"My God, I've never seen houses like this, except maybe in pictures. They're beautiful. Do you really live in here?" There was stunned awe in the girl's voice, so much that Andy was suddenly uncomfortable, for the first time self-conscious about the manner in which he had been raised. He had never for one minute thought that there were people in his own town who had never seen houses like he and his friends lived in, the homes they all took for granted. And now he had a girl in his car who seemed enthralled with his neighborhood. It was starting to become a bit disconcerting to him.
"There, that's Rod's house there," he said, slowing the car down as they passed the Littleton's home. It was a lovely washed brick colonial, designed to resemble a New England seaside residence, stately and elegant. The small porch had soft spotlights at the base, aimed skyward to illuminate the entranceway of the home. It was not the biggest house on the street, but its elegance made it stand out from many of the others. The lawn, even in the evening light, looked perfectly cared for, meticulously trimmed waist-high shrubbery led up the drive and around the house toward the back.
"It's beautiful," was all Shauna could gasp out as she stared at the home.
"Yeah, Mr. Littleton doesn't let anyone touch his lawn, does all the work himself. Wouldn't even let Rod mow the yard, he's that picky about it, mows it like a golf course, you know, in triangles. It looks pretty neat in the daytime. He's got about the best looking lawn in the Ravine, and most of the other houses have full time gardeners."
"Are they nice...Rod's parents? He seems pretty nice," she asked.
"The Littletons are the nicest people I've ever known. Mrs. Littleton is sometimes more a mother to me than my own mom. We've always been real close. Rod and I have been best friends since kindergarten. These last three years, ever since Rod's little brother died, the three of us, Mrs. Littleton, Rod, and I have really gotten tight, like we've been leaning on each other. It was really rough but everyone got through the hard part. At least I thought we had. Till Rod started again tonight. But yeah, the Littletons are very cool."
"It's good to have one special friend, isn't it," she said, thinking about Gretta, knowing that the girl would leave Radford at her first opportunity, dreading the day she would have to say good-bye. "You're really fortunate to have had Rod through high school. It sounds like he was lucky to have you, too."
"I don't want to think what high school would have been like without him." They were past the Littleton's, three blocks further down. Andy took a left, and then a quick right, pulled to the curb and pointed. "That's my house."
"It's so big," she blurted out. And it was large, mainly because his mom wouldn't be outdone by anyone else. There were bigger houses in town, but not many and most of them were inhabited by people with the names Turner or Hall. "It's really none of my business, Andy, but what does your father do? Work at Turner?"
"No. He's a plastic surgeon. Pretty good, too, I hear."
"Oh Andy, it's so beautiful. Someday, somehow, Carl Alan and me and Gram are gonna live in something like this. I swear we will." The conviction in her voice more than convinced Andy that she quite probably would. He was impressed with the clear thinking of this girl, and more than a little affected with her beauty.
"Do you want to go in and look around? My parents are still at the club, probably pretty inebriated by now. They won't be home until late." He knew he had said something wrong as soon as he finished, not sure exactly what it had been. The look on the girls face changing from a smile to a frown, then back to a forced smile, more a grimace.
"Andy, I'm going to assume that you were asking me inside to show me your home. Because if I thought for one minute that you were trying to get me inside because you think maybe black girls are easy, or since I have a child I'm a whore, then I might be really upset with you. Or maybe you think it would be really novel to brag to your friends that you got some black stuff. The rich kids would love that story, wouldn't they? But I think you're too nice to ever think something like that. I think, no, I hope you and your friends are way different than that. And it's getting late, so I think it's time you took me home, if you don't mind." Her tone was forceful, angry, the words cutting into Andy's heart like a sharp blade.
