Speak 2 U Soon

shook our heads in disbelief.

  “Are you sure this isn’t your come-on line to girls?” I teased.

  “What? And be publicly humiliated and laughed at because I’m a frog fearing freak? No way. How many girls would go for that?”

  “None,” Raven and I said laughing at the same time.

  “My name’s Julie,” I said. “And, this here’s Raven,” I added. Even though we’d just met, Raven and I clicked fast. She seems to need a real friend just as much as I do.

  “I’m Jorge,” he said, giving us both a little bow from his seat. “And, my I ask, what are two such beautiful babes doing in a place like this?”

  “Don’t ask,” Raven said playfully, but with a degree of seriousness, too.

  “I saw you both in that group therapy meeting,” Jorge said, putting another tile down in what looked to be a really good image of a cow’s skull.

  “I didn’t see you,” Raven said.

  “Well, I’m glad I make such a strong impression.”

  “I was pretty much looking down the whole time,” I said, so as to save Jorge’s pride.

  “I saw that lady a little while ago,” he said.

  “Which one?” Raven asked.

  “The one whose baby died. She’s in the game room with her son. He’s running around like a madman and she’s just sitting there like a stone watching him.”

  “That’s sad,” I said.

  “What’s the saddest thing that’s ever happened to both of you?” Jorge asked a few minutes later. “I know it’s none of my business; it’s just after being in there and listening to people talk and me not talking, I feel like talking now. Does that make any sense?” he asked, gluing a slender piece of tile down for an eye.

  “Yes,” Raven and I both answered again at the same time. We both gave each other a little shocked look that our timing and our response were so in sync. We got really silent though afterward, neither of us wanting to go first.

  “Well, I’ll go first since I ask the question,” Jorge said gluing down the second eye. “I’ve got two things really. Is that ok?”

  We nodded.

  “One, really the saddest of all, of anything that’s ever happened in my life, is my brother’s death.”

  I inhaled deeply when he said that. His confession took my breath away.

  “Are you ok?” Raven whispered to me. I nodded and Jorge looked at me quizzically.

  “He was gunned down in our front yard. He was only seven and they never caught his killer.” He pursed his lips and let a puff of air escape, “no big surprise there.”

  “The second?” Raven prompted gently.

  “Oh, the second,” Jorge thought. “The second is what I’ve done,” he said. “My stupidity, my recklessness, my selfishness, all the horrible things I’ve done that have hurt my family. That’s so sad, too. Not for me, but for them.” Jorge got really quiet and stared hard at the skull in front of him. “That’s why I’m here,” he added. “I have to go to therapy to try to fix things with my family, and fix myself, too, I hope.”

  “We lost my baby brother,” Raven started. “I mean he didn’t die; he’s in foster care. But, what started the whole ball rolling was when my aunt died. She drowned in Katrina. Then, my mom let her old boyfriend back, that’s my baby brother’s dad, not mine, thank God, even though mine’s not much better. But then DSS came and told Mama she had to do all this stuff before they’d even consider giving us back C.J. That includes me going to therapy,” she paused. “So, I guess I got two sad things, too. One sad thing kind of leads to the other, doesn’t it?” Raven looked at us both and we nodded.

  “I guess that leaves me, huh?” I asked looking at both of them. “My brother was killed, too,” I said looking at Jorge. “Last summer he drowned, like your aunt,” I said and looked sadly at Raven, “only I know who killed him.”

  “Who killed your brother, Julie?” Jorge asked, the color rising to his high cheekbones. “Who killed your brother, man, I want to know. I want to hurt him,” he said angrily.

  “My uncle. My Uncle Eric killed Davey. Everybody knows he did it, even though he says it was an accident. Well, actually he never said anything to us about it, nothing. And nothing’s been done either. Not one thing. He’s still walking around and my big brother’s dead. That’s why I’m in here,” I said pulling my long sleeves up and showing them what I’d done to myself. “I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t get up everyday knowing Davey’s dead and Uncle Eric got away with it.”

  29

  The Visit

  “Dad put his fist through his car window,” Mom told me that afternoon during visitation.

  “He did what?” I asked in shock. “Is that even possible?”

