An Imperfect Miracle (16 page)

After she closed up the phone she said I shouldn't worry about Runyon coming around again and bothering us. She said Marcie's dad was going to get some judge to tell Runyon that he had to stay away from us or else he'd get tossed into jail. She said that he'd done a good job of getting rid of Dad when he turned real mean there at the end, and that he'd do the same with Runyon. I thought about telling her that Runyon might have hooked up with Dad to steal stuff together. But since I didn't have any proof I decided it wasn't worth getting her even more riled up.

“It might take a few days for him to file all the papers. But Runyon will be notified right away that our lawyer is after him.”

“Are you sure it'll work? Runyon doesn't look all that bright to understand legal papers. And what about if he gets drunk?”

Mom narrowed her eyes at me, like it was me who'd just done something wrong.

“Sneaky cowards like him know about such things, even when they're drunk. It's part of their DNA. He'll stay away. He doesn't want to risk going to jail over us.”

I thought about what she said.

“Then maybe the town ought to file papers to protect Mary, so that Runyon or somebody else doesn't come around and try to burn her house down again.”

Mom said she didn't think the law worked that way. Then I told her about Mr. Grimes getting arrested. At first she was a little surprised, but after she thought about it awhile she said it was all pretty predictable. “Sad but predictable,” she said. Then she brightened up and asked me if I wanted to go out and get some ice cream.

“It's been ages since we've gotten ice cream together. I thought you might like a little treat after all this excitement.”

Chewy scampered up from the basement, where I guess she'd been resting herself after our big long walk with Father Tom. Then we all piled into Mom's car and headed for the ice cream place. I ordered vanilla because that was Chewy's favorite and didn't give her belly aches like chocolate. I didn't know if Chewy could still taste ice cream or not, but she sure seemed to enjoy licking it whenever I secretly held out my cone to her.

My plan for shifting the blame to Runyon must have worked, because Mom seemed like she was warming up to me again. On the way home she even called Carlos and asked if I could stay with him down at the shrine for the next few days while she was at work. Carlos must have told her that it was no problem, because when she closed up her phone she said it was all settled. I wondered for a second why she didn't ask Pastor Mike to look after me instead. But she must not have wanted to risk losing him forever if I acted up or something.

“Does that mean I'm not grounded anymore?”

She narrowed her eyes into little slits again, but at least they didn't look so dark and scary as before.

“This is just a precaution until the judge hands down his order telling Runyon to stay away. If you behave yourself, maybe I'll think about calling it square between us. Just don't let it go to your head.”

I promised I wouldn't and kept my mouth shut the rest of the way home. When we were almost there Mom called up Pastor Mike and told him about Runyon sneaking around to bother us and Mr. Grimes getting arrested. I couldn't hear what Pastor Mike was saying, but he must have gotten a little hot about something because Mom had to calm him down. I figured it had to do with Runyon, because I didn't see why Pastor Mike would care one way or the other about Mr. Grimes going to jail. Mom didn't seem too bothered that Pastor Mike had lost his temper, and after she closed up the phone she was still smiling a little.

Chapter 12

The town had the construction guys working two shifts, and they even brought in these big lamps so that they could work in the middle of the night sometimes. It only took a few weeks before Mary's house went up again as nice as the first one. It was even better in a way, because they put up a tall iron fence all around the lot so that you could only go in through one gate and out through another. This time they built the house mainly with stone and brick instead of wood so that it was a lot sturdier and more fireproof than before. They wanted to put in security cameras too, but Carlos talked them out of it. He said he didn't like the idea of somebody watching him all the time.

It didn't take long either for Mom to get a call from her lawyer saying that the judge had ruled in her favor. She said that if I ever saw Runyon within a hundred yards of our house I should tell her about it right away, and that the cops would hunt him down and stick him in jail where he belonged. I wasn't really sure how far a hundred yards was, but Mom told me to think about football games and just kind of estimate it. She said if I was a little off, it probably wouldn't matter much. Mom was so happy about Carlos watching me for free while she was at work that she didn't put up much of a fuss when I kept hanging around at the shrine even after she got the court ruling she wanted. She said that once school started in a month or so, we could all go back to normal.

It was a nice bright sunny morning, and like usual after Mom left for work I headed straight for the shrine. I made sure I had my free pass on me too, because Mr. Santelli was grumpy sometimes and wouldn't let me in unless I could show it to him. I hurried up and got in line, and a few seconds later old Mr. Feeney the florist, who had eyebrows as bushy as big fuzzy caterpillars, slid in behind me. Mr. Feeney had been single all his life and according to Mom didn't understand kids, which was why I guess he talked to me just like he was talking to a grownup. I kind of liked it actually.

“Our Blessed Mother sure is doing wonders for the community. There's even talk that the town is going to buy up the property on either side of her, so that people don't have to line up so far down the street. Mary's good for my business too. People are all the time ordering flowers to bring to her.”

