Misunderstood

by Jay Sherfey

  Frank watched her go; then returned to his article and coffee. Something had changed and maybe it was Jason, but he didn’t care. He liked what he found in himself. Lydia would have to get with the program or go. It made him sad to think that she would probably go. They had pulled through some tough times together over the years, but things were different now.

  “Money’s not everything, damn it,” he said to no one in particular.

  Chapter 26

  The metal plate cover shot across the hall in an upward trajectory like a flying saucer escaping earth’s gravity. It crashed into the wall and clanged its way to a landing on the tiled hallway floor. Seconds before launch the nurse’s aide flew out of the room, running for her life.

  “Well,” said the charge nurse behind the chest high, floor desk. She set aside the chart where she had updated the day’s dispensed medications and looked over the tops of her reading glasses. “I guess Edna did not like her lunch again.”

  “No. She didn’t.” The young aide with her hand on her chest took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

  The two looked up when the white ceramic plate followed the cover hitting the wall food side first. It stuck a moment; then slid down the wall. A trail of red sauce mixed with lines of broken pasta like bleeding white worms trailed the plate to the floor. Wednesday was pasta day at the hospital. A whiff of cheap tomato sauce like tomato soup wafted down the hall.

  “Just a bad Edna day.” The nurse picked up another chart. I wouldn’t eat that stuff either, she thought. She looked at the stressed young woman and said, “Take a break, honey. Let her calm down. You know the drill.”

  The aide nodded and left the floor, using the stairs to go to the cafeteria. When she was gone the charge nurse let her glasses dangle from the chain around her neck, left the nurse’s station, and steeled herself. She found Edna in her wheelchair. She sipped a cup of orange juice.

  “Edna, what are we going to do with you? You got to stop throwing stuff at our aides.” The nurse entered the room and sat on the edge of the chair next to the elderly woman.

  The three other beds in the room lay empty. Their occupants were kept busy in the day room. The staff worked hard to get Edna’s roommates up and out early. After the cantankerous, old woman fell asleep, her roommates went to bed. It was easier that way. A battle avoided made for a better day.

  “Give me some decent food. I won’t have to chuck it.” Edna looked her over. She hated the white uniform, the white stockings, and the dinky white hat they all wore. Edna drank more juice.

  The nurse realized her most difficult charge was every bit as angry and put out, as she was when her son visited. If anything his visits did more to unsettle her than make things better. She made a mental note to discuss this with Mr. Dubois. Maybe he should not visit as often. She put it out of her mind to deal with the matter at hand.

  “Well, let’s not forget what Doctor Watts said about getting too excited and your blood pressure. It’s high enough to cause trouble. You need to calm down.” Edna waved her off. The charge nurse stared at the wrinkled woman in the wheel chair. She shook her head frustrated. She never thought any patient was a lost cause, but this one proved her wrong. She stood and left the room.

  Twenty minutes later the aide returned. She checked in with the nurse at the front desk.

  “Quiet as a mouse,” she said. “Not a word or projectile since you left. She probably fell asleep.” She smiled and nodded in the direction of Edna’s room. “Go check.”

  When the aide entered the room she stopped short. Edna lay on the floor surrounded by scattered photographs, pulled out of a bottom dresser drawer. She shook with sobs. Tears poured down, dripping onto the floor.

  “Edna?” asked the aide almost in a whisper, shocked.

  “What have I done?” the old woman moaned. “None of them have come to visit.” She picked up some pictures and held them out to the aide who made no move toward the stricken woman; then tossed them away. She pointed to others, an array of photos with her and children smiling. “They don’t come. They don’t care.” She cried. “I shoulda done better. I shoulda been better.” Her chest heaved. “Get my Franky!” She started to crawl to the aide frozen at the door. “Did ya hear me! Get my Franky now! He’s the only one who cares.” She cried and whined like a four year old. “Get me my Franky!”

