The Five Pearls

by Barry James Hickey

  “There’s something suspicious going on!” Wirtz stated. “Perhaps aliens have inhabited your bodies?”

  One day, Amber commented to him that she thought he was slowly turning from sour to sweet.

  “With me, that’s an impossibility,” he reminded her. “I’m an old curmudgeon.”

  With the days of the calendar adding up, Amber’s body changed, too. Breasts, belly, legs, arms, hair, everything about her was maturing. She gave up smoking completely, exercised, and ate regular meals at home with Miss Feely or at the Loomis House with Mrs. Powell.

  In the last month of her pregnancy, lurching stomach pains began. Her abdominal muscles contracted and spasmed and her back cramped up. Amber’s body and mind had entered a strange new territory. Almost always, the old retired nurse or her counselor was there for her. Amber found herself acting like a teacher now, quizzing both women for every ounce of information she could learn about motherhood. Amber had never felt so close to grown women before.

  She found out that Miss Feely was planning her own wedding to a fellow named Bruce who was finishing up his Ph.D. at an out-of-state university. She learned all about Mrs. Powell’s noble goal of saving Loomis House as an historical site. And there were plenty of early evenings when Mrs. Powell broke out ancient family albums where she ticked off the names and family trees of men and women long since gone.

  “Mr. B said trees are like people,” Amber remembered.

  At first, Marie tried to relate to Amber’s pregnancy but one look at her friend’s balloon belly made her steer clear of the whole happy birthing process.

  As Amber expected, immature Julio came up with a new nickname for her that he could get away with in the presence of Mrs. Powell. Instead of Baby Beulah, he called her BB for short and on their way out of the house one night he whispered, “BB stands for Bowling Ball by the way!”

  The students met at Loomis House almost every day to study. Mrs. Powell had arranged to pay Matt and Toby for work she needed done on the estate. Most of the work involved dusting and polishing high places and rearranging room furniture. The boys would use the money to pay for the GED exam. As test day approached, a real tension settled in the house between the students. As usual, Julio was causing most of it with his constant negative attitude.

  On the night before the big exam, the bubble of hope seemed to burst for all of them. The Five Pearls were sitting on the floor around the library coffee table. The table had taken on the importance of Command Central for them over the months. After the last stack of study guides was finished, Mrs. Powell brought in a tray of root beer floats for everyone.

  Matt raised his float in a congratulatory toast. “I don't believe it! There's nothing left to learn!” After Mrs. Powell retrieved the extinguished treats and exited for the kitchen, Julio plopped back on the floor with a pen and paper. “Now comes the hardest part,” he said.

  “What’s that?” Amber asked.

  Julio started writing tiny words on small slips of paper. “Cheat sheets.”

  Everyone gave him a dirty look.

  “What?” Julio said with surprise.

  “That’s not how it goes down,” Toby said.

  “Come on, Toby! Everybody cheats!”

  “Not me,” Amber said.

  “Not me,” Matt raised his hand.

  “Not me,” Marie said. “I don’t have to.”

  “I used too, Julio. But not anymore,” Toby said.

  “Don’t be fools. If we don't cheat, we don't pass!” “Never know until you try,” Matt said.

  Julio shook his head and kept writing his tiny notes on

  paper. “You guys are whacked.”

  “Stop it, Julio,” Amber said. “It’s wrong.”

  Julio tossed her a challenging glare.

  “She’s right, bro.” Toby defended Amber now. “You don’t

  have to cheat this time.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Julio said. “You really think we can make

  up for four years of goofing off in a few months? Don’t kid

  yourselves. Tomorrow we crash and burn if we don’t cheat

  and that’s a fact.”

  But no one was buying his speech. All Julio got in return

  was four unsympathetic stares. He stood and gathered a stack

  of books and note pads.

  “Guess I’m on my own, then. See you tomorrow morning

  at the GED, suckers.”

  When Julio left, he slammed the front door so hard it

  rattled the chimes in the hallway clock.