I'd always wondered why so many people still brought Mary flowers, because as soon as they laid them down on the lawn some little guy who worked for the town scooped them up and tossed them into this big red dump truck. Carlos said that the guy, I think his name was Mr. Baum, took the flowers to hospitals and nursing homes and places like that, so the sick people living there could enjoy them until they wilted and got thrown out. I doubted if Mary would care about losing her flowers, but I wasn't sure how Mr. Feeney would take the news so I didn't say anything about it. All of a sudden his face turned a little gloomy anyway, I guess because he was thinking about money now.

“Some people down in Pittsburgh are sending in letters to the editor complaining about how much the shrine charges. I heard that next week the town is considering lowering the admission fee for outsiders from ten dollars to seven dollars, and they'll only charge students and senior citizens one dollar apiece to get in.”

I said that sounded fair to me so long as students and seniors who lived in town would only have to pay one dollar too, instead of the regular two dollar charge. Mr. Feeney said he hadn't thought of that “little wrinkle.” Then he said his feet were starting to hurt him and that he should have worn his softer shoes. He said he'd come back again next week and pretended to limp off.

When I finally got up to the front of the line, I showed Mr. Santelli my pass and he waved me on through like usual. Carlos was inside helping some lady stand up from the concrete step where she'd been kneeling and praying. I saw where they'd laid a purple pillow on the bottom step so that it wouldn't be so hard on people's knees. This lady was a little on the heavy side, and Carlos had to strain some to get her standing up straight again. She said she'd special order three of the large sized pictures of Mary just to pay him back for his kindness. Then Carlos tried to sell her a golden cross too, but she said that the cross was a little too pricey for her budget and they started haggling.

I walked up the steps trying to get as close to Mary as possible, because like always I kind of missed her. Right away I noticed that her lips were curled up a hair more on either side, like she was smiling a little brighter than before. And she only had five tears on her face now instead of seven like she used to. I even counted them up on my fingers just to make sure, but no matter how many times I counted I still only got to five. Then I pressed my face right up against her new glass cover to see if I'd missed any, since it was always possible that a tear or two might be starting to fade, especially with all the smoke and grime from the fire and the construction. But I still counted only five tears, no matter how close I looked.

Carlos must have finally shook off the old lady, because he came over and asked me why I was taking so long. I pointed out Mary's new smile and that she only had five tears now instead of seven.

“Do you think that means she's happier with us than before?”

Carlos grunted a little, and then he climbed the steps and bent down to have a look for himself. After a few seconds of studying her, he straightened up, rubbed the back of his neck, coughed a few times, and finally said that he didn't see that her mouth had changed all that much. But he said he was only counting five tears now too. Then he pulled me over to his little gift shop, because he said I'd had enough time to visit with Mary for one day.

“How could she have lost two tears? Do you think the fire might have burned them off?”

Carlos shrugged, but didn't seem too worried about it.

“I don't know. As long as she's still crying though, that'll keep the crowds coming. I guess I should've worked on her a little longer with my knife while I still had the chance.”

“Do you think it's another sign from God?”

“Maybe. But maybe the stain is just bleeding out of the concrete a little. God works in strange ways sometimes.”

I asked him if he was afraid that sooner or later the stain might bleed out altogether and Mary would disappear forever. He said he doubted it.

“But if God wants Mary to go back to heaven with Him, that's just the way it is, because we have no business telling God how to do things.”

Carlos must have seen some sadness slipping into my face, because he hurried up and said that he wasn't expecting Mary to run out on us any time soon.

“Mary's still got a lot of work to do around here, after all.”

“Like what?”

Carlos rubbed his chin a little.

“Well, even though the town is looking better all the time, it's still no great shakes. And people are still getting sick and being unhappy and getting into squabbles and fights and being jealous and resentful of one another. I figure she's got plenty of work left to do.”

Then before I could ask him anything else Carlos told me that a discount chain store was opening up a few blocks over that was planning to sell pictures of Mary and crosses and beads, all on the cheap. He said that I should tell my mom and all her friends not to shop there.

“It's a big rip-off joint. They're just peddling imitations, and bad ones at that.”

“I'll tell her if I can remember. Mom's not big on religious stuff though. Of course, maybe with Pastor Mike around, she'll change her buying habits.”

Carlos shook his head.

“I doubt it. You Fundamentalists don't go in for icons and spiritual mementos like us Catholics do.”

Before I could ask him what a Fundamentalist was, Carlos had to go and take care of some old guy who was looking for a cane that had Mary's picture carved into the handle. I waited around hoping to see another miracle, but everybody in line looked to be in pretty decent shape. Finally I went outside and started walking and daydreaming and talking to Chewy about what a nice sunny day it was.

