by S. L. Giger
I hesitated for a moment and then thought that I could move faster anyway if he tried to lock me in or attack me in any way.
“A soda would be nice.”
We disappeared into Mr. Thompson’s house again. It actually looked a lot cleaner and brighter this time. The door to the living room was closed, though. He moved into the kitchen and started rummaging in the fridge. “Is 7up ok?”
“That’s perfect.” I was still wondering why he was so nice now.
Then, he came back with two glasses filled with the bubbly beverage and placed them on the small table. We sat down on the wooden chairs at the small kitchen table.
“You live with the Belkins in the house on the ocean front?”
“Yes.” I wondered how much I should tell him. “They are my parents actually. I’ve been going to school in Germany for a few years.”
“If you say so.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Um, yes, but I spent pretty much the whole time with the other exchange students…” I trailed off.
He gave me a long stare, and I knew that he wasn’t buying my lie. I pursed my lips. Luckily, he released me and nodded.
“I don’t remember ever seeing a kid back at their house, and they have been here for a while, too. But then again, your folks seem to like it quiet, too. Just like me. But sometimes even a hermit like me misses someone to talk to. You might not believe me, but I used to be quite social when I was younger. Then life slaps you in the face. Quite literally in my case.” He pointed to his burned skin. “And suddenly, you are not so popular with the people anymore.” He sighed.
“What happened there, if I may ask?” My eyes wandered to his neck.
“A work accident. I didn’t concentrate for a moment. That’s what you get for it.” He took a sip from the 7up and studied the glass. “There was a time I used to drink this with martini. I put alcohol into everything. I didn’t have the limit anymore, but since there was nobody to tell me to stop, I kept on drinking.” He prolonged the ‘on.’ “Until I was waking up with a headache every day. At some point, I realized that this wouldn’t change anything either. Moreover, I couldn’t see my wife like that. So, I quit.” He breathed. “Oh, it wasn’t easy. But I managed, and to even it out, I picked up smoking.” He gave a raspy laugh. Then he grabbed a packet of cigarettes that was lying on the window sill. “Do you smoke?” He opened the window.
“No,” I replied.
“Good, don’t start. It’s a bad habit.” He lit the cigarette, and took a long breath and then let the smoke stream back out his mouth out of the window. “After all, it is better than not having any control over yourself. I didn’t realize it while I was drinking, but everything was kind of blurry and out of proportion all the time. I hope you don’t mind.” He pointed to the cigarette.
“No, it’s your house.” What had happened to this man? He was the complete opposite from last time. Talkative in a bubbly way and almost in a good mood. To break the silence, I asked what he had been doing over the winter.
“A little work. I managed to sell some pieces over the internet. That makes my world a lot easier.”
Pardon me; the internet? Never would I have expected him to know that such a thing even existed.
“Evelyn and I used to travel around a lot. To the west coast, Europe, Barcelona, Norway and even China. But she was the one who always wanted to see the world. I would have been fine here.”
“So, Evelyn was your wife?”
I could have imagined it, but for a split second, it looked as if a dark shadow was creeping across Rey’s face. “Mhh?”
“Evelyn, was she your wife?” I repeated.
His face seemed normal again.
“Yes. Still is. She just doesn’t live here for now.”
Silence again.
“What work do you do?” I asked.
This question put a brief smile on his face. I clearly saw wrinkles around the corner of the eyes. As if the skin once was used to laughing a lot. Now, however, the command from the brain would most times get lost somewhere on the path to the muscles.
“I’m a glass blower. I mostly do artistic pieces. Special vases or chandeliers. People with nice houses seem to like them. There is a big lamp from me in Rockefeller Center.”
Surprise, an artist. I certainly wouldn’t have thought that.
“Wow, I didn’t know that you had such an interesting job.”
He winked. “I guess you hardly know anything about me, but that is good. That means you haven’t paid attention to the town gossip yet. That’s why I like to keep to myself. I can’t stand that talk anymore.”
“Yes, I’m not too fond of gossip. It can do a lot of damage.” I remembered some sad love story episodes during high school.
“Good to hear. It’s nice to finally have someone normal to have a decent conversation with.”
“Normal is a very relative term,” I laughed.
“True but anyway, it’s good to finally be around someone with whom I don’t have to argue, justify or explain myself. Avoiding everyone can get pretty lonely.”
“I know what you mean.”
He nodded as if we were talking about the same thing but probably thinking in very different directions.
“I can show you some of my work if you want to. It’s in my shed.” He then offered.
“Yes, I’d love to see that. You made me curious.”
I followed him into the shed and was quite astonished how many things fit into that hut. At the same time, everything was neatly arranged. Tools and sticks hung on the wall, there were a massive table, a few cupboards, and even a bed with a night table and some books on it. Rey noticed how my glance rested on it for a moment.
“The house just feels too big and creepy for one person. I prefer being in the middle of my tools and my work.” He shrugged his shoulders.
