Bat Summer (13 page)

I run until I get a block away from my house. And then I look back.

There's nobody there.

I duck in between two stores to catch my breath. I have to go to the washroom. I still have the plastic. I can't believe I actually stole something. I shift the plastic from one sweaty armpit to the other. My whole side is wet with sweat. It feels cold with the wind blowing against it. I feel like I'm going to throw up. I feel like I'm going to faint. And, at the same time, I feel like I could run a hundred miles. It's like my feet want to keep going even though the rest of me wants to fall down.

My eyes are leaking. I wipe them with the back of my hand. How can I be such a suck? I could never be
like Lucy. I could never be a thief. But I am one. In one day I've gone from being a decent kid to being a thief and a liar. I mean, I didn't exactly lie to Daphne, but I didn't tell her the whole truth.

I walk down behind the stores and puke by a tree in the parking lot.

I thought I was the good guy, the one who was owed, but I'm not. I'm a liar and a thief and I'm just like everyone else. Flat-face, ordinary, stupid-head, liar, thief, pervert, bat…

At least I'm still a bat.

I turn onto my street and see a police car outside my house. I'm crossing the road to go back up to the park when Mom comes out on the porch.

“Hey, where do you think you're going?”

I shrug.

“Get on in here. The police want to talk to you.”

She doesn't look very happy. Who would when they just found out their only son was a thief? I put my head down and prepare to face the music.

I walk into the living room and there are two cops there, a man and a woman.

“You Terence?” the woman says. I nod.

“You know Lucille MacPhail?” the man says.

“Who?” That must be the lady I stole from.

“They mean your friend Lucy, Ter Bear.” Oh. They aren't here about me. They're here about Lucy. Somehow I feel even more nervous than before.

I look at Mom and she has this curious look on her face. I look at the woman cop and nod.

“Her sister, Daphne MacPhail, says you saw her on the day she allegedly ran away.”

“She said you guys couldn't do anything.”

“Well, we'll see what we can do,” the man says. I don't like the way he's talking. It's like he thinks he's
Columbo or something. I like the woman better. She's all business. “Maybe you can help us out?”

“Sure,” I say. I'm talking to her, not to him. “I want you to find Lucy.”

As I say it, I realize it's true. I don't want her to be in that cave, alone for another night. I didn't make that many sandwiches.

“Where was Lucy the last time you saw her?” the woman asks.

“Outside Loblaws two days ago.”

“Is she your girlfriend?” the man asks. I knew I didn't like him.

“Please, he's a kid,” my mom says.

“Just answer the question, Terence,” the man cop says. I go and sit in the rocking chair.

“I don't know. I never kissed her, if that's what you mean.”

“Don't get sarcastic with me, young man,” the man says.

“We want to know whether Lucy told you anything about being upset. Are you good friends? Did she talk to you?”

I don't know what to say. Lucy did tell me why she ran away, but only after she left.

“She had lice,” I say.

“What?” Mom says. “You never told me this, Terence.” I shrug and rock in the chair.

“We know Lucille had lice. Is that why she ran
away? Or did you two, perhaps, get in a fight?” I now officially hate him.

“No. I helped Lucy. We're bats together.” I shut up fast.

“Bats?” The woman cop catches it right away. I try to stop rocking, but I can't. “Do you belong to a street gang called the Bats?”

“What? Street gangs? Girlfriends? He's just a kid!” my mom screams.

“You'd be surprised, ma'am,” the man cop says.

“Don't ma'am me, mister.”

“Terence?” The woman squats down beside the rocking chair and puts her hand on the arm to steady it.

I wish I knew what to do. I don't think even Tom would know what to do in this situation.

“Lucy was upset about the lice and also because we cleaned her house the other day and nobody said anything.”

“She ran away because no one thanked her for housekeeping? Sounds like my wife, heh, heh.” The man cop is the only one who thinks his joke is funny. I feel sorry for his wife.

