She loved how his face looked in sleep, slack-jawed and wholly open, innocent and defenseless, young. He is still her little boy. He will always be her little boy, no matter how old he gets, no matter what he does. Gloria remembers the valentine that Buddy made for her in fifth grade, and the way he turned the money from his paper route over to her for groceries. She wouldnât take it, of course. She wanted him to spend it on himself. And now as Gloria thinks about that day of driving out Route 70 to the beach, it seems to stretch out, to last forever, Gloria and Buddy in the old Dodge Dart, with the windows up, the air-condition on. It didnât last forever, of course, and what happened at the beach is something sheâd rather forget, frankly.
As she would rather forget the time she found that toolâwhat do you call it? The long thin kind you use to open your car door when youâve locked your keys inside. But as Gloria told Ms. Ferebee-Bunch, she just didnât think anything about it at the time. She was much more surprised at finding Buddy home in the middle of the day with two older boysâin her own apartment, when she thought he was in school! And she was much more upset about these friends of Buddyâs than about whatever they might have brought along with them. A Negro might have anything, itâs no way to tell what one might bring into your home.
Gloria said all this to Ms. Ferebee-Bunch, who did not bat an eye. She just looked at Gloria, cold as ice. Maybe Ms. Ferebee-Bunch has some Negro blood herself, a little touch of it like Dinah Shore, because she is the one that recommended for Buddy to go to the group home.
Itâs dark now. The neon lights have come on in the Nu-Tread tire sign. The Andréâs all gone. Gloria sits up and stares at the index card.
She needs to go on out to the Safeway before it closes, but she needs to be here to answer the phone. Also, she needs to cash a check, this is another problem. She canât think what to do. Plus that new man in the apartment upstairs has got the flu, so she was going to get him something good to eat when she went out, maybe a Sara Lee coffee cake. Everybody likes Sara Lee. Suddenly the phone shrills out. It sounds so loud in this silent apartment. It startles Gloria so much that she knocks the receiver off the couch, trying to answer it.
âHello?â she says. âHello?â But all she hears is breathing, then a click on the end of the line. The receiver buzzes in her hand. Wrong number. Carefully she replaces it and settles back on the couch. Itâll ring again in a minute. Itâll be Buddy. Heâll need some food, heâll want some money. And now, all of a sudden, Gloria knows what sheâll say. Ms. Ferebee-Bunch can go to hell.
Sure, honey
, sheâll say.
Yes. Come on home
. Gloria remembers the time when Buddy was a Wise Man in the kindergarten play. She dressed him up in a blue plaid robe, but the kindergarten teacher made him wear a plain navy robe, somebody elseâs, instead. They didnât have plaid in Jesusâ time, the teacher said. Itâs going to ring any minute now. Itâll be Buddy. Heâs a good boy. He will go to college, he will be a big shot, he will take such good care of his mother. The phone on Gloriaâs stomach rises and falls with her breath.
Life on the Moon
For Susan Raines
T his story starts at the National Air and Space Museum in our nationâs capital, with me and Lucie taking the Beginner Space Quiz and Richie and Tommy (her little boy) running wild all over the place while Darnell held on tight to my hand. I guess I ought to say something about the Air and Space Museum, I donât know if youâve been there or not. It is a huge beautiful building all glass and concrete, with real planes hanging from its high ceiling and rockets and things all over the place. Then you can go in any of the exhibits and learn about something in
As she would rather forget the time she found that toolâwhat do you call it? The long thin kind you use to open your car door when youâve locked your keys inside. But as Gloria told Ms. Ferebee-Bunch, she just didnât think anything about it at the time. She was much more surprised at finding Buddy home in the middle of the day with two older boysâin her own apartment, when she thought he was in school! And she was much more upset about these friends of Buddyâs than about whatever they might have brought along with them. A Negro might have anything, itâs no way to tell what one might bring into your home.
Gloria said all this to Ms. Ferebee-Bunch, who did not bat an eye. She just looked at Gloria, cold as ice. Maybe Ms. Ferebee-Bunch has some Negro blood herself, a little touch of it like Dinah Shore, because she is the one that recommended for Buddy to go to the group home.
Itâs dark now. The neon lights have come on in the Nu-Tread tire sign. The Andréâs all gone. Gloria sits up and stares at the index card.
She needs to go on out to the Safeway before it closes, but she needs to be here to answer the phone. Also, she needs to cash a check, this is another problem. She canât think what to do. Plus that new man in the apartment upstairs has got the flu, so she was going to get him something good to eat when she went out, maybe a Sara Lee coffee cake. Everybody likes Sara Lee. Suddenly the phone shrills out. It sounds so loud in this silent apartment. It startles Gloria so much that she knocks the receiver off the couch, trying to answer it.
âHello?â she says. âHello?â But all she hears is breathing, then a click on the end of the line. The receiver buzzes in her hand. Wrong number. Carefully she replaces it and settles back on the couch. Itâll ring again in a minute. Itâll be Buddy. Heâll need some food, heâll want some money. And now, all of a sudden, Gloria knows what sheâll say. Ms. Ferebee-Bunch can go to hell.
Sure, honey
, sheâll say.
Yes. Come on home
. Gloria remembers the time when Buddy was a Wise Man in the kindergarten play. She dressed him up in a blue plaid robe, but the kindergarten teacher made him wear a plain navy robe, somebody elseâs, instead. They didnât have plaid in Jesusâ time, the teacher said. Itâs going to ring any minute now. Itâll be Buddy. Heâs a good boy. He will go to college, he will be a big shot, he will take such good care of his mother. The phone on Gloriaâs stomach rises and falls with her breath.
Life on the Moon
For Susan Raines
T his story starts at the National Air and Space Museum in our nationâs capital, with me and Lucie taking the Beginner Space Quiz and Richie and Tommy (her little boy) running wild all over the place while Darnell held on tight to my hand. I guess I ought to say something about the Air and Space Museum, I donât know if youâve been there or not. It is a huge beautiful building all glass and concrete, with real planes hanging from its high ceiling and rockets and things all over the place. Then you can go in any of the exhibits and learn about something in
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