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27.
Not long after, Jimmy sat in Annette Lewis's cool car. It was a dark blue one shaped like a dagger. It had sand-colored leather inside, and a bunch of red, green, and orange lights, real small ones, for the radio and the other stuff in the dashboard. Cool, Jimmy thought. Soon, they were driving down Jimmy's street. He sat gaping behind the passenger window, while reflections of familiar houses and trees and street signs flowed through the prism of the glass, flowing like water over the reflective surfaces. It was his familiar street, where he went bike riding every day, and yet now it was like an alien world. House windows that had once seemed friendly now looked dark and hostile. "Hey," he said, "can I get my bike?"
"Is it at the house?" Annette asked.
He nodded. "Can you get it for me?"
"You don't want to come to the door and say hello to her?"
"No!"
"Okay, we won't go there, sweetie. You're doing fine. Just relax and I'll do the talking."
Annette pulled over at the curb. Jimmy ducked down low and looked over the edge of the door at eye level. The house looked black inside, as if nobody was there. It looked as if the inside was 1000 feet deep down in the ocean, where it was pitch black and cold. Annette got a pen and clipboard from the back seat. "I like to be ready," she said in her warm, musical voice. "Just grab, sign, and go. You learn to not spend time in front of people's doors. Hang in there, Jimmy, I'll be right back."
He said: "Don't let her ask to see me."
Annette gave him a shocked look and froze for a second. "I won't, Jimmy. You really feel that strong about it, huh?"
He didn't answer, and she got out. He watched her go up the driveway. She was a tall lady. Her hips rocked from side to side as she walked. He locked all the doors. He put his arm on the window ledge, rested his chin on his forearm, and watched.
Annette knocked on the door. She waited. She did a little dance to the left, looking in a draped window, and a little dance to the right, looking in there. Then she rapped with her fist. Jimmy could see the little black window panes dancing. To his amazement, the door opened. A slit of blackness appeared, as if hell had opened a crack. He couldn't see the thing that looked like his mom, but Annette was talking to someone. It didn't take long. Annette held up the clipboard. A hand appeared—lefty, like mom—and signed. Annette nodded and said thanks as the door slipped shut. Annette came down the walkway looking troubled.
Jimmy unlocked the driver's side door. Annette got in, and he expected she'd chew his butt for locking the door. Instead, she seemed to have difficulty speaking. "She didn't ask to see you," she said. "She didn't ask how you are." It was all she said, as she turned on the car and drove away.
Jimmy looked back at the silent house, shivered, and buckled up his seat belt. "Did you smell anything funny?"
Annette rumpled her nose. "Yeah. I did. It smelled kind of like earth or something. Loam. Soil."
"Mushrooms," Jimmy said, folding his arms together. He nodded. That's what they are, he thought. Mushroom people.
"So you like the Waleskys," Annette said by way of opening a conversation.
"Oh yes," Jimmy said, thinking of times he'd stayed over. "Aunt Nellie makes great French toast. Uncle Sim tells stories. Maribel is a girl but she has lots of gun toys and the best computer games. Hey, we forgot my bike!"
"Oh dear, we did, didn't we? Shall we go back?"
He shook his head. "No." He felt glum. "Maybe Aunt Nellie will drive over later and get it for me."
"How old is Maribel?"
"She's in fourth grade."
"And what does Aunt Nellie do? A nurse like your mom?"
"No, she is a housewife. She does sewing for people."
"And Uncle Sim?"
"He's a merchant marine sailor, like my dad."
"I see. Do they ever go sailing together?"
"Yeah, like now. They were at sea together." Jimmy held his head with his hands and frowned. He felt like he had a headache.
"What's the matter, Jimmy?"
"I can't figure it out. I think they were both supposed to be out on the same ship, but some guy came back looking just like my dad. He disappears, and my mom turns into a mushroom or something. So if they went on the same ship together, and this guy who looks like dad came back, then will Uncle Sim be a regular guy?"
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