Symby (17 page)

"Okay, Dad," answered Jody. He was determined not to let his father down. He climbed on and began peddling. He managed a few yards before his father had to catch him, propping him up with his strong arms. His father was unfazed.

"Go again," he ordered. Once again Jody pedaled. He went farther this time, but his father still had to catch him. Still Spud was unperturbed.

"And one last time," he said. "This will be the one, I can tell."

Jody wondered how his father could be so confident in his abilities while he, the one who was actually peddling, felt so insecure. He gulped some air and attempted to accelerate once more. He wobbled a bit, but then managed to steady himself as the old technique of balancing properly on a two wheeler came back to him. His father, red-faced and puffing, finally let go of the bike, no longer able to keep pace. Jody suddenly recalled this same scene being played out when he was just six years old. He was just as thrilled now as he had been then. He heard his father's voice receding in the distance as he cut through the air, breezes from the airflow cooling him as he flew.

"Pedal your ass off, son," Spud cried victoriously. "Pedal your ass off!"

Kim was tired when she pulled up to the house. Her job paid fairly well and she was grateful for the security it provided, but it was exhausting. She watched the garage door open, wondering whether Jody would resume his war and continue making her life difficult. As she unlocked the door to the house, the answer came quickly.

"Mom, Snuffles ran away again, and it's your fault," Jody said accusingly. "He likes Dad and he wants him back, so he's going to keep running away unless we let Dad live here again!"

Kim sighed. The war was back on, and this time Jody had more ammunition. "Jody, you don't really know what Snuffles is thinking, so please stop accusing me. You don't even know that he's run off to see your father again, do you?"

"Yes I do," Jody whined convincingly. "Dad called from the store he works in to tell us that Snuffles is with him."

"Well, can't he bring Snuffles back again?" asked his mother, unhappy with Jody's tone.

"Not until this weekend," said Jody. "Besides, he hasn't got a car and you're going to reject him when he gets here, so then he'll have to turn around and walk back. That's not fair!" Jody hated what he was doing. In the same day, he was deceiving his mother twice, once for cutting school and again for his plan to reunite his mother and father. Reasoning that his motives were pure, he kept the pressure on.

"Come on, Mom, we have to go get Snuffles. Dad said he'd stay late at the store so we can pick him up. Please, Mom?" Jody thought about adding "can I, can I?" to his pleas as he had done when he was trying to manipulate her as a child, but decided that would be too over the top.

As tired as she was, Kim recognized that fighting with Jody all night would be more enervating than driving a few miles to pick up Snuffles. She caved.

"All right, you win," she said. "Let's go get Snuffles. I just hope Snuffles doesn't keep doing this."

Jody cheered and hugged his mother, the first hug she had received since Spud's return. She hoped that her surrender in this battle would result in a truce for the war. Truth be told, she missed Snuffle's calming presence in the household as much as Jody.

Jody talked excitedly about seeing his father again as they drove, choosing his words carefully to avoid revealing that he had already seen his father at work and at his campsite. Kim tried to deflect his sales pitch by reminding him that his father's problems were serious.

"Your father is an alcoholic," she said. "Most alcoholics need rehab and an Alcoholics Anonymous membership to stay sober. Your father hasn't done either one."

Jody thought about revealing the existence of Telly to his mother, but decided against it. She would probably think that his dependence on a little space creature would make his recovery tenuous.

"Hey Mom, check out the billboard for Burt's Hardware!" said Jody, trying to act as if he was seeing it for the first time.

Kim glanced up at the billboard. A pleasant-looking older couple beamed down at her. They looked like generic versions of everybody's grandparents. Their smiles were warm and inviting, a good match for the "heartware" slogan. Even their dog seemed to be smiling. She thought it was odd that the dog in the photo looked just like Snuffles.

"Either their dog looks just like Snuffles," said Kim, "or that's Snuffles!"

Jody feigned ignorance. "I don't know, Mom," he said. "Dad told me he was doing a marketing campaign for the store, so maybe it really is Snuffles in that picture."

Kim was surprised. "A marketing campaign? I know that's what he used to do, but I didn't think he'd be able to do that anymore."

