When I finally got up to the front of the line, I showed Mr. Santelli my pass and he waved me on through like usual. Carlos was inside helping some lady stand up from the concrete step where she’d been kneeling and praying. I saw where they’d laid a purple pillow on the bottom step so that it wouldn’t be so hard on people’s knees. This lady was a little on the heavy side, and Carlos had to strain some to get her standing up straight again. She said she’d special order three of the large sized pictures of Mary just to pay him back for his kindness. Then Carlos tried to sell her a golden cross too, but she said that the cross was a little too pricey for her budget and they started haggling.
I walked up the steps trying to get as close to Mary as possible, because like always I kind of missed her. Right away I noticed that her lips were curled up a hair more on either side, like she was smiling a little brighter than before. And she only had five tears on her face now instead of seven like she used to. I even counted them up on my fingers just to make sure, but no matter how many times I counted I still only got to five. Then I pressed my face right up against her new glass cover to see if I’d missed any, since it was always possible that a tear or two might be starting to fade, especially with all the smoke and grime from the fire and the construction. But I still counted only five tears, no matter how close I looked.
Carlos must have finally shook off the old lady, because he came over and asked me why I was taking so long. I pointed out Mary’s new smile and that she only had five tears now instead of seven.
“Do you think that means she’s happier with us than before?”
Carlos grunted a little, and then he climbed the steps and bent down to have a look for himself. After a few seconds of studying her, he straightened up, rubbed the back of his neck, coughed a few times, and finally said that he didn’t see that her mouth had changed all that much. But he said he was only counting five tears now too. Then he pulled me over to his little gift shop, because he said I’d had enough time to visit with Mary for one day.
“How could she have lost two tears? Do you think the fire might have burned them off?”
Carlos shrugged, but didn’t seem too worried about it.
“I don’t know. As long as she’s still crying though, that’ll keep the crowds coming. I guess I should’ve worked on her a little longer with my knife while I still had the chance.”
“Do you think it’s another sign from God?”
“Maybe. But maybe the stain is just bleeding out of the concrete a little. God works in strange ways sometimes.”
I asked him if he was afraid that sooner or later the stain might bleed out altogether and Mary would disappear forever. He said he doubted it.
“But if God wants Mary to go back to heaven with Him, that’s just the way it is, because we have no business telling God how to do things.”
Carlos must have seen some sadness slipping into my face, because he hurried up and said that he wasn’t expecting Mary to run out on us any time soon.
“Mary’s still got a lot of work to do around here, after all.”
“Like what?”
Carlos rubbed his chin a little.
“Well, even though the town is looking better all the time, it’s still no great shakes. And people are still getting sick and being unhappy and getting into squabbles and fights and being jealous and resentful of one another. I figure she’s got plenty of work left to do.”
Then before I could ask him anything else Carlos told me that a discount chain store was opening up a few blocks over that was planning to sell pictures of Mary and crosses and beads, all on the cheap. He said that I should tell my mom and all her friends not to shop there.
“It’s a big rip-off joint. They’re just peddling imitations, and bad ones at that.”
“I’ll tell her if I can remember. Mom’s not big on religious stuff though. Of course, maybe with Pastor Mike around, she’ll change her buying habits.”
Carlos shook his head.
“I doubt it. You Fundamentalists don’t go in for icons and spiritual mementos like us Catholics do.”
Before I could ask him what a Fundamentalist was, Carlos had to go and take care of some old guy who was looking for a cane that had Mary’s picture carved into the handle. I waited around hoping to see another miracle, but everybody in line looked to be in pretty decent shape. Finally I went outside and started walking and daydreaming and talking to Chewy about what a nice sunny day it was.
As I was strolling along all of a sudden I spotted that real mean rabid dog chained up outside the junkyard. That reminded me of the navigator Runyon had stolen and whether Father Tom had been able to return it to the owner without getting me in any trouble.
I found the car parked in about the same spot and saw that the navigator was stuck down on the dashboard instead of up on the window, I guess so thieves couldn’t see it quite as clear. Although it could have been a brand new one, since those gadgets all looked pretty much alike, something told me that Father Tom had returned it somehow and that I was off the hook.
I turned around and was heading back toward the shrine when this guy with the beginnings of a gray beard that reached nearly up to his eyeballs started pointing at me and making fun of me, calling me names like moron and idiot and stuff. I didn’t recognize him at first because of all the whiskers and how garbled and boozy his voice sounded. But when he started coming toward me I could tell by how his legs were bowing in and out that it was Runyon. I must have been talking kind of loud to Chewy, and he’d heard me and thought it was hilarious.
I got scared and began running as fast as I could. I wasn’t quite quick enough though, because even as wobbly as he was Runyon was able to catch me by the shoulder. Then he spun me around and started shoving me and calling me more nasty names. But he must not have recognized me as belonging to Mom, because he didn’t say anything about her. I started hitting his arm with my fists, because that was the only part of him I could reach. Then he shook me so hard that I thought my head was going to fall off.
“Spoiled punk. I ought to break you into little pieces.”