"Oh crap, Shauna, I'm sorry, that all came out wrong...believe me, I think you are gorgeous, God, you are, and I'm really attracted to you. I'd be crazy or blind if I wasn't. But, well hell, I'm in too deep now, aren't I? I wasn't trying to get you alone like that, you know, for sex. You don't know how stupid you're making me feel. Uh, see, I haven't ever even been with a girl like...like you think I'm thinking. It's a long story, all about a priest, an abstinence vow, and a well-meaning best friend. So believe me, I'm not much of a threat. I really was just trying to be nice without any kind of an ulterior motive, thought you might want to see my house, simple as that. I promise."
He looked so pitiful that Shauna burst out laughing, feeling foolish for jumping all over him. She grabbed him around the neck and hugged him over to her side of the car, giggling all the while. "I guess I jump to conclusions a little too easily. I'm really sorry. Forgive me?" She was looking up into his eyes, a broad smile on her pretty face.
"Of course. That was really stupid, huh," he said, suddenly bending forward and kissing her lightly on the lips, a sweet, friendly kiss. "Let's go, I do need to get you home and then get back out to the lake. They'll be wondering where I'm at."
As Shauna directed Andy through her neighborhood across town, he couldn't help but think that he and Shauna might as well live a thousand miles apart, the difference in cultures and environment so disparate. As he got closer to her street, the houses took on a depressed, almost desperate appearance, nothing more than tiny three or four room dwellings. Shauna's street was dark and gloomy, not a sign of life anywhere in the vicinity, the streetlights burned out or broken.
"There, that's the one," she said, pointing to the tiny cottage. "Gretta lives right there, next door. A little different than your neighborhood, isn't it?"
"Real different, Shauna," he whispered. "But if you and Gretta grew up here, I think there's probably something pretty good going on around here."
"That was the nicest thing you could possibly have said to me, Andy. Thank you. And if it wasn't so late, I would take you in and let my Gram fawn all over you. God, she would eat you up. But she's in bed, and Carl has been asleep for hours, so we better not wake them. Thanks for the ride." She opened the door, starting to slide out.
"Hey, Shauna...wait a second. Can, you know, sometime can I call you? Maybe when I come home on break." He felt the blush again. "Or maybe tomorrow."
"I'd like that, Andy; I would really, really like that. I'm glad to have a friend like you. You call me anytime." She leaned across the seat, kissed him gently on the lips, a bit more to the kiss this time around. "Tomorrow would be great." Finally, reluctantly, she backed out of the car, waving as she walked into the front door, turning the porch light off as she closed the door behind her.
27
Jody fully expected to wake up back at the lake, back among her friends sitting around the campfire, ready to sip another cold Budweiser. She couldn't have been further off the mark. As the girl stepped out of the fog, she looked around, realizing she was no longer in Boston. Nor was she anywhere near Sunset Lake, Radford, or anything that looked the least bit familiar. As the fog lifted from around her, Jody spotted the Wizard several yards away, motioning for her to come closer. The girl breathed a deep sigh of relief at seeing the face of her friend. The two of them were standing in some kind of a valley surrounded by deep, thick forest and rolling, green hills on every side.
"Where are we?" Jody asked, glancing around, taking careful stock of their newest environment.
"Paraguay, somewhere north of the Ybytyruzu Forest, in Ybytyruzu National Park, I think," he answered, looking around at the terrain.
"Was that me?" she asked. "Back at the ball park. That was really me, wasn't it? A Nobel Prize? Is that where my future is? In Boston?
"
"It might be, very well could be. But, for a little while, let's look at something else, another option. You, and only you, can answer any of those questions. I believe if my directions are correct, that if we follow this path down the hill and around the bend, we might find what we're looking for. Come on, let's take a little walk."
"What are we doing in Latin America? That's quite a jump from Boston." They were walking along a primitive road full of ruts and huge pot-holes, not much more than a passable track for farm animals. As they descended the hill, they walked past barren terrain, huge voids in the middle of a rich forest.
"Deforestation," the Wizard commented bitterly. "The industrialists have been raping this environment since the last century. They have no idea that this behavior is criminal, that what they are doing to their country will eventually lead to its ruin. And if they are aware, they have no conscious, don't care."