In the back, there were two big ovens, or at least I thought that’s what they were. Rey led me to a shelf, where different colored and shaped pieces of glass were arrayed. He picked about five of them and placed them on a rug on the table.
“Everything I do is made of many distinct pieces that fit together. A bit like a three-dimensional puzzle.” He took a dark green piece that looked like a giant bowl with soft, wavy edges like the brim of a summer hat. Then, he placed the purple and the orange piece on top of the green one. They somehow interlocked and then did the same with two more on top of the other pieces. It looked a bit like a flower head.
“Now you can fill water in this and put some flowers in the small compartments on the side and also in the big one here in the middle.” He explained with a proud shimmer in his eyes.
I could see that it would look very pretty. This vase was amazing.
“And of course, you can touch all the edges. They are round and smooth so that you can’t cut yourself.” He briefly glanced at me to find out what I thought and then softly ran his fingers over the edges of the glass.
“I like it. It’s really cool.”
“It’s not something you can find at IKEA,” he nodded. “I don’t have the fire on right now, but if it interests you, you can come back when I am working, and I can show you how that functions.”
“Yes, that would be great!” Anything that fills the hours of my days is welcome.
“I mean, you don’t have to come, but it would be nice.” He fumbled with his hands.
“No, it would be great to see that,” I said. I let my gaze wander again. I noticed that the lamp which lit the room must also be one of his pieces. It was many thin flutes entwined in each other like a ball of cotton. They all ended in what also looked a bit like flower heads, where the light bulbs were inside.
“I like the lamp too.”
Rey studied it for a moment. “Yes. It was my first gift to Evelyn. Calla flowers were her favorite. We kept it all these years. Now I put it back in the shed because that’s where I spend most my time.”
I nodded pretending to understand
what he was talking about. I still didn’t know what had happened to Evelyn. Maybe she died, or they were divorced, and he didn’t want to accept it because he was wearing a ring. He caught me looking at it and started turning it. I waited for him to explain because I didn’t think it was any of my business to ask him.
“So, I guess, I’ll walk back to my bicycle now?” I asked when he kept quiet.
“I would offer you to stay for dinner, but I’m not prepared for a guest. But possibly another time. It was very nice talking to you, Nathalie.” Again, the corners of his mouth went slightly up but then it turned more into a nod than a laugh.
“Likewise, Rey. I’ll stop by again soon.”
“Okay, drive safe!”
And this is how the story of my friendship with Rey started. An old guy wasn’t exactly what I might have hoped for to be one of my closest confidants but then again, age is relative too, isn’t it?
Chapter 16
Days turned hotter, and with every degree, there seemed to be more people arriving at the Cape. When the sky was blue and the sun glistened above the ocean, families arrived with what looked like all their possessions. They spread their blankets, chairs, and umbrellas out on the sand. The parents read books and newspapers or prepared a BBQ while the kids built sand castles or flew kites. They looked like bustling ants, or as if a circus had returned from its winter break.
I held my promise and did go back to visit Rey. The first time, he showed me how the glass blowing worked. I found it very comforting to watch him and therefore started to visit him frequently. Sometimes I’d just sit on the bench in the shed for an hour, while he was working and we wouldn’t exchange a word. Hearing the sound of metal, glass, and fire mixed with the hot smell in the air was hypnotizing in a very relaxing way. At other times, we’d get into a debate about a political issue.
“You honestly think that no woman should be president?” I asked surprised after Rey had made that statement. I got up from the bench and stared at his back, since he was turned away from me, working on another vase.
“Yes, they are only distracting from important issues.” He said matter-of-factly.
“What? There are many great female leaders, and if there were more women in charge, I’m sure that there would be fewer wars.” I contradicted him.
“No, women are too emotional. This would lead to problems.”
“Hey, you are talking to a woman here. How can you say such things without even having a single good argument?”
I heard him quickly breathe through his nose which was his way of laughing. “Because it’s way more fun this way. I’m only teasing you.” He turned around to look at me. “At least some women are way too gullible.”
I pursed my lips.
“But to say the truth, I think we are in desperate need of more female presidents. Especially considering wars and terrorism.” He gave me a meaningful look. “Since you are standing, could you please put this in the sink to let it soak?” He pointed to a metal plate that was covered in coal.
I carried it to the sink, which was already filled with water and froze for a moment. I learned that fast movements as a Siren aren’t smart, even when you are startled. I could clearly see the face of the handsome boy from the car and university on the dirty surface of the water.
“What the…?” I blinked, the face was still there. As If I was looking at a hologram of his head.
“What is it?” Rey asked.
“Uh, nothing.” I let the plate slide into the water. This destroyed the face, and it was dirty water again. I shook my head. Then I noticed that Rey watched me.
“You could use a woman in here, too. I don’t think this will get clean in there.” I tried as a distraction.
He turned around and lay the big tweezers on the workbench rather loud. His shoulders were all tensed up.
I froze again where I was. “Sorry, did I say something wrong?”
“Sorry, sore point.” He sighed.
“What, the dirt?”
“No, my wife,” he answered.
