No Gein II: A Second Helping
Chapter Fifteen: Leftovers
“Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” Springer temporarily took Marilyn’s mind off all the madness and war that was always in the news. The Nurse sitting nearby laughed along with her at the latest shenanigan’s of the tabloid talk show. Then reality walked back in as Marylin’s daughter arrived, and the memories of all the stories Marilyn heard on the news came rushing back to her mind.
“Kristina!” Marilyn reached her arms out at her daughter, “Jesus honey are you OK?”
“I told you I was OK when I called.” Kristina answered before embracing her.
Marilyn didn’t like the sternness in her daughter’s voice. She was worried about her little girl, “Wait till she has kids.” she thought to herself. She then recalled that Kristina did phone a few days ago and told her what happened; and those memories only brought that pain to her hip agaian. “I told you not to be messing around with that!” Marilyn reprimanded her daughter through her tears.
“Didn’t you want to know what happened?”
“All I want to know is that you’re safe.”
Before pulling away her daughter answered. “I know mom. I am safe, OK?”
Kristina then went into her purse and pulled out an old envelope. “What’s this?” her mother asked.
“This was for you mom.”
The paper of the envelope was worn and brittle, as if it had been sealed a hundred years ago. Tiny specks of dust fell to her lap as she unsealed the it, about to excavate the contents inside. The nurse got her Marilyn’s spectacles as she began to read.
“If you’re reading this then chances are things didn’t turn out well for me. Shouldn’t surprise be a surprise, had to fight for everything my whole damn life. Maybe I shouldn’t even be writing this letter. Some say I might be making shit happen by doing so, but I don’t feel like taking the chance that I’ll have a happy ending.
I damn sure hope you get one though. Forgive my French, writing letters isn’t my strong point. Just wanted to get down into words so you don’t think I forgot about you. I can’t imagine how hurt you might feel, thinking I left you all alone. I don’t blame you for hating me, you might hate me forever, but maybe one day you’ll understand.
If you ever knew what was in our family tree you’d want to burn the whole thing straight to hell, but that doesn’t matter now. What matters is what we do from here on out. I hope to leave you something money wise and make things right somehow. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you, and when you’re older if you don’t want to see me, I’ll understand. Just hope that someday you can understand how much I love you. I’m so sorry things got as bad as they did. I’ll try to make all this shit right someday. Keep your chin up kid.
Love,
Your mom,“
Henry’s vision got blurry, the image of Helen and Chuck faded away, like it was all just a dream. Then everything became clear and he found himself standing in front of his old house in Amherst. The sun shined bright and the sky was a luminous blue, looking so pristine hanging above him it was almost like magic. It was then he heard the song.
“Why was I born.
Why am I living?
What do I get?
What am I giving?
Why do I want a thing I daren’t hope for?
What can I hope for?
I wish I knew.”
As Henry remembered how his parents liked that song, he realized it was coming from the car approaching down the road. It was his dad’s car, and it was kicking up a big pile of dust behind it, just like it used to when he was a kid. As the car parked, he saw that familiar smile. Stepping out of the car, she looked just how he remembered her, all those years ago.
“Look at you all grown up!” The woman said to her little brother.
“Sally?” In his mind he was shocked, but in this place, wherever he was, his body could only feel happiness. A joy and wonder sprang forth from him, like the joy of a thousand sunrises.
“Oh my god.” Henry hugged his sister, and while he could not yet comprehend his surroundings, he knew that wherever this was , it was a place he was so happy to be.
Pulling back and looking at her, for a moment in infinity he remembered all the terror she’d endured. “Sally, my god, I’m so sorry.”
She waved her hand, dismissing her brothers concern, saying, “It’s OK. I took on a burden. I took it so others could live.”
“What?” Henry was growing ever more confused.
His sister simply giggled as she shrugged her shoulders suggesting even she didn’t fully know what she meant. “It’s hard to explain, but it all works out in the end. Besides, you know I was a Beatnik.” She playfully jabbed him on the shoudler, explaining, “I was never gonna fit in anyway. And hey, live fast and die young! I mean come on, could you see me growing old? Ew….”
Henry laughed as somewhere in his gut he knew she was right.
“Anyway, let’s go see mom and dad.”
“Mom and dad?” He didn’t have time to process that he might see them in this place too, but he heard that familiar sound from so long ago of the wooden door creaking. Out came what was, as a child, the most beautiful thing he could envision, his mother standing on the porch with a big cold jug filled with ice and lemonade. Behind her came his father, exactly as he remembered him as a boy, smiling at him and wearing a leather baseball glove.
“Yeah, you might be surprised. We’ve gotten pretty close actually. It’s what happens when you’ve got nothing but time I guess.” Sally then excitedly ran away. “Race you there,” she turned her head back to tease him. “Last one up is a rotten egg!”
“Hey, you cheated!” While Henry complained at the unfair advantage his sister took, he didn’t even notice his vantage point had suddenly lowered as if he suddenly shrunk by a few feet. He just knew he couldn’t let his big sister beat him again. His little legs ran as hard as they could, kicking up baby clouds of dust through the heavenly Wisconsin plains as they headed home.
Far across in the distance, an angel looked on, smiling at the sight of a little boy racing his big sister to their front porch.
One more chapter to go, and I promise this one will have some chills. Come back on Halloween for the conclusion of No Gein II: A Second Helping!
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