by Ike Hamill
“Yes, exactly, but it’s all in one piece, and there’s no hair in there. Wait, I didn’t think of that—there’s no hair in it at all. I guess the thing is bald, or it has alopecia or something.”
“What’s alopecia?” Wes asked.
“It’s where you don’t have body hair.”
“So what did you find, exactly?”
“Like I said, I found a skin. It was in the woods up in a maple tree. It was all in one piece with only a couple of holes and it was inside out. It looked exactly like someone had shed it, starting with the head. You remember that snakeskin that Kyle and I found that time?”
“No.”
“It was really, really big. You said it looked like it came from the Amazon?”
“I don’t know, maybe,” Wes said. “I forget more than I remember. When was this?”
“Years ago. We were kids. Anyway, this was like the snakeskin because whatever it was—whoever it was, I guess—started peeling from the head and worked its way all the way down to the toes. But the skin came off in one piece. I think that’s pretty normal though.”
Don handed the big pan to his dad, who began to dry it. When he saw food still sticking to the bottom, he handed it back to Don.
“Normal?”
“For these things. I’ve been reading a lot on the internet.”
“Oh, sure, the source of everything true,” Wes said, smiling again.
“I know, I know, but I’ve been searching all over and putting together facts that I can source from multiple places.”
“Still. They probably source from each other.”
“I know, Dad. I know how to find the truth from a bunch of different web sites. It’s practically all I do in college.”
“Why don’t you get up early and catch your mom after she’s grabbed her coffee? She can probably tell you about this skin.”
“I already talked to her.”
“Oh?” Wes asked. His face darkened with concern.
“Yes, I talked to her—just quickly—when she got home from work. She didn’t believe any of it.”
“Then there’s your answer,” Wes said. “One thing I’ve learned from twenty-four years of marriage—if your mom says it, it’s true. She’s a very smart woman and she hasn’t been wrong about one thing since before I met her.”
“Come on, Dad, seriously. I need some help here.”
“I am serious. If there was something to figure out, your mother would be helping to figure it out. It’s her nature. She’s a problem solver and she’s endlessly devoted to this family. Sometimes it may seem like she’s dismissive, but it’s only because she knows how to best allocate her energy. If you told her about this skin thing and she didn’t get excited, then there’s nothing to get excited about.”
“I don’t know.”
“Listen, Don, I think there’s a strong chance that you’re not addressing the primary issue here.”
“Which is?” Don asked.
“Which is that you need something constructive to do,” Wes said. He hung the pan up from one of the hooks over the stove top. “You’ve got to engage yourself. You’re stuck in neutral, spinning your wheels.”
“I am engaged, Dad,” Don said. “You just aren’t hearing me.”
“Forgive me my conceit, Don,” Wes said. “I’ve been around for awhile, and I’ve grown accustomed to trying to coach you as you find your way. It’s a shock to the system to watch your tiny little baby grow into a man and then go away to college.” Wes put his hand on Don’s elbow. “All that time you were on your own, I was building up all this advice I didn’t get to tell you, so now I’m struggling to not dump it on you all at once. I’ll just leave you with this—don’t let yourself get mired. Take a break from what’s bothering you and you might get enough perspective to see things more clearly.”
Don clamped his jaw and nodded.
“When you’re ready, we’ve got a job waiting for you at my office.”
Don took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Okay?” Wes asked.
Don nodded.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
David
DAVID SAT ALONE DURING the last lecture of his computer class. Throughout the wrap-up, his hand touched the coin he kept in his pants pocket.
Paul was off with his family that day. It was just as well—David’s mom, Melanie, would want to come in before the end so she could meet the instructor. She always did stuff like that. She would meet David’s teachers and make a big deal of thanking them, but it was always after the class was over, and couldn’t do anyone any good. So it was a good thing that Paul wasn’t there. David and Paul were not supposed to be spending time together.
The instructor handed out certificates of completion to all of the students. Most of them were using the class as a prerequisite to get into some real summer class. David and Paul just took it to span the gap between the end of school and the beginning of baseball camp. Their old school let out earlier than most, so there was always a gap.
When the tiny woman with the bowl of black hair came to David, she fanned three papers out on his desk. He had the certificate for both himself and Paul, and another paper that looked less official. It read, “Most Improved Programmer—David Hunter.”
David looked up at the instructor with a question mark wrinkled into his brow.
The instructor smiled, “I didn’t think you were going to be able to keep up with this class, David. For the first week you had your regular school in the mornings and you couldn’t even attend the lectures. I was pleasantly surprised. You’ve mastered this class.”
“Thanks,” David said.
“Not to mention, I think you taught Paul more than I did.”
David looked down at the paper and blushed. He was rescued from the moment by the arrival of his mom. She stood in the doorway and waved. David saw all of his classmates looking at her and slowly making the connection between the forty-ish woman standing in the doorway and the adolescent boy they’d shared a class with.