When I kept on fighting, he picked me up off the ground by my neck and held me there like he was trying to hang me. I was about to black out when I felt something furry brush up against my leg, since I was wearing shorts. A few seconds later Runyon screamed and dropped me. While I was catching my breath he started hopping around on one leg and reaching for his ankle and swearing real loud. I could tell that his ankle was bleeding pretty bad because his sock was all red, whereas before it was just a dirty seamy sort of white.
I ran as fast as I could until I made it all the way back to the shrine. Father Tom was out front talking to Carlos and the little drunk, and I raced right up and told them what had happened. The mayor was standing there too, but I didn’t pay much attention to him.
After hearing me out Father Tom told me to go straight home and that he’d handle Runyon from now on. I had a little cut above my eye where Runyon had socked me, so I was pretty sure he believed me this time. Carlos patted me on the head and called me a brave young fellow. Then he tried to pat Chewy on the head too, but like always he missed her by a mile. The little drunk didn’t say a word and just kept staring at me real icy and tough. He sort of gave me the creeps and I wondered why Father Tom and Carlos put up with him, but I figured they must have had their reasons.
As we were walking home I asked Chewy if it was really her that bit Runyon or just some stray, or maybe that rabid dog had got loose and done it. I was a little surprised at how worked up about it Chewy got too. She said that anyone with half a brain would know that some stray wouldn’t care a nickel if I lived or died, and that big rabid dog would just as soon have chomped on my leg as on Runyon’s. Then I asked her how she’d turned visible long enough to bite Runyon, and she said she didn’t exactly know because it had all happened so quick. It was a little like being born and then unborn all at once, she said, which I thought was a funny
way to put it. But she stood by it.
When I was opening the front door to our house, it hit me that I hadn’t thanked Father Tom for returning the navigator. I didn’t really feel like going home right then anyway and having to make up some story to Mom about the cut over my eye, since she sometimes came home for lunch to check up on me. So I whirled around and headed back to the shrine. But when I got there Father Tom and Carlos were already gone. The little drunk had left too, but I didn’t really care about him. The mayor was still standing around glad handing and shooting the breeze with folks after they’d passed by Mary. I waited until he was alone and asked him where they’d gone. He said they all went back to St. Sebastian’s to take care of something, but that they didn’t say what.
I ran up the street past the empty playground and then into the church. There were just a few old ladies kneeling up in the pews praying and rubbing their rosary beads, so I hopped down the steps to see if Father Tom and Carlos were in the basement. When I was about halfway down, I heard a rough mucousy kind of voice that made me stop dead. It was Runyon, and he seemed to be whining and squealing his head off.
I peeked around the corner to see if Father Tom was beating the snot out of him, but Runyon was sitting in a chair surrounded by Father Tom and Carlos and the little drunk. Runyon had just finished saying that he’d be more careful the next time, and they must have scared the booze right out of him because he wasn’t talking all garbled anymore. Then Father Tom wagged his big thick hand at him and told him that if he didn’t leave me alone, “All bets are off.”
I wondered what a priest would be betting about. Then Carlos reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a white envelope and handed it to Runyon. It was the same kind of envelope I’d seen him stuff with cash the day we were counting up the money at the shrine. Runyon opened the envelope, pulled out the bills and flipped through them. He was too far away for me to tell how much it came to. It was plenty though. Then Runyon grinned and stood up and smacked the cash against Carlos’s chest. The little drunk must not have appreciated him picking on Carlos that way, because he started reaching for Runyon’s throat with his sharp little hands. Father Tom had to hold him back.
“It’s always nice doing business with you fellows,” Runyon said, keeping a close eye on the little drunk.
Father Tom stuck his finger right into Runyon’s chest so hard that Runyon nearly fell backwards over the chair.
“If anything untoward happens to that boy or to his mother, for any reason, I’m holding you responsible.”
Runyon raised his fist at Father Tom like he was getting ready to fight.
“Don’t get so high and mighty with me. You guys are the biggest thieves I’ve ever come across.”
The little drunk whipped a knife out of his pocket, a real mean-looking switchblade too, and after flipping it open he held the blade right against Runyon’s neck. He didn’t slice him up or anything, but it was still enough of a scare to knock that silly grin off Runyon’s face. Then after waiting for what seemed like forever, Father Tom told the little guy to put away his knife and that there was no need for violence.
“At least not yet anyway.”
Runyon shoved the envelope into his pocket and ran for the steps like they were about to set his pants on fire. I scampered upstairs and knelt down behind one of the pews until Runyon was out the door. Then I almost went back down to the basement to thank Father Tom and Carlos for protecting me and to ask why they were giving a skunk like Runyon so much money. But with that little drunk whipping his knife all around, I decided I’d wait until I could talk to Carlos about it alone.
When I got home Mom was there fixing me a ham sandwich with lots of my favorite yellow mustard spread on. I told her that I’d cut my eye tripping and falling down on the sidewalk. She washed the cut out and slapped a Band-aid on it with some ointment that she claimed worked better than anything else on the market.