Jody felt as though he had just opened a crack in the door that his father might be able to pass through.

"Mom, I talked to him for a lot longer than you did when he came to the house. He's still as smart as he ever was. You saw him pour that drink down the sink when you handed it to him. I'll bet he hasn't had a drink since he left." Jody had absolute confidence that he would win that bet based on his inside information.

As she turned off the highway, Kim began to think that perhaps her hardline stance might have been too extreme. The stress she had placed on Spud by handing him a drink after she had rejected him must have been intense, yet he hadn't taken a sip. He had claimed to be sober for three months when he saw her, and by now it would be four. Four months was far longer than he had gone in any of his prior attempts at getting straight. Images of their life together began flashing through her mind. Unlike the images she had been focusing on the last few years, these were happy recollections of their life together when Jody was still an infant, before Spud's drinking and Jody's disease had overwhelmed them. Could it possibly be like that again?

Anxiety gripped Kim as she pulled into the parking lot of Burt's Hardware. She had become so used to quashing her dreams of reuniting her family that she found it difficult to allow even glimmers of hope to intrude into her thoughts. It wasn't that she hated Spud. He was a good man who ultimately could not control his method of coping with the gravity of his son's problems. The disappointments of the past had formed a hard shell around her, a shield against further pain. Now she was beginning to feel as though small cracks were developing in this formerly impenetrable shield. Four months was a long time for an alcoholic to go without a drink. There were, she knew, many recovered alcoholics leading productive and exemplary lives in the world. Jody had also made a remarkable recovery, for reasons she had yet to fathom. If Jody stayed healthy and Spud stayed dry, then life would be...

"Come on, Mom," Jody yelled. "Let's go!" He was already outside the car, waiting for her at the door. Kim snapped out of her ruminations and joined Jody at the door. The store's hours were displayed in translucent plastic labels on the front door. A quick glance at her watch informed Kim that the store had been closed for more than an hour. She peered into the store. Spud was sitting at a computer near the cash register, staring into the screen. She knocked gently. Spud glanced up at her and smiled, the same wonderful smile that she had just recalled while driving. Her heart skipped a beat. The shield cracked a little more.

Spud walked rapidly towards the door. Jody's plan to lure Kim with Snuffles had worked. Now it was up to him to seal the deal. After turning the lock counter-clockwise, he opened the door.

"Hi, Kim," he said simply. "It's good to see you again." He waited with baited breath for her reply.

"Hi, Spud," she returned. "It's nice to see you, too." The corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards as she spoke, forming a half-smile. To Spud, this was progress. He wanted to throw his arms around her and embrace her for all he was worth, but he knew it was too early for that. He pointed towards Snuffles, who was lying next to him near the door. Snuffles had awakened from a long nap when Kim knocked. He peered groggily at Kim, and then jumped up and ran to her. Kim smiled and patted his head.

"Snuffles, you've been a bad boy," she admonished gently. "You've got to stop running away!" Snuffles licked her hand in response.

"I saw the billboard for the store on the way in," said Kim, the only thing she could think of saying to the man she had loved so much. "Is that Snuffles?"

"Yep," answered Spud. "The owners don't actually have a dog, so I gave them one."

"Clever," said Kim. "You always were good at marketing. I like the 'heartware' slogan too."

"Thanks," he said. "The owners here gave me a chance for a new start, so I'm trying to repay them for their kindness. They're good-hearted people. That's what gave me the idea for the 'heartware' theme."

"Will I have a chance to meet them?" asked Kim.

"Not today, they went home after we closed," replied Spud. "Maybe next time?"

"Maybe," said Kim, her half-smile returning. Spud felt relieved and exhilarated. She hadn't said no to a return visit. This was part of the marketing strategy he had developed for himself. As a former salesperson, he felt that if he could just maintain contact and continue pointing out his own features and benefits, he might eventually find himself positioned to close the deal. This wasn't about making a sale, though. It was about love.

Jody had hung back behind the open door, allowing his parents time and space to communicate. He broke the awkward pause that ensued between them, determined to keep them together for as long as possible.

"Can we see the store, Dad?" he asked. "And after that, can we go to your campsite?" He and his father exchanged knowing glances.

