The Late Child (22 page)

In only twenty minutes it would be time to get on an airplane and fly to New York, a place Harmony had never been. The best reason Harmony could think of for going there was that there had to be something you did next. You couldn't just stop in an airport and sit there forever. You couldn't drive a car forever, or do any one single thing forever. Already her sister Pat had made the “Life must go on” statement to her several times. Harmony didn't feel that the statement was strictly true. Eddie's life would probably be a lot better if her own went on for a while, but life didn't
have
to do anything. It could go on for eighty-three years, as it had with Myrtle, or it could stop a lot sooner, as it had with Didier one morning, and with Pepper, and with Wendell's son, and many others.
Jackie Bonventre's had stopped one morning while he was putting a bag of laundry in his car; Mel's had stopped in a hospital, after months of suffering that even the best drugs couldn't really dull.

Harmony supposed hers probably
would
go on: she just had no idea how the details would resolve themselves. Would she ever have a job again, or a boyfriend? If she did have a new boyfriend someday, would he have a violent side, or just be careless about hairs in the bathtub? Would Laurie be glad to see them, when they got to New York? Would her mother disown her because Eddie had never been inside a church?

“I wish I knew a little more about the details,” Harmony said—meaning the details of the rest of her life. For no reason it popped into her mind that her brother was in jail.

“Why does Billy have to make phone calls?” she asked. “He's nice. Why can't he just find a girlfriend?”

Neither of her sisters had an answer.

“I guess some people would just rather get on the phone,” Pat remarked.

“Billy don't think he deserves a girlfriend,” Neddie said. “He's got low self-esteem.”

“So do I,” Harmony said. “But I still feel like I deserve a boyfriend once in a while.”

“You just don't think you deserve a very good one,” Eddie said, hopping on his mother's knee.

“Eddie, I just don't realize they aren't very good until it's too late,” Harmony told him; she was feeling worse and worse about her record with boyfriends.

“That's still better than Billy's situation,” Pat said.

“I don't feel like I deserve much better than Dick, myself,” Neddie said.

“Shit, what's wrong with all of you?” Pat said. “I feel like I deserve Warren Beatty. I just don't happen to know where he lives.”

“You're too old for Warren Beatty,” Neddie said, in an unsympathetic tone. “You'll be lucky if you've still got Rog. He's more your speed.”

“Rog don't have a speed—neutral ain't a speed,” Pat said.

“When we get to New York what will we do first?” Eddie asked.

Harmony looked at Neddie, who looked at Pat. None of them had an answer.

“Eddie, can't we just play it by ear?” Harmony asked. “Maybe we'll call Laurie first. Laurie was a good friend of your sister's.”

“If she's not home I think we should go to the Statue of Liberty first,” Eddie said. “I need to get postcards and the Statue of Liberty would be the perfect place to get postcards.”

“I wouldn't have no more idea how to get to the Statue of Liberty than I would of how to get to China,” Neddie said.

When they called the flight, Harmony started to cry. Her son and her two sisters ignored her. She felt sad that she was leaving the West. It had always been her home. When the plane took off she looked out the window at the beautiful sunny sky. For most of the flight Eddie kept his finger poked into Iggy's little cage, so Iggy would feel reassured. When they served the meal Eddie gave Iggy his potato.

“Will you stop crying about Pepper next year, Mom?” Eddie asked.

“I hope I can, by next year, Eddie,” Harmony said. “I know it's no fun when I cry.”

“It's no fun, but I have Iggy to distract me,” Eddie said. “The best part of this trip so far is Iggy.”

As they were coming into New York the pilot announced that the passengers on the right side of the plane would have a good view of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty. Fortunately Eddie and Harmony were on the right side of the plane. It was almost sunset. Eddie held Iggy up so Iggy too could see the Statue of Liberty. Iggy didn't get the point—he yipped so much Eddie had to put him back under the seat.

“It doesn't look big from up here,” Eddie said, studying the Statue of Liberty. “From up here it looks a little bit green.

“I'm still excited, though,” Eddie said. “It really is the
real
Statue of Liberty. And I can even see ships down there—big ships.”