  “Do you really think we can pass?” Matt asked the others. “We studied every day including weekends and evenings for

  almost three months,” Toby said. “My parents think I'm loco.

  All I watch on television anymore is the Discovery Channel

  and National Geographic... I don’t even have time to talk to

  Betty on the telephone!”

  The gang from Shooks Run liked Betty. They had been

  back to the Deaf and Blind school twice to visit kids since

  the dance.

  “I’m stuck on Animal Planet,” Matt admitted.

  Amber raised her hand. “Biography for me,”

  “Now I’m a documentary freak and the queen of search

  engines on the Internet,” Marie laughed.

  Amber groaned. “I also read every bad poem ever written

  including my own and… Ow!”

  She clutched at her stomach. A giant surge ricocheted

  through her body and she felt her water break between her

  legs. She knelt down on the floor and leaned against the sofa.

  Her friends dropped to their knees around her.

  “What’s happening?” Matt’s voice jumped an octave. “Are you miscarrying?” Toby asked.

  “What is it?” said Marie.

  A calm Mrs. Powell appeared at the door. “Looks like the

  big one.”

  “Now?” Matt said. “Not now! She has a test!”

  “Tell that to the baby,” Mrs. Powell said. She crossed to

  Amber and joined the kids on their knees in front of her.

  “Did your water break, Amber?”

  Amber took short breaths now to fight off the constant

  pressure on her abdomen. “I think so. Oh no! Not now! I

  have to get out of high school tomorrow!”

  Mrs. Powell and Matt lifted her to her feet. Her stretch

  slacks were wet and there was a small pool on the floor. Mrs. Powell nodded to Toby. “My keys are hanging by the

  back door. Pull the car up to the front curb, will you?” Mrs. Powell remained calm, almost whispering. “Marie, the number is on the refrigerator. Can you call Amber's group home and

  tell Miss Feely I'm taking Amber to the hospital?”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  “This really hurts,” Amber said with a delighted grin. “Wonderful, isn't it?” said Mrs. Powell.

  “Can you describe it?” Matt asked.

  “I feel like I’m getting kicked by a horse.”

  “Cool!” Matt said.

  Amber bit her lip. “What’s so cool about it?”

  “That you’re carrying a new life inside you, that you’re

  about to become a mom!”

  He and Mrs. Powell steadied Amber in their arms and

  guided her towards the front door.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Julio Ramirez paced the halls outside the GED Testing Center at the local community college on an unseasonably warm Saturday morning for April. He’d never set foot on a college campus before and it made him extremely nervous. Julio’s dad dropped him off an hour earlier so he wouldn’t be late. The test was scheduled for ten in the morning. Julio showed his state ID card to a girl sitting behind a folding table used for registration. She put his sixty-five dollar fee into a metal cash box and gave him a receipt.

  There were only a few real college students around on
the weekend, taking advantage of the library to catch up on assignments and studies. Julio was amazed at the age of some of the people showing up to take the test. One elderly couple came from a retirement center to take the test together.

  Julio anxiously stared up at a hallway clock. 11:55. Where are they?

  A minute later, Toby, Matt and Marie came running down the hallway.

  “Where you been? It starts in five minutes!” Julio scolded them.

  “We took a taxi from the hospital,” Toby said, catching his breath.

  “The hospital?”

  “Mrs. Powell is with Amber. They’ve been there since yesterday.”

  “She’s having her baby,” Marie huffed.

  Julio started for the exit.

  “Don’t go!” Matt said. “She doesn't want us there. She says if we don't take the test today, she’ll kill us.”

  Julio paused, unsure of what to do. “Having her baby alone…”

  “Amber says you better not use her as an excuse to cop out,” Toby said.

  “If I can do this test, you can do this, Julio,” Marie sounded confident.

  “Yeah, but Amber’s not here. We’re supposed to be a team.”

  Matt snapped his fingers and pointed to the GED Testing Office. “Let’s go, Julio. Test. Now.”

  “For Amber,” Marie said.

  Tears welled up in the big kid’s eyes. “I’m scared.”