"Jody, I don't know if we have time for all that, I'm tired," said Kim. Spud took the baton from Jody.

"We've got a coffee pot in the back," he said. "I just made some fresh. I'll pour you a cup and at least show you the store."

Kim looked doubtful, but Spud immediately turned and headed towards the back of the store.

"Come on back," he said, leaving Kim with no option but to follow him. She shrugged and walked towards the back of the store with him. Spud poured a cup into a capped mug for her and poured another for himself. He opened the small refrigerator and handed Jody a cola. The coffee's aroma lifted Kim's spirits and the caffeine began kicking in as she toured the store with Spud, boosting her energy level. The store was old-fashioned, the type of mom and pop operation that had been fading away for years, but Kim loved it. She remembered shopping with her parents as a child at the other small hardware store in town, the one that had been forced to close when Homes 'n' More opened only a few blocks away. The big chain did indeed offer more choices at slightly lower prices, but the store itself was charmless.

Spud winked at Jody when he showed Kim the three remaining bicycles. He came close to exposing their conspiracy by mentioning that Jody had taken the fourth one, but caught himself just in time.

By the time she finished the tour, Kim had finished her coffee and was feeling quite a bit more energetic.

"Dad, can we see where you live now?" asked Jody, as he and his father had planned. "Can we go to your camp?"

Spud gave his pre-planned answer. "We've still got a couple of hours of daylight. How about it, Kim?"

Kim had been wondering where and how Spud was living for three long years. Her curiosity got the better of her. "I'm game, let's go."

When Kim turned towards the exit, Spud and Jody silently low fived each other behind her back. Their plan was selfish and deceitful, but it was working.

As branches snapped back at her on the path behind the elementary school, Kim began to wonder whether agreeing to this trip was the right move.

"How much further?" she asked, slapping at a mosquito. She had never been much of an outdoorswoman.

"Not much," answered Spud. "We're just about there."

Kim's eyes widened as the mystery of Spud's whereabouts for the past three years was finally revealed to her when the woods opened into a clearing. She was amazed at what she saw, but she couldn't decide whether she was impressed with the well-organized appearance of the camp or depressed at how few possessions her husband now owned. Spud picked up on her train of thought instantly.

"I know, it isn't much, but you should have seen it before I stopped drinking."

Kim walked over to a small rectangle set off with stakes and string. Her eyes twinkled when she spoke.

"Let me guess, potatoes?" she said, pointing at the plants growing within the string's borders.

Spud smiled. "You got that right. You know how I like my raw potatoes, and the ones from the store just don't taste the same. There are a few tomato plants in there too, but they're still tiny."

"So you're planning on staying here until they're grown? Now that you have a job, don't you want to get into an apartment?"

"Not yet," said Spud. "Right now I've got virtually no living expenses, so I'm saving every dime I make. When I'm not working at the store, I'm out collecting every can and bottle I can find and saving that money too. After I pay you back for all the money I owe in child support and help Burton and Thelma out with the store, then I might move out of here. It's not so bad once you get used to it."

Kim's shield shattered, splintering into thousands of invisible shards. Whether he ever recovered from his drinking problem or not, his heart was always in the right place. She couldn't stop her own heart from making an offer that her mind still believed she might regret.

"Spud, why don't you come back and live with us, at least for a while? I can't stand thinking of you out here like this."

"If I do that, it'll take a lot longer to pay you back for Jody's child support," said Spud. "Let me get that done for you, and then we'll talk about living together again."

Jody protested. He couldn't believe his mother had relented, only to have his father reject her. "No, Dad, please!" he cried. "I need you back;
we
need you back right now!" Tears rolled down his cheeks.

Kim stared at Jody and decided to sweeten her offer. "Forget about the back child support," she said. "Just come back now and contribute whatever you can to the household. If you just help us out a little, you can spend the rest on the hardware store. You can have the extra bedroom upstairs. Our house has to stay alcohol-free, though, that's the one rule you have to live by. What do you think?"

Spud watched the tears roll down Jody's cheeks. "Sounds more than fair," he said. "The house stays dry, and so will I."