a second right after Dick Clark yelled Happy New Year. They showed a million people kissing on the television. I bet you kissed Dad, Mom. I bet you kissed Grandma, Grandpa. I bet you kissed Star, Steve. So get off my back. All of you.

  “Your grandfather was snoring in his easy chair at midnight, Alex,” Grandma said.

  I picked up my jacket from the coat rack and went outside. After a few minutes, Star joined me on the porch.

  “That was rough, little dude,” she said. “Everyone overreacted. Why don’t you come back inside?”

  “I dunno. Wendy came over here just to mess up my day. Maybe after she leaves I’ll go back inside.”

  Star sighed. She took my hand in hers. “Do you know the real reason why Wendy came over here today?”

  At that point, I didn’t care. I wanted Wendy to leave. I sat thinking about how if Mom had never forced me to go to Wendy’s party, Erin never could have kissed me.

  “She likes you, Alex. My guess is she wouldn’t know the Miami Dolphins from the New York Yankees, or even care. She only came over to see you. I know this is hard for you. You’re still young to the ways of us women. One day you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

  “I don’t wanna understand it. I wanna go inside and watch football with Dad and Grandpa. Like we do every New Year’s Day.”

  “The universe works in strange ways. When the girl kissed you last night, I think Wendy’s world shook. She came over today to the make her world right again.”

  I wanted it all to end. I knew Star was being nice to me. I knew she was trying to explain why the universe moves one way then shakes another, the same way Michael Jordan does on the basketball court. I knew all of that.

  Star smiled and tugged me towards the door. We went back inside.

  “Lunch is on the table,” Mom said. “Wendy, please stay and join us. We have plenty. I’ll call your mother and let her know you are joining us for lunch.”

  “It’s ok, Mrs. Schuler. Maybe I should go home. Alex isn’t happy I came to visit.”

  “Of course he is, dear. He’s just cranky because he didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Yeah, swapping spit takes a lot out of a kid his age,” my brother said right before Star smacked him in the shoulder.

  “Enough, Steven.” Mom said. Alex, tell Wendy you’re happy she came to visit and bring the chair back in from the other room.”

  I looked at Star. She smiled.

  “It’s ok if you stay,
Wendy. But I never kissed Erin and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

  “I know she’s the one who kissed you and not the other way around. I won’t tease you anymore. And Alex, Dan Marino is the quarterback of my favorite team the Dolphins.”

  We all huddled around a small side table filling our plates with sandwiches, cole slaw and potato salad. The football game was at halftime. Dad and Grandpa joined us. After filling our plates, we all sat at the dinner table.

  “Who is taking us to the airport in the morning?” my brother asked.

  “I’ll take you,” Mom said. “Dad has to be at work early.

  “Wait,” I said. “You two are really going back to California? I thought you were staying longer.”

  “I have to get back to work, squirt,” Steve said. “It was hard getting this much time off during the holidays. I thought for sure I would get the boot, but I promised to work extra hours when I got back. Plus, I worked all during Thanksgiving weekend so others could get time off.”

  “What about you, Star? You can stay,” I said.

  Everyone laughed except Wendy. She kicked the front corner leg of my chair.

  “That made my day, Alex, and I thank you. But my place is with your brother.”

  “Yeah, and back off my squeeze, squirt. You got the Cleary girl, don’t cha?”

  Wendy spoke up with an emphatic tone, “No, he does not.”

  I looked at my brother’s squeeze, better known as Stargazer. She looked at me and smiled before glancing at Wendy. Star looked back at me and nodded.

  “Ah don’t worry, squirt. Dad said we could come back and crash when we follow the Grateful Dead cross country in the spring. If Mom and Dad will let ya, me and Star will take ya to the Nassau Coliseum to see the Dead with us. But, ya gotta buy your own ticket. I ain’t made a money ya know.”

  Grandpa chuckled. “You don’t have any money, and don’t forget your promise. I gave you money for your spring trip and some spending money as your graduation gift. However, after this spring, you must find a real job or you’re going to work for my old company. I convinced your mother and father that you would step up after this spring tour thing was done. Do not let me down.”

  “I won’t, Gramps. I know you did me a solid by shooting me some greenbacks and getting Mom and Dad off my back.”

  Grandpa frowned. Grandma patted him on the back. “I don’t know what language they speak on the left coast, but it sure doesn’t sound like English. And you need to thank your Grandmother as well.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Grams. I’ll get someone to tape one of the Dead shows for me from the tour. That way everyone can jam out in the experience.”

  “Great idea, Stevie,” Star said.

  “That won’t be necessary, Steve,” Grandpa said. “If you run across some Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald, then we can talk.”

  The room went quiet for a moment until I spoke. “I think I can earn enough money from helping the neighbors by the spring to pay for a ticket,” I said. “I would rather see New Kids on the Block, but I think the Grateful Dead would be a cool concert.”

  In stereo, I heard from all around the room, except from Steve and Star “No.”

  “Grandpa and I will take you to a Yanks game this summer. How about that instead, Alex?” Dad said. I thought about and the Yankees game would be better than a concert.

  “Why don’t we all go?” Mom said. “Ask your family if they would like to join us, Wendy, or have your mother call me. Steven, you call Bill Rivers and see if Bruce and his family would like to go as well. I think it would be nice to have a large group go to see a Yankee game.”

