W<\/span>ally said Cliff started it.\u00a0 Cliff said, no, Wally started it.\u00a0 But under their mother\u2019s new policy, it didn\u2019t matter who started it.\u00a0 If she was disturbed while on the phone, they were both to blame.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did I tell you?\u201d she said, entering Cliff\u2019s room first, her voice rising.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did I tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She wore square-tipped red loafers and slid one off the left foot and gripped it at the toe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t me,\u201d Cliff said.<\/p>\n

She said, \u201cWhat did I tell you?\u201d and started swinging.<\/p>\n

The first blows glanced off Cliff\u2019s arms, which he\u2019d raised over his head.\u00a0 The heel-box popped against his forearms like folded newspaper off the backside of a dog.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this time he really did it, Mom,\u201d Cliff explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did I tell you?\u201d she repeated, correcting the angle of her swing, testing overhand instead of sidearm blows, and now instead of the leather glancing off shirt sleeves the heel dug in to flesh.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom,\u201d Cliff screamed.<\/p>\n

It was the fifth one that caught Cliff\u2019s elbow.\u00a0 They both heard the crack.\u00a0 For an instant they held each other\u2019s eyes in silence waiting for what that crack meant, then Cliff erupted.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is his fourth cast in three years,\u201d Dr. Holman said.\u00a0 He wrapped wet white gauze around Cliff\u2019s forearm, overlapping each swirl in a pattern that climbed gradually like color in a barber\u2019s pole.\u00a0 \u201cWhat can you tell me about that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff\u2019s mother had been crying.\u00a0 Now her face went from sorry to something else.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a boy,\u201d she said, blowing her nose.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d Dr. Holman said. \u201cIs that it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Marinello, the nurse, fed the dry powdery gauze into the water tray where it soaked until Dr. Holman pulled it around Cliff\u2019s arm.\u00a0 He had already used an entire roll that had started drying around Cliff\u2019s chest.\u00a0 It felt like it was folding Cliff\u2019s ribcage open like a book.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he\u2019s wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was wild, too,\u201d Dr. Holman said, looking up over his glasses. His walls were lined with the heads of animals he\u2019d shot on trips to Africa.\u00a0 A gazelle, a lion, a buffalo.\u00a0 \u201cStill am, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 A polished case with spotless glass windows was stocked with gleaming rifles.\u00a0 \u201cWild boys have strong bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never had a cast?\u201d Cliff\u2019s mother said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever had a cast,\u201d Dr. Holman said, holding up his arms as evidence.\u00a0 He wore a white shirt with short sleeves, a stethoscope tucked into the pocket.\u00a0 His arms were hairy.\u00a0 Wet white lines of plaster trickled down the wrists into the hair.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cWild boys cause trouble though, don\u2019t they, Mrs. Foote?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff\u2019s mother looked at him blankly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean they can be a load.\u201d<\/p>\n

Above the refrigerator a white box that resembled a birdhouse had a sign that read, \u201cLollipops for Good Boys and Girls.\u201d\u00a0 Cliff pictured what color he\u2019d get this time. \u00a0Red.\u00a0 Yellow.\u00a0 Green.\u00a0 He wondered if wild boys got lollipops, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re saying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying,\u201d Dr. Holman said.\u00a0 Then he stopped. The wet gauze was going over the elbow now.\u00a0 \u201cThat hurt, slugger?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff shook his head no.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really,\u201d Cliff told him.<\/p>\n

He arched his eyebrows, which were black and white over the black frames of his glasses.\u00a0 \u201cWell it hurts me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff laughed.\u00a0 Around his eyes felt crusty from crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hurts me enough I\u2019m gonna need a lollipop,\u201d he said. \u201cThat OK?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK,\u201d Cliff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cOK.\u00a0 Mrs. M, get us wild boys a pair of lollipops, would you?\u00a0 Make mine green.\u00a0 Yours?\u201d he said to Cliff.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I have yellow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yellow for the slugger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Marinello stood on a step-stool and pulled out the lollipops.\u00a0 She peeled the wrapper off the yellow.<\/p>\n

\u201cSay \u2018ah,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And she slid the lollipop onto Cliff\u2019s tongue.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive him one for the road, too.\u00a0 A man needs one for the road, Clifford, don\u2019t you find that\u2019s true?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff smiled. \u00a0\u201cTwo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He backed up a step.\u00a0 \u201cTwo indeed,\u201d he said.\u00a0 He looked at Mrs. Marinello.\u00a0 \u201cYou heard him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re saying,\u201d Cliff\u2019s mother repeated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying, Mrs. Foote, is wild boys hate to see other wild boys get so many casts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many is so many?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPut it this way,\u201d he said.\u00a0 The gauze began climbing Cliff\u2019s biceps, where it felt cold and wet and funny.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t articulated an overarching policy, I take it case by case.\u00a0 And in this case, one more will be too many.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n

He kept wrapping.\u00a0 Inside the wet wrap, the gauze was tightening.\u00a0 Cliff\u2019s muscles felt bigger inside than they did in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. M,\u201d he said, \u201cyou finish him up, all-righty?\u00a0 And you,\u201d he said, winking at Cliff, \u201cno cello for a week.\u201d\u00a0 He opened the door to his office between examination rooms. \u201cMrs. Foote,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are we gonna tell your father about this?\u201d Cliff\u2019s mother asked him.<\/p>\n

