set down in your yard.
“I sure had some good times growing up here,” he said, “even though we didn’t have much. Of course the place was different then. Wonder why the new owners painted it green? Makes it look even smaller.” He turned to me, faking a pout-face, and said, “Parker, this house is supposed to be
yellow
!”
I tried to imagine it yellow. I tried to imagine Dad as a kid.
“And our fence was wood. Of course it needed to be fixed and painted all the time. My job. They’ve solved that problem, all right. This one looks like it will last past the end of the world.”
“It’s kind of ugly,” I said.
Dad laughed. “You got that right. Oh no, they’ve ripped out the Concord grapevine now. That was the one thing we did have that was special. See that oak tree over there? Dad hung a tire swing from it for me, and I used to come home from school, pick a big bunch of grapes to eat, and swing as high as I could, spitting out the skins.”
There was only a clothesline where he pointed now.
“Oh well,” Dad said. “It’s their house. They can do what they want with it.”
He started up the engine again, and we drove to the to the baseball park and got out. The grass was all brown and matted, but we could make out the diamond. Dad jogged over to the batter’s box and said, “Pitch me one of those killer high slow ones that’ll drop right on me.” I pretended to pitch him a ball, not so easy with one hand in my pocket, and he swung.
“Strike one!” he yelled, and crouched down again. He tapped home base with his pretend bat and said, “Now put one right where I want it.” I pitched it again and he swung and ran for first. But I made it a fly ball, caught it one-handed. Would he be mad? No, he grinned.
“Got me,” he said.
His breathing slowed down, and then he said, suddenly, “About this puppet, Parker. Do you really think you’ve got a big psychological problem here that needs a doctor?”
I looked down and shook my head.
“Well, I’m glad, because neither do I. It seems like you’re just stuck and can’t find your way out of this. I’d like to help you get unstuck. How does that sound?”
“Good,” I said. “That sounds good.” At last.
He put his arm around my shoulder and led me over to a picnic table. We sat on the same side, facing out toward the field.
“Do you know that when I was about your age, I got chosen to be the world’s youngest astronaut?” Dad said.
“You didn’t!”
“You’re right, I didn’t, but everybody I knew thought I did.”
“How could you be an astronaut? You were just a kid!”
“Well, that didn’t stop me, as you’ll see in a minute. You comfortable? This could take a while.”
“I’m good,” I said. I wouldn’t have moved for anything.
chapter sixteen
“I didn’t just love math and science in school,” Dad said. “I also loved Julie Anderson who sat in front of me in sixth grade. I can still picture her shiny hair hanging down almost over the top of my desk. Julie’s smile ended in a dimple on one side, and she wore furry pink sweaters and smelled like bath soap.
She was everybody’s girlfriend—they wished—but I had one particular rival for her attention named Brad. He was way better-looking than me, so I had to hope Julie liked smart boys and didn’t listen to Brad when he called me a nerd. She did seem pretty impressed when the solar-powered model car I built took first in the district science fair. These days, you can just order one online, but not then.
“So off I went one weekend to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago for the state-level competition, and when I came back to school the following Monday, showing off my Honorable Mention ribbon, I found out that Brad had asked Julie to the movies on Saturday, just the two of them. I didn’t like the way she kept smiling at him that day. I had to do something, fast, right? So I asked her if I could talk to her alone because I had something
“I sure had some good times growing up here,” he said, “even though we didn’t have much. Of course the place was different then. Wonder why the new owners painted it green? Makes it look even smaller.” He turned to me, faking a pout-face, and said, “Parker, this house is supposed to be
yellow
!”
I tried to imagine it yellow. I tried to imagine Dad as a kid.
“And our fence was wood. Of course it needed to be fixed and painted all the time. My job. They’ve solved that problem, all right. This one looks like it will last past the end of the world.”
“It’s kind of ugly,” I said.
Dad laughed. “You got that right. Oh no, they’ve ripped out the Concord grapevine now. That was the one thing we did have that was special. See that oak tree over there? Dad hung a tire swing from it for me, and I used to come home from school, pick a big bunch of grapes to eat, and swing as high as I could, spitting out the skins.”
There was only a clothesline where he pointed now.
“Oh well,” Dad said. “It’s their house. They can do what they want with it.”
He started up the engine again, and we drove to the to the baseball park and got out. The grass was all brown and matted, but we could make out the diamond. Dad jogged over to the batter’s box and said, “Pitch me one of those killer high slow ones that’ll drop right on me.” I pretended to pitch him a ball, not so easy with one hand in my pocket, and he swung.
“Strike one!” he yelled, and crouched down again. He tapped home base with his pretend bat and said, “Now put one right where I want it.” I pitched it again and he swung and ran for first. But I made it a fly ball, caught it one-handed. Would he be mad? No, he grinned.
“Got me,” he said.
His breathing slowed down, and then he said, suddenly, “About this puppet, Parker. Do you really think you’ve got a big psychological problem here that needs a doctor?”
I looked down and shook my head.
“Well, I’m glad, because neither do I. It seems like you’re just stuck and can’t find your way out of this. I’d like to help you get unstuck. How does that sound?”
“Good,” I said. “That sounds good.” At last.
He put his arm around my shoulder and led me over to a picnic table. We sat on the same side, facing out toward the field.
“Do you know that when I was about your age, I got chosen to be the world’s youngest astronaut?” Dad said.
“You didn’t!”
“You’re right, I didn’t, but everybody I knew thought I did.”
“How could you be an astronaut? You were just a kid!”
“Well, that didn’t stop me, as you’ll see in a minute. You comfortable? This could take a while.”
“I’m good,” I said. I wouldn’t have moved for anything.
chapter sixteen
“I didn’t just love math and science in school,” Dad said. “I also loved Julie Anderson who sat in front of me in sixth grade. I can still picture her shiny hair hanging down almost over the top of my desk. Julie’s smile ended in a dimple on one side, and she wore furry pink sweaters and smelled like bath soap.
She was everybody’s girlfriend—they wished—but I had one particular rival for her attention named Brad. He was way better-looking than me, so I had to hope Julie liked smart boys and didn’t listen to Brad when he called me a nerd. She did seem pretty impressed when the solar-powered model car I built took first in the district science fair. These days, you can just order one online, but not then.
“So off I went one weekend to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago for the state-level competition, and when I came back to school the following Monday, showing off my Honorable Mention ribbon, I found out that Brad had asked Julie to the movies on Saturday, just the two of them. I didn’t like the way she kept smiling at him that day. I had to do something, fast, right? So I asked her if I could talk to her alone because I had something
Similar Books