He was angry, his tone failing to disguise the disgust he felt. "It's all about the all-mighty dollar. Can you see that, Jody, the greed of a few people canceling out the future of their children, their grandchildren...canceling out the future of the world. It makes me angry, so very angry, the selfishness and the audacity of these self-seekers. This, my friend, is what the end of this world will look like."
He pointed to a barren, dusty field sitting squarely in the middle of a lush forest, the contrast stark, somehow frightening to the girl. "That is how it will look when the last human being dies, the day they go crazy and drop the bombs, I think. It couldn't look any worse than this."
As they walked on, Jody found herself sweating profusely, the humidity seeming to strangle her, making her breathing difficult. The girl was saturated, soaking wet, embarrassed that her clothing had become almost transparent, wishing she had worn a heavier shirt with a bra and maybe blue jeans rather than the sheer black blouse and shorts she had on. Finally, after nearly two hours of making their way down the steep path, they saw signs of life in the distance. At first glance, it appeared to be a village, several people walking around outside tiny, one room huts spaced in a semicircle. As they drew closer, Jody noticed that it was more a temporary campground than a permanent village, a gathering of six of the shabbiest looking dwellings that Jody had ever seen, each constructed of what looked like discarded scraps of lumber, dried mud and straw.
"What is this place?" she asked, exhausted and filthy, her mind turning over the various possibilities, none too pleasant, but each one better than the reality of the Wizard's answer.
"This, my dear girl, is the home of the Ursuline Mission, Southern Paraguay. These are members, actually sisters, of the Order that has accepted you for novitiate status. We're going to wait here until the bus arrives to take us to the village of Coronel Oviedo. There's something there I want you to see."
Without further explanation, he led her into the tiny mission proper. The women that they had spotted from the path went about their chores, ignoring the visitors, dropping their eyes whenever they passed close to the two strangers. Finally, an older, heavy woman, her hair cut almost to her scalp approached the Wizard, flashing a warm, although wary smile.
"Senor, I am Sister Mary Joseph. I pray you will excuse my impertinence, but is there something I can help you with? This is the Mission Ursuline, and we do not normally receive surprise visitors." The woman had a worried look in her eyes.
"Sister, please excuse us for barging in like this...rest assured, you have nothing to fear from us. We are visitors, tourist, waiting on the bus to Coronel Ovieda. Nothing more. Please, go about your business, we will wait there, by the road." The Wizard was showing deference to the nun, the respect not lost on Jody.
The nun was looking strangely at Jody, a look of confusion on her face. "Yes, thank you Senor, the bus is usually here by this hour. Would you and the Senorita care for a cup of terere?"
"That would be most kind of you, if it is not too much trouble."
The nun turned, ducking into the entrance of the hut, emerging shortly with two glasses of a brown liquid. She handed one to the Wizard, the other to Jody, the same strange look on her face.
"Excuse me, Sister, is there something the matter?" Jody asked, the look making her uncomfortable, worried that the nun disapproved of her shorts and blouse outfit, the sweat giving her the appearance of being semi-nude. After thirteen years of Catholic education, Jody automatically capitulated to authority of the nun.
"No, of course not, Senorita. Please, excuse my bad manners, I mean no disrespect. It's just, you look so much like a...no, I'm sorry, it is the hair, your hair is so beautiful. Sometimes, a woman with red hair looks like other women with red hair. You remind me of somebody else, but somebody much older. It is only the hair. Drink. Enjoy. I must get back to my chores; the bus will be here soon. When you are finished, if you would please place the glasses inside the door of my lodge. Thank you."
With that, the nun was gone, bustling away to join the other women.
"This is good," Jody commented, sipping from the glass, making a face. "Kind of bitter, but refreshing. What is it?"
