Walls by L.M. Elliott

Author:L.M. Elliott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 2021-06-03T18:18:34+00:00

For hours, Drew stewed over the fact that he was missing an opportunity to ask Shirley out on a sort-of date. Going to the movies as a group was a safe first move, like practice for the real thing. And he loved Kirk Douglas, the lead in Spartacus. It was an important film, too, a cultural event—Drew could milk that with his mom. Douglas had braved hiring a screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, who’d been blacklisted for being some kind of communist. JFK had made a big deal about going to see the film, crossing a picket line of American Legion members who were boycotting it, holding signs accusing it of being un-American and Douglas of being a Red.

Drew paced, ready to pounce on his mom the instant she walked through the door. He was going to ask to be excused from the play. After all, Matthias had stood him up last month, and Drew really wasn’t interested in some opera by Brecht.

But it wasn’t until an hour before Drew and Joyce were scheduled to leave—first to meet Fritz and then Matthias—that his mom made it home, looking exhausted. As she hung up her lavender swing coat and pulled off her white gloves, she called to Drew, “I want to talk to you for a few minutes, please, honey.”

She sat on the piano bench and patted it, indicating that he should sit down next to her. “Tomorrow, could you please see if there are a few things in your closet that you wouldn’t mind donating to the refugees? We’ve been flooded with people this whole month. Twice as many have made it through as in February. The warmer spring temperatures make it easier for them to move through the forests at night by moonlight.”

She reached out and brushed back Drew’s hair a bit. “There was boy about your size at Marienfelde today who had nothing but the clothes on his back. Maybe you can find a sweater and a pair of pants you’ve outgrown?”

“Sure, Mom.”

She nodded and smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart.” She laid her head on his shoulder for just a moment.

Drew saw his opening. “Mom, do I really have to go tonight? Joyce has that guy Fritz to take her. I’m not interested in some opera by Brecht. And why do I have to spend my Saturday night in East Berlin? Charlie and”—he felt his face flush a little—“and the gang are going to see Spartacus. I’d much rather see that and be with them.”

His mom stiffened and sat upright. “Won’t you be glad to see Matthias?”

Would he? The last time they’d been together, back in January, he’d really enjoyed Matthias’s company. He’d even started to feel like his cousin could be a friend to count on, given how he’d schooled Bob in soccer when Bob was harassing Drew. But then the envelope had happened, and he was still worried that Matthias could be involved with it somehow, wittingly or not. And then Matthias hadn’t shown up to swim, giving no explanation.

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