  “Oh yes, Mrs. Schuler. I think that would be super awesome. I’ll ask my mom and dad tonight,” Wendy said. She kicked the corner of my chair, turned towards to me and smiled. I peeked at Star. She shrugged.

  The rest of the afternoon, the men enjoyed football and more football. Wendy, Star, Mom and Grandma sat in the dining room most of the afternoon talking. I wondered why anyone would sit and talk in another room when there was a perfectly good football game on. Dad and I walked Wendy home during halftime of the Rose Bowl game.

  Later that evening, I fell asleep in the overstuffed chair. I woke up with only Dad watching the Sugar Bowl. He informed me that Grandpa and Grandma left earlier, Mom went to bed and Star and Steve were out visiting some of Steve’s friends. I mustered up enough energy to wash up and go to bed.

  I woke up the next morning with Steve shaking me. “See ya in a few months, squirt. Was good seeing ya.”

  I rubbed my eyes. Yawned. Life came into focus. My brother and Star were really leaving. I kept hoping something would happen and they would stay. I was wrong. I got out of bed and threw on some pants over my pajama bottoms. I flipped on my slippers and headed downstairs.

  Star greeted me with a hug. “I left a note on the dining room table for you,” Star said. “It’s got the address where your brother and I live with Phil number two and some personal thoughts. I’m going to miss you. If something ever gets you down or you need more advice with Wendy, send me a letter. No one has to know.”

  She smiled. I gave her another hug. I took one last whiff of her perfume.

  “Hey, let go of the death grip there, squirt,” Steve said as he came down the steps. “Go hang on the Cleary girl, or the one who was here yesterday. Leave my squeeze alone.”

  “Knock it off, Stevie,” Star said. “You should be happy your brother and I get along so well. We are family. Right?”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Steve said as he brushed by me.

  I released the hug. We walked towards the front door. “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground,” I told Star.

  “Awe, that’s beautiful, Alex. Thank you.”

  “You can thank, Theodore Roosevelt, he said it first.”

  Star giggled. “I’ll remember it always, not matter who said it first.”

  Steve opened the front door and walked out with their suitcases. Mom came out from the kitchen informing me she made waffles. She would be back in a couple of hours barring heavy traffic. Mom told me other things, but I was too sad to listen. It was good to have had my brother home. I would miss him. However, I also knew from that moment forward I would mark the days off the calendar until Star returned. They loaded into the car. Like many visits I had from unexpected strangers, they vanished much too soon.

  I sat in the chair on the porch. I watched as the car pulled out of the driveway and down the road. The January wind was cold. The loss of a new friend was a different cold. I decided to write Star a note to warm me up. I stood up and noticed someone standing on the porch near the front door.

  “Whoever you are; I’m kinda busy right now. I suspect Sam Wilson sent you to offer me a civics lesson. Can it wait for a few days? I’m really not in the mood for any presidential visits.”

  The man crossed his arms. “In fact, Wilson did send me. He never mentioned that you might not want to see me. My lesson will only take a moment.”

  I took a deep breath. I knew the presidents never gave up easily when they wanted to deliver a message. “Five minutes. You have five minutes to tell me who you are and why you are here.”

  The old man muttered something I could not understand. He wiped some snow from the porch railing. “Your attitude young man is why my lesson is so important and why I was never one for friends. My name is Warren Harding. I am the twenty-ninth president of the United States.”

  “Yeah, yeah and you are born in Virginia and owned slaves, blah blah, come on, I need to write a letter.”

  Harding grabbed more snow and made it into a snowball. I thought he was going to throw it at me. “Excuse me young man, however I wasn’t born in Virginia. I served in the Senate representing the great state of Ohio and slavery was abolished long ago.”

  “I apologize. I’m ticked off because my brother and his girlfriend were here for holidays and they left. I guess you came at the wrong time and I took it out on you. Grandpa told me to be ni
ce to every president I meet. I’m cold. Can we go inside? You can talk to me for a few minutes while I eat breakfast.”

  Mr. Harding moved away from the door. I opened it. He followed me inside. I could hear a whistle noise coming from the kitchen. Mom had left on the teapot. We walked into the kitchen and I turned off the burner and moved the teapot. I sat at the kitchen table as Mr. Harding looked at the teapot.

  “I chose the best and brightest minds I could find for my administration,” Warren said. “One of those men was my Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Albert Fall. There is a Senate investigation underway led by Senator Walsh. Mr. Fall is accused of leasing oil reserves designated for the navy to oil companies in Teapot Dome, Wyoming and in California without a competitive bid.”

  “That sucks.”

  Harding frowned. “Sucks? Well, there is scandal in my administration. I have no trouble with my enemies all right. But my friends, they’re the ones who keep me walking the floors at nights.”

  “So your lesson is that I shouldn’t have friends?” I asked.

  Warren walked over and stood next to the almost silent teapot. “I rewarded my gang of friends with positions never obtainable without my rise to the presidency. Now my administration reeks of scandal. In politics especially, be careful how much you do for your friends, others are watching.”

  Warren disappeared as the teapot went silent.

  ~~~*~~~

  Chapter Twenty Two