  * * *

  Wednesday afternoon, the same day that spaghetti slithered down the walls at the state hospital, Frank took off like a rocket for Kearny. Jason watched from the side of the house as Frank dashed across the front yard. The car burned rubber as it pulled away from the curb; it shot down the street. Jason returned to the shed satisfied. He was ready. With borrowed mental energy from Suzy and Russ who felt fatigued afterward, Jason with pinpoint accuracy opened one targeted mind fifty miles away. Doors long closed in Frank’s mother’s mind swung wide, and like an over-full closet the wreckage of the past tumbled into her frontal lobes. Awareness overwhelmed her denial of long imprisoned truths.

  A short time after he made the changes, Jason sat in the tool shed with his friends and waited. Just after Edna struggled from her wheelchair onto the floor, squirmed across the floor to the dresser, and scattered the pictures from the bottom drawer, Jason heard the phone ring in the house. Frank’s mother demanded, cried, and shouted, that her son must come to her. Ten minutes later Frank revved up the Valiant and sped down the highway, pushing the speed limit. He headed toward a dream come true.

  “I guess this is it.” Jason looked at Russ and Suzy as he entered the shed after Frank took off for the hospital. “We need to pull everyone together and do this thing.”

  “Jason, what exactly are you going to do?” asked Suzy. She sat at the bench as her head rested on her outstretched arm. She looked up at Jason.

  “Yeah, I was kinda wondering myself.” Russ sat on the stool next to her; he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

  “I want to try and be a normal kid for awhile.” Jason plopped onto his usual stool mildly amused by their lethargy. “So, I need folks to know me as just a regular kid. Some will know a bit more, like Chang and Mr. Downing. Only you two will know everything about what has happened.”

  “Yeah?” said Russ. “The only problem with that is you’re not a normal kid.”

  “I will stop using my abilities Russ and be normal.” Jason longed to fit in and be safe. He stared out of the shed door. Small birds, wrens he thought, congregated around the garbage cans at the side of the house. They chirped loudly and flapped their wings. They fought over half eaten pieces of bread lying on the ground. “Besides I need to hide out from the bad guys. Ya know?” Fight to survive, he thought. He watched the crusts get pounded apart and the crumbs devoured by the stronger birds.

  “Oh, right.” Russ yawned again. “I forgot. You’re in hiding.” He waved his arm to signal that nothing more need be said. “Got it.”

  “What about Frank and Lydia?” Suzy closed her eyes unable to fight the desire to drift off to sleep.

  “Yes, there are a few persons who will need custom work, special treatment. If I do things right, I’ll be a dumb, likeable kid just like Russ.” Jason smiled. Russ came erect.

  “Hey! Wait a minute!” yelled Russ, who stretched, and looked irritated. Suzy raised her head, eyes wide, startled awake by Russ’s loud complaint.

  “Just kidding, man.” Jason winked at Suzy who looked at Russ fondly. “You’re one of a kind.”

  “When and where?” asked Suzy. Her head floated back down onto her arm. She smiled dreamily.

  “I need to get those who know the most gathered at the sanctuary by the big oak tree where Chiang and I meditate. I will set it up.” Jason ran down the list of names silently; he used his fingers to keep tally. “With you and Russ that makes six in all. I will plant the suggestions for everyone to come together on Saturday afternoon at three o’clock.”

  “Zero-hour,” muttered Russ who abandoned his stool unable to resist the siren call of the old cot. He cli
mbed onto the mattress and snored softly a few minutes later.

  “How are you holding up?” Jason asked Suzy. He gazed down on his sleeping friend.

  “Tired some but keeping up.” Suzy felt physically weak from Jason’s use but mentally energized in his presence. “I will take a nap later.”

  “So, now we come down to it.” Jason felt ready and excited to leave his current life as far behind as possible.

  * * *

  Sunday morning Frank stood on the front porch and leaned on the railing. His mother died, quietly in her sleep, late Saturday night. After hanging up the phone, he stumbled out of the front door. The walls closed in on him. He couldn’t breathe inside the house. He paced the front yard, threw his arms to the sky imploring, and prayed. He kept moving and muttered to himself. He screamed at the injustice of it all until he calmed. He wound up on the porch confused, not knowing what he should do or feel.

