math problems, but then even I had had enough. After a few minutes of staring at my watch, I decided to leave.
What the hell, right?
I got up and walked out. I wandered down the hall, down another hall, past the office, and out the front door. Normally, an administrator, or a school secretary, or Officer O’Dell would have stopped me. But this wasn’t “normally.” Not anymore. Not in a plague year.
I stood outside next to the Battlin’ Coal Miner and gazed out at the mountains. They looked beautiful, as always.
A few cars were already idling in the riders’ area. I recognized one of them and started toward it. It was Arthur’s midnight-blue Geo Metro.
As I got closer, I could see that Arthur was not at the wheel. In fact, no one was. I peered into the back and saw baby Cody asleep in his car seat. Then I saw Jimmy Giles asleep up front, on the passenger side, with his head against the window. (I later learned that Aunt Robin was the driver. She was in the office, applying for a job, although there was no one to apply to.)
I decided not to disturb Jimmy. I was turning to go, when his eyes popped open. He cranked down the window and said in a “Don’t wake the baby” voice, “Hey, Tom. I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
I asked, “Are you okay now, Jimmy?” and immediately regretted it. That was none of my business. But Jimmy acknowledged the problem. “Yeah. I’m okay. I had a bad day or two, but I’m clean now.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.”
“Look, I’m real sorry you didn’t get paid.”
“Oh, forget that. I’m real sorry, too, about what happened.”
He raised his shoulders up and down.
I went on: “I’m still glad I went, though. I liked it until, you know, that stuff at the end.”
“I guess you heard we lost the big truck. No more moving business.”
“No more Christmas-tree business, either?”
Jimmy smiled sadly. “Nah, I think we were out of that business anyway. No way they’re giving us credit three years in a row, no matter how Christian they are. No. I’m back with WorkForce now. One day at a time.”
Arthur came walking up. He got into the driver’s seat and called through the window to me, “Can you believe these people are driving
Jimmy muttered, “It’s all we got left.”
We hung out for a minute, listening to Cody’s heavy breathing in the back. Finally, Arthur pointed toward the school and asked me, “Did you know that Warren played football here?”
“I saw that on his jacket.”
Arthur nodded. “Yeah. He was a star. He was the quarterback.”
“Really?” I asked. “What about you, Jimmy?”
“What?”
“Did you play?”
“Nah. I was a stoner back then, too.”
I asked, “What’s Warren doing now?” Both Arthur and Jimmy clammed up. “I mean for work.”
Jimmy mumbled, “He’s got a plan. Warren always has a plan. He’s buying materials now.”
Arthur snapped, “Jimmy!”
Jimmy looked puzzled. “What? We can talk in front of Tom.”
“No, we can’t. This is none of Tom’s business.”
My heart was suddenly up near my throat. “What kind of materials are you talking about?”
Arthur pounded the steering wheel. “Dammit, Jimmy! You see? You can’t talk in front of Tom.”
Jimmy muttered, “Forget what I said, Tom. He’s got a plan to pay off some bills. That’s all I know.”
I stood there for a full minute, letting Arthur simmer down. I remembered my promise to Warren. Since Arthur was already angry, I figured it was as good a time as any to ask, “What about you, Arthur? Do you have a plan?”
Arthur didn’t move for several seconds. Then he spit out the window. He replied coldly, “You never mind about me. You go study your college prep book. Get ready to go to Florida, or wherever the hell you think you’re going.”
“I don’t know where I’m going. I know I’m going to college, but I don’t know where.”
“Well, I know I am
Jimmy, though, looked up at me. He said quietly, like I should have known this already, “Arthur’s signing up with the marines.”
I said, “Okay. Yeah. That’s a solid plan. I’ll see you guys later,” and headed back over to the Battlin’ Coal Miner.
I stood there for fifteen minutes, waiting for everyone else to come out. I tried looking at the mountains again, but they didn’t interest me. I felt a cold wind whipping up all around, and I watched a dark cloud cover the sun.
I found myself thinking about Warren, and what his plan was, and why he might need three tanks of propane.
When I started down the stairs this morning, I saw Lilly leaning out of the front door. Apparently, someone was on the other side, because I heard her say, “Sure I know you. You’re in the counseling group.”
A boy’s voice said, “Right.”
I came up behind Lilly and looked out. It was Mikeszabo. When he saw me he explained, probably for the second time, “I’m collecting clothes and blankets for the homeless.”
Lilly turned and squeezed past me. I heard her run back up the stairs.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “No. No time. I’m only halfway through your block.” He looked to his left, away from the sun. “I try to hit one block every morning—before school, or church, or whatever.”
I saw a Hefty trash bag behind him. It was the thirty-gallon drawstring size, and it was almost tipping over. I asked, “Did you collect a lot today?”
Mikeszabo looked surprised. “Yeah. I collect a lot every day.” He leaned toward me, lowering his voice. “Hey. Did you hear about Mike Murphy?”
“No. What?”
He lowered it even more. “It’s bad, man. He was found dead yesterday.”
“No! No way!”
“Yeah. The Weavers used to stop over there sometimes, you know, to see if anybody needed help. Well, Mr. Weaver couldn’t get nobody to answer the door yesterday, so he called the cops. They found the whole family laid out on the floor—all three of them.”
I was having a hard time processing this. I shook my head and tried to paraphrase, “Mikemurphy, and his dad, and his mom are all dead?”
“Yup.”
“Dead of what?”
His surprised look returned. “Of smoking meth! I guess that’s
“Man! That’s horrible.”
“I know. And it really makes you think. My dad and mom are in jail, but at least they’re alive. Maybe they were the lucky ones. They got busted in time.”
“Poor Mikemurphy.”
Mikeszabo looked away again, down the street. He whispered, “Yeah. Poor Mike Murphy. Poor Dad and Mom.
