Writing on the Wall

by Christopher Cleary

  “His drinking became noticeably worse and finding another job became a hopeless endeavor. He went through the motions, but it wasn’t happening. ‘Go find a job,’ my mom would nag. Those words… ‘Go find a job.’ Like that would solve all the Betts’s problems.

  “One Saturday, we got fast food for dinner, just me and him. He hadn’t eaten all day so I thought he’d order one of everything. All he got was one small chocolate milkshake. That was it.

  “On the way back, he says, ‘I’m sorry I let you down.’ And his eyes got all puffy. I remember thinking, what’s up? I didn’t even know that he had let me down. How? You know? Why? What’s he talking about? Are we broke? Do we have to sell the house? I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand, but I should have told him that I didn’t feel let down at all. There were a few cutbacks we had to make, but him not having a job really didn’t affect me.

  “The next day, the school counselor pulled me out of class. She said that my mom was on her way to pick me up. When I asked her why, she told me about a car, a garage, carbon monoxide, and my dad. That’s when I felt let down. It was the biggest letdown you can feel. And it’s one that doesn’t go away.”

  Although it was Donnie who had done all the talking, Megan was the one who felt breathless.

  She looked around Unit #143 and saw the decorations and effort that Donnie had put into making her sixteenth birthday special. She spied a few gifts wrapped in shiny paper poking through his backpack. She placed a hand on her forehead. The words dripped from her mouth, “I am a total ass. I shouldn’t have been so mad about it. You should have smacked me across the face.” The thought never entered his mind. “It was hard for me to find out that you’ve been carrying this with you. To suddenly know that you’ve been alone with that when we spend so much time together. When we know so much about each other.” She took a breath. “But, you’re right. I didn’t have to know.” She took Donnie’s hand and interlocked fingers with him, “Isn’t it nice that I do, though?”

  His head made a nearly imperceptible nod.

  Their breathing was in sync. Their inhalations and exhalations worked together.

  “You feel it, don’t you?” she whispered.

  “I do.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. Do you?”

  She shook her head, causing her hair to drift in the air for a second before landing on her shoulders.

  Megan wrapped her arms around him. It was the first time Donnie had been embraced since the funeral and he soaked it up. Megan unsuccessfully fought back tears.

  “I’m sorry about your dad,” she told him.

  If her ear wasn’t only a few inches away, she wouldn’t have heard him say, “Happy birthday.”

  ELEVEN

  Donnie watched out the front window of his house for Sada’s SUV to pull into Megan’s driveway. His mother was upstairs, getting ready for work. She worked four twelve-hour night shifts a week at a car manufacturing plant. It wasn’t her ideal job, but she had to take it after his father’s death in order to make ends meet.

  He sat with his stocking feet on the couch and a book settled on his legs. His shoes and coat were nearby. Like a Revolutionary War minuteman, Donnie was ready to go at a moment’s notice.

  His mother entered the room, hair half done, makeup half applied. She was shorter than her only child. “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “To the mall.”

  “With the girl across the street?”

  “Megan. Yes. Sada from school is picking us up.”

  “I’ll be at work when you get home.” She abbreviated the three words “did you eat” into one by asking, “Jeet?”

  “No.”

  She walked to the kitchen for her battered brown leather purse. “I’ll give you five dollars for something at that food court. Tomorrow morning you can have cereal for breakfast. What time are you going to work?”

  “Noon.”

  “I’ll be here to take you. If I’m sleeping, wake me up. It’s too cold to ride your bike.”

  “If I wake you up to take me, can I drive?”

  His request was met with a gaze of disapproval. She handed him a five-dollar bill.

  “Please, Mom,” Donnie said without whining. “I want to get my driver’s license.”

  Her son turned sixteen five months ago. She knew that she couldn’t keep him off the roadways forever, but it seemed too soon.

