Wally - @Short Story

Wally - 5

Wally  -  5

by sloanranger

"I'm Reverend Thomas," the man spoke. "Did you come to see your mother?"

The young boy shook his head.

"It's not your mother?"

"No. I mean, yeah, it's my Ma...but I don't want to see her...like that."

"Oh." The man looked thoughtful. "You don't want to say goodbye?"

"I want to say goodbye. Its just... I just don't want to see her like...."

"Okay, son, would you like to just sit for a while, say a prayer? Maybe you can say goodbye that way."

The minister gestured at one of the pews and Wally took a seat. The two women sitting down front had turned around in theirs and when the minister left, Mrs. Mc Elroy stood and approached the boy.

"How y'all doing, Wally?"

"Aw'right."

"You want to come sit by us?"

"No thanks." His eyes were red from rubbing them to keep from crying.

"Precious Lamb," she said and reached down and awkwardly hugged one of his shoulders.

"Tell your Pa I'll be stopping by later with some macaroni and cheese for y'all."

"Yes, ma'am."

The woman returned to the front pew.

Wally stood. "Bye Ma," he said, his voice barely audible.

The next day the two boys huddled in the doorway of a nearby building.

"What are we gonna do?"Levy said.

"I don't know but we gotta do something," his friend answered. "You know what'll happen, we don't."

Levy nodded but remained silent. What would happen was, if they couldn't keep their spot they'd most likely not get another corner anywhere and they'd miss at least one meal a day – sometimes their only one.

When Mick, one of the high school boys on his way to the corner passed them, Levy whistled. Mick stopped and turned.

"What's goin' on, Hebe?" He said. "You two gonna let that dork take your spot again today?"

"Geez, Mick, can't you and the guys do something?" Mick was sixteen and much bigger than either boy but nowhere near as big as Alf.

"Sorry kid, you know the rules. We get into it, we're liable to lose our place, too. Company sees a corner where the guys are fighting, truck just stops dropping the papers off."

Both boys studied their shoes. "Yeah, we know," Wally finally said.

Donny came around the corner. Mick said, "Sorry guys, gotta, go," and joined him.

After a few minutes of silence between the boys, Levy spoke:

"I can't tell my Ma I lost my spot, Wally."

"Yeah, I know. We'll think of something," Wally said, and they took off for school.

When he got home later to change his shirt, Walt was already there.

"Heard you lost your spot, Wally," he began ragging him.

Being fraternal twins, their sibling rivalry was more pronounced than in some brothers.

Wally and Walt didn't have a lot of the empathetic and emotional behavior that scientists would later find in identical twins. Mostly, like brothers everywhere, they just fought.

Both his sisters brought in a little money. Earline was the oldest, not a teenager yet but she kept Mrs. McElroy's baby when she went shopping. Josie, next in line, knit pot holders. Ma had taught her and she was pretty good at it, too - didn't get much for them but it was something. Walt used to be box boy at John Guine's Grocery but Mr. Guine said he couldn't afford a box boy anymore and boxed his own stuff, now.

Pop still hadn't found work and technically as the oldest son – the ragging rubbed Wally wrong. But he didn't say anything. Wally was hungry a lot of the time - and he knew Walt was, too.

(To be continued).