  “All we lose is money and time,” Toby reassured him. “We can take it again if we fail.”

  “For Amber and Mr. B?” Matt begged.

  Julio dabbed at his eyes, then pulled out his pearl as if it were a tiny crystal ball. “Show me who I am,” he begged. He slipped the pearl back in his pocket and pulled his friends towards the registration desk. “Pay the girl so we can get on with it. For Mr. B and Amber!” he hollered.

  A moment later, the GED instructor flew into the hallway just as the pearls headed towards the classroom. “Who is causing all the commotion?” the instructor snapped.

  The students stopped short in their tracks.

  “As I suspected,” laughed the man who would be administering the test. “Tadpoles.”

  “Hello, Mr. Wirtz,” said the fallen students.

  “Hello, indeed.”

  The Tadpoles shuffled into the crowded classroom where the test would be administered.

  “And not a minute too late!” Wirtz smiled, his finger pointing at the clock. “Hope you don't mind, but I simply had to administer the test today. Where's the fifth wheel?”

  “Having her baby,” Marie said.

  “At least someone will deliver today. Have a seat.” He pointed to the front row where five empty seats remained.

  Julio hesitated at his seat and stared at all the strangers’ faces in the room, then at his friends, then finally at Mr. Wirtz. “Mr. Wirtzy, I have something for you.”

  “Yes, Mr. Ramirez?”

  Julio unrolled his sleeves and pulled out wads of cheat sheets. He dropped them on Wirtz's desk. Everyone in the room, including his proud friends laughed and applauded him.

  “My name is Julio Ramirez,” he told the class. “Remember it.”

  Mr. Wirtz clapped too. “You’ve made yourself an honest man, Mr. Ramirez.” The instructor swept the cheat sheets into a trashcan then passed out test booklets to the room of nervous teenagers and adults. “Number Two Pencils sharpened, everybody?”

  Students nodded.

  “A few simple rules. During the seven hour exam you are not allowed to leave the room for any reason except at designated restroom breaks between tests. If you leave the center, your test will be voided and you will have to reschedule for another time... There will be zero talking... Any questions?”

  After he answered a handful of questions about how the tests were scored and evaluated, he shouted, “Good luck to every one of you present. And I mean that! You have taken a brave step towards self-development. Take a deep breath. Relax. Now on your mark, get set, and pass!”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Exhausted Julio, Toby, Matt and Marie sat under the shelter at the campus bus stop. They’d been waiting for almost an hour before Mr. Wirtz pulled up in his old Volvo.

  “Hop in,” he said. “The bus doesn’t come out here on Saturday.”

  The students climbed in.

  “Awfully nice of you, Mr. Wirtz,” Julio said.

  “Yes, I know.” Wirtz said. “Lucky you, I stayed behind to grade your tests personally.”

  “You graded them?”

  “Yes. The results were most interesting.”

  “Can you tell us if we passed or failed?” Matt said.

  “I suppose I could,” he said. “Do you kids need a ride to the hospital or the park?”

  “The hospital.”

  “Which one?”

  “Memorial.”

  “Memorial it is.”

  Mr. Wirtz turned on the radio and whistled along to a Beethoven symphony much to the angst of the pearls. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the boys in the backseat and Marie next to him.

  “Tough test, eh?”

  “Hardest one I ever took,” Julio gushed.

  Mr. Wirtz caught his eyes in the rearview. “I imagine, Mr. Ramirez, that’s it’s the only test you ever finished.”

  “Mr. Wirtz, do you think you and me will ever get along?” Julio asked.

  “I doubt it, Mr. Ramirez.”

  “Why is that, Mr. Wirtz?”

  “We’ll never know.”

  “Uh, Mr. Wirtz? Did any of us pass?” Matt leaned forward anxiously.

  “I suppose I can tell you without any risk of repercussions from the State Board.” The teacher smiled.

  When they arrived at the hospital, Mr. Wirtz gave the delighted students a twenty-dollar bill.

  “Buy your new mother some flowers,” he said. “It’s a great day.”

