Harold and Gravity by Nick Sibicky

Author:Nick Sibicky [Sibicky, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

15

“Oh, Bubbi! We’ve missed you!” my mother said, giving me a tight hug upon my arrival. “BEN! Your son has come home. Get over here!”

The scent of fresh-fried potato latkes filled the air. My three little sisters rushed to the doorway to see me, each one taller than I remembered.

My father waded through the commotion to grip my hand for a manly-man handshake. “There’s my working boy! You staying out of trouble? Impressing your boss?”

His questions must have been rhetorical, because he strolled to the kitchen to stuff his mouth with a latke before I could answer. I dragged my belongings to my old bedroom. An unseemly number of unicorn toys and stuffed animals greeted me at the doorway.

“Oh, your sisters tired of rooming together, so we re-purposed your room. I’m sure you understand.” My mother clasped her hands. “We made a nook for you in the basement!”

Through a creaky door and down unfinished wood steps, the “nook” consisted of a hastily inflated air mattress and a table lamp. The lamp’s plug laid loose on the concrete floor, with no nearby outlet visible. A clothes washer clamored in the far corner. Each spin of its cycle sounded like an animalistic growl. Water pooled below a dripping pipe on the other side of the mattress.

“I know it’s not as nice as your old bedroom, but you are only staying here a short while. At least you’ll have your own bathroom!” My mother gestured to a toilet half-installed years ago when my dad began a basement remodel he never finished.

“I’ll be fine.” I hid my disappointment.

I placed my bags on the mattress and inspected the toilet’s thick coating of dust. The handle jiggled but didn’t flush. I sighed.

After that evening’s Hanukkah blessing, my father tucked my sisters in their beds and retired to the living room to watch PBS. It was an episode about astronauts living on the International Space Station.

“I think I like my feet planted firmly on terra firma, thank you very much,” my father declared to no one in particular.

“I’d like to feel the freedom of floating in space, far above the earth and its problems,” I said.

My father turned to me and laughed. “A floating astronaut is anything but free. They are a vessel for the rest of humanity. I see why that appeals to you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“To do something great, like travel to space, you have to give up so much. You have to serve a greater mission than yourself. You have to leave behind the most important people in your life. There are countless sacrifices made along the way…not just made by the astronaut but by everyone else. It’s good that you care so much, Harold. But you prioritize others’ needs ahead of your own. You never ask anyone to sacrifice anything for what you believe in.”

His words offended me. “I took this job to—”

“—Yes, tell me more about your job.”

I laid down on the couch with my hands behind my head. “I’m thinking of quitting.

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