Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2003 00:25:09 -0400 From: C. E. Jordan Subject: The Village Boy - 16 The Village Boy (c) c.e. jordan zedzero5@hotmail.com >From last episode: The two boys turned to leave. "Oh, Jer, wait a second." I took out a cell phone and gave it to him. "This is yours, call me if you ever need to... and you can call for a car anytime you want to, that number's on speed dial, okay?" "Wow, thanks Charles." And he hugged me. "'Bye baby, have fun." "'Bye, Charles." Pausing at the green door at top of the steps, still dragging Jeremy's backpack, Kevin turned and waved goodbye to me. THE VILLAGE BOY - part 16 "Dark coloring and black eyes are more closely related to the sublime, blue eyes and blonde coloring to the beautiful `Of The Beautiful and Sublime' -- Immanuel Kant I was alone again. It wasn't very long since I had left Kevin's apartment. Riding along in silent comfort, even the spacious confines of the large car had become quickly oppressive. Acutely aware of Jeremy's absence, I rolled down the tinted windows to let in some of the noisy life from the streets. The wind brushed like feathery fingertips across my face, touched my eyelids, and pushed into my nose. What I really wanted to do was turn the vehicle around and bring Jeremy back home with me. That was a childish, selfish impulse, but an honest one. Outside, a car horn tooted. A UPS guy, his skin the exact colour of his plain brown uniform, dodged the onrushing traffic as he tried to carry too many packages at once; someone yelled, "Fuck you," to somebody else. And a young girl in pigtails was a red flash as she ran into a corner `bodega'. But these rapidly passing snapshots of life outside the car couldn't erase the picture of my boy from my mind. I couldn't help laughing at myself. I was such a romantic fool. The truth is, just a few minutes away from him and I was already missing Jeremy. I had just rolled the windows closed when my phone rang. "Hello? Muffled sounds, music, and the murmur of low voices met my ear. "Hello?" I asked again. `Hi, Charles." It was Jeremy. Now, not quite an hour since I left him at Kevin's, I was so totally surprised to hear J's voice so soon, I found myself almost yelling, "Hey kiddo! What's up? I tried to lighten my response as I continued chatting, "You miss me already? "Nope. "What? You mean you don't miss me?" I made my voice sorrowful pretending my feelings were hurt. "Naw, man, I don't miss you," Insisted my hard-hearted boy. This was followed by a duet of treble giggles. Obviously the two were on a speakerphone. And at that moment, while listening to my young love's voice, nothing could hurt me. "Okay, then, I guess I got to find two nicer boys to take out this weekend. "Huh?" Asked Jeremy. "What?" Hearing Kevin's lighter voice caused me to smile. "Ahhh... um... okay, I miss you! I miss you! "Me too..." Chimed in Kevin, "I miss you too... At which point there was lots of boyish laughter from the other end of the phone. "Okay then, I'll call your mom later Kevin, and I'll talk with you guys about what were going to do when I see you again, have fun. I disconnected feeling a lot better after that quick chat with the kids. A weekend of carefree fun before bringing Eliza home on Monday would be a good thing for Jeremy... for all of us, I decided. **** "Son of a bitch!" That expletive came from the front seat. My driver today, Rafael, floored the brakes and I looked up just in time to see a man stumble against the front of our car as he tried to run past us. He was attempting to beat the traffic lights. I took another look at the young man who had made it unhurt to the opposite side of the street. A beat-up guitar case was slung across his shoulders, and he stopped briefly to make a quick apologetic motion toward us. As he turned away, his long shiny hair flew away from his face and I did a double take. Something about him was very familiar. The slim body and long hair, the sloe eyes, and the olive skin... this fellow was the spitting image of Jeremy! He even wore brilliant silver and jade jewelry just like those Jeremy decorates himself with occasionally. Eliza had mentioned that the jewelry was old, a gift from the Native-American mother of Jeremy's dad. My heart almost stopped beating. Of course! Jeremy's dad! Maybe this guy was just a look- alike, an incredible coincidence, but not such an unusual happening in a big city like New York. Perhaps I was wrong, but somehow, I knew in my heart I wasn't. The man appeared to be in his late twenties, perhaps thirty, or so^Å just the right age. It had to be. I could feel it in my bones. I was pretty sure I had just seen Jer's father. "Stop! Stop the car!" I yelled at the startled driver. His head swiveled back and forth as he tried to negotiate a quick stop in the busy traffic. Finally, he was able to pull the big car within a few feet of the curb. I jumped out before it had quite stopped moving. "Sorry, Rafael, thanks, but I gotta catch this guy... you can go, thanks again..." And I was off running, dodging and pushing among the pedestrian crowd. I suppose they thought I was just another New York crazy and made way for me. I could barely see the shiny black hair and the dull black guitar case bobbing half a block in the distance. I thought, "Please God, let me catch up to him. I never stopped to think about what I'd say if I caught up. I didn't even know Jeremy's dad's first name, or his last. It had never occurred to me to ask. Jer used Bell, Eliza's family name as his own. And exactly what did I expect from this man? He ran away from his responsibilities to Jeremy before the boy was even born... why would he care about him now? I guess, to be fair, it should be taken into consideration that both he and Eliza were practically children at the