me?”
“Because he’s the man who found you in the woods.”
‘Oh,” Nat said.
He asked no more questions because he knew the answers wouldn’t settle anything.
It was not news to him that many people in the world — the entire population of grown-ups, for example — behaved in ways he could not understand.
26 December 1967
Trades
Jacob got to sleep over on the night following Christmas, because it was still vacation from school.
“Did you get anything good?” Jacob asked Nat, as soon as they’d gotten into his room and out of Gamma’s range of hearing.
“I got this fire truck,” he said. And showed it to Jacob. “From Ga— From my grandmother,” he corrected, realizing suddenly and for the first time that “Gamma” sounded too babyish. “Did you get anything better than this?”
“My father brought me a baseball with Joe DiMaggio’s signature on it. But I don’t think we can play baseball with it. It’s too good. And it’s in a plastic case. My mother says it’s worth a lot of money but he only gave it to me because he feels guilty. Did you get anything else?”
“Clothes. I hate clothes.”
“Everybody hates clothes.”
“And this chemistry set.” Nat pulled it out from the closet, into the middle of his bedroom rug.
“That’s a good one.”
“You think so? I hate chemistry.”
“Your grandmother gave you this? Wasn’t she afraid you’d blow the place up?”
“No, it’s from the man who found me in the woods.” A silent moment. Nat had no idea he’d said anything confusing. But he watched Jacob try and fail to sort out what seemed like straightforward information.
“A man found you in the woods? What were you doing in the woods?”
“No. I wasn’t. Not actually. I mean, I don’t think so. He’s just a man who gives presents. Isn’t he?”
“I never heard of the guy.”
“You don’t get presents from the man who found you in the woods?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I thought everybody did.”
“Nobody I ever met. Except you. What else did he ever give you?”
“That’s who I got the mitt from. He gives me something every birthday and every Christmas. He gave me an archery set. And binoculars. And he gave me an ant farm, but Gam— My grandmother wouldn’t let me keep it.”
“Boy, I wish I did have one of those woods men. Let’s see what we can make with this set.”
So they pulled out all the little test tubes and burners and bottles of various clear liquids.
Jacob decided they should try to make soap, because it was the very first project in the little booklet and seemed easiest. Nat went along, even though it sounded uninteresting, because he was pretty sure you couldn’t blow up anything with soap.
They spilled a whole bottle of something medicinally smelly on Nat’s bedroom rug in the process, but they did end up with a thick, bubbly liquid that they supposed was soap. It seemed not a very exciting conclusion to Nat, since they both avoided soap as much as possible and only washed when absolutely forced to do so.
“We could do another one,” Jacob said.
“Nah. I don’t like chemistry.”
“What do you want to do, then?”
“I don’t know.”
They lay on their backs crosswise on the bed for a few minutes, looking at the plastic stars on Nat’s ceiling.
Then Nat said, “I’ll be right back.”
He padded downstairs, his bare feet freezing.
Gamma was sitting in her big upholstered easy chair, knitting. And watching a mushy black-and-white love-movie on TV.
“Who’s the man who found me in the woods?”
Gamma sighed deeply. “Well, you’re just all full of questions lately. Aren’t you? Now I’m going to miss my show. Well, you were going to ask sooner or later. So go ahead and turn down the volume and then come back.”
Nat ran to the TV and turned it down, wincing at the fact that a man and a woman were kissing on the screen.
Gamma’s hands and knitting needles continued to fly as she talked.
“Every
“Because he’s the man who found you in the woods.”
‘Oh,” Nat said.
He asked no more questions because he knew the answers wouldn’t settle anything.
It was not news to him that many people in the world — the entire population of grown-ups, for example — behaved in ways he could not understand.
26 December 1967
Trades
Jacob got to sleep over on the night following Christmas, because it was still vacation from school.
“Did you get anything good?” Jacob asked Nat, as soon as they’d gotten into his room and out of Gamma’s range of hearing.
“I got this fire truck,” he said. And showed it to Jacob. “From Ga— From my grandmother,” he corrected, realizing suddenly and for the first time that “Gamma” sounded too babyish. “Did you get anything better than this?”
“My father brought me a baseball with Joe DiMaggio’s signature on it. But I don’t think we can play baseball with it. It’s too good. And it’s in a plastic case. My mother says it’s worth a lot of money but he only gave it to me because he feels guilty. Did you get anything else?”
“Clothes. I hate clothes.”
“Everybody hates clothes.”
“And this chemistry set.” Nat pulled it out from the closet, into the middle of his bedroom rug.
“That’s a good one.”
“You think so? I hate chemistry.”
“Your grandmother gave you this? Wasn’t she afraid you’d blow the place up?”
“No, it’s from the man who found me in the woods.” A silent moment. Nat had no idea he’d said anything confusing. But he watched Jacob try and fail to sort out what seemed like straightforward information.
“A man found you in the woods? What were you doing in the woods?”
“No. I wasn’t. Not actually. I mean, I don’t think so. He’s just a man who gives presents. Isn’t he?”
“I never heard of the guy.”
“You don’t get presents from the man who found you in the woods?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I thought everybody did.”
“Nobody I ever met. Except you. What else did he ever give you?”
“That’s who I got the mitt from. He gives me something every birthday and every Christmas. He gave me an archery set. And binoculars. And he gave me an ant farm, but Gam— My grandmother wouldn’t let me keep it.”
“Boy, I wish I did have one of those woods men. Let’s see what we can make with this set.”
So they pulled out all the little test tubes and burners and bottles of various clear liquids.
Jacob decided they should try to make soap, because it was the very first project in the little booklet and seemed easiest. Nat went along, even though it sounded uninteresting, because he was pretty sure you couldn’t blow up anything with soap.
They spilled a whole bottle of something medicinally smelly on Nat’s bedroom rug in the process, but they did end up with a thick, bubbly liquid that they supposed was soap. It seemed not a very exciting conclusion to Nat, since they both avoided soap as much as possible and only washed when absolutely forced to do so.
“We could do another one,” Jacob said.
“Nah. I don’t like chemistry.”
“What do you want to do, then?”
“I don’t know.”
They lay on their backs crosswise on the bed for a few minutes, looking at the plastic stars on Nat’s ceiling.
Then Nat said, “I’ll be right back.”
He padded downstairs, his bare feet freezing.
Gamma was sitting in her big upholstered easy chair, knitting. And watching a mushy black-and-white love-movie on TV.
“Who’s the man who found me in the woods?”
Gamma sighed deeply. “Well, you’re just all full of questions lately. Aren’t you? Now I’m going to miss my show. Well, you were going to ask sooner or later. So go ahead and turn down the volume and then come back.”
Nat ran to the TV and turned it down, wincing at the fact that a man and a woman were kissing on the screen.
Gamma’s hands and knitting needles continued to fly as she talked.
“Every
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