The End of Vandalism by Tom Drury

Author:Tom Drury [Tom Drury]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781910400067
Publisher: Old Street Publishing
Published: 2015-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Joan Gower climbed the attic stairs with a flashlight at the Little Church of the Redeemer. It was cold and she rubbed her arms, making the light dance in the rafters. She bumped the worn plywood figures of the Nativity scene and continued to the back wall, where, under a dim and diamond-shaped window, there were three trunks, each bearing her name. She had labeled the trunks years ago, when she was spelling her name Joän. These were her things from Chicago. She had to open all the trunks before she found the canvas pillow that she had worn in order to perform the role of the pregnant woman in the French farce. It had two straps, one for her hips and one for her back, and utilized a crude and early form of Velcro. She belted the rig over her jeans and sweater. Then she put on a long, gray houndstooth coat that she had worn all the time back then.

Joan went down the steps carefully. The hard part in the play had been to accept the weight as part of herself, and in turn to project that acceptance beyond the edge of the stage. The cast had been much nicer to her when she appeared to be pregnant, even though they knew it was an illusion. She walked through the drab church and out the side door. She got a rake from the shed and began combing the algae from the duck pond. The clouds were like the pieces of a broken blackboard. Sometimes Joan wished she had stuck with her acting a little longer. Of course, there was nothing that said she couldn’t get back into it. Even now, anyone driving by would have thought for all the world that she was a pregnant woman walking in the hills. No one did drive by, however. The ducks followed her around the edge of the water. “I am big as a house,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tiny was standing in the reception area of Kleeborg’s Portraits. He felt as though he had completed a long journey to reunite with Louise, although he might not have a lot to show for it. Tiny rang a bell and waited quite a while. Eventually Kleeborg came out. He had thin white hair and large wraparound sunglasses. Gesturing with the squeegee, Tiny offered to wash the windows.

“I got a guy named Pete who comes around in the spring,” said Kleeborg.

“With windows like these, I wouldn’t wait until spring,” said Tiny. “I mean, it’s up to you. But come over here. This is not good.”

“I don’t see very well since my car accident,” said Kleeborg.

“Maybe there’s someone else who can take a look,” said Tiny. “I’m not saying this because of the money. I’m saying this as a friend.”

“We’ve come this far with Pete,” said Kleeborg. “Goodbye.”

Tiny left the office and stood on the sidewalk. Kleeborg’s was on the ground floor of a three-story building with an awning. The door opened and Louise stepped onto the sidewalk.

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