I thought I'd fall asleep as soon as I laid down. I was so tired. I had only just settled into my bed, though, tucked under my quilt, when
I heard voices in the hallway. I laid there, listening, and realized that the voices were not in the hallway, but next door, just thru the
wall, in the boy's bedroom. The room that Jill had taken over during her stay. It was Jill's voice, obviously, and Daniel's too. And they
weren't being quiet. Not at all.
I got up, going to flip on my lamp, and then sat on the bed again, leaning more towards the left, since my bed was right next to the wall. I couldn't make out every single one of the words they were hurling at one another, but enough. Jill was hollaring to beat the band. And Daniel wasn't holding back any, himself.
By now I was sitting up, cross-legged, trying to catch the words. Something about 'the damn charade'. That was from Daniel, sounding
angry. Then Jill. Her voice sounded all broken up. 'what do you expect me to do?'
There was just the lightest tap on my door, then, just once, and I said, "Yeah?" in surprise.
The door opened, and Guthrie stuck his head in. He didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows, and gave a nod towards the other bedroom. As if
to say, without words, 'what the heck?' I nodded in acknowledgement and Guthrie came on into my tiny room.
"Hear that?" he asked, in a loud whisper.
"Can't not hear it," I whispered back.
"Yeah," Guthrie said, low.
I motioned him over and he came and sat on the edge of my bed. And we both listened. The voices grew louder.
'Time to put an end to it'. This from Daniel.
Again, 'What do you want me to do, Daniel?" from Jill.
"What's he talkin' about?" Guthrie asked me.
I shrugged. "I don't know-I can't figure it out-" It ws frustrating, too.
The voices rose even louder, and there was the sound of something next door, as though something had hit the floor.
Guthrie and I exchanged a startled look.
I had a sudden inspiration. I reached over to my nightstand, and picked up the tall glass that was setting there. It still had about
a fourth of a glass of juice left in it. I handed it off to Guthrie, and said, "Finish that."
"Huh?" Guthrie asked, looking puzzled.
"Just drink it!" I hissed.
Guthrie gave me a frown, but took the glass and swallowed down what was left in one swig. I reached out and took it back from him, and turned
the open end to the wall, and pressed it tight, and then put my ear against the other end.
"Doesn't work," Guthrie muttered.
"Yes, it does, too," I argued. "I read it in a book."
Guthrie shook his head in doubt, and I waved my free hand at him, shushing him.
"Things are out of control," Daniel said.
"You think I don't know that already?" Jill replied.
"We went at this thing all wrong," Daniel said.
"What are they sayin'?" Guthrie asked, nudging me.
I waved my left hand at him again in dismissal.
"Huh?" he persisted.
"Something about doing things all wrong," I relayed.
Just as Jill's voice was becoming particularly loud and shrill, a voice from the doorway of my room startled both Guthrie and I.
"You're not," Adam said.
We both looked around swiftly, and I knew I had a guilty look on my face. I'm sure Guthrie did, too.
"What?" I asked, pretending innocence.
"You know what," Adam said. He came into the bedroom, and held out his hand, snapping his fingers. I lowered the glass and gave it to
him.
"What's the matter with you two?" he said.
I leaned back against the wall, and looked up at him, trying to gauge his irritation.
"They're not tryin' to be quiet," Guthrie defended.
"I get that," Adam said. "But that doesn't mean it's alright for you to resort to somethin' like this-" he said, and held up the glass
for emphasis.
"It doesn't work anyway," Guthrie said.
"It does, too," I countered, and then wished that Guthrie and I had both just kept our mouths shut, because Adam's frown spread and his
eyes darkened.
"We're just worried, Adam," Guthrie said, and that seemed to mollify Adam somewhat.
"I know," he said, looking towards the hallway as if deep in thought.
"It's been a weird day," I said. I was suddenly feeling really tired and washed out. And Adam zeroed in on that immediately. He gave
me a concerned look. "Did you do your shot?" he asked me.
I nodded, and he said, "And you ate, right?"
"Yes, Adam. I'm just tired," I said.
"You need to be asleep," he said, just as the voices of Daniel and Jill could be heard, yet again, rising and coming thru the wall.
"No way to sleep with that," Guthrie said, nodding his head towards the wall.
