'Danny,' I said. 'Well, Danny, thanks for letting me talk to you.' His nod said he wasn't quite as happy as me.
He smiled tentatively, sat down in a wicker-backed chair across the table from me. 'Could I have a soda?' he said to Shelly. She was up and heading to the kitchen before the question was finished. When she'd disappeared, he looked at the tape recorder. 'Is that thing on?'
'Yeah, it is. See that red light?' He nodded. 'That means it's on.'
'So it's recording what I'm saying right now?'
'That's right.'
'Okay. Shit.' I looked up at him. Danny had a mischievous grin on his face, slightly red with embarrassment.
'Sorry, just wanted to, you know…'
'Yeah, I know.'
'That won't be in your story, will it?'
'Nah. I'll keep the uncensored version for my personal files.'
Shelly came back in carrying a tray with a glass of soda, another glass of water and a plate of assorted vegetables.
Danny and I shared a smirk. Then I noticed what else was on the tray: a gauze pad, a bottle of what appeared to be rubbing alcohol, a cylindrical tube the size of a pen and a vial.
Shelly noticed me looking at this and said, 'Daniel, sorry, Danny has diabetes. I thought it'd be good to give him his insulin before you got started.'
'Fine with me,' I said. 'Danny?'
He nodded. Shelly said, 'We did your arm this morning, right? Let's go with your leg.'
Danny rolled up his right pant leg, exposing his calf.
Shelly inserted the vial into the pen until it clicked. Then she unscrewed the cap from the rubbing alcohol, tipping just enough onto the gauze pad to wet it. She rubbed the pad on Danny's calf until it shone. Then she took the pen, pressed it against his skin and depressed the plunge. Danny winced slightly.
Shelly removed the pen, wiped down Danny's leg with a towel, then took the materials back into the kitchen.
Danny rolled down his pant leg as Shelly returned.
'Sucks,' he said. 'Dr. Petrovsky says I have to take it three times a day.'
'Petrovsky?' I said.
'Dmitri Petrovsky. He's Daniel's pediatrician,' Shelly answered.
I nodded. 'You should listen to your doctor. This medicine helps to keep you healthy,' I told Danny.
'Still sucks.'
'Do you mind if I stay during the, the interview?' she asked.
'Not at all. If it makes Danny more comfortable, I'd prefer it.'
'Honey,' she said, 'do you mind if Mommy stays?'
'No, I don't mind if Mommy stays.' 'Mommy' came out with a slightly sarcastic bent. I smiled. I kind of liked
Danny Linwood.
Shelly, satisfied, nestled into a love seat, holding a lace throw pillow on her lap.
'So, Danny,' I said, 'how are things going here? Are you having a hard time adjusting?' He shrugged. 'I need a little more than that, buddy.'
'It's okay, I guess. I'm supposed to start school in two weeks, but I don't really want to.'
'Why not?'
'I don't know anybody. They're all going to think I'm some sort of freak.'
'They do know you, Daniel,' Shelly interrupted. 'You started out in grade school with most of them. Like Cliffy
Willis, remember Cliffy? Or Ashley Whitney?'
I listened.
'No, Mommy, I don't remember Cliffy. Or Ashley. I don't remember anyone.'
'Mrs. Linwood?' I said. She looked at me. Nodded.
Got it. She held the pillow tighter.
'Danny, tell me about the day you came home. You came to this house, knocked on the door.' Danny nodded.
'Can you tell me what happened right before that?'
Danny shifted in his chair. 'I remember lying down, then suddenly waking up. I was on the ground, like I'd fallen asleep or something. I recognized where I was.'
'And where was that?'
'Doubleday Field,' Danny said. 'I played peewee baseball there.'
'What position?'
'Third base.'
'Like A-Rod,' I said.
'No, he's a shortstop for the Rangers.'
I was about to disagree, when I remembered that in
Danny's mind, he was correct. The year Danny disappeared, Rodriguez hadn't yet become a Yankee, hadn't yet changed positions. I wondered how much else of
Danny Linwood's world had changed unbeknownst to him.
'What happened then?'
'I remember hearing a siren. Like a police car or an ambulance. And then I just started walking home.'
'You knew how to get home?'
'Yeah, I used to walk home every day with…' Danny searched for the rest of his sentence.
'Cliffy Willis and his mother,' Shelly offered quietly.
Danny looked at her angrily, then the reaction slipped away.
'Where did you walk?' I asked.
'Home,' he said. 'Past the corner store and that brick wall with the graffiti of the boy that got shot a long time ago. I got scared for a second when I saw the police car pull up at the field I just left, but I didn't think I did anything wrong so I just went home.'
'Were you hurt?'
'No. Maybe a little tired, s'all. The doctors said they found something in my system, dia-something.'
'Diazepam,' I said. 'It's a drug used to sedate. The police report said it was administered a few hours before you woke up. When you woke up, that's when it wore off.' I said this as much to Shelly as Daniel. 'I'm sorry, keep going.'
'So, anyway, I walked home, knocked on the door. James opened it. I knew it was James, but he was, like, three feet taller than I remembered. And all of a sudden everyone is squishing the life out of me. Mom, Dad, Tasha, my brothers.'
I saw Shelly smile, the pillow gripped tight in her arms.
'Brothers?' I said.
'James,' he said, 'my brother.'
'Right,' I continued. 'Do you know how long you were gone?'
'Mom says almost five years.'
'Does it feel like you've been gone a long time?'
'Not really,' Danny said. 'I mean, it's hard when I, like, go to do something and can't do it. Like there used to be a radiator in my room where I could turn up the heat, but now we have these electronic-control things. And I don't recognize anything on TV, which sucks. All of a sudden my brothers and sister are, like, old.' I felt a strange mental tugging sensation. Something Danny had said triggered it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
'Danny, I know the police have probably asked you these questions already, but did you have any enemies at school? On the team? Someone you were scared of?' He shook his head vehemently.
'I remember breaking up with my girlfriend once and she got mad and cried, that's it.'