  Donnie pleaded his case by mentioning the attributes of having a driver’s license. “I’ll be able to run to the store when we need something. You wouldn’t have to drop me off and pick me up if I go to the movies or something like that. I don’t want to drive to school. I like walking. For most everything else, I ride my bike...”

  “We only have the one car, Donnie,” his mother interrupted.

  “I just don’t want to be trapped.”

  “What do you mean ‘trapped’?”

  “Like this,” he said, pointing across the street. “If I want to go to the mall, I have to wait for someone else to go. I want to be able to leave the house and go places if I want to.”

  “Oh, Donnie…”

  “I have to start driving sometime.”

  “You’re not ready.”

  “Mom,” Donnie took his eyes from his mother and put them on his book, “I think it’s you who’s not ready. And that’s not fair.”

  She exhaled in defeat. Her son had always been independent, even before her husband’s death. He was a good, responsible kid that she couldn’t keep from growing up any longer. “OK. I promise to take you driving more often. We’ll get your license. But don’t expect the car anytime you want it.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “And you have to promise me, promise, that you’ll be careful every second that you are behind the wheel.”

  “Promise.”

  Sada’s silver SUV pulled into Megan’s driveway. The horn sounded. Donnie slipped on his shoes and shoved his arms through his coat sleeves. “Gotta go.” They didn’t hug or kiss good-bye, but before he left the house, he turned and said, “Thanks, mom.”

  Donnie and Megan piled in. Sada put the car in reverse but a tapping on the rear window kept her from lifting her foot off the break. Megan’s mom was looking in at Donnie.

  “Should I just go?” Sada asked Megan.

  “I wish.”

  Donnie powered down the window to see what she wanted.

  “Hi, Donnie.” Her voice was full of cheer.

  “Hey, Mrs. Priddy.”

  “What’s your mother’s name?”

  “Betty.”

  “Is she busy tonight, do you know?”

  “Yeah, she’s going to work soon.”

  “Oh shoot! I was hoping that we could get together for a drink. Maybe another time?” She looked toward the front seat. “You kids have fun tonight. Not too late, Megan.”

  “All right, mom,” she said. Her words confirmed that she wouldn’t be late, but her tone carried a slight annoyance that let her mother know that she was delaying their departure.

  Donnie closed his window and they pulled out of the driveway.

  “Your mom is a chipper one,” Sada said.

  “Yeah.” But she didn’t mean it. Megan knew that it wouldn’t last. After she was inside, alone with the door closed, her smile and energy would dissipate until either her daughter or spouse returned home.

  Fifteen minutes later, Sada was parking the car at the Crosswynds Mall. They roamed around, checking out the latest fashions, music, and other mall goers.

  While Megan and Sada investigated a sale on shoes, Donnie walked across the way to a musical instrument store. He wondered what Megan would think if he got a drum kit for the storage unit. He decided on a tambourine instead.

  While they ate at the food court, Sada said, “You need a hat, Donnie B.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “A baseball hat would be a solid investment for you.”

  Megan tried picturing him in o
ne. “Yeah, you might want try it out.”

  “I have a hat,” he said.

  “Your ski mask?” Megan asked. “A baseball hat might be better for the days you’re not on your bike.”

  “I totally dig that you’re the only kid in school who dons a ski mask,” Sada added, “but in another month it’s going to be too hot.”

  He was fond of his ski mask. It kept his head and his face warm. Still, Megan and Sada seemed somewhat determined to find a baseball hat for him. So after they finished their meals, they walked to tHAT’s tHAT.

  The store was the size of a walk-in closet, but it was all hats. From floor to ceiling, hats were everywhere. The only areas not covered by hats were two small mirrors in the center of each wall on either side.

  Donnie tried on a random hat and looked at himself in the mirror. The girls were right. It was a fashionable look for him. He noticed them in the mirror. They were each peeking over a shoulder at his reflection.