"I know," Adam said, again. A rumpled-looking Brian appeared in the doorway now.
"What in the hell," Brian said.
"Yeah," Adam said, and then, he went out. I scrambled off the bed, and Guthrie and I followed after him, Brian behind us all.
Adam gave a light tap on the boy's bedroom door, but as the voices continued rising, and there was no response to his knock, he
rapped harder. When that happened, I thought how dumb it had been for Guthrie and I to have been whispering earlier. There was no way
that Daniel or Jill would have heard us talking if they didn't even hear Adam's first knock.
"Daniel," Adam said.
The door opened, and Daniel appeared. He, too, looked rumpled, as though he'd been awake for hours, and was worn slick.
"What's goin' on?" Adam asked.
I thought it was sort of a silly question, but I realized that Adam probably was at a loss of what to say, exactly.
"Sorry," Daniel said, running his unbroken hand thru his hair.
"Everything okay?" Brian asked.
"Yeah," Daniel said, and then, "Well, no. Sorry if we got too loud-"
"You definitely did that," Adam said.
Daniel sighed and looked back into the room, I guessed at Jill.
"We'll keep it down," Daniel said, as Jill appeared at his elbow. I thought she didn't look so good. I mean, she's good-looking, so she's never going to
look bad, but she looked tearful, and upset.
"Alright," Adam said, but he still stood there, looking at Daniel.
"You need to talk, Dan'l?" Brian offered. "Outside, maybe?"
"Naw. Not tonight, Bri."
"You sure?" Brian persisted.
"Yeah," Daniel said. As far as I was concerned, I wished that Daniel would talk to Brian. Or to Adam. Or to Crane. To somebody. I was worried, because
Daniel looked like hell, he really did. I thought he probably needed a 'big brother' chat himself.
"Alright," Adam said, again, as if weighing things out. "Well-let's all get some sleep."
"Right," Daniel said.
Adam looked at Jill, and said, "Tomorrow. Alright?" It was, I knew, his way of prompting, or reminding Jill that she'd promised about coming clean
and revealing all the mysteries about today.
Jill didn't look happy at all. I was almost expecting her to roll her eyes at Adam. She didn't, though.
She just said, "Yes. Alright."
Adam nodded. "Night, then."
"Night," Daniel said. He closed the door, and the four of us left in the hallway stood there for a few moments.
"Aw, Lord," Brian let out a long, tired sigh.
"Mornin' will come early," Adam said. He looked to Guthrie. "Head down to bed, Guth."
"Yeah," Guthrie said.
"You heard the fracas all the way to the basement?" Adam asked him, as if it had just occurred to him.
"Naw. I was in the kitchen, gettin' a snack," Guthrie said.
"Well, go to bed," Adam said.
"Okay. Night," Guthrie said, and headed towards the staircase.
"Night, Guth," Brian said.
"Night, E Ears," I said, shortening the nickname I have for him.
"Well," I said, taking steps toward my own bedroom.
"Go get that glass," Adam told me, halting my steps. "I set it by the door on that little table."
"Adam, I'm not gonna try to listen anymore," I told him, protesting.
"Get it anyway," he said.
I sighed, but went to retrieve the glass, and came back out into the hallway with it, handing it to Adam.
Brian had obviously put two and two together. "That's twice today, huh?" he said to me.
I wrinkled my forehead in question. "What's twice?" I asked.
"Twice you took spying and eavesdropping to a new level," Brian said. He was, I knew, referring to my earlier attempt to look
through the window at the bar to see what was going on. And then listening thru the wall with the glass.
I shrugged, and gave Brian a slight sheepish smile. "Just trying to stay informed," I said, lightly, in an attempt at humor.
Neither one of them, Adam or Brian, looked amused at my futile attempt.
"Harlie," Adam said. That was all. But, he looked halfway mad. Brian, too. And, just a bit ago, he'd said he was too tired to
rake me over the coals for climbing on the milk crate and all that.
"Sorry," I said, trying to look penitent.
"Go to bed," Adam said. "Lights out."
"Okay," I said. I went to my bedroom door, and looked back at the both of them. "Night," I said.
They both said goodnight, but I could tell they weren't done talking yet to each other. I figured with the house in unrest and upheavel, they
had alot to say.
7