  After checking with reception and fighting over which flower arrangement to purchase and still have enough change left for a pack of gum for Julio, the satisfied teenagers rode three elevators before they found the right wing for the hospital birthing center.

  Marie led the charge down the hallway past expectant mothers walking off labor cramps and wilted dads waiting for their wives and newborns to wake up from their first naps. When they found Amber’s room, Mrs. Powell was sitting in a chair reading a magazine by an empty bed.

  “Oh my God!” Marie was frantic. “What happened? Is Amber all right? Is the baby okay?”

  “It was a long delivery, but Amber’s fine,” Mrs. Powell reassured her with a finger to her lips indicating they should whisper. She pointed to a closed white curtain where another bed was. “The baby’s fine too. See for yourself.”

  The four pearls peeked in through the curtain together. There was petite little Amber again, holding a tiny blackhaired baby in her arms.

  “Hey!” Amber said.

  “Hey!” whispered her friends.

  Mrs. Powell pulled back the curtain. The kids gathered around the bed, reaching in and touching the baby’s fingers and toes.

  “It’s beautiful,” Julio said. “What is it?”

  “It’s a baby,” Amber said sarcastically.

  “I know, I mean... A boy or a girl?”

  “A boy.”

  “He’s big.”

  “Just like his father.”

  The kids exchanged looks. Ever since Amber told them that she was pregnant, the issue of who the father was had been a taboo subject.

  “You know who the father is?” Toby asked.

  “Of course I do. I was there when it happened.”

  “Who is it?” Matt asked.

  Amber looked at Julio. He lowered his eyes. She stared at him for the longest time, then said, “it isn't important.”

  “How can it not be important?” Marie asked.

  “Because at the present time the father is a deadbeat. Me and the baby just don’t need the stress he’d bring. Maybe someday…”

  “Did you name
the baby?”

  “Yes. His name is…. But wait! Oh my gosh! I almost forgot! The test! How did it go? Did you pass it?”

  Her friends swayed from one side to the other like little kids hiding something behind their backs until they could contain themselves no more.

  “We aced it!” Matt said proudly.

  Amber nearly screamed with joy. She reached for her friends and passed out congratulatory hugs.

  “Shhh, kids! The baby!” Mrs. Powell whispered as she hurried to close the hospital room door.

  “You should have seen Mr. Wirtz's face!” Marie said to Amber.

  “Mr. Wirtz was there?”

  “Mr. Wirtz will always be there,” Matt said. “He gave the test.”

  “And Julio? Did you cheat?”

  “Hell, no.”

  Marie bragged for him. “He got the highest score out of all of us.”

  “Oh, Julio! I'm so proud of you!” Amber pulled Julio to her and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

  He blushed enormously. “Thanks, Baby Beulah.” He remembered the flowers in his hand. “We got you some flowers.” He set the arrangement by her bed.

  “Thanks. They look wonderful.”

  “So, what’s the baby’s name?” Marie persisted.

  Amber sipped water with a straw from her plastic glass on the bedside stand. “First things first. Everybody sit down. I have something to share.”

  While her friends found chairs from the room and hallway, Mrs. Powell fetched a box from the bedside that Miss Feely had dropped off from the group home.

  “This is the box I stole from Loomis House after Mr. B died,” Amber said. “It contains a lifetime of secrets. More about them later, but first, I want to read a letter that he wrote just before he died. It's addressed to all of us.” She found the letter, cleared her throat and began to read.

  “‘To My Five Precious Pearls... I must go now. I don’t want to go, but who ever does? My job is unfinished and my heart is broken. I hope I did not fail you. And I hope you will not fail yourselves. Be kind to people and make people be kind to you. Ignore the ignorant. Cherish wisdom, no matter how old the wise man. Don’t slam doors when you're angry. Keep your eyes on your road ahead and never dwell on your mistakes. Be the biggest breath of knowledge you can be. Fill the sails! Do great deeds. Speak great words. Suffer noble sorrows and cry elegant tears when happy or sad. Above all else, cherish each other as much as I had the opportunity to cherish you’.”