  The last four days with his mother had been a marvel. She begged his forgiveness. They talked for hours about what happened; why it happened. Everything he believed he would have to claw out of her, she gave willingly. What he needed in the moment to get on with things in his life, she provided without cost. If the nurses had not insisted that he leave, he would have stayed all night every night to be with her. Frank needed time to work things out in his head for both of them. Fate decided four days was enough.

  Frank stared out over the street. He did not react when he heard the front door creak on its hinges.

  “So, the old hag is dead?” Lydia in usual stance, hands on hips, looked at Frank. He turned slowly to face her.

  “Yes. Edna is dead.” Frank waited for the venom to pour out of her mouth.

  “She never cared very much for me or you either for that matter. Why all the fuss?” Her mouth twitched. She sensed his vulnerability. A laugh would have escaped, but for her self-control. Pleasure in other’s pain wrapped around her psyche like a welcoming embrace.

  “Yes,” said Frank. “She detested both of us for a long time. But…”

  “Damn right she did. That old…” Lydia stopped. Something was not right. “What’s goin’ on?” she said slowly.

  “She changed.” Frank straightened up and faced her. “She begged me to forgive her for being such an un-caring…”

  “Bit..?”

  “Shut up, Lydia!” Frank fumed at her. He would not back down. “Mother, I was going to say.”

  This was different. Lydia saw it coming but refused to believe that Frank would ever find the backbone. He did and refused to bow to her demands. She tried another tack; she could break him.

  “I’m starting to feel like my old self.” She sought Frank’s weaknesses. “My headaches are going away it seems.”

  “Good.” Frank did not like seeing her in pain but liked being in charge, as she retreated to her bed. “You can help out more.”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of getting back to the money.” She studied him carefully.

  “The money,” he scoffed and shook his head. Frank recognized her pose, like a statue, she had not moved an inch since she started her rant. This was so familiar. “The money is fine. The principal grows. It’s the kids that need some help.”

  “The kids?” she snorted derisively. “Since when…”

  “Since now! Haven’t we had this conversation before?” Frank sensed a repeating pattern. He could not recall. There was something, but his memory failed him. Her discounting the children was not right. Doing right struck him as important.

  “You’re nuts,” fired Lydia. “The kids have always been a means to an end. What are you…getting all high and mighty?” Her voice rose an octave. “Remember who got us this far.”

  “Yeah. I know how we got here.” Frank returned his attention to the street. A car drove by slowly. Probably heading to church, he thought. “Stay or go. Things have to change around here.” He stood his ground; his legs felt weak. His body sagged an inch as his knees bent. Frank suddenly realized how bone weary the last few days had left him.

  “Wait a minute!” Lydia sensed his unfamiliar assurance. Frank failed to fall into line behind whatever she wanted. What has been going on, she asked herself? “You’ve changed.” She wanted to tear him down watch him wilt before her. “So all of this happened, you, your mother…what? All of a sudden, out of nowhere?”

  Frank stopped ignoring her and faced her. He wanted to smack the smug look off her face.

  “Ya know what I think?” asked Lydia.

  “No. What do you think?” asked Frank sarcastically.

  “The boy had something to do with this.” She felt absolutely sure.

  “Jason, you mean.” Frank glared at her intently. “Just give it up. If it’s anything, it’s coincidence.”

  “You are such a …”

  “Yeah, I am and you’re stuck with me unless you have plans to take off?” Frank turned away from her. “You ready to make a decision right here, right now?”

  Instead of going for the juggler, Lydia left the porch silently without a word. This last desire to hurt and control triggered a massive headache. She slunk away to find darkness and quiet.

  Frank remained on the porch, out of the suffocating house. Something had changed. Something he could not comprehend. His thoughts returned to his mother. The tears started down his cheeks; this surprised him. This time he did not stifle them. He wept for the joy of the last four days and the sorrow. There would be no more.