As I was strolling along all of a sudden I spotted that real mean rabid dog chained up outside the junkyard. That reminded me of the navigator Runyon had stolen and whether Father Tom had been able to return it to the owner without getting me in any trouble.

I found the car parked in about the same spot and saw that the navigator was stuck down on the dashboard instead of up on the window, I guess so thieves couldn't see it quite as clear. Although it could have been a brand new one, since those gadgets all looked pretty much alike, something told me that Father Tom had returned it somehow and that I was off the hook.

I turned around and was heading back toward the shrine when this guy with the beginnings of a gray beard that reached nearly up to his eyeballs started pointing at me and making fun of me, calling me names like moron and idiot and stuff. I didn't recognize him at first because of all the whiskers and how garbled and boozy his voice sounded. But when he started coming toward me I could tell by how his legs were bowing in and out that it was Runyon. I must have been talking kind of loud to Chewy, and he'd heard me and thought it was hilarious.

I got scared and began running as fast as I could. I wasn't quite quick enough though, because even as wobbly as he was Runyon was able to catch me by the shoulder. Then he spun me around and started shoving me and calling me more nasty names. But he must not have recognized me as belonging to Mom, because he didn't say anything about her. I started hitting his arm with my fists, because that was the only part of him I could reach. Then he shook me so hard that I thought my head was going to fall off.

“Spoiled punk. I ought to break you into little pieces.”

When I kept on fighting, he picked me up off the ground by my neck and held me there like he was trying to hang me. I was about to black out when I felt something furry brush up against my leg, since I was wearing shorts. A few seconds later Runyon screamed and dropped me. While I was catching my breath he started hopping around on one leg and reaching for his ankle and swearing real loud. I could tell that his ankle was bleeding pretty bad because his sock was all red, whereas before it was just a dirty seamy sort of white.

I ran as fast as I could until I made it all the way back to the shrine. Father Tom was out front talking to Carlos and the little drunk, and I raced right up and told them what had happened. The mayor was standing there too, but I didn't pay much attention to him.

After hearing me out Father Tom told me to go straight home and that he'd handle Runyon from now on. I had a little cut above my eye where Runyon had socked me, so I was pretty sure he believed me this time. Carlos patted me on the head and called me a brave young fellow. Then he tried to pat Chewy on the head too, but like always he missed her by a mile. The little drunk didn't say a word and just kept staring at me real icy and tough. He sort of gave me the creeps and I wondered why Father Tom and Carlos put up with him, but I figured they must have had their reasons.

As we were walking home I asked Chewy if it was really her that bit Runyon or just some stray, or maybe that rabid dog had got loose and done it. I was a little surprised at how worked up about it Chewy got too. She said that anyone with half a brain would know that some stray wouldn't care a nickel if I lived or died, and that big rabid dog would just as soon have chomped on my leg as on Runyon's. Then I asked her how she'd turned visible long enough to bite Runyon, and she said she didn't exactly know because it had all happened so quick. It was a little like being born and then unborn all at once, she said, which I thought was a funny way to put it. But she stood by it.

When I was opening the front door to our house, it hit me that I hadn't thanked Father Tom for returning the navigator. I didn't really feel like going home right then anyway and having to make up some story to Mom about the cut over my eye, since she sometimes came home for lunch to check up on me. So I whirled around and headed back to the shrine. But when I got there Father Tom and Carlos were already gone. The little drunk had left too, but I didn't really care about him. The mayor was still standing around glad handing and shooting the breeze with folks after they'd passed by Mary. I waited until he was alone and asked him where they'd gone. He said they all went back to St. Sebastian's to take care of something, but that they didn't say what.

I ran up the street past the empty playground and then into the church. There were just a few old ladies kneeling up in the pews praying and rubbing their rosary beads, so I hopped down the steps to see if Father Tom and Carlos were in the basement. When I was about halfway down, I heard a rough mucousy kind of voice that made me stop dead. It was Runyon, and he seemed to be whining and squealing his head off.

I peeked around the corner to see if Father Tom was beating the snot out of him, but Runyon was sitting in a chair surrounded by Father Tom and Carlos and the little drunk. Runyon had just finished saying that he'd be more careful the next time, and they must have scared the booze right out of him because he wasn't talking all garbled anymore. Then Father Tom wagged his big thick hand at him and told him that if he didn't leave me alone, “All bets are off.”

I wondered what a priest would be betting about. Then Carlos reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a white envelope and handed it to Runyon. It was the same kind of envelope I'd seen him stuff with cash the day we were counting up the money at the shrine. Runyon opened the envelope, pulled out the bills and flipped through them. He was too far away for me to tell how much it came to. It was plenty though. Then Runyon grinned and stood up and smacked the cash against Carlos's chest. The little drunk must not have appreciated him picking on Carlos that way, because he started reaching for Runyon's throat with his sharp little hands. Father Tom had to hold him back.