Jewelweed

by David Rhodes

  “I’m not going to Chicago with you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not.”

  “You want to do what’s right by Amy and Buck, don’t you?”

  “What does that have to do with going to Chicago?” she asked. After adding the vegetables, Dart carried the pizza pans to the waiting oven. Lucky watched her slide them in and close the door.

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with Chicago, but there’s a party in Madison two weeks from tomorrow night.”

  “What party?”

  “It’s for majority and minority leaders of the state legislature, lobbyists, department heads, notable donors, and other invited guests. There’s a lot riding on it. I’m working on a couple promising contracts for Buck, and we’re in the last rounds of the elimination process. If the committee accepts our bids it could make all the difference. You probably don’t know this, but after Roebuck Construction finishes with that penny-ante nursing home in Red Plain, there are no more major projects lined up. They’re just not coming in. People don’t want to spend money, because of the bad economy. Buck and Amy are hurting. They’ve got debts like you can’t believe. I probably shouldn’t even be mentioning this, but I know too much to keep quiet. At any minute the bank could decide to short-sell this house, for instance, right out from under them. They’re just hanging on. So making a good impression at this party could make all the difference. Believe me, my sister understands that. If you go with me it could mean a lot to the family in getting more work.”

  “What would I have to do?” asked Dart, setting the oven timer and filling the sink with soapy water.

  “Just stay close to me, smile, and look good—make everyone remember you.”

  “I don’t have anything to wear.”

  “I’ve already talked to a dress shop in Wisconsin Dells. They’re waiting for you to come in and try a few things on next week.”

  “You talked to them about me?”

  “Of course. They already heard you were working here.”

  “No they didn’t.”

  “Of course they did. They’ll help you pick out something to wear, something appropriate. And don’t worry—it will all go on the expense account.”

  “Why didn’t they call me?”

  “I told them to wait until I’d spoken to you first. I wasn’t sure you were willing to help out the family this way. I mean, it’s a lot of pressure, a fancy party like this one. Many people wouldn’t be able to pull it off, not with this much riding on it. I’ll have them call you tomorrow and set up the appointment. You can’t go into a place like that without an appointment, not if you’re serious.”

  “Does Amy know about this?”

  “Not yet. I didn’t want to mention it to her, in case you wouldn’t do it. I mean, many people won’t go that extra mile, and it’s not like you have to.”

  “Is it the dress shop on the corner, across from the bank?”

  “That’s the one.”

  After Lucky drove back to his condominium in Madison, Dart took the pizzas out of the oven and carried them to Kevin’s room. To the right of the bed, the nurse leaned back in the motorized recliner, her feet up. On the other side, Amy sat on a small pressed-back chair, an antique ideally suited to her grandmother’s era, looking both happy to be sitting on it and uncomfortable. Ivan was ensconced in a beanbag chair, busily manipulating a game control while alternately glancing between the game’s digital display and the larger television screen, where a feature-length movie had reached its final dramatic scene. Dart passed out paper plates and napkins. Everyone but Kevin began eating.

  After having a slice herself, Dart carried the remainder of one pizza upstairs to share with Florence. Soon after, Amy stood up, said she wasn’t interested in watching any more movies, and studied Kevin with a worried look. He didn’t turn his head and she couldn’t tell if he was sleeping, because his eyelids were nearly closed. A clear plastic hose from the medicine bag dropped from the chrome pole, curved across the top of the sheet, underneath a fold, and into the needle in Kevin’s right wrist. For several minutes she watched the drip tube, then nodded to the night nurse and followed Dart upstairs.

  After finishing a third piece of pizza, the nurse put her paper plate and napkin on the tray and went down the hall to use the bathroom.

  A commercial came on and Kevin muted it with the remote. Then he slowly turned his head toward the game screen in front of Ivan.

  “He got me!” yelled Ivan when GAME OVER lit up on the display.

  “That’s a difficult corridor,” Kevin said weakly.

  “I know it,” said Ivan. He climbed out of the beanbag and took another piece of pizza from the pan. “I never get past this level. That big guy always comes out from behind the door and kills me.”

  “You have to go hard right as soon as you come to the street with spiders,” said Kevin. “Go around the building.”

  “I tried that. There’s no way out of the alley.”

  “Yes there is. There’s an overhead wire and you can climb up to it, walk over, and jump in a window.”

  “I’ll try it,” said Ivan. He restarted the game. “How did you get so good at this?”

  “It helps to study online cheat codes.”

  “Yeah,” said Ivan, feeding pizza into his mouth with one hand and manipulating the control with the other.

  “Watch out for that guy on the second floor.”

  “I know all about him,” said Ivan. “He’s not that hard.”

  “There’s another killer above him and if he comes out things really go screwy.”

  “So what’s wrong with you, anyway?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why are you always sick?”

  “It’s a congenital condition called cystic fibrosis. I was born with it.”

  “Can’t the doctors fix it?”