They were on the way home.\u00a0 It had turned dark.\u00a0 A driver in an oncoming car flashed his headlights to get Cliff\u2019s mother to turn hers on.\u00a0 She was sniffling into a crumpled tissue.\u00a0 A light mist dotted the windshield.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout your arm, how it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI don’t know,\u201d Cliff said.\u00a0 \u201cHow did it happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

They approached the fork in the road.\u00a0 Route 25A, the short way, veered right and passed the Peerless Photo Products factory. \u00a0North Country Road, the scenic way lined with undeveloped woods, veered left and passed Cliff\u2019s old kindergarten and the chapel.\u00a0 Cliff\u2019s mother always took the short, treeless way.\u00a0 His father always took the long.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to tell him it was an accident,\u201d his mother said.<\/p>\n

Cliff said, \u201cThat\u2019s not the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned left.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not exactly the truth,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it\u2019s not exactly a lie, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff said, \u201cHow come you\u2019re going the long way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t this the way you like?\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cWith all the trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff said, \u201cWhat trees?\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Back home she stirred Bosco into a glass of milk and placed a box of Mallomars on the counter.\u00a0 Cliff took the Bosco in his cast hand, which hung stiffly in front of his chest like a shelf.\u00a0 He proceeded to his room.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not hungry?\u201d his mother asked.<\/p>\n

Cliff said he wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot even for a snack?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff said no.<\/p>\n

She followed Cliff into his room and closed the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an accident that your elbow broke, Clifford, you know that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop calling me Clifford,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCliff,\u201d she said, correcting herself.\u00a0 \u201cBut you know I didn\u2019t mean to do that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d Cliff said. \u00a0\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo can you forgive me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust leave me alone,\u201d Cliff said.<\/p>\n

He sipped at the Bosco.\u00a0 He studied the spines of the books he\u2019d borrowed from the library.\u00a0 How was he going to carry these now?\u00a0 He pictured the days or weeks it would take to forgive her.\u00a0 And during the time it took to forgive her, who else would he have?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come back in a few minutes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t even my fault,\u201d he sputtered. \u00a0\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t even listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d she said, \u201cI know, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the hallway, Wally shouted, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou started it, you liar,\u201d Cliff shouted.<\/p>\n

Wally said, \u201cYou started it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff\u2019s mother said, \u201cWalter, go to your room and close the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr what?\u201d Wally said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll break my elbow, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cliff\u2019s mother flung open the door, and Wally stood his ground, without even flinching.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cYou\u2019re in there trying to make up a story, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She said, \u201cWatch it, mister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you watch it,\u201d Wally said.\u00a0 He leaned around her in the doorway.\u00a0 \u201cYou tell the truth, Cliff, like they taught us.\u00a0 See how she likes it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t push your luck,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n

But Wally pushed it, and she didn\u2019t push back.\u00a0 He said he was telling the truth if nobody else was.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s my policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s none of your business,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n

Wally said, \u201cThat could have been me, and if it was you wouldn\u2019t even care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cOf course I\u2019d care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wally said, \u201cTell it to Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Cliff\u2019s father called home.\u00a0 He\u2019d be working late.<\/p>\n

Dinner was late, and it went by quietly, the television humming in the background.\u00a0 Ozzie and Harriet<\/em>, the Patty Duke Show<\/em>.\u00a0 Cliff stayed up later than he was allowed.\u00a0 He and Wally watched Ben Casey.<\/em> \u201cMan, woman, birth, death, infinity.\u201d\u00a0 Cliff didn\u2019t understand a word.\u00a0 Wally couldn\u2019t either, Cliff was certain, but he appeared to.\u00a0 He had that 5^{th<\/sup> grade thing about him.<\/p>\n}

<\/em><\/p>\n

Ben Casey<\/em> was their mother\u2019s favorite show.\u00a0 Ben Casey was a sensitive doctor.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t condescend to uneducated patients, and he looked like the Italian boys from her old neighborhood.\u00a0 Ordinarily, she made sure Cliff and Wally were in bed before it started.\u00a0 Tonight she didn\u2019t watch.\u00a0 She sat at the kitchen counter, smoking by the window.\u00a0 Some of the smoke drifted out through the screen.\u00a0 Some hung below the ceiling.\u00a0 Cliff wondered if Ben Casey smoked.\u00a0 He wondered if Ben Casey fixed broken elbows.\u00a0 But this episode wasn\u2019t about broken elbows.\u00a0 It was about hospital policy, and how, in order to really help a patient, Ben Casey had to break hospital policy and make up his own.<\/p>\n

In bed, Cliff lay on his back, the arm out stiff above him.\u00a0 It was hard to pull the covers up over his arm.\u00a0 It was hard to turn from side to side. \u00a0The cast around his ribs felt heavy and hard.\u00a0 Like a shield.\u00a0 Like a suit of armor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I was wild, too…”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2964"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3080,"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964\/revisions\/3080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}