One Afternoon

Kevaughn Hunter

ONE AFTERNOON (STORY)







The large lamp light above us blinded me, nearly blurring out the figure of Marie.

“I’m not too sure that I’m all in for this Marie,” I said catching grip to the office table behind me.

“What do you mean? David we’ve been over this before so many times.” She gave me a look filled with exhaustion and an air of disgust. But she was right, we had been over this many times before, and many times before I had conceded and retracted my stance for the humble opportunity to watch a smile creep onto her face.

“Of all the times to do this” she continued having turned her back to me, and with her hand covering her forehead. “Of all the times to bring this up,” the inflection of her voice seemed to die with the progression of each word as she spoke, ending in a whisper.

“Dammit David, don’t do this to me now”

She had turned to glare at me, but seemed more like she was pleading.

“Can we give this a chance? Can we-“

Marie was standing in front of the door to the office. A shadow presented itself and the door opened revealing a woman holding a binder in her arms.

“Hello my name is Elizabeth Gregory, and I will show you around the facility today.” This plump black woman, with her red dress filled with dancing white flowers, big brown eyes and short nappy hair, interrupted Marie’s speech to my relief.

“You are the Smiths am I right?

We were standing in a small office, among many other offices on the top floor of a very tall building in the city. The office walls were filled with colorful drawings, awards, recognitions, pictures of abnormally happy families dated back many years, and slogans like “Do the right thing”, and “They need your help”. Even the desk I held for dear life, was littered with the same mass of fantasy.

“Yes we are the Smiths” I replied.

“Oh great” She chuckled, “I just came from some other family that ended up not being where I should have been” She had a bellowing laugh that rocked the room and my eardrums, like a bass. The type of laugh only a wealthy person could afford.

“Well anyways, if you guys are ready, we can get down to business?”

I cautiously began raising my hand, but Marie took the initiative and responded first.

“I’m ready”

As we walked, Marie and Elizabeth discussed details a few steps ahead. I lagged behind. Every now and then I could pick up on something they said, but for the most part I was no longer a member of that discussion, and I’m not sure I ever really was. The hallway was long and filled to the brim with offices on both of my sides.

“Have you made an adjustment to your living arrangements” Elizabeth said

“Adjustments?” Marie inquired.

“Sanders should have told you about all that stuff. Didn’t you guys have a meeting with him already?”

In all of the offices were what I could gather were more guides and more prospective married couples. As we walked by each room, I could catch a glimpse of their conversations.

“Congratulations”

“We can go pick her up now if you want.”

“I’m sure she has been waiting for you. I’m so happy for you all.”

These were said with smiling, enthusiastic faces. I guess that is one way to look at it. I couldn’t help but contort my face in skepticism.

“So here we are” We had reached the elevator, and both women turned to me, having finally decided to include me in my life.

Marie spoke to me like how a defeated mother speaks to a disobedient child. “Are you ready David?”

“Sure”

She shook her head, and we entered the elevator. Marie had been here many times before. Without me of course. She never wasted any time during an argument about her visits, to interject the one point that always made me feel guilty.

“You know about my condition. How can we ever be a family when I’m like this?” She would say with tears ready to overflow when necessary.  But they never were, as I always cut my losses.

The elevator closed, and when it opened we were in another world. The third floor to be exact. There were no longer long halls and offices, which instead gave way to one huge oval shaped room, completely empty except for the huge tiles that layered the floor, and workers that shifted from one of the many doors around its outer edges to the next. We were at the point of the oval, and moved from one point to the next, through a large door and into a yet another hall. This hall however was filled, once again with a plethora of family pictures, and drawings.

“I understand you have someone in mind?” Elizabeth asked as we strolled.

I looked at Marie questioningly, and she answered

“Yes we do, it was Robbie” She looked at me the whole time she spoke. “Every time I come here, he’s always been so kind to me, and we have always gotten along so well. I think he’s the one.”

“Marie—“

“—you’ll like him, don’t worry David.”

“So I’m guessing he knows about what you’re intending right?”

Marie responded to Elizabeth with resounding confidence. “Yes, that’s why we are here. I want David to get to know him better.”

We walked through the long hall, and stopped in front a room entitled Robbie. Elizabeth spoke to Marie and me about getting to know Robbie, and how important that was for this process.

“This can’t be like a blind date. You need to know what you’re getting yourself into, for you and Robbie’s sake”

Then she left us behind, saying that she would go and get him for us, and that we should wait for him there. However, our curiosity got to us, and we opened the door to his room.

The first thing we noticed was the fading line made of what looked like permanent marker, which separated the two halves of the area. On one side, the wall Robbie’s bed was on was littered with colorless drawings of a family of four-seemingly normal albeit bland. But as we moved closer and the photos came into detail we recognized that every one of the figures was faceless—besides what we decided was Robbie’s own image of himself. We continued our exploration coming upon a journal hidden under one of his pillows. My Life. I opened Robbie’s life as Marie smiled to me, anticipating the many misadventures of a typical, apparently ten year old boy—the falls, the lies, and the reprimands. However, there was nothing inside. The book seemed as old as Robbie, yet every page was a blank as the day it was made. I set the book down on the pillow, and Marie moved my attention to the many suitcases that filled the other half of the room, divided by the black-marker line. They were all half opened, still filled to the brim with clothes, many of which did not seem to have ever been worn yet. She told me about how frequently he had been picked up and brought back here, suitcases and all. She explained that as the most probable reason for his apparent laziness. Besides the suitcases, the left side of the black marker line was empty. No color, no wallpaper, no furniture. It was odd, and I tried not to make my feelings visible but I’m not entirely sure if I succeeded.