“At least you had sense enough to come straight home. For somebody who thinks he’s so smart, you can be awfully stupid at times.”
After lunch and after Mom had gone back to the hospital, Chewy and me went up to my room and laid on my bed side by side and talked it over. I was hoping that Chewy might have been able to sneak around and gather some secret information about what Runyon was up to and why Carlos was giving him money. But Chewy was as clueless about it as I was, which I guess is even more proof that being invisible isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
Chapter 13
All next week Mom worked days, and I spent most of my time between breakfast and supper down at the shrine. I was pretty sure that with all the pilgrims around Runyon would have a tough time snatching me or beating me up again. I didn’t see him at all though and hoped that maybe Father Tom and the little drunk had scared him off for good. I even pulled some of the local papers out of the big round trash bins the town had just set up all along the sidewalk to see if there was any news about Runyon being chased out of town. But there was nothing about him at all, which I figured was probably a good thing.
It took me a few days, but I finally got around to asking Carlos what he and Father Tom were doing with Runyon in the basement of St. Sebastian’s. I would have spoken up sooner, but I couldn’t figure out a way to get into it without making it seem like I’d been spying on them. Finally I decided to fib a little. I told him that I happened to be in St. Sebastian’s admiring that big picture of Mary on the front wall right behind where Jesus was hanging with the red paint smeared all over him, when I heard Runyon talking down in the basement.
Right away Carlos wanted to know exactly what I’d heard. His face turned pretty sour too, which shook me up a little on account of how easygoing he mostly was.
“I just heard Father Tom warning him that he better not mess with me anymore. That was about it, except for one thing.”
“And what was that?”
I worked the lie over in my head until it sounded true enough to tell.
“When I heard all your voices, I started walking downstairs to say hello. Then when I turned the corner, I saw you hand an envelope full of money to Runyon. I guess that made me think I wasn’t supposed to be there, and I left right away.”
Carlos fixed his dark eyes right at me.
“Is that all you saw?”
“That’s it.”
I thought about the little drunk shoving his knife at Runyon’s throat and Runyon calling them all thieves, but Runyon being such a lowlife I didn’t see why I had to bring that all up too. Carlos finally sat back down on his little swivel stool behind the counter, picked up his big white handkerchief and went back to polishing his crosses. He seemed a little embarrassed about having gotten so worked up, because he kept frowning and shaking his head and talking real soft.
“We owed him money for some landscaping work he’d done around the church.”
“Do you mean you hired a skunk like him?”
“Father Tom believes in giving everybody a second and even a third chance. It’s in the Bible, you know. Of course, now that he’s attacked you, we’re not planning on giving him any more jobs.”
I told him that I was glad it wasn’t the money he skimmed off every week from the profits down at the shrine to pay the utility bills. I said the shrine wouldn’t look too good if the electric company had to shut off the power. Carlos flicked his eyes up at me.
“I wouldn’t call it skimming, Nate. But anyway, I use envelopes to store a lot of things, like receipts, for instance. You can’t read too much into it.”
His story still sounded a little fishy, especially the part about some bum like Runyon doing honest work. But I didn’t see how I could press him anymore and still stay on his good side, since he seemed so touchy about it.
I was down at the shrine enough that Carlos put me to work sweeping the floor at his gift shop and running errands for him and stuff. He even let me use his computer for playing solitaire, which for some reason I could sit and play for
hours. He showed me how to work the e-mail too. He wanted me to be able to send out advertisements to his customers reminding them to visit the shrine again, especially when he was running specials on his crosses or rosary beads or whatever. He had quite a mailing list built up, and it didn’t surprise me that his business was growing so fast.
We’d eat lunch together sometimes at this new restaurant that had just gone in across the street where the last of those crummy bars used to be. I’d munch down burgers and fries while he sipped on coffee and chewed on a cream-filled chocolate donut that he said was the best he’d ever tasted. He always paid for my lunch out of his own pocket too, just like he did sometimes for the homeless people who came around asking for a handout. Carlos said it was the least he could do for “our poor brothers and sisters,” as he liked to call them.
“If Mary, being the Queen of the Universe, can pitch in to do community service, then we should be willing to help out too.”
I rubbed the ketchup off my lips and waited until I’d swallowed down the last of the fries, because Carlos didn’t like me talking with my mouth full any more than Mom did.
“It sure was boring around here before Mary showed up, but now it seems like something new and exciting is happening all the time.”
Carlos grinned at me kind of crafty and then ordered me apple pie with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. I let Chewy lick the ice cream but not the pie, since when she was still visible pie would always make her throw up. I didn’t have to put on an act either like when Mom was around, because Carlos was always asking about Chewy and how she was doing.
Then I got to thinking about Mr. Grimes and asked Carlos how much jail time he’d do for burning down Mary’s shrine. Carlos said he didn’t know for sure, but that he expected it would be plenty.
“Maybe after Mr. Grimes goes off to prison, Mary’ll show up on his cell wall and give him some hope.”
Carlos kind of blinked at me a little.
“But I thought you couldn’t stand Mr. Grimes.”
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