  Megan was standing on her toes and couldn’t see well. She instructed him to turn around. The girls took a few steps back and when he turned around, grins of accomplishment spread across their faces.

  “Definitely,” was Sada’s one word of approval.

  “Boffo,” was Megan’s.

  “Really?” Donnie thought so too, but he wanted to make sure that they weren’t putting him on. He looked at Megan, “A baseball hat?”

  She nodded. She wanted to say more but refrained. She was embarrassed to tell him in front of Sada that the little ringlets of black hair escaping from the sides and back were very appealing.

  He removed the hat from his head and put it back on the rack. “OK, yeah. Help me pick out a cool one.”

  “What about that one with a pirate on it,” Sada said, pointing to the wall.

  “A pirate?” Megan said. “I wonder what that’s about?”

  Donnie had to reach high for the goldenrod colored cap. “It’s the Pittsburgh Pirates.”

  “Who?” the girls said in unison.

  “The Pittsburgh Pirates. The baseball team.”

  Sada shook her head.

  Megan shrugged her shoulders, “Never heard of them.”

  Sada asked a very reasonable question, “What are pirates doing in Pittsburgh?”

  “You think that’s weird?” Donnie said. “There’s Penguins there, too.”

  He was about to try it on when Sada said, “Wait. Gimme,” and swiped it from his hands.

  The black bill of the cap was very flat and stiff. Sada took a minute to cup it in her hands, bending it and curving it. “I have an older brother,” she explained. “You gotta shape the bill.” She handed it back to Donnie.

  Using both hands, he slipped it on over his mop. Something about the hat’s colors made the little bit of black hair that showed shine and his gray eyes pop.

  Sada put her thumb and index finger together in the universal sign for OK.

  Megan adored him in it and she told him so.

  He bought the hat.

  TWELVE

  At 2:30 in the morning, Megan drifted in and out of consciousness to the sound of low volume rock music mixed with static. She rolled over and pulled her blankets tighter. The light sound of guitar, drums, and fuzz continued. Her eyelids lifted halfway. Everything was blurred as her eyes struggled to wake up enough to focus.

  Her clock/radio read 2:32. The music she heard was her alarm. It was time for their planned late-night escapade.

  She had to sneak out and meet Donnie so they could carry their furniture to Unit #143.

  She remembered being at the mall with Donnie and Sada just a few hours earlier. When they left, it had taken Sada longer to open her newly purchased CD and insert it in the vehicle’s player than it had for her to drive across the street to the discount retailer.

  There, Donnie and Megan found a five-piece set for fifty dollars that included a card table and four folding chairs. They didn’t need the extra two chairs, but everything came together in one package. Keeping with the charade that it was a surprise anniversary gift for her parents, Megan was the one who purchased it. She’d even up with Donnie later on.

  Donnie thought the bare incandescent light bulb of the storage unit was too harsh. While they were at the store, he found a small lamp shade that he could affix upside-down to the light. To compensate for the dimmer illumination, he picked up an assortment of candles. He thought that Sada might question his odd purchases, but on the contrary, they seemed reasonable to her.

  When they returned from their shopping spree, Sada backed into Donnie’s driveway. He quickly unloaded the stuff from the back of the SUV and put it in his garage. He didn’t have to worry about hiding it from his mother because they would take it to the storage unit before she came home from work the next morning.

  Megan clicked her alarm off, yawned, and lay quietly for a few moments to make sure that she didn’t hear anyone else roaming about. She maneuvered around in the darkness of her bedroom. Without removing her red flannel PJs, she pulled on a baggy pair of jeans, a bulky sweatshirt, and her purple tassel hat.

  With the stealth of a cat closing in on its prey, Megan crept down the hall and past her parent’s bedroom. She moved as quickly as she could without making sound. The center section of the staircase creaked from excessive use. She avoided it by carefully hugging the right edge of the steps.