“Lucy ran away because nobody paid attention to anything she did. That house was a real mess and they didn't have anything to eat and nobody ever talked to her. It was like she didn't live there. The only person who knew she lived there was Daphne,
and even she put a lock on her door to keep her out. How would you like to live in a place where it's like you're invisible? If she didn't leave the note, they probably wouldn't have known she'd run away.”

My heart is pounding. I don't think I've ever talked like that to an adult before.

I hear a sound from Mom across the room. She looks real upset.

“What about these bats?” says the man cop. “How many of them are there?”

“Just me and Lucy.” The guy thinks this is like television where every little thing is about some great big deal like gangs or drugs. It's like it can't be just about Lucy feeling bad.

“What do bats do?” says the police woman.

“Nothing,” I say, slapping the arms of the chair. “We just are bats. That's all. We don't do anything. We be bats.” They all look at me like I'm crazy. “You wouldn't understand. It's a kid thing.” They all shift a bit and exhale, like they've been holding their breath waiting for me to say the right thing.

“What about this?” The man cop points to the plastic. He goes over and unfolds it. It makes a ton of noise. “What's this for?”

“Making a kite,” I say, trying to keep my voice even. The police woman puts her hand on mine.

“Is that what bats do? Do they fly kites?” Instantly, I see my way out.

“I thought you used paper for kites,” says the man cop.

“I wanted to make a big kite with a bat on it, because maybe Lucy would see it and come home. You know, like advertising for her to meet me.” That's true, but I've already done that. The police woman looks me in the eye, pats my hand and stands up.

“That's a good idea, Terence. You do that.” Both officers prepare to leave.

“And you let us know if your bat friend calls you or comes to your house,” says the man cop.

“Her family really misses her and they want her home,” says the police woman. I feel like telling her that they should have missed Lucy before she left. But then, you can't miss someone who is already there, can you? I look over at Mom. Maybe you can.

She leads the cops out and I hear the door close. She comes and sits on the sofa and looks at me. I rock.

“Where'd you get the plastic?” she asks. She's a way better cop than those two put together. There's no way I can lie to her.

“Rico's neighbor's garage,” I say. I'm ready to tell her the whole thing. She looks at me for a long time like she wants to say something, but she doesn't.

I couldn't go out again last night because Mom wanted to watch television with me. I felt like she
wanted to say something all night, but she wouldn't. I wished she would. I wanted to tell her all about Lucy, but my mouth wouldn't move. I kept opening it, but nothing came out.

Now she's gone to work and I'm rooting around the fridge to find something to take Lucy. We have one tomato and an onion. I make some Kraft Dinner and cut the onion and tomato into it. Lucy should get some vegetables.

When I get to the cave, there are sticks blocking up the entrance.

“Lucy?” I don't hear any movement in the cave. “Lucy?” I kick at the sticks. They come down easily enough. I crawl inside.

“Terence?” Lucy's voice is sleepy. A flashlight beams right in my face.

“The police were at my house last night. I brought you some Kraft Dinner.”

Lucy props the flashlight in a corner. At the end of the cave I see a bunch of whittled branches. She has her kerchief off. I can see an orange sheen of stubble on her head. It looks like she dunked it in a vat of orange Kool-Aid.

“Your hair's growing back.”

“Where were you? You said you were coming back. I waited and waited. A raccoon almost got me. I went out to go to the washroom and when I came back a bunch of raccoons were in here eating the
sandwiches. You said you were coming back. I waited all night, Terence.” Her growly voice has been sawn in half. I feel like someone has sawn a hole in my stomach and stuffed it with straw.

“I brought you the plastic.” She doesn't say anything. “I saw your sister in the park yesterday. She was crying. I don't think she's gone to work since you left. She was asking me about you.”

“You didn't tell her anything?”

“Only that I saw you at Loblaws, but not about the spaghetti. I had to steal the plastic. I nearly got caught. Then I saw that police car at my house. They asked me why you ran away. I told them it was because no one paid attention to you. I didn't say anything about where you were.”

Lucy seems to be listening, but she's looking at the sticks on the ground.