Harmony looked down briefly but the plane tipped just as she did, and her stomach acted as if it was going to come up in her mouth.

“I want to go, Mom!” Eddie said. “I
love
the Statue of Liberty. When can we go?”

“I guess whenever you want to—tomorrow, even,” Harmony said.

“There's sea gulls too—I can see them flying,” Eddie said, as the plane sank lower and lower over the suburbs of the great city of New York.

“I thought New York was in America,” Neddie said, as they struggled through the corridors of La Guardia Airport, trying to find their way to the baggage claim.

“Mom, I can walk, I'm five and a half, put me down,” Eddie said. He was the only one of the group who was enjoying the experience of La Guardia Airport—he had been enjoying it more before his mother snatched him up and began carrying him.

“I'm afraid to put you down,” Harmony said. It was true. The airport was thick with people who looked as if they could be accomplished snatchers of little boys.

“Yeah, and if they don't snatch him, they'll snatch you,” Pat said. “This is Lech City, I can sense that already.”

“I don't care about that, I just wonder where America went,” Neddie said. “I saw a bunch of people with turbans. I thought people with turbans lived over the sea, someplace.”

“They could be visitors,” Harmony told her. “We have people with turbans in the casinos, lots of times.”

Neddie began to smoke too much. She seemed to be developing an obsession about America. When they finally got to the baggage claim Neddie went around looking at all the signs over the baggage carousels, to be sure they had the names of American cities on them.

“I can't help it, this just don't seem like America to me,” Neddie said. “A lot of these people are jabbering in languages that ain't American. I get confused real quick when I don't hear American spoken.”

Eddie squirmed so that Harmony had to put him down. She had misgivings, though, and tried to keep no more than one step from him as he marched around amid the hundreds of people waiting for baggage. Eddie proceeded with complete aplomb—he loved the hustle and bustle of La Guardia Airport.

“I'm looking for my stuffed animals and when they come I'm
going to look for someone to take us to the Statue of Liberty,” he said.

“Eddie, I'm sure the Statue of Liberty is closed for the night,” Harmony said. “We can go tomorrow. Let's don't wander off too far from Aunt Neddie and Aunt Pat. They might get lost.”

“Well,” Eddie said, continuing to wander. Often he said the word “Well” as if it constituted a full justification for whatever he wanted to do. In this case he seemed to be satisfied with it as a reply. Fortunately just as he spoke a red light came on and one of the carousels began to move. The very first piece of luggage that appeared was the box containing thirty-one stuffed animals—the coatimundi was in Harmony's purse.

“Aunt Neddie and Aunt Pat smoke too much,” Eddie said, once Harmony had wrestled the box off the carousel. “They might give my stuffed animals lung cancer and they might even give
me
lung cancer.”

While he was speaking a very small man with a wispy mustache, a turban, and no front teeth arrived with a dolly and popped Eddie's box on it, without being asked.

“I am Omar,” he said. “I will help you to your car—modest fee.”

Harmony decided on the spot that Omar could be trusted—he seemed sweet, and the fact that he had a wispy mustache and no front teeth was an endearing trait. She managed to locate her sisters and pointed them out to Omar.

“We don't have a car but we do have luggage, Omar,” she said.

Omar winked at Eddie, who winked back.

“We're going to the Statue of Liberty sometime—but not tonight, though,” Eddie informed Omar.

“My friend Salah will take you,” Omar said. “All your problems solved. Salah has two cars, one is no-smoking car.”

“Who's this A-rab, get him out of here,” Pat said brusquely, when Omar wheeled his dolly over to where she and Neddie waited.

“Pat, don't be prejudiced, this is Omar,” Harmony said. “He has a friend who can take us to the Statue of Liberty.”

“How about a hotel—only make sure it's in America,” Neddie said.

“Not worry, all will be hunky-dory,” Omar said, winking at Pat, who was just reaching for one of her bags. Omar reached more quickly, and popped the bag onto his dolly beside the box of stuffed animals.

“I can lift my own suitcase, thanks,” Pat said, but Omar was undeterred.