  Not counting the windows, there were three ways out of the Priddy’s house: front door, back door, and garage door. The garage door would make a racket, so that escape route was immediately ruled out. She hesitated momentarily at the bottom of the stairs. Without making a conscious decision, her body turned left toward the back door. Before closing it behind her, she double-checked that it remained unlocked.

  She came around the front of her house and headed directly to Donnie’s. Her head swiveled left to right, scanning for any signs of life. She skittered across the empty street and onto Donnie’s driveway. The night was calm and so was she until…

  “Pssst!”

  The sound was like an electric shock causing her to leap high enough to dunk a basketball.

  “Over here,” said a male’s voice.

  She looked toward the shadow between the two houses. Donnie stepped out so she could see him and then resumed his spot in the darkness.

  Megan walked over and slapped him on the chest. “You scared me!” she said in a forceful whisper.

  “How? You knew you were meeting me.”

  “But I didn’t see you.”

  “Sorry.”

  It was on the chilly side and Donnie traded in his new Pirates cap for the ski mask.

  Megan noticed the large square box leaning against the side of the garage. “Boy,” she said, “that’s really big. How are we going to get it there?”

  “Carry it.”

  She tilted her head back, looked at the night sky, and then lowered it back down to face him. “I know we’re going to carry it, Donnie. How are we going to get there without anyone seeing us?”

  “It’s like three o’clock in the morning. Who’s going to see us?”

  “Insomniacs.”

  “We’ll keep off Memory Lane as much as we can and we’ll move as fast as we can.”

  “We’re going to get caught,” Megan said hopelessly.

  “By who?”

  “The police? Isn’t there a curfew?”

  Donnie shrugged, “Probably.”

  Megan shrugged her shoulders and mimicked his lazy cadence, “Probably.”

  “I’ll take the front. You get the back. I’ll lead. Come on.”

  With the winter moon lighting their way, they headed off down the vacant side streets. This route was longer than taking the main street, but it was safer because of the minimal amount of traffic.

  Halfway there, Megan said, “This is getting heavy.”

  “I’m sure that it weighs the same as when we left.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Then, a few houses down and on the opposit
e side of the street, a garage door began to creak open and light spilled on to the driveway. While Donnie was trying to figure out where those people were going at three o’clock in the morning, Megan said, “Lay it flat on the sidewalk. Quick!”

  As soon they had it down, both of them darted off to the first hiding spot they saw. Donnie went left into someone’s front yard and hid behind a bush. Megan dashed into the nearby shallow woods of one of the few undeveloped lots.

  They watched as the old car with chrome bumpers slowly backed out of the driveway. Their hope was that it would drive in the opposite direction. It didn’t. A moment later, its headlights brightened the road directly ahead of Donnie. He held his breath as the vehicle approached. Even though they had laid the box flat, it still rose a good six inches off the ground. Donnie tried convincing himself that the people in the car would either be focused on the road and not see the box or see it and not be interested in it.

  Although there was no sound reason behind it, his brain wanted to believe that the people in the car left their home with the sole purpose of spoiling their plans.

  The car sped past without the slightest bit of hesitation and the crisis was over. Relief came, his breath returned, and his tense muscles relaxed.

  After the car rounded the corner at the stop sign, Donnie reappeared and waited for Megan to come out of her hiding spot. Five seconds without seeing her was long enough to make him go looking.

  He walked along the edge of the street near the woods, whispering her name. Finally, he heard, “Over here.”

  It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the woods, but he found Megan. From her waist down, she dangled over an edge. The upper portion of her body clung to the ground.

  “Donnie. Help.” Despite the slight panic that she felt, her voice remained calm.

  Donnie knew where she was. Other than getting wet, there wasn’t any real danger if she fell. The trees blocked the moonlight making it difficult to see, but he knew that it was only a five-foot drop. The downside was that she would land in the outlet of a drainage pipe that traveled underneath the road. She would be soaked from the knees down with some very cold water. They would have to abandon the box and abort their mission.