“I finished getting the branches ready for the kite frame. I had to go out and find some more pieces because a couple of them broke. We need something to write Save the Bats with. That's the right kind of plastic, though… I think. It's got paint splats on it. Oh, well.”

Maybe she wasn't listening to me after all. Didn't she hear me say about the police?

“I had to put the sticks up to keep the raccoons out. It was so cold, I thought I was going to freeze to death. A bat's body temperature is supposed to
lower inside the cave. There isn't enough room to hang upside-down here. That's probably why I was cold…”

“Maybe you should go home, Lucy. I'm bad at lying. If those cops come back, I don't know —”

“You can't tell them anything! Swear to me you won't. Swear, Terence. Swear on batdom!”

I don't think I can. Her eyes are so fierce. She looks so skinny and small. She should go home.

“How long will it take to make the kite?” Maybe if I help her get the kite done quickly, she'll go home after that.

Lucy sighs.

“That depends on when we get all the supplies.” She unfolds the plastic. She looks a bit disappointed. Hell, I nearly got caught ripping that thing off. “Did you bring a measuring tape?” I pull the bag over and pull out the measuring tape and the string. “Good. Now all we need is some glue and paint.”

I'm not stealing anything else. No way. Except… maybe Elys has some at the florist's. I could go there and come back, no problem. “If I bring them today, how long will it take?”

“I don't know, Terence. We'll just have to see.” No. Once the kite is done she has to go home. That's the deal.

“You can't stay here forever.” She opens the container of Kraft Dinner and grabs a fork.

“Why not?”

“Because you're not a bat, Lucy.” I'm yelling. I think I have to yell so she'll hear me. “You're a girl. And your family's freaking, and the cops are looking for you, and I'll stop bringing food.” She's gobbling the stuff up. How loud do I have to get? She holds a tomato up to the flashlight and then stuffs it in her mouth.

“So? There's always Loblaws. Bats find all their own food. Bats don't need anyone to take care of them.”

I feel like throwing something. She makes me so angry. At the same time, watching her stuffing that Kraft Dinner in her face, with her bald head and knobby elbows sticking all out, I can't help feeling like I'd do anything for her.

“Are you my girlfriend?” The question pops out. Lucy stops eating and puts the container down.

“Are you doing all this stuff for me because you think I'm you're girlfriend?” I can't tell anything from her voice. I shake my head. “Good.” She picks up the container and starts to eat again. She isn't looking at me anymore. It's like I'm invisible now. I guess she's not my girlfriend. I want to go home and stuff my head under a pillow.

“Do you like me?” I ask the floor because I can't look at her. I'm saying all the wrong things again. Stupid. I close my eyes.

I feel a hand on my head. I look up and Lucy is smiling at me. It's a smile like a new 18-speed mountain bike. It's a smile that goes all through me like a warm wind at the beach. She doesn't say anything. She just starts clicking.

Then I start clicking, too, only I'm no good at it. It's sort of a stuttering click. Then Lucy adds eeping to her clicking, like she's talking to me in bat. So I add some eeping.

“Eeep, eep, eep, click, click?”

“Click, click, eeep, eeeeeeeep.”

Before long we're both jumping around in the cave, clicking, eeping and giggling. I'm not sure why, but acting this wild makes me feel like some part of Lucy is sane.

Only thing is, I think it's the bat part.

I go into the florist shop and the smell of flowers washes over me. It's like getting sprayed by one of those perfume ladies at the mall in how sudden the smell is. The door closes behind me and I hear a chime.

“Hey, there, sprout,” Elys says, coming out of the back. She's got an apron on and everything. It's like she's been here forever and it's only her second day.

“Does that mean hello in florist?”

“Ha, ha. What can I do you for?”

“I'm making a kite and I was wondering if you maybe had some glue and tape and a marker or something that I could borrow.” I say it fast just to get it out. Elys narrows her eyes at me.

“Another kite?” she says. I nod. “What happened to the one I gave you the other day? Why the sudden interest in kites? Aren't you supposed to be looking for your bat friend or something?”