The fact that her sisters didn't appear to like Omar made Harmony feel a little gloomy, inasmuch as it was a repeat of the story of her life. Her sisters had never liked the men she liked. They had different standards, or something. The fact that Omar wore a turban—it wasn't exactly a spotlessly clean turban, either—and had no front teeth and walked in tennis shoes so old that the little strings were beginning to show through the fabric didn't mean he wasn't a perfectly nice man. After all, she wasn't getting married to Omar, she was just letting him help with their bags.

“Have you ever seen an auk?” Eddie asked, walking up to Omar. “They're supposed to be extinct but I thought there might be a few left in your country.”

“What
is
your country, buddy?” asked Neddie, in a tone that was fairly friendly.

“I am from Benares, City of Light,” Omar said. “Omar is not my real name. At home I am called Kushwat.”

“If you're Kushwat at home why are you Omar here?” Pat asked.

“Americans don't like people from India,” Omar said. “They like people from Lebanon better, so I am Omar here.”

Just then another man in a turban wandered up to them. He wore a bright blue shirt, dirty white trousers, and wading boots.

“Go away, I am waiting on these ladies,” Omar said, before the other man even spoke. “They wish to go to the Statue of Liberty soon.”

“Statue of Liberty is fifty-dollar ride,” the new arrival informed them.

“He is parked illegal,” Omar said. “Maybe we can hurry.”

“You didn't answer my question about the auk,” Eddie reminded Omar.

“The flesh of the bustard is oily,” the new arrival said.

“I'm getting less and less of a feeling that we're in America,” Neddie said.

“Did you eat an auk?” Eddie asked the man. “If you ate the last one that's why they are extinct.”

“Salah, go away please, guard your vehicle,” Omar said. “We come very soon.”

“You
better
come very soon or I will be in jail with big fines looming,” Salah said, with a touch of gloom.

“He is pessimist,” Omar said cheerfully, watching his friend depart. “I am optimist.”

“I wonder if there's anybody at all from northern Oklahoma here?” Pat asked. “I get homesick real quick when I don't have no one from northern Oklahoma to talk to. I don't know what it is about northern Oklahoma but I just love it.”

“It's just a special place,” Neddie said. “Lord, I miss the breeze up there on the plains.”

“I don't think your friend should have eaten the last auk,” Eddie said. He was carrying Iggy in his cage and Iggy was yipping indignantly. He wanted to get out and experience New York for himself.

Harmony was beginning to find the bustle of La Guardia a little exciting. At least there were a lot of people around, talking and insulting one another. La Guardia Airport was really like a big, dirty casino. There were no slot machines, but there were plenty of the kinds of people who would be feeding money into the slot machines if they were in Las Vegas. It was heartening to see the activity and be part of the energy—that was what she had always liked about casinos.

“I like it here, Mom,” Eddie said. “It's a little like the Circus-Circus.”

“My life's ambition wasn't to be in no place where everybody wears turbans,” Neddie said.

When all the baggage finally came Omar rolled it outside,
where the lights of two police cars were flashing. Salah and a dark-skinned teenager with big sad eyes were surrounded by police.

“Here we are, what is commotion? VIP guests arrive!” Omar yelled. He had a surprisingly deep voice.

“What VIPs?” one cop said. “These don't look like VIPs, they don't give you no right to park in the red zone.”

“Sally Jessy Raphael, she is in disguise,” Omar said, pointing to Harmony. The information gave the policemen pause. They immediately began to act as if Harmony
was
a celebrity. They cast their eyes downward and kept them there.

“Seen any auks?” Eddie asked one of the cops. “There might be a few that aren't extinct.”

“What's he talking about?” one cop asked.

“It's a character in a TV show,” an older cop said. “You know, like them teenage turtles.”

The older cop ruffled Eddie's hair, attention Eddie didn't particularly welcome.

“An auk is a bird—it isn't a teenage mutant turtle,” Eddie informed him coolly. “Don't say words that are stupid to me. I want to know about auks. I hate teenage mutant ninja turtles.”