Jeremy Stone by Lesley Choyce Page A

job to stay strong right now.
    That was all I knew.
    I silently told the fuckin’ black dogs to fuck off
    and they did.
    And suddenly,
    Old Man was in the little closet with us.
    He looked a little older, a little more tired. Bent over.
    I heard him speak in my head in the usual way.
    Oh boy, he said, you sure got your hands full
    and he nodded at Caitlan.
    I shrugged. You look tired, I said silently to him.
    Yeah, he said. I’ve been staying up late.
    So much to think about on this side.
    She’s pretty, he said.
    But it looks like a bit of trouble.
    I must have looked puzzled because he added,
    It’s okay, though. It’s always okay.
    Caitlan was pulling herself together
    We’ve been in here a long time. Fred
    will probably show up. But that’s okay.
    It’s only Fred and he’s cool. But we
    should get
    to our next class. I’m sorry.
    Nothing to be sorry about, I said.
    Probably best if we don’t
    leave here together
    in case somebody sees.
    Right. Old Man nodded.
    And then she was gone
    and I was alone again
    with my grandfather. You like her? he asked.
    What’s not to like? I answered.
    She’s got Indian hair,
    Indian eyes.
    I noticed. That’s good.
    It’s all good, he said.
    When you get to where
    I am, you get to see things
    on a lot of levels.
    And your eyes work in different ways.
    I get to see the sunset
    from the other side of the sun
    and the sunrise too.
    And people—
    you can see people inside out,
    if you know what I mean.
    What can I do to help her?
    You’ll need to be careful.
    She could drag you down.
    But she said she was trying to help me.
    She’s kind. But a bit intense.
    You noticed.
    I don’t miss much.
    She needs you. So there’s that.
    Can’t ignore that.
    Just don’t fall in love.
    Oops.
    Right.
    Sounds like she’s still in love with Jenson Hayes.
    There’s that.
    That can’t be good.
    She didn’t have closure.
    Everyone needs that.
    What can I do about that?
    Old Man straightened his back. That’s what he
    does when he’s about to leave me.
    I’ll ask around. Everyone shows up
    on my side
    of the sunset eventually.
    I’ll just Google him
    and see.
    And then of course he was gone. And leave it to Old Man to try to blow my mind by suggesting you could find someone on the other side just by Googling a name. But then that’s Old Man for ya.
    Just then
    the door opened
    and I guess it was Fred
    â€™cause he had a bucket and a mop. I was just sitting there
    in a chair with my hands on my knees.
    Fred looked surprised
    but not too surprised. I guess he’d come to his janitor’s closet before
    and seen lots of unusual things.
    It’s okay, kid, he said. Finish up with whatever you’re doing and I’ll come back in a few minutes.
    And he left.
    So I don’t know if he thought I was doing drugs or whatever.
    But it didn’t matter
    much, I guess.
    Not to
    Fred.

The End of the Day
    No one said, Why did you miss class?
    I went to English then history
    and then it was time to go home.
    I looked around outside for Caitlan
    but she was gone. I wondered what she did after school.
    I had
    nowhere
    to go but home.
    So I went home.
    When I went in the door there was my mom
    lying on the living room floor face up eyes closed
    arms at her side.
    Mom! I screamed.
    She didn’t move but she spoke:
    What?
    She didn’t open her eyes.
    Are you okay? Yes.
    She sounded annoyed.
    What are you doing? I’m meditating.
    Just shut up so I can
    meditate.
    She was mad.
    So I didn’t say another word.
    Went into the kitchen
    for peanut butter
    and celery.
    Peanut butter is smooth on the tongue and celery,
    well, you gotta love celery: the way it crunches.
    So after a few minutes
    my mom
    comes into the kitchen and lights a cigarette.
    First one of the day, she says.
    I promised myself I wouldn’t
    smoke
    until I meditated
    for twenty minutes.
    My mom could take the longest