David didn’t wave back, but Melanie came in anyway.
“Hi, Davey. I’m Melanie Hunter—David’s mom,” she said, putting her hand out to the little instructor woman. David had warned his mom that his instructor didn’t like to be touched, but his mom had forgotten until she saw the instructor put her hands behind her back. Melanie withdrew her hand.
David slipped Paul’s certificate under his own and squared the edges to hide it from his mom.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Hunter. I was just telling David how impressed I was at his work ethic for this class.”
Melanie smiled. “That’s so wonderful to hear. I wanted to thank you for allowing him into your class. I know that you usually teach an older audience, and I understand it must have been extra work to repeat information Davey missed when he was at school in the mornings.”
“Not at all, David taught himself most of the lessons. I barely had to repeat any information. And this class is open to all ages. We don’t restrict,” the instructor said.
“You’re too kind. He talked about your class all the time. I think he learned a tremendous amount,” Melanie said.
“I agree,” the instructor said.
“I’m sorry,” Melanie said. She fidgeted, looking put her hand into a pocket, but her slacks didn’t have any. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“You can call me Sue,” the instructor said.
“Oh, that’s my daughter’s name,” Melanie said with a big smile.
Sue nodded.
“I won’t take up any more of your time,” Melanie said. “I’ll be out in the car, Davey.”
“Okay,” David said.
“Nice to meet you, Sue,” Melanie said. She gave a small wave.
“And you,” Sue said.
Melanie went through the door, looked up the hallway and then turned the other way. She disappeared down the hall.
“Your mom seems nice,” the instructor said.
David nodded.
/> “She didn’t know Paul was in the class?”
“No,” David said.
“I thought maybe that was the case. You guys always left at different times through different doors. Your parents don’t approve of your friendship?” Sue asked. She smiled.
“I’m a bad influence,” David said.
“If it means anything, I don’t think so. I think you’re a great influence on Paul, but there are precious few times that it’s okay to deceive your parents. As soon as you think you can, I think you should be honest with her,” Sue said.
“We’re going to different schools next year, so it doesn’t matter,” David said.
Sue nodded.
“If you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m sure they’ll have counselors at your new school,” she said.
“Thanks,” David said.
# # # #
In the car, Melanie had her seat pushed all the way back so she could work on her laptop. When she glanced up and saw David coming, she hunched over and hurried to complete a task before closing the computer and putting it in the back seat. She wrestled her seat forward as David got into the back.
“That was nice, huh? Good to meet Sue,” Melanie said.
“I think she has a crush on you,” David said.
“David!”
“What?”
Melanie pulled away from the curb and slowed for the stop sign.
“Did you like that class? Is it something you think you’d like to do again?”
“I liked it, but I can’t do it again. There’s only a couple of classes I can get in to and most of them are during the school year. I’ll be learning most of that stuff on my own, I think.”
“I heard there’s a programming camp down in Massachusetts that’s very well regarded. Maybe that’s something you’d be interested in.”
“Yeah, maybe,” David said. He had a real conversation to have with his mother, but he wanted to wait for her to get on a major road. If he tried to have a debate now, she would be inclined to pull over and turn around to look him in the eye. He had better conversations with his mom when she didn’t look him in the eye.
“And what’s next, catcher’s camp?”
“No, just regular baseball camp first, then catcher’s camp. They’re back to back.”
“Oh,” Melanie said. “Which is the one where you need a ride every morning?”
“Catcher’s camp,” he said. This was a good stall. He could distract her with money. “You know, I might have to drop out of catcher’s camp if I get picked to be on the touring squad for baseball camp.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. But we won’t know for another few weeks, so it’s hard to plan. They said you might want to call to see about the deposit for catcher’s camp.”
“Okay,” Melanie said.
David was surprised—he’d expected her to get mad.
She turned to merge onto the highway. David saw his chance to start his real conversation.
His mom beat him to it.
“David, there’s something I need to tell you about,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“I want you to meet a friend of mine, from work. I don’t mean he works with me, I mean that I met him through work. He was a contractor, but now he’s been hired somewhere else so I won’t be working with him again. Anyway, I want you to meet him.”
“Okay,” David said.
“I’ve been seeing him for several months. His name is Robert.”
“When do you see him?”
“Book club,” she said. “I stopped going to book club every week. It was never every week, actually. I saw him instead of going to book club one time and then I told you I had book club the next week instead of saying that I was going to see Robert instead. I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to tell you anything until it started to get more serious.”
“It’s serious?” David asked.
“No, no, not really serious,” Melanie said. “It’s just more serious than it was.”
“Okay,” David said.
“You’re not mad?”
“At what?”
“That I didn’t tell you,” Melanie said. “I’m sorry, I just wasn’t sure how you’d feel.”
“How do you feel?” David asked.
“I’m happy,” she said. She smiled into the rearview mirror. “I like Robert. I’m happy.”