"Terere, kind of Paraguay's national drink. The sister was afraid that we were bandits. They will keep a close watch on us until we get on the bus, then post a sentry in case there are others with us, sneaking up to surprise them in the night. They have nothing to steal, but occasionally they will be harassed by those who live in the mountains, harassed and even assaulted…or raped." He was watching the girl closely, reading her face. As they finished the tea, the Wizard handed his glass to Jody, asking her to place them inside the hut. "It is not good for me to go inside; it is a place for women. Place this under the glass when you set it down."
He passed her a handful of bills, Jody not recognizing the currency or the denomination. She ducked inside the opening to the hut, shocked that the spartan dwelling had only a red dirt floor and a roof made of some type of vegetation, huge leafs and straw woven together. There was an old army cot in one corner, a tiny homemade desk, a white metal pan filled with water on the floor, a crucifix hanging on one wall, and nothing else. She set the glasses carefully on the floor, placed the money under one, and turned to rejoin the Wizard. Thankfully, she noticed a plume of dust and dirt coming down the road, guessing that it was the bus, grateful to be leaving the poverty of the Mission.
"They have it tough, don't they." It was a statement, not a question. The Wizard didn't bother to respond, the answer obvious. They both were thinking the same thought, that this was not the life Jody imagined being a nun consisted of.
The ancient bus pulled up, the brakes squealing metal upon metal. The driver kicked at the door, the handle missing. The vehicle, its original color obliterated by years of traveling these mountainous paths was now a mixture of red rust and dirt. The Wizard stepped onto the bus, handing the fat, sweat-soaked driver several bills, turned and helped Jody up the steps. The only other passengers were four old woman and three children, a goat and several caged chickens. The goat, on a rope that was clutched tightly in the hand of one of the elderly women, had defecated several times on the floor, the barefooted children trailing the excrement throughout the bus. The smell was rancid, the passengers filthy.
Taking a seat directly behind the driver, Jody stared out the foul window, one of only a handful left intact, trying hard not to breathe the fetid air too deeply into her lungs. A constant breeze of stink was pouring over her from the front, the suffocating body odor of the driver engulfing her.
The ride took several hours, the bus stopping at every village or dwelling along the route, picking up many more passengers. Soon the bus was packed with loud, filthy peasants, the Wizard sleeping throughout the trip, snoring loudly. By the time they pulled into the village of Coronel Ovieda, Jody had to use the bathroom badly, having been bumped about in her seat for the duration of the trip.
Jumping down off the bus, Jody looked around frantically for a restroom, not seeing any building that she could imagine peeing in. "I've got to pee, I mean, right now,
" she told the Wizard, who was rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
"Come on, over here. We won't find anything clean," he said, pulling her behind a dark building. "Pee back here. I'll keep watch." Turning his back, he disappeared around the front of the building. Jody pushed her pants down to her ankles, squatted and peed, buttoning her shorts quickly; thankful she had been able to relieve her torment, having come dangerously close to going in her pants.
Joining the Wizard, she asked, "Now where? There's not much to this town, is there?"
"No. It's an extremely poor area. We aren't going to be here long, though." Taking her arm, they walked down the dirt street, darkness starting to overtake them, lights coming on in several of the building, the pair obviously walking in the opposite direction from the town.
"We don't have to ride any more busses, do we?" she asked. "I don't think I can make that trip again. It was awful."
"No, no more bus rides. We could have taken an easier mode of transportation, but I don't think you would have appreciated the circumstances nearly as much. There, that's where we need to go," he said, pointing to a dilapidated building at the end of the lane set well away from any other structures, a lone light bulb burning above the door.
"What is it?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
"This is a hospital, staffed by the Sisters of the Order of Ursuline. The sisters work in shifts. They spend three months working here, at the hospital, then switch back to the mission in the hills, the one we visited earlier. There they recuperate, gain their health back for three months, then they switch back." He approached the hospital, walking past the door, pulling Jody by the arm toward a window, the light from inside spilling out.
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