  “Apparently,” Mom said shaking her head. “He found out about what happened with you and he put his fist through a window. God,” Mom breathed out heavily. “Men.”

  I was kind of stunned into silence. I hope he hadn’t hurt himself because of me. “Is Dad ok?”

  Mom nodded. “He’s on his way here now.”

  “Oh,” I sighed. I hadn’t been around my dad much since the divorce. I’d see him during the summer for a week or two and every once in awhile before we moved to Nelsonville, he’d call and stop by. But, that was a long time ago. And since Davey died, I’ve only seen him twice. Once for the funeral and the next time was on my birthday. Mom says it hurts him to see me because I look so much like Davey. I wonder if he ever thinks about how much it hurts me that he doesn’t come? I doubt it. Mom says for most men, when you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind. Or, maybe Mom just picks guys who are of the same type because Danielle’s dad never comes to see her either.

  “How are you doing?” Mom asked.

  “Ok.”

  “No, I mean really, Julie, do you feel like you’re getting better in here? Is it helping?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. “Maybe. I think so. It helps to talk about things.”

  “You can always talk to me, Julie. You could have talked to me,” she said tearily.

  “I know, Mom. It’s just that I didn’t want to upset you more, or give you more to worry about. That’s not fair to you either.”

  “Look, Julie. You’re my daughter. Whatever you say to me won’t upset me, it’s this,” she said taking my hands in hers, “this is what upsets me.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said starting to cry.

  “No, Julie,” Mom said crying now, too. “I’m sorry. I expected too much from you, that you would grieve, yes, but that you’d be able to still keep going. I’m barely able to do that; I don’t know how I could have thought you would be able to. It’s me that should be apologizing to you. I’m so sorry, honey,” Mom said reaching over and hugging me. “I’m so sorry all of this happened to us. I’d do anything to bring your brother back, you know that, don’t you?”

  I nodded through my tears.

  “If he was here now things would be so different for you. It wouldn’t matter if things at school, or friends, or me, or KiKi, or Danielle were driving you crazy, he’d pull you out of it no matter what. Davey would fix you,” Mom smiled through her tears. “He could always fix you.”

  30

  The Research

  “Thanks for meeting me here, Raven,” Jorge said standing outside of the main branch library.

  “Sorry it took me so long. My mom’s having a real hard time without the baby. I had to talk to her, you know, build her back up some. It’s like I’m the mom now and she’s the child.”

  “I bet you’ll get your brother back soon,” Jorge said holding the door open.

  “I sure hope so.”

  “I think I remember hearing something about Julie’s brother drowning,” Jorge said as they headed upstairs to the computer room. “My big brother used it as an opportunity to tell me not to go swimming in the Ohio River.”

  “Julie didn’t say the date though, did she?”
Raven asked.

  Jorge shook his head as he logged on using the username and password the librarian had given him.

  “Goggle his name, Davey Price, and something should come up,” Raven suggested.

  “A Columbus youth, David Price, is a presumed drowning victim in the Ohio River this summer,” Jorge read out loud. “Police say they were called to the scene at one a.m. on August 14, 2008,” Jorge continued, “alerted by neighbors who reported noise coming from a small boat that capsized in the river. Police responded immediately. One man, Eric Chapin, of 4 Lafayette Street, survived the incident, as did two youths, whose names are not being given because of their ages. The search continues for David Price. Divers are on the scene and police and volunteers are searching the banks of the Ohio River.”

  “That’s dated August 15 of last year,” Raven said. “Go back and see what else was in the paper.”

  August 16, 2008

  David Price Drowns in Ohio River

  Police have recovered the body of David Price. Divers found his body yesterday at 10 a.m. Sergeant Read told reporters, “It appears this was an accidental death, but Nelsonville Police are investigating.”

  This is the second drowning victim in the Ohio River this summer. The first was a twelve-year-old boy who swam into the water to save his dog.

  This was also the scene of a drowning victim two years ago. Edmond Jamison, Jr., who along with two of his brothers, his father, and his mother, faced multiple counts of stealing from the Nelsonville Housing Authority. Mr. Jamison, who resided in the same apartments as Mr. Eric Chapin, was reported missing on September 12,