  Chapter 27

  At three sharp on the day Frank’s mother passed, Jason surveyed the people who genuinely cared about him. They sat in a circle beneath the old oak tree in the sanctuary. He could not have wished for a more beautiful day or a better cadre of friends. Suzy and Russ sat next to him to his right and left respectively. Kyle Downing took a position next to Suzy. He found it difficult to get into a comfortable sitting position on the ground.

  “You have to give us old folks a minute.” He chuckled and finally managed after much grunting to get his legs crossed in front of him. Next to Mr. Downing sat Mary Deloro perched on the bright blue blanket, she brought with her. Louise sat on a green blanket next to Mary. Like her sister she wore beige cotton pants, a white blouse, and a big floppy hat.

  “Speak for yourself,” responded Louise who easily found the correct meditation position, legs crossed, her back straight. The circle finished with Chiang in his usual black attire ready to begin.

  “I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you agreed to allow me to use you as I will,” began Jason. They all nodded and smiled at him. “You will not feel much of anything.” You will, however, hear me as you are now to get started. His last words registered in their minds.

  “Oh my,” said both ladies with a sudden intake of breath.

  “I’ll be damned,” came from Mr. Downing.

  Chiang and Suzy showed no reaction.

  “Cool.” Russ exhaled.

  Please close your eyes, relax, and try to clear your minds. It will be quiet for a time.

  They tried to calm themselves without much success except for Suzy and Chiang. The forest around whispered the comings and goings of life. The birds called among the trees. Chipmunks dashed from cover to cover amid the ferns. The wind gently jostled the leaves overhead. A limb creaked.

  Jason helped where needed to push his circle into a meditative state. Once done, he did not wait; he took over his friends’ minds. They would remember nothing of his activities inside their heads.

  The first stage was the easiest. Like sending out the urge to use the bathroom, Jason constructed the memory modifications. He extracted the energy from the circle of minds. The power increased exponentially. Like the metal casing around a bomb is unable to hold the blast once triggered, Jason reached his limit to hold it back and let it go. The force of it affected every human being for miles around.

  Jason relaxed. He took a moment to recoup. The weariness came upon him suddenly. He opened his eyes, stood up, took a step, and stumbled. Thr
owing out his left arm, he steadied himself against the tree trunk.

  “Stupid.” Passing out was not something he could afford. “I should have prepared for this,” he whispered. He walked around the great oak and stretched, fighting the mind numbing fatigue. At least his cohorts sat oblivious to what had happened. He yawned and returned to his position in the circle. Stage two began.

  Jason jumped from one mind to the next, starting with Mr. Downing; certain memories evaporated. In each case, he found himself in a large room full of filing cabinets. He wore a white coat and carried a clipboard.

  “Ah, yes.” Jason scanned the list on the sheet; he placed a check in the small box beside every needed change. As the pencil flicked in the box, the change took place. Jason also pulled files from several cabinets identified ahead of time when Jason placed the suggestion to meet at the bird sanctuary. The library ladies, Mr. Downing, and Chiang no longer knew of his abilities. From now on they would recognize him as a bright young man with a good mind for learning. Jason also tagged one sheet with a special instruction and placed it into Kyle Downing’s file. His work within his immediate circle was complete. He placed them all into a deep sleep except for Suzy and Russ. He would need them for his final effort.

  Jason’s radar thoughts reached out and found Lydia Dubois’ mind easily. She hid her head under a pillow; all light blocked in a desperate search for relief from another migraine. She slipped into a deep sleep at Jason’s insistence. He worked her files and added a few new suggestions. He jumped out of her filing area when done into a bleak landscape where Lydia willfully sought other’s destruction for her gain or pleasure. Here the vestiges of the force fields and triggers he put in place glowed. Jason stopped her worst behavior. It was evident that she fought her way into these tracts anyway. The explosive aftermath, huge holes in the landscape, lay all about. No wonder she spent so much time in bed debilitated by the headaches, he thought. Jason removed the force fields over most of the area, but not all. She would be her old self, almost. Finished with Lydia, Jason sped off to settle things with Frank.