  “Not really,” said Kevin and coughed several times. “My immune system is compromised—low cell count, depleted antibodies.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “It’s hard to fight infections.”

  More coughing.

  “Where did your grandfather go tonight?” asked Ivan, lurching up out of the beanbag in response to a dire circumstance on the game display.

  “I didn’t know he left.”

  “He did, and he hardly ever goes anywhere.”

  “Is there any pizza left?” asked Kevin, closing his eyes.

  “You want some?”

  “No, but is it any good?”

  “Yup,” said Ivan, sitting back down.

  “What makes your mom like she is?” asked Kevin.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. The way she looks and acts.”

  “I don’t know. She’s just my mother.”

  “What was her family like? Do you have any uncles or aunts?”

  “I think my mother had a sister. I heard her talking about her once.”

  “What’s she like?”

  “Never met her,” said Ivan, leaning quickly to the right to avoid a hand grenade.

  “Why not?”

  “Don’t know. Mother doesn’t talk about her family. Except for Grandma it’s almost like she didn’t have one, and we almost never see her.”

  “Where did you live before you came here?”

  “In town.”

  “With your mom?”

  “Yup.”

  “Where’s your dad?”

  “Dead, I guess.”

  “What do you think happens when you die?”

  “Beats me.”

  “Really, what do you think?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you think anyone knows?”

  “My friend August might. He’s always thinking about stuff like that. You should talk to him.”

  “He’s the preacher’s kid?”

  “Yup.”

  “You said something about him before. Does he have any cool games?”

  “Nope.
His mom won’t let him. He’s got a bat though.”

  “A baseball bat?”

  “No, a bat bat.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “No it isn’t. It’s cool.”

  “Bats are rodents.”

  “So what, they fly.”

  “How would he know what happens after you die?”

  “I don’t know how he knows stuff, but he does. He’s my best friend. August’s always thinking about things that other people never think about.”

  More coughing.

  “Like what?”

  “I can’t tell you. Those are secrets between August and me.”

  “No they’re not.”

  “Yes they are.”

  “I could get your mom fired. I could tell my mom to make you move out.”

  “She wouldn’t do it.”

  “Yes she would. I’ve gotten people fired before.”

  “I don’t care. Go ahead.”

  “Then you wouldn’t be able to play my games anymore.”

  “They’re stupid games anyway.”

  “People say your mom was a drug dealer.”

  “Not true.”

  “Not true that she was, or not true that people say she was?”

  “Both.”

  “Lucky said she was.”

  “How would he know?”

  “He knows some of the same people, I guess.”

  “Same people as what?”

  “Same people who took drugs and bought them from your mother.”

  “Not true.”

  “I heard him tell my mom.”

  “What did she say?”

  “I couldn’t hear. I asked her later and she said that was just the way people talked. But still, Lucky said it.”

  “You better never say anything like that again, not to my mother and not to me.”

  More coughing.

  “God, I’m tired of this,” said Kevin.

  “Tired of what?”

  “These fucking tubes running into me, this bed. I’m sick of it all. Do you ever just hate everything?”

  “Sometimes. Hey, here it comes.”

  Kevin opened his eyes. “Go hard right as soon as you see the first spider.”

  “There.”

  “Go.”

  “The wire’s too high.”

  “Push over the dumpster and jump up on it. There, now grab the wire.”

  “Got it.”

  “Easy now.”

  “I got it. No trouble.”

  “Jump up in the window now.”

  “I know. I know.”

  “You made it. Now go down the hall.”

  “I don’t need any more help.”

  “There’s a woman in that room at the end. She’s really hot, and you have to get a key from her.”

  “I can handle it,” said Ivan.

  “Keep your eye on her. She’s got a gun in the drawer.”

  “I saw that giant turtle of yours,” said Ivan.

  “When?”

  “A couple nights ago. I’ve been watching for him.”

  “Where was he?”

  “First, he was in the middle of the pond, looking like a big hump. Then he swam over and crawled out. He’s a monster.”

  “I told you. Did you look into his eyes?”

  “It was dark and he was a ways off.”

  “You’re lucky. He’s the devil. You can see it when he looks into your eyes.”

  The nurse came back from the bathroom then and told Ivan he had to finish his game and leave. It was time to check Kevin’s vital signs and take a blood sample.

  When Time Slows Down

  Buck and Wally arrived home at the same time. They walked into the house together, and went right into Kevin’s room. After several minutes, Wally continued down the hall and climbed the staircase up to his own room. The nurse went to the kitchen to find something to drink, and Buck sat in the recliner next to the bed.

  “You smell like cigarettes, Dad,” said Kevin.

  “I guess I do,” said Buck. His spirits were unusually high, having just spent the last hour with his father. Something about being with Wally always made Buck feel good. “I bought a pack and smoked one. Dumb thing to do, really, but I guess we all do dumb things from time to time. Most of the time we get away with it.”