time. But none of those questions really mattered at the moment. What was most important to me right then was catching up to him. The breath tore raggedly from my throat as the sudden exercise took its toll on my body. Still, I pounded up the sidewalk scaring dogs and trying not to trip folks who got in my way. The distance between the longhaired figure and me steadily narrowed. Then he raced recklessly across an intersection and nearly got run over again. `Damn,' I thought, `he's gonna get himself killed before I could even talk to him. On the corner of Twenty Third Street and Seventh Avenue, the traffic lights switched to green again and I could see Jeremy's adult look-alike on the opposite side of the street. He was about to walk down the steps of the downtown IRT subway station. I ran across in no time and flew down the steps behind him. I could see the man and one other person waiting as the train roared into the station. It was now or never. I stuck my hand into my pockets but I had no tokens to enter onto the platform. I turned to the token booth clerk to buy a token but the doors were already opening on the train... so I did what I had to do. I ran to the turnstile and jumped over it all the while yelling over the rumble of the engines, "Hey, sir! Hey mister! Wait... please! The guy finally heard me and looked over his shoulder as he stepped onto the train. He looked understandably alarmed. After all, a wild-eyed, complete stranger was accosting him in big bad New York City. I didn't blame him at all for being scared. He stayed inside the subway car and approached the door tentatively, saying nothing, but obviously curious about what I wanted. So, now what could I say that would make any sense to him? As the engines thrummed and the train doors began to slide close, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my card. Jeremy's adult clone automatically grabbed the card. I yelled above the noise, "Please, call me... it's about Eliza Bell! The doors slammed shut and the train began moving, but not before I saw the young man's reaction. His eyes and mouth popped open in surprise... no, it was more like shock. The last I saw of him, he had his forehead and hands pressed against the door as he tried vainly to pull it open again. Yes! I thought, triumphantly, I was right. And it was very obvious he still cared. So... what now? I stood there for a moment then exited the platform. The clerk in his bullet-proof Token-booth was yammering something angry through his loud microphone in a thick accent I couldn't quite understand, so I went over there and paid for the trip I didn't take. "Well... " said the man a bit more clearly, as he took my money, "at least you have a conscience. Whatever. There was a vague odor in the subway staircase; the pervasive smell of old piss. It had probably been used as a rest stop by the nighttime homeless. I walked up the stained and dusty steps back onto the busy sunlit street, waiting for my heart to stop racing, waiting for my mind to start thinking rationally. I walked uptown aimlessly for some minutes and ended up at the corner of Eight Avenue and Twenty-third Street. The warm delicious smells emanating from a nearby pizza parlour caused my stomach to grumble. I bought a slice and positioned myself near a corner window where I could watch the world pass by as I ate and tried to clear my mind. The next move was up to Jer's dad... he could call, or he may choose not to. If he does get in touch with me what will be the ramifications... what would he think of Jeremy and I... our relationship? What will happen when he finds out about Eliza's condition? Will he want to take Jer away from me? No, we've legally tied up that loose end, though he could possibly challenge me for custody. No. I definitely will not allow that. But the biggest question is how, and when, to tell Jeremy about this. Well, at this point there wasn't a need to say or do anything at all... not until the guy actually called, `IF' he ever did. In the meantime, before life got more complicated, I had two boys to entertain over the weekend. I dialed J's new mobile phone. It rang for a while before his breathless voice answered, "Hello? "Hey, Jeremy, it's me... you guys enjoying yourselves? "Oh... ya..." said Jer sounding a little peculiar. "You sound funny baby, what're you up to? "Uh... just............ wrestling." He seemed quite distracted. "Eating a very delicious pizza, err, what is the matter with you J? "Heh heh... oh Charles, it's Kevin, now he's tickling me to death! Help! Help!" And then he was laughing out loud, "Stop....... wait a minute Kevy, Charles has pizza... "Oooooh... he does? Hey Charles, bring us some... pleeeze?" That was Kevin yelling into the phone near Jeremy. "You really want me to bring some over there? "Yeah, I haven't had pizza for a loooong time... days!" Said my boy. "Oh... okay, okay. Is Kevin's mom back yet? "Ya... she's downstairs. "Good, I need to talk to her about taking you guys out this weekend, and maybe about permission for Kevin to stay over a couple days, but I don't even know her name. "Oh... when you bring the pizza, you can talk to her." That was Kevin. "Alright guys, I'll see you in a little while. **** I put away the phone. A jagged shard of bright sunlight fell through the storefront glass of the pizza parlour and onto the table. In the air-conditioned room I could see the sun on my fingers but couldn't feel the warmth of it. For a while I gazed blindly through the window at the passing throng. Jeremy and Kevin were having a great time together, so it seemed. It pleased me that Jeremy was happy with his friend. Still, I felt a little twinge of... something. Was I jealous that he was having fun with someone other than myself? Damn. For my own sake, I hoped not. (To be continued)