“Then I’m happy.”
“That’s so sweet of you to say,” Melanie said.
David paused for several seconds until it appeared that his mom was about to speak again. He jumped in before she could.
“Mom, I’ve something I need to ask you,” David said. “It’s a favor, actually.”
He dug the coin out of his pocket and gripped it in his hand.
“Of course, Davey, anything.”
David wanted to chart the times his mom called him Davey versus the name he now preferred, David. This wasn’t the time—he needed to ask his question now before he lost his nerve.
“I need you to take me back to Roland and Merritt’s house,” David said.
“No, David. You remember what we talked about. We’re leaving that part of our lives behind. You can do whatever you like when you turn eighteen, but right now it’s my job to keep you safe and I deem that it’s too dangerous to be mixed up with those men. They were good to help us out, but they’re not safe for us. They seem to think that they have some kind of…”
David cut her off.
“Mom—I’m calling in my favor,” he said. David pressed the coin into the side of her arm.
Her eyes found his in the rearview mirror and he was glad she was on the highway. She couldn’t lock him in her stare. She reached over and took the coin from his hand and she glanced down at it before returning her eyes to the road.
“David, you don’t want to spend this on a trip to Roland and Merritt’s,” she said.
“A trip and a conversation,” David said.
“David, no. I don’t think this is right. What could possibly be worth that much?”
She rubbed her thumb over the worn surface of the coin. It was a gesture she’d done thousands of times, but she’d not done it in years. That’s how long it had been since she gave the coin to her son. It was her two-year sobriety coin. It marked the end of the darkest time of her life and the beginning of the most perilous time. She’d nearly killed herself with wine after her husband had died, and then nearly allowed her whole family to be destroyed because she wouldn’t listen to people who were trying to help her. The coin had meant everything to Melanie, so she’d given it to her son with a solemn promise.
“I think it is worth that much,” David said. “I think there’s more danger, and I think we need to stop it now before it grows.”
“Please, David, how could you know that? Is this part of those weird dreams you had? I thought Dr. Tooley was helping you with those.” She glanced over her shoulder as if she wanted a response. She kept talking. “Please tell me those conversations are helping you. If not, we’re dumping a lot of money down the drain.”
“I like talking to Dr. John,” David said. “He helps me make sense of things.”
“Well that’s good at least.”
“But Mom, you’re not listening to me.”
“I am listening. I just happen to disagree.”
“It doesn’t matter,” David said.
“What does that mean?”
“Remember your promise,” he said.
She did remember the promise, she just didn’t want to honor it. It had been made such a long time ago, when things were so much darker. She’d made that promise when her son’s life seemed terribly fragile. Davey had seen it all coming. He’d dreamed about the monster that chased them across the state and killed men who were trying to protect him. David had told her of the danger and she’d waved it away as the irrational fears of a child.
When that whole episode concluded miraculously with the survival of her children, Melanie had made a promise and
sealed it by giving Davey her sobriety coin.
She had pulled her chair close to his hospital bed, handed him the coin and made the promise.
Melanie signaled and took the exit. At the end of the ramp, she pulled to the right into a commuter parking lot. She shut off the engine and looked at her lap while David sat in the back and wondered what would happen next.
Melanie turned and looked David in the eyes.
“You realize this is your only chance to use this?” Melanie asked, holding up the coin.
David nodded.
“Say it out loud,” she said.
“I realize this is my only chance to use the coin.”
“Okay,” Melanie said. “I’ll get in touch with Roland and Merritt tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” David said.
“We’ll see.”
# # # #
Melanie pulled up to where to the two ruts of the driveway opened up to a patch of dirt. She shut off the engine. The setting sun was casting a soft, beautiful light on the rusty trailer. A few feet from her bumper, a green hose was connected to a steel pole that emerged from the ground at a slight angle. The hose ran across the lawn all the way to the side of the trailer where it connected to a pipe coming through a ragged hole. She couldn’t tell if the hose was draining or supplying water, but it looked almost like the hose was a tether, intended to restrain the metal trailer in high winds. Melanie wondered if they had to move the hose every time they mowed, and then covered a grim smile—it didn’t look like anyone had mowed this lot in years. Half of it was simply trampled and the other half overgrown.
“Mom?” David asked from the back seat. “Are we going inside?”
“Get out then. Are your legs broken?”
They followed the dirt path to the door and Melanie looked out into the yard. She saw the spot where the cars had been circled. She saw the spot where her son had killed the monster by infusing it with his own blood. She the spot where her son had died and then come back to life.
“Mom,” David whispered. He poked her side to snap her back to reality.
She knocked on the trailer’s door.
The wide, tall man named Roland opened the door.
He waved them inside. David shook Roland’s hand and the big man nodded to the boy. Melanie stood near the door and clutched her purse to her side. She offered Roland a few fingers to shake.