  “It smells kind of good.”

  “I know. I like it too. But smoking’s a dirty habit. How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay. It’s after dark. You’re late.”

  “Your grandfather felt like eating steak tonight, so we went to a restaurant near Red Plain.”

  “I hate steak,” said Kevin.

  “I know you do, but your grandfather likes it. Did you have some pizza?”

  “No.”

  “Not hungry?”

  “Nope.”

  “You look like you might be feeling a little better though, better than yesterday at least. Is that true?”

  “I’m not.”

  “You will. There have been spells like this before and you’ve always come through them. You’re tough.”

  “Clearly these infections are tougher. The doctors said this one was that old one, back again, a strain of staphylococcus.”

  “You’ll beat it. You always do. After a while you won’t remember anything about times like these. It will be like they never existed.”

  “What happens when you die?”

  “I honestly don’t know, but I don’t think that’s a question—”

  “Do you think anyone does?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Ivan says his friend August does.”

  “That seems unlikely, but unless you know yourself I guess there’s no way of knowing if anyone else does.”

  “Good. I don’t think he knows either.”

  “That’s not quite what I said, Kev.”

  “I know.”

  “Ivan and you were talking today?”

  “Some. He’s out looking for that turtle now.”

  “Outdoors?”

  “He’s got a flashlight.”

  Buck went to the window. In the distance, a small spot of light jiggled along the edge of the water, about halfway around the pond.

  “He wants to look in its eyes,” said Kevin.

  “Why does he want to do that?” asked Buck.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Does his mother know he’s out there?”

  “Probably not,” said Kevin, and adjusted the oxygen tubing in his nose. “Dad, is Ivan’s mother bad?”

  “Danielle?”

  “Is she?”

  “Of course not. What do you mean?”

  “Would some people call her bad?”

  “Some people will call almost anyone bad, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s just the way people talk. Doesn’t mean anything.”

  “She looks like she might be bad. How can you be sure she isn’t?”

  “I’m pretty sure.”

  “God, I’m tired of this,” said Kevin, coughing again.

  Buck sat back down and leaned closer to the bed. “You’re going to feel better soon, Kev. When you’re not feeling well, time slows down. It always seems longer than it is. And then before you know it things are better. I’ll give you an example of that, but you have to promise never to tell your grandfather.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that’s the rule of the story. It’s the only way I can tell it.”

  “All right.”

  “Your grandfather was working up on this cherry picker in the summer—that’s one of those cages on the end of a telescoping beam. We’d just gotten it, and, fully extended, the cage would run up nearly ninety feet in the air. When it was closer to the ground, you could operate the base from controls in the cage. The base sat low on four wide rubber tires, and when the cage was down it would move three or four miles per hour. When the cage was high up in the air, the wheels wouldn’t turn at all. That was a safety precaution, because the whole rig could tip over ea
sily when the lift was extended.

  “So there your grandfather was, up about twenty feet in the air, flashing around a chimney. The building next to him was five stories tall, and way up on the roof he sees that someone has planted a pear tree, and there are pears growing in it. So he thought it would be fun to rise all the way up there and pick one. He drove the base about twenty yards to position it beneath the building, and brought the cage up to the level of the pear tree, about seventy-five feet off the ground. But when he rose above the roofline, he saw that there were four girls about your age sunbathing in the nude, lying on blankets. As you can probably imagine, they weren’t at all happy about your grandfather invading their privacy. They jumped up, wrapped blankets around themselves, and went for a water hose. By this time Wally was headed down, but at that height the cage came down very slowly, and while it was coming down the base wouldn’t move at all. He could only inch away from them. Those girls had a good long time to really soak him before he could get out of range. All of which is to say that sometimes time seems to move very slowly. It probably wasn’t very long, in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly seemed like it at the time.”

  “That’s pretty funny,” said Kevin.

  “I thought so myself, but don’t tell him that.”

  “How were they lying?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Were they faceup or facedown?”

  “I’m not sure he ever mentioned it, but the way I imagine it was two up and two down.”

  “That’s a good story, Dad.”

  Wally climbed the stairs to the second floor and stood in the hallway outside his room. Voices murmured from above him on the third floor and he climbed the next staircase. The door to Flo’s room was halfway open, and on the other side Flo, Amy, and Dart were talking. Wally sat at the top of the stairs. Though he couldn’t make out everything in the conversation, he liked the sound of their voices. The way women talked had a calming effect on him at night. He wasn’t sure why. It might have been the rambling talks he and his wife had often indulged in before they went to sleep, speaking of things on their minds in order to settle them down, soothe them into lying flat and keeping quiet, but he wasn’t absolutely sure this was the reason. There was also the way that, when he was growing up, his mother and aunt used to talk in the kitchen at night. But in the end it didn’t matter. At his age, demanding reasons no longer made sense. Delight was the only guiding light he needed, and he followed it wherever it led.