Chapter 22 #2
The riding lawn mower on top of the small hill, the one Phil had just been working on, had begun to roll forward, picking up speed as it descended.
Charlie was still doubled over, unaware of the vehicle plowing towards him.
Nora could clearly see the mower making contact, turning her brother into mincemeat before he had the chance to fully realize what was going on.
She was too far away to close the gap between them and push Charlie to safety in time, and calling out a warning with enough detail to get him out of danger would take too long.
But maybe she didn’t have to say as much as she thought.
Bubbie always hid the good snacks on the top shelf of the kitchen pantry.
Whenever she went out back to garden, Nora and Charlie launched their contraband-retrieval system.
Being the timid one, Nora played lookout and held a stool steady for Charlie while he scrambled up and snagged the Hostess snacks, the potato chips or, on one particularly blessed occasion, an entire chocolate babka.
As soon as she heard the screen door creaking, her duty was to give the signal, a shout of “albatross,” which would immediately send Charlie leaping off the stool and onto the kitchen rug before the inside door opened.
This emergency operation had only been properly put into effect on two occasions, one of which ended with Charlie in a fluorescent orange cast, but they’d practiced so often that the leap at the code word had become a reflex for Charlie. Nora prayed that hadn’t changed.
The mower rushed forward. There was no time for a plan B. The mower was at Charlie’s heels, blades already primed to slash at the backs of his shoes. Nora cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted so hard she thought her lungs might pop out in conjunction with her voice. “Albatross!”
Charlie didn’t even take the time to look up.
At the sound of Nora’s code word he dove to the side, landing heavily in a patch of grass and rolling a few feet towards where Nora stood.
The lawn mower, for its part, kept rolling into the open field, free from whatever burdens a working mower faced, ready to start a new, independent life.
This time it was Vic alone who embarked on the chase, barreling after the machine and shouting obscenities as he ran.
The rest of the crew was notably absent, not only from the mower wrangling but from the field itself.
Patty made her way over to Charlie, presumably under the guise of ensuring his welfare, but Phil was nowhere to be seen.
Nora beat Patty to Charlie’s side and immediately crouched beside him, looking him over for any signs of uninvited pruning.
“You kids ought to be put in Bubble Wrap,” Patty said as she arrived.
Her voice was measured, but her eyes had a frantic quality behind them; the disparity gave her the vibe of a woman possessed by the spirit of someone she would not have gotten along with in life.
“I can’t seem to turn my back on you for a minute without one or both of you ending up in harm’s way. ”
Nora was a kneeling barrier between Patty and her brother. She could feel her nostrils flaring like a bull ready to charge. “Where’s Phil?”
Patty cast her eyes around the fields. “Search me,” she said. “He’s not going to be too thrilled with whatever new damage that mower ends up with. It was giving him enough of a hard time already.”
“It nearly gave Charlie a much harder time,” said Nora through gritted teeth.
Patty unfolded her arms from where they’d been hugging her chest, appearing to try to soften her presence and failing miserably.
She’d barely batted an eye at her nephew’s second near-death experience of the day.
Aside from a sarcastic quip, she’d hardly acknowledged it at all.
And why would she, if she was the one orchestrating it to begin with?
“You’re right,” said Patty. “Are you okay, Charlie? That must have been a harrowing thing to go through.”
Charlie had propped himself on his elbows and was currently weaving his head around Nora to try to catch a glimpse of his aunt, but Nora was having none of it and remained firmly wedged between the two.
“No harm done,” said Charlie, who clearly wasn’t picking up Nora’s simmering animosity or the charade of Patty’s concern.
“And I intend to keep it that way,” said Nora, her eyes locked on Patty’s in challenge.
Patty nodded the nod of someone who didn’t quite know why they were nodding but couldn’t think of a better alternative. “Very good,” she said tentatively.
“We’re going,” said Nora. She offered her hand to Charlie and hoisted him to his feet.
“Nora—” Patty started, then stopped herself. “I’m sure Mom and Dad would be glad to have some help with lunch,” she said instead of whatever she’d actually wanted to say. “If you see Phil before I do, tell him I’m looking for him.”
“What for?”
Patty feigned a smile. “Oh, just a little project we’re working on. It hasn’t been going very well so far, but I’m hoping we’ll be changing that real soon.”
They stood there holding eye contact, locked in a standoff neither of them dared name. Patty broke first. “And that car of yours,” she said. “I’ll make sure Phil has you behind the wheel again in no time. I’m sure we’d all like that, wouldn’t we?”