“It’ll be alright. You’ll see” Marie said calmingly.

“Oh! So I see you two are a little impatient” Elizabeth had returned with Robbie and scolded us in a light hearted manner, wrapped with her rich laughing style. This being my first time actually seeing the infamous Robbie I made sure to take note of his looks. He was short for his age, perfect build, had a box cut hairstyle and wore a red shirt with tan shorts. His eyes were a deep blue, and seemed angry.

“Who is this guy?” He glared at me and I gave him an I’m-better-than-you-know-your-place type of response. 

“Robbie. This is David. David this is Robbie.” Marie quickly got the introductions out of the way. Then the room fell with an intense silence.

“Alright then. So I’ll leave you guys alone.” Before she could leave the room, Marie caught Elizabeth by the back of her flowered blouse.

“I want to talk to you Elizabeth. Is that alright?”

“Of course honey. What do you want?”

“Can we talk somewhere else? I mean. Outside?” She gave Elizabeth a slight nod, pointing to me and Robbie. I’m not sure if she didn’t realize how obvious she was.

“Oh!” A revelation. “Sure!” A wink. “ We can talk outside if you want. Right this way”

“Robbie, David. You two get along ok. Get to know each other. I’ll be back”

Robbie took a slumped seat on his bed, and laid his back against the wall on the side of his window, turning his head so he could see through. I sat down next to him on the edge of his bed and began to lay things out.

“Alright kid. Neither of us likes the other. That much is obvious.” He nodded as I continued, “But we both like Marie, do I got that right?”

“She’s the best” He replied still with an attitude.

“Yeah…whatever. Listen here, you’re ten but you’re not stupid. We both know what this is. We both know that for this to work, we’ve gotta come to some type of terms. You’re gonna have to level with me, and first thing you gotta do is stop with the attitude your giving me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” He slips some gum into his mouth and looks out the window.

“C’mon kid, don’t make this difficult. Marie wants you really bad, I’m not too into the idea, but she is, so I am.”

“Oh so you don’t want me.” He never took his eyes from the window. Being on the third floor of the building now, outside was filled with nothing but passing cars on the street below and cloudy skies ready to open up at any moment. Nothing to look at. Nothing to stare at.

“What are you looking at? You’re not even paying attention!” I nearly lost my cool in a sudden burst of anger.

“David? That’s your name right.” He responded with coldness. No attitude.

“Yeah” I said scratching my head and dragging my hand down my face in annoyance.

“It’s not Dave?”

“Where did you get that from?”

“When she would come over, she would always talk about Dave. How much of a good guy he was and all that. But your name isn’t Dave”

“Yeah, She just calls me that.”

“What do you mean?”

I sighed. “What do I mean?”

“Why would she do that?”

“Because we are close. When you’re close to someone they tend to give you nicknames. What? You don’t have any?” I put my leg up on the bed, and laid my back against his bed stand, copying his manner.

“I’ve never had a nickname before.”

“C’mon kid. You have to have had something.”

“No”

“Rob?”

“No”

“Robs?”

“Never”

“Damn.” I noticed his journal sitting next to me. “And what about this book here?” I picked the book up from off his pillow and began flipping through some pages. “Why the hell do you have this, and even title it if you’re not gonna write anything in it?”

He was no longer looking through the window now. Rage shot through his face, and his eyes opened wide.

“Who the hell told you you could touch that!”

“What!? Kid—“

“Give me that back!” He yanked the book away from my fingers, ripping a page in the process. “I never said you could touch this. Who said you could touch this!?”

“I dunno. We just saw it—“

“Marie saw it too?” His anger morphed into a disheartened frustration. “How could you let here see me like that?”

Taken back I could barely muster up anything in response. “What are you talking about kid?”

“Why don’t you just go!” he curled up with the book on his wall like a scared ostrich. I couldn’t see his face, but I was sure he was crying heavily. My anger’s grasp loosened under the weight.

“Why would I go? I already told you that we really like you”

“That’s what everyone says.” The tears gargled his words.” That’s what everyone says. But it always ends up the same. I always end up back here. I’m not wanted. I don’t have a nickname. I’ve never had a nickname. I don’t have friends. I don’t even have a family. I’ve never gone anywhere cool. I’ve never seen anything like the stuff on TV. I haven’t done anything! So you should just go.”

I reached out and grabbed Robbie’s head gently and then spoke slowly and direct.

“Robbie, I’m not going anywhere”

He looked up at me, and through the tears he asked, “What’s the point?”

I sat back and took a moment, bewilderedly staring at Robbie as if something had changed.

“Can I see that book?” I took the book from him and flipped through the many blank pages. Then I closed it, and glanced at the faceless drawings above his bed. Then I looked back at him. He was staring right at me, and didn’t seem like the same boy from five minutes ago.

“I promise by the time you’re done with me, even if you somehow end up back here. By the time I’m done you’ll need a whole new damn book to fill up.” His shoulders dropped, and he stared into my eyes as if pleasantly confused.

“What’s going on here?” Marie and Elizabeth re-entered the room to a crying boy and grown 28 year old man.

“David! What did you do to him!?”

“I didn’t do anything.” I said.

“What do you mean you didn’t do anything look at him—“

“We were just talking.” The kid’s words caught Marie by surprise and temporarily curtailed my massacre. “He didn’t do anything”

“Actually” I said grabbing Robbie around the neck with my arms, “I think me and Rob are going to be fine.”