The End of the Rainbow

  the usual excuse: Aunt Glenda had a very bad

  headache.

  Just after dinner that night. I walked over to

  Uncle Roy and Aunt Glenda's house to talk to Harley

  about when and how I would help him study for his

  upcoming final exams. Uncle Roy was sitting in his

  rocker, but hardly moving. He was in the shadows,

  and I didn't realize he was there until I was almost at

  the front steps.

  "Hi, Uncle Roy," I said. "How's Aunt Glenda

  now?" "She fell asleep," he said.

  There wasn't much starlight because of some

  overcast. so I could barely see his face.

  "Is Harley around? I wanted to talk to him

  about his schoolwork," I said.

  "He went to sleep. too," Uncle Roy said. "So early?"

  "When all you do mostly is sleep and eat and

  ride around on your motorcycle, it's not surprising,"

  he muttered.

  "Would you please tell him I'll see him

  tomorrow after school then. Uncle Roy?"

  "Ill tell him," he said.

  "Thanks for helping with my party yesterday," I

  continued.

  "Oh you're more than welcome, Princess." "Good night," I said.

  "Good night." he replied, still well in the

  shadows. It was almost as if I was talking to a ghost. When I returned from school that Monday, I

  hurried to change into a pair of jeans and a more

  casual blouse and sneakers. Then I shot out of the

  house and hurried to see Harley. I saw the motorcycle

  was there beside the garage where he kept it covered

  with a piece of canvas. He had told me Uncle Roy

  wouldn't permit him to keep it in the garage, which

  was all right with him because he was afraid Uncle

  Roy might accidentally on purpose run it over. I knocked on the door and Aunt Glenda

  appeared, wiping her hands on her apron.

  "Oh. hi. Summer dear."

  "Hi. Aunt Glenda," I said. She opened the door

  for me and stepped back, smiling.

  "You had such a nice party and so many nice

  presents. It was just the sort of sweet sixteen part., I

  wish Latisha would have had."

  "It was wonderful, Aunt Glenda."

  She stared at me a moment, her smile frozen,

  but her eves starting to darken with a troubled

  thought.

  "Is Harley home?" "Harley?"

  She looked about as if she was flustered for a

  moment, as if the question was so unexpected she

  didn't think she could answer it correctly.

  "Oh, yes," she said. "I think so anyway," she

  added.

  "Is he in his room?"

  "His room? Yes," she said. "That's it. He's in

  his room."

  '"I'll go see him. then," I said nodding toward

  the stairway. She smiled.

  "I've got some potatoes up for mashing." she

  said. "Roy just loves my mashed potatoes." "They are good," I agreed. which brought back

  her smile.

  She nodded and started back toward the kitchen. I watched her a moment and then went up the stairs. I called to Harley. His door was closed. He

  didn't answer or open it so I knocked softly.

  "Harley?"

  There was still no answer. I turned the knob

  softly and opened the door as gently as I could. When

  I looked in. I saw him in bed, face down. Why was he

  sleeping this time of the day I wondered, I waited, but

  he didn't turn or move.

  "Harley?" I still waited. I knew he had to have

  heard me. I knew he didn't sleep that soundly. "Go away. Summer," he finally said.

  "What? Why? Are you sick?"

  "Yeah. I'm sick," he said. "Get outta here before

  you catch something."

  "What's the matter? Maybe you should see a

  doctor."

  "Yeah, a doctor." he said and followed it with a

  short grunting laugh.

  "Well, what's wrong with you, Harley? Didn't

  you go to school today?"

  "No." he said. 'and I'm not bothering going back

  either. Just go home, will you."

  "Harley Arnold, you better talk to me." He sighed deeply. I stood there, waiting, my heart starting to thump like a jackhammer. What was

  wrong with him? Why this radical change?

  "Harley?"

  He turned slowly and pulled himself into a

  sitting position. I felt my heart stop and start as I

  gasped. His right eye was black and blue and there

  was an ugly swelling just under it.

  "What happened?" I cried.

  "I walked into a door," he said.

  "Harley! Tell me!"

  He looked down, took a deep breath and then

  began.

  "When I came home after your party. Roy and I

  had a bad argument. I lost my temper and swung a

  chair at him. He dodged it and I went head over heels

  and slammed my face into the bottom of the chair. I

  nearly knocked myself out."

  "Are you telling the truth. Harley? He didn't hit

  you?"

  "I wish he had," he said. "How do you think I

  feel having done this to myself? Instead, he scooped

  me up, threw me over his shoulder, carried me up to

  my room where he slapped me down in this bed and

  then went and got me a piece of steak. Little good it

  did. huh?"

  "You look terrible." I said, unable to hide the

  truth.

  "I know, That's why I didn't brush my teeth and

  my hair and go off to school."

