NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? ... part two

NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? Part two

Max

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After a long silence, Tommy felt extremely uncomfortable. Obviously, this girl was not about to leave. Feeling somewhat resigned to that fact, he released his death grip on the thick leather collar, and said, more like a statement than a question, “So, uh, I guess ya not leavin’. I might as well ask where ya live.”

Mary Ellen smiled, and it seemed as though this made her eyes shine. “Two blocks away on Tuppler Street. What about you?”

Tommy stuffed his balled-up fists in his pockets and spread his feet apart in a more comfortable stance. Huh, he thought, the other side of town.

“Uh, I live with my uncle on Herkimer. It’s about four blocks down that way,” he said with a jerk of his head indicating the opposite direction of Mary Ellen’s house. He didn’t see the shocked look in her eyes that he expected. Tommy eased himself down on the soft grass and leaned against the tree. He didn’t know why he added, “I was in the orphanage for a few years after my mom and dad got themselves killed in a car crash, but now my uncle takes care o’me.”

Mary Ellen looked down at Max, sure that her emotions were written on her face. She tried to hide the hard lump she felt growing in her throat. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it must be like not to have her parents around. Recovering from the initial shock, she looked at Tommy as her eyes softened. She spoke quietly and softly.

“I’m sorry to hear about your parents. When did it happen?” Mary Ellen, only ten years old and an only child, was mature for her age and her heart went out to the boy. It must be sad to lose both parents, she thought. Having both parents around, even though Mary Ellen was never pampered or spoiled, she was also never alone. Her parents and their close friends were a big part of Mary Ellen’s life.

Tommy’s eyes softened with sadness as he remembered. He looked at the grass as he spoke more to himself than to Mary Ellen. His eyes appeared as if they looked into his memory.

“I was only four when they died. I don’t remember much. It sounded like a loud bang, then the car kept rollin’ – over and over and …” He brought himself back to the present with a shake of his head and changed the emotion in his voice to sound a bit harder. He added, “I’m eleven now. Just about grown up. I grew up lots in the home. Ya have ta, ya know. It’s the only way. After all, I was there fa four years.”

Suddenly, Tommy pushed himself up and seemed almost proud of his self-made independence, yet Mary Ellen sensed a kind of loneliness in him that he obviously tried to hide.

Looking around, Tommy again stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet. For the first time in his life, he felt completely uneasy. When he first arrived at the orphanage, he was scared and lonely, but too young to know the feeling or meaning of being uneasy.

One encounter with Mary Ellen changed that. Now he found himself talking about things long pushed into his past – remembering things he tried to forget – and all with a total stranger. It seemed as though this strange girl could pull the biggest secret out of you, and that in itself made Tommy uncomfortable. It didn’t help realizing that Max had been his only friend for years, and now – now he seemed to be making a new one – a friend he could do things with. But a girl?

His instinct was to say something rude and run off. Yet, something about this girl stopped him. He didn’t understand it, but he felt as though he could tell her anything and she’d still want to be his friend.

Mary Ellen fascinated him. Tall, thin, and fragile looking in her deep pink blouse, her long hair fell like golden waves around her face, over shoulders and halfway down her back. Her eyes sparkled when she smiled and misted when she pouted. In a few sort minutes, he saw so many emotions on her face, in her eyes. Those eyes!

Trying not to stare at her eyes, he kept thinking what a strange color they were, and how they reminded him of something. Then it hit him! While Mary Ellen gave her attention to Max, Tommy reached inside the back pocket of his pants and pulled out the front of an old Christmas card. There it was! The blue shadow on the snow was the same color as Mary Ellen’s eyes.

The small piece of the greeting card was one of the few things he had left that reminded him of his parents. He sighed deeply as he carefully refolded the picture and placed it back in his pocket.

As he leaned against the tree, for no particular reason, his eyes scanned the park. It was a beautiful summer Saturday, but with the exception of Mary Ellen and Tommy, and of course, Max, the park was almost empty. He heard the laughter of a few smaller children and turned to see them on swings being pushed by their mothers or older sisters. He noticed an elderly couple who sat on the bench closets to the water fountain. While the wife read a book, the husband read the newspaper. Off towards one of the far exits, Tommy saw a young couple walk hand-in-hand as they headed out of the park towards the street.

Park’s almost empty, Tommy thought, conscious of the lack of activity. Must be gettiin’ close ta suppertime.

The park, although sectioned off in many grassy areas surrounded by walkways, measured an area of about four-square city blocks. Inside its wrought iron fence sat two statues commemorating the First World War. A large, sheltered area that housed the public restroom and a few picnic tables and benches was located in the center of the park. Tommy wondered what it might be like to have a picnic in the park with his parents.

Alongside the massive structure lay a large manmade hill – perfect for winter sledding. Again, Tommy’s mind tried to imagine what it might be like to glide down that hill on a brand-new Flexible Flyer sled.

Tommy, hands in his pockets, was lost – lost in his thoughts of his parents – thinking of how it might have been if they were still alive. He didn’t realize he sighed deeply and loudly.