OBSIDIAN -- The rain downtown made the streets look like obsidian. Steam rose up from the asphalt still warm from morning. The rusted Chevrolet farm truck pulled into a parking spot with a meter near the bus station. Ulysses got out of the driver side and fed the meter two dimes. His niece, Anne, got out of the passenger side and fished her brightly colored canvas suitcase and a paper bag full of food out of the bed. Ulysses began to take a few steps towards the glass front of the bus station. He stopped and waited for Anne. He took her bag. They both started walking slowly towards the door. Youll be home by daybreak, said Ulysses as he walked. They rounded the corner. Ulysses opened the big swinging glass door and held it for her. I hope I can sleep the whole way. But I do like to look at the little towns as we pass, said Anne walking through the door. You should sleep all you can, said Ulysses as they walked past the elevator that carried students and instructors to the Karate school upstairs. Youve seen those towns a hundred times. I never get tired of them, replied Anne. I like to look at the houses and businesses and imagine what the lives of the people might be like. Ulysses went to the counter and bought the one-way ticket. He handed it to Anne and made her slide it down into the side of her purse. You want a piece of pie? he asked. You know Im full and have enough sandwiches in this sack to last a week, said Anne. I think you need a piece of pie anyway, said Ulysses. Im not going to miss it. You know they have the best pie. The two went into the coffee shop and sat down at a little table at the window near the lunch counter. Ulysses ordered two pieces of chocolate cream pie, a Coke for Anne and a cup of coffee for himself. The lady behind the counter, her hair two feet tall, brought them to the table right away. Anne and Ulysses sat in silence for a while, taking small bites of their pie and sipping their beverages. You think you are going to like Eleventh grade? asked Ulysses after a while. Yeah, I reckon. I look forward to seeing my friends and doing stuff with the clubs. Id rather be here with you and Aunt Helen and the animals. Youll be back next summer. And we will see you at Christmas, said Ulysses. Uncle Yoolis? said Anne after a few bites. She sat down her fork. Ulysses watched the fork as Anne put it down on her linen napkin. Yeah? he answered with his mouth full of pie. Does God ever talk to you? she asked. Ulysses almost choked on his pie. He took a sip of coffee to wash it down before he spoke. Yeah, I reckon he talks to me as much as the next man, he said and got another fork of pie. What does he say? Well. Ulysses chewed the bite of pie and swallowed it. He talks to me about Sunday School and Training Union, the offering, choir practice, stuff like that. You aint even in the choir, protested Anne. She knew she couldnt say aint once she got home. And thats just the stuff off the board up front of the sanctuary. Your Aunt Helens in the choir, and I go to Sunday School. And I give to the offering, dont always make it to Training Union. I talk to God all the time, but he never answers back, began Anne. Sometimes I wonder if God loves me. Sometimes I have a fear that I am talking to the ceiling. It makes me wonder if there is really anybody out there. I mean, what if religion was just made up by folks that was just scared? And that religion made them feel better, pretending that somebody up there cared. If they thought somebody up there cared, if they believed that, that would make them feel better for a little while. Anne. Your Aunt Helen would keel over dead if she heard you talking that way, said Ulysses, wiping his mouth with his napkin. Anne sat quietly for a moment, looking down at her pie. She picked up the fork and began to stab the pie again. Ulysses thought before he spoke. He hoped that she would say something else. He swallowed a mouthful of pie and said, You know what? You might be onto something, he said. Anne looked up from her pie with a questioning look on her face. You are right about some people, Ulysses began again. Some people, all they got is religion, and that makes em feel better for a while. When something really bad happens, they are just like everybody else. On Sunday morning, they are all smiles and hugs and handshakes and backslaps and hallelujahs. Anne tilted her head and squinted her eyes as she chewed a bite of pie. God dont always speak like rolling thunder, said Ulysses as he finished off his pie. The lady with the big hair came over and refilled his coffee cup. He smiled at her. Sometimes God talks to us in a small still voice, he said to Anne when the woman walked away again. Like a whisper that only you can hear in your brain. Thats the job of the Holy Spirit. He whispers in our ear what God and Jesus want us to hear. Like this one time, this lady was giving me down the road at the bank. I just heard something say to me: Keep quiet. Later I found out that her husband had just killed himself the month before. Aint that ever happened to you? Well, said Anne, swallowing her last bite of pie. The time I went forward at Invitation and gave my heart to God and Jesus, I felt like someone had their arm around me and was leading me down the aisle. Thats it! exclaimed Ulysses, setting down his cup. That was the Holy Spirit. Those people thats just got religion, they dont never feel that. That should be proof right there that God has chosen and accepted you. God dont always answer every time. He expects us to read the Bible for the answers. Maybe he has already given us the answer to the questions that we ask. Do you read the Bible, Uncle Yoolis? No. But your Aunt Helen does. She tells me all the answers, said Ulysses. Hey, you had better go pee while I pay the bill and leave the tip. Your bus is going to be leaving soon. I know, replied Anne. She drained the Coke off the ice in her glass as she stood up and disappeared towards the washrooms in the terminal while Ulysses paid the bill. Afterwards, they sat on the hard plastic benches in the terminal and didnt speak for a long time. Anne sat with her arms wrapped around her bent knees and thought about what Ulysses had said. Im going to miss you guys, Anne said finally. We are going to miss you, too, Annie-Bird, but you will be back soon. The school year will be over before you know it. That is if you want to come back next summer, said Ulysses. You know I do. I wish I could stay here with you always, said Anne without taking her cheek off her knee. You can come to our house anytime you want for as long as you want. You know that, he said, staring down at his untied boot strings. The announcement came over the loudspeaker to load the bus for Richmond. Ulysses stood up and took Annes suitcase. She gathered up her paper sack of sandwiches and made her way to the bus. She stood by the door while Ulysses stowed the suitcase in the luggage compartment. He walked over to where she waited. She felt like she was going to cry. I love you, Uncle Yoolis, she said, grabbing him around the neck with her free arm and hugging him tightly. I love you, too, Bird, he said, his breath almost choked off. Your Aunt Helen loves you, too. We look forward to seeing you at Christmas. Okay, said Anne. She let go of his neck and leaned back. There were tears in her eyes. Now dont go to blubbering. You are gonna get me blubbering. said Ulysses, laughing. Anne laughed, too. Yes, I will see you at Christmas, she said, wiping her eyes with a finger, holding up her bottom lids so the tears could run out onto a wadded up paper napkin she had in her hand. I love you! Love you, too, Annie-Bird, said Ulysses. He waved and walked away. Anne found herself a seat on the bus. When the bus pulled out of the terminal, Anne could see the empty parking spot where Ulysses truck had sat. The bus stopped and started over and over making its way out of the city. All the stops were beginning to make Anne feel a little sick. She was happy when the steady whine of the engine let her know they were on the highway out of town, heading north. The little towns fell one by one behind the bus. There were a few stops along the way to pick up pitiful people with shopping bag luggage. The long evening became dusk and then dark. Anne wasnt sleepy. Her legs kept going numb, causing her to shift around in her seat. She thought about what Ulysses had said about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. She felt badly for doubting God. She asked him to forgive her. He didnt answer with thunder or a still small voice, but it did start to rain as they got closer to the mountains. Anne watched out the window at the little businesses and houses along the highway. She imagined the lives of the people inside. She wondered if they ever heard from God. The lights in the fronts of the buildings and the orange streetlights were reflected in a wavy image on the wet road. Anne thought the road looked just like black glass.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 23:02:07 +0000
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