  "You've got to go back to school, and you can't

  wait for this to heal. Harley. There aren't many days

  left for classes."

  "What difference will it make?"

  "I thought we had decided I would help you

  pass your finals. I thought we made a decision about it

  and that was that. You promised you would try if I

  helped you. Harley Arnold," I scolded. "You can't just

  give up because you hurt yourself. You can still see

  out of that eye, can't you?"

  "Yes," he said.

  "Then you can read and write and you can

  study. Now, I'm going home. You're getting up,

  getting dressed, gathering your books and coming

  over in..." I looked at my watch. "In twenty minutes.

  We'll put in two hours."

  "Two hours!"

  "Two hours and not a minute less." I turned and

  walked to the door. "And," I said turning. "brush your

  teeth and your hair."

  He started to smile and then groaned with the

  pain. "Maybe you finally learned something about

  that temper of yours." I said. And then I added. But I

  doubt it."

  I closed the door behind me, let out a breath

  and then smiled to myself and hurried down the stairs.

  A little less than twenty minutes later. Harley was at

  my front door, his books under his right arm, his hair

  neatly brushed back.

  "Do I meet inspection?" he asked.

  "We'll see." I said. "We'll use the office." I had

  already told Mommy and Daddy that Harley was

  coming over to study. They were in the family room

  watching television. I had warned them about Harley's

  black eye. I gave them Harley's explanation, but they

  both looked skeptical. Mommy tried not to have too

  much of a reacti
on when she saw him, but the sight of

  his swollen cheek widened her eyes anyway. "Hi," he said and they nodded. speechless. "What did you tell them?" he asked as we

  walked away.

  "Exactly what you told me,"

  "They look like they don't believe it."

  I stopped.

  "Who would?" I asked and he laughed. We went to the office and began to review his

  social studies material first. We worked the same time

  all the remainder of the week, then we expanded our

  study hours as the final exam dates approached.

  Daddy was worried I was spending too much time

  helping Harley and not enough on my own work. but I

  assured him I wasn't.

  What I discovered was if Harley really did

  concentrate on something, he could gasp it rather

  quickly. In the beginning Daddy looked in on us

  occasionally. Whenever he did. Harley glanced at me

  with that sardonic smirk on his face. I ignored it until

  Mrs. Geary started appearing, ostensibly to clean

  something or find something.

  "A little paranoia floating through this house?"

  Harley asked.

  I couldn't think of any excuses so I just ignored

  his remark. But for the last two days before finals. I

  decided we would study in my room. There. I closed

  the door.

  When we were little, growing up together.

  Harley was in my room from time to time, but over

  the last five years or so, he was rarely there. In fact. I

  couldn't recall the last time. After he entered, he just

  stood looking around at everything, drinking it all in as if he wanted to lock it forever and ever in his memory, memorize each and every detail. He smiled when he saw that I had put the picture he had drawn

  for me as a birthday present right over my bed. "What?"

  "Didn't anyone complain about your putting

  that up?"

  "No, and besides, this is my room and I'm

  proud of that picture and want it as prominent as can

  be," I said.

  I saw how his eves warmed.

  "You can have the desk chair," I said and sat on

  my bed. We were down to my dictating a mock exam

  for him and his answering the questions. I flipped

  through his books and papers. sprawling out

  comfortably, and began.

  I was wearing a skirt and a blouse and had my

  hair down. Harley hovered over his paper and started,

  but periodically he turned and looked at me. While he

  worked I read some of my own material. so I didn't

  know how long he was looking at me. Soon. I began

  to feel his eves on me. I looked up quickly and saw

  how he was staring.

  What I hadn't realized was my top three blouse

  buttons had come undone and with the angle I was at, I guess I was revealing as much of my bosom as I might had I been lying there in my swimming suit. I didn't want to be so obvious about it. and I didn't want him to feel he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. but I sat up quickly and pressed my palm

  against my blouse.

  "What?" I finally asked, "You can't be done

  already?"

  "It was easier downstairs being interrupted." he

  said. "Why?"

  "I was afraid to do anything but concentrate on

  the schoolwork."

  "So?"

  He looked at the closed bedroom door and then

  at me. "What?" I demanded.

  "I can't look at you in here and not want to kiss

  you," he said without hesitation.

  For a moment I thought I had lost the power of

  speech. I tried to swallow, but couldn't. He shrugged

  and stood up.

  "Maybe if I let that over with. I can

  concentrate," he said in a very matter-of-fact tone of

  voice: then he casually stepped over to the bed and

  leaned down to take my shoulders in his hands and

  bring his lips to mine. I was too shocked even to utter a note of resistence. It was a long, warm kiss. When

  his lips left mine, my eyes were still closed. As soon as I opened them, he kissed me again.

  Then he stepped back as I caught my breath. "Okay," he said. "I feel better," He walked back

  to his seat, looked at his papers and turned to me. "I

  missed the end of the last question, number ten." He lifted his pen, and waited.

