Interlude With Mary
Author: Bill Roberts
That evening had been arranged pretty carefully
by our basement boarders, Jim and Pheenie,
and they assured me it wouldn’t hurt a bit.
We rehearsed where we’d go, what would
and wouldn’t be said, how Jim would
pick up the tab for any food, beverages,
the tickets, and how, if I had a mind to,
I’d hold Mary’s hand in the backseat
of their car and possibly kiss her goodnight,
if I was so inclined and didn’t mind too much.
It went pretty well according to plan,
except I was shaken by how simply lovely
Jim’s niece turned out to be, and we all knew
she’d be thrilled just to watch stockcars
go round and round a dusty dirt oval.
I could tell she’d have a cheeseburger too,
if I ordered one for myself.
She only ate half of hers, explaining
partially why she was so slender.
I held her cool hand in the car and kissed her
on the front porch of the house where she lived.
Mary said goodnight, smiled and
met me with urgency when I kissed her
a second time, then hurried in the house.
Jim thanked me, which wasn’t necessary.
Pheenie couldn’t find words, which was okay.
I told them I’d enjoyed meeting Mary.
We’d rehearsed everything except
how we’d feel when Mary died a few weeks later.
(Published in the April 2001 issue of Offerings Magazine)
Note: Leukemia. Maybe the second time I’d heard that ominous word. I was sixteen when this interlude occurred, getting more serious about school and education – I went to a great high school, Theodore Roosevelt in D.C. – and was turning to new friends, new experiences, new challenges. Jim and Pheenie had been like surrogate parents, albeit country types and heavy drinkers but salt (or maybe pepper) of the earth. They’d take me, brother Jim, and sisters GeeGee and Bee with them to the dusty dirt oval Friday nights, then for burgers at a nearby honky-tonk where, I swear, I heard some of the great ones, like Hank Williams, coming up or on the way out. Though I was in the process of finding classical music and jazz when Jim asked me this favor, there was no way I could possibly say no after all he and Pheenie had given me – us! – over some difficult years.
