A Catalogue of Everything in the World by Yelizaveta P. Renfro

Author:Yelizaveta P. Renfro [Renfro, Yelizaveta P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dzanc Books
Published: 2011-10-17T04:04:07+00:00

May 17, 2006

Dear Diary,

Something’s just happened. I’m not sure what. I don’t know how to explain it. I thought it was one of the best visits I’ve ever had. It was worth the wait. They boys were transfixed. I knew just what to say to make them more and more amazed. That’s what I thought.

I didn’t expect them to come on foot, but that’s how they came. They stood in front of the house on the sidewalk, taking pictures. I turned on Six Suites and stood way back in the shadows to watch them. They were perhaps twenty. One had short, dark hair, and the other wore a baseball cap. They were dressed like other boys their age nowadays in loose T-shirts, baggy shorts. They walked up and down the sidewalk and took more pictures. They stopped to talk, then came up the path. I could see they were nervous.

When the knock sounded, I was ready. I was completely ready. I graciously asked them in. They hesitated but stepped into the foyer. They looked all around, up and down. One of them cleared his throat and finally asked a question. “How old is your house?”

“It was built in 1909. The Jacobys were the second owners,” I said.

“It looks all original,” the boy said, looking around.

“Oh, yes. I keep it that way,” I explained. “You may take pictures if you like. I will show you around.”

I noticed that the boy in the baseball cap had a twisted scar running down one cheek. The other boy had a pierced ear. They both looked nervous. But I never turn anyone away. I waited a moment to see what drew their interest. The pierced-ear boy began to move around the foyer, holding the camera, looking at the chandelier, the staircase. He looked into the study. It is not the place I would have started, but I took my cues from them. I followed their curiosity.

“That’s Reynolds Jacoby’s study and library,” I said. I led them in. “He was a collector of old maps. Those that you see on the wall are reproductions. The original collection was sold off. So much was lost.”

The boy with the camera moved to the built-in bookcase and took pictures of it.

“The Jacobys were great book lovers,” I explained. “Myrtle Jacoby’s favorite writers were Walt Whitman and Willa Cather. She even named her cats Walta and Willa. That one sleeping on the chair is Willa. Walta is around someplace.”

The boy took pictures of the fireplace in the corner. He photographed the bank of windows in the south wall. I think he took a close-up of the crown molding, but at the time I wasn’t sure.

I took them back to the foyer. “The way you came up the walk is the way the cousins came that morning,” I said. “The door was unlocked, as usual.” I felt like I needed to get my bearings with these boys. I always try to talk about what will interest people. I wasn’t sure about the boys yet.

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