  "Number ten?" he repeated.

  I guess I looked like I was in a state of shock.

  "What? Oh, ves, that was about Macbeth. "

  I flipped through the pages of notes while he

  waited. Every time I glanced at him, he had that soft,

  happy smile on his lips. Finally. I found the question

  and repeated it. He nodded and turned back to the

  paper.

  I felt my cheeks because it seemed to me they

  were on fire.

  Then I quickly buttoned my blouse and finally

  managed to swallow and take a deep breath. After he left. I stayed up as long as I could to

  study for my own tests, but before I went to sleep. I

  stood naked at my window and looked out over the

  lake toward his house, toward the lit window I knew

  was his and felt as if his eyes were on me.

  His kiss was still on my lips when I laid my

  head on my pillow.

  I fell asleep only when I sank into a deeper

  place within myself, a cozy place where accidents

  never happened, where people never goat angry at

  each other, where no one cried and where, if ever

  rained, it rained softly, each drop full of sweetness

  and light and always afterward, followed by a

  rainbow.

  Two days later, we both began our final exams. Harley passed all of his tests. Even Uncle Roy

  was impressed and could only say. "Yeah, sure,"

  when Daddy proposed they take us out to celebrate

  our good grades and Harley's graduation.

  Mommy decided she was going to help Aunt

  Glenda prepare for the festivities. I brought Mommy

  over to their house so she could talk to her about

  buying some new clothes. As usual, the whole idea of

  getting out in public and doing all these things put an

  icy look of fear on Glenda's face. but Mommy spoke

  softly and quietly, had a cup of tea with her, assured

  her she would get along with her to all the department

  stores, and finally left with Glenda's agreement to do

  so. Mommy gently pointed out that Harley deserved

  her being excited for him.

  "He's accomplished a great deal. Glenda. He

  needs to see you smiling proudly at him graduation

  day."

  I thought Aunt Glenda was going to cry. Her

  eyes filled with tears, but she sucked in her breath and

  nodded. Then she looked out the rear window in the

  kitchen to ward Latisha's grave.

  "It could have been wonderful for all of us." she

  said. "It will be for Harley." Mommy emphasized. I was so proud of her that day, proud of how

  she could handle someone as fragile as Aunt Glenda.

  Where did Mommy get all her wisdom? I wondered.

  So much of her adult life was spent confined to the

  wheelchair and to her therapies. She could have had

  the most cosmopolitan life, traveled, met all sorts of

  wonderful people, vet she didn't waste away at home

  wallowing in self-pity. She kept the light brightly l
it

  inside her and held off the darkness.

  Because of Mommy's influence. Aunt Glenda

  even went to a beauty parlor and had her hair cut and

  styled and her nails done, They stopped at the

  cosmetic counter in the department store and the

  beautician on duty performed a makeover right then

  and there to show Aunt Glenda some of the

  possibilities. After she and Mommy settled on a new dress and matching shoes with a matching purse, Aunt Glenda did look as if her youth and beauty had been

  resurrected.

  No one was more impressed than Uncle Roy. I

  know it caused him to think about himself as well;

  without any fanfare, he went out the next day and

  bought himself some new clothes, too. When Harley

  saw what was happening, he looked astounded, but

  instead of being happy, he seemed even more worried.

  I went over to see him while he was cleaning and

  polishing his motorcycle.

  "Did you see how pretty your mother is in her

  new hairdo?" I asked.

  He nodded and kept working.

  "Daddy told us about Uncle Roy's new suit. He

  went to the same tailor to get fitted. Isn't it

  wonderful?"

  He didn't speak, but concentrated on some

  small part as if the whole world depended on it being

  spotless.

  "Harley Arnold, you could at least give me one

  of your famous mints," I said.

  He stopped looked at me and then stood up. "It just makes me nervous." he finally admitted

  and after having done so, began to walk toward the

  lake. "Why?" I asked running after him.

  "I'm graduating, big deal. After the pomp and

  circumstance and all the cheers, what happens next? I

  haven't even applied to go to a college or do anything

  else. I haven't even enlisted in the army.

  "We'll go to the ceremony, go out to eat with

  your parents, and then come home to... to nothing," he

  said. "My mother will hang up her new dress and put

  away her new shoes and purse and Roy will do the

  same with his suit. All it will be is... is some

  interruption."

  "You've got to stop that," I insisted. I actually

  stomped my foot, which brought a surprised smile to

  his lips. "You've got to stop looking on the dark side

  of everything. Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is not some

  hiccup in your dreary life. Harley Arnold. You've

  achieved something and now you're going to do

  bigger and better things.

  "You march right into the guidance office on

  Monday and talk to Mr. Springer. There are lots of

  schools that will still consider you for their freshman