“What happened?”, I asked carefully.
He turned around and now leaned with his back against the workbench, staring at the floor.
“My wife is in a mental institute.” He said grimly. Then he continued with a warmer tone. “When Evelyne and I were young, I couldn’t help but fall in love with that woman. She had so much energy, was always so positive and happy and boy, she was beautiful.” He was lost in memory for a moment. “And she was smart too. She loved to read and could read huge books in only a day. She was like my personal encyclopedia. She had an answer to any topic I asked her about. All that doesn’t seem like there was anything wrong with her, right?” I nodded, but he already continued. “Well, I never thought so anyway. But sometimes, not very often, she had a bad day. And then, they were really bad. She’d completely fall into a mental abyss and shut everything good out. One time at a dinner with her family, we were discussing some delicate topic. I don’t even remember what it was, but she freaked out a little too much, and they got scared and called the hospital. They declared her bipolar and wanted to put her on very strong medicine. She and I were against it because it would change her character. On top of that, for all these years, it hadn’t been a problem to live with the sickness she had. But the doctors saw it differently. They thought she could be dangerous.” He snorted. “Which really, she wasn’t. I lived with her. I spent every day with her and never once did I have a reason to be scared of her. She was such a kind and good person. But we didn’t have a say against the doctors. She had to agree to a medical plan and even had to stay at the clinic for a few days to see how she’d react to that. I went to visit her every day. I tell you, it’s a scary place. To be around all these other people who have actual problems. Who constantly talk to themselves or have tried to kill themselves before. Evelyne didn’t like it there, either. But what could we do other than trusting the doctors that they knew what they were doing?” He looked at me desperately. “Anyway, after a few days at the clinic, she had enough. She wasn’t used to be kept like a prisoner and not being able to decide when to eat or cook or do whatever she wanted. She got angry, and the nurses gave her something that should sedate her. But something with the medicine they gave her mixed together with the drug cocktail she was already taking went wrong.” He gulped. “She never was her old self after that. It was as if she had a sudden transfusion into an old woman. She moved and thought very slowly and kept forgetting things. Sometimes even me.” He gripped the counter so hard that I could see his knuckles turning white. Then, he closed his eyes to calm down.
“I’m so sorry,” I pressed out.
“Her family then felt responsible, but instead of doing something, they chickened out. I wanted to sue the hospital, but that wouldn’t have brought her vividness back either. Plus, then I didn’t have enough money. Plus, I would have lost anyway. Apparently, they did everything after protocol and mistakes happen. The case never even reached the public.”
“That’s so terrible.”
“Yes. And I still love her. I visit her whenever I can, but I would give so much to have her old self back. The worst thing is, that sometimes she blames me that I can’t do anything for her.” He stared to the ground. “I think it's because I’m the only one who is still around who she knows.”
“I wished I could do something.”
“I know you would if you could.” We stood there in silence for a moment.
“Hospitals should save you, not make you worse,” I stated.
“Generally, they do. Like they said, even there, accidents happen.” He picked up the tweezers again. “Anyway, felt kind of good to finally talk about this again. In case you ever need to talk, I’m here, too. Your company is very welcome here.”
I smiled at his back. His body language told me that it was time to leave for today.
“Thanks. I will be back.” As I walked to our house and the whole evening, my mind was preoccupied with
the picture I had seen on the water. Had my mind played tricks on me? But I had clearly seen it, even after looking away. A psychiatrist would come in handy now.
For me, school was busy since finals were coming up. But since I had enough time to study during the night, I could still spend most afternoons with Sam, Phe, and Joe. They were all in a relaxed mood since everyone got accepted into colleges. How different would this past half year have been if Sam hadn’t dared to talk to me on my first day? Would I still be sitting at these tiny desks, trying to stay out of everybody’s business and sit through my obligatory schooling time? It might just as well be what I could expect from next year, when my friends are gone. By now everybody in my grade thought that I was the biggest nerd. It’s not that I wanted to study for tests. I didn’t care about school anymore. Part of me still wanted to revolt against the fact that I should have been graduating this year as well. Instead, I had another year to go. But what else can you do between 3 am and 6 am if you are not sleeping? I can solve you any integral problem now, whereas before, math had been a mystery to me. Part of it still is, but if the days keep their twenty-four hours, I might soon get behind these mysteries as well.
With these preconditions, I aced my finals. While listening to Jackson’s valedictorian speech, I told myself to run in a few false answers next year, so that I wouldn’t end up as the one on that stage.
When my friends received their diplomas, and threw their hats in the air, I nevertheless felt a slight pang, that I wasn’t up there with them. I was invited to Joe’s house to celebrate with them. But it was their party, and I felt like the child that was there because the parents couldn’t find a babysitter. Therefore, I wanted to make my excuses pretty early.
“Oh, come on.” Phe threw an arm around my shoulders. “The fun has just begun.”
“She is right, you know.” Sam agreed. “This party is to celebrate the end of the year. Since you were as big a part of this year as all of us, there is no reason for you to head out so early.”