They Cage the Animals at Night by Jennings Michael Burch

Author:Jennings Michael Burch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2017-05-15T10:48:56+00:00

10

George and I sat toward the rear of the bus as it rumbled down Main Street. I had the shopping bag between my legs, and Doggie tucked under my arm.

“Do you have to carry that thing?” George asked. He motioned with his head toward Doggie.

“He doesn’t like traveling in the bag. It’s stuffy.”

“The way you talk about him, anybody’d think he was real.”

“He is.” I lifted him up to look at him. “At least to me he is.”

“Put ‘im down,” George whispered. He spun his head around to see who might be watching.

“Oh, by the way, thank you for sending him to me.”

“That’s all right,” he said. He patted my knee. “Well, how was it?”

“Not bad. The Fraziers are very rich. I had my own room, and we ate in the dining room. I even had lunch to take to school.”

“Speaking of rooms,” he sighed, “we moved.”

“Moved! You mean we don’t live in the house on Coolidge Avenue no more? I won’t be near Midnight?”

“No more. In fact, it’s better for you. You only have to walk a half a block to the bus.”

“What bus?”

“What do you mean, what bus? The one that takes you to school.”

“I mean, is it the Q44 or a different one?”

He chuckled. “It’s the Q44. You can still see that friend of yours, what’s-his-name.”

“Sal.”

“Hey, what is it with this guy? Why do you like him so much?”

“He’s very nice to me. He talks to me and everything. Wait! Someday you’ll meet him and you’ll like him too.”

“I doubt it,” George mumbled.

“How do you know?”

“By the way, the new apartment only has three rooms. You, Larry, and Gene will sleep in one bedroom, me and Walter will sleep in the other.”

“Where’ll Mom sleep?”

“In the front room, the living room.”

“Sounds pretty crowded,” I said.

“Yeah, well, it’s all I could afford.”

“How’s Mom?” I asked.

“She’s okay.”

“Hey, George? Why does Mom keep getting sick?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s all in her head.”

“What do you mean, in her head?”

“Ah, nothing. Forget it.”

“No. Really. What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe it’s all in her mind. Maybe she ain’t really sick. Maybe she just thinks she is.”

We rode in silence. I didn’t understand how someone could just think they were sick and be sick. I remembered trying that sometimes when I didn’t want to go to school. It never worked.

We got off the bus at Seventy-seventh Road and walked the half-block to the new apartment. It was on the first floor of a three-story building. George pushed open the front door and went in. I followed him. Mom was in bed by the window.

“Mom,” I called softly.

She turned her face toward me and smiled. I fell forward and hugged her.

“Oh, Mom,” I cried, “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, dear. I’m sorry I had to send you away.”

“It’s all right, Mom. The Fraziers were very nice people.”

“I’ll have to send them a little note,” she said. She closed her eyes.

“Are you tired, Mom?”

“A little,” she whispered. “But tell me, how do you feel?”

“Fine,” I said.

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