Dr Jew

Vinny. He laughed.
    "Good job, kid. You're on your way."
    I laughed. I couldn't help it.
    "Hey, Swan, how old is your aunt Anne?"
    "I don 't know," I said. "Why?"
    Vinny laughed. I laughed too. I'm not sure why we laughed.

    It was late when Vinny got me home. Before I got out of the car he stopped me.
    "Hey, buddy, we had a good time tonight, right?"
    "Yeah," I said.
    "Glad to hear it. You ever want ice cream again just give your pal Vinny a call. Can you do that?"
    "Oh yeah!" I said. Because I love ice cream.
    "Good, good. And just a piece of advice. It might be better if you don't mention the beer and wine and… smoking to your aunt and uncle."
    "How come?" I said. "I don't want to lie."
    "Of course not," he said. "And no one's asking you to. But your aunt and uncle still see you as a little boy, when you're really a man. Only men drink alcohol. Only men smoke. You're a man, aren't you?"
    "I… guess."
    "Of course you are! So keep it to yourself. For now. I'll break it to your uncle down the line. Sometime."
    "Okay, Vinny. If you say so."
    "Goo d. I'll see you later, Swan."
    "Goodbye."
    I went inside and Uncle Dave was watching an Eddie Murphy movie.
    "So , look what the cat dragged in," he said.
    "What cat?" I said.
    "So you and Vinny have a good time? What'd you get up to?"
    "We ate some ice cream and stuff. We had a good time."
    "Good."
    And Uncle Dave didn't ask any more questions. I watched a few minutes of Eddie Murphy with him until I got bored and went to bed.

XVII.

    The next day I felt horrible and Uncle Dave said to take it easy and get better. He went out on business. When he came in later that afternoon I was feeling better and asked him about ma and whether he had gotten that letter from her yet.
    "As a matter of fact, I have it right here. Just came today. Here you go."
    "What does it say?" I said.
    "If you take a look you'll notice it's got your name on it, not mine. And I make it a habit not to go poking in other people's business. You go ahead and read it and tell me all about it."
    I opened that letter up like a Christmas present, and this is what it said.
    Dear family,
    Thank you so much for that letter you wrote me. It was very nice. I read it a lot. I am out of the hospital now and getting better each day. I am working the farm as best I can, growing vegetables and the like just like I used to. I feel good. I do miss my boy. Thank you for asking. But I think it better he stay in the city with you all for a while. See the world. Maybe see where he wants his life to take him. Get to know his relatives. Keep writing and I will let you know if it's okay to return.
    Love,
    May
    "Uncle Dave – it… it…"
    "What it say?" he said.
    "She wants me to stay here!" I said. "I can't believe it. I miss her so much that I just thought she felt the same."
    "Let me see."
    He took the letter and read.
    "Well I 'll be," he said. "Well, if she isn't the best mother in the world."
    "What do you mean?" I said.
    "Being all unselfish and putting her own wishes aside to let you grow and learn all kinds of new things. Why, I can tell she miss you a bucketload."
    "She does?" I said. "How can you tell?"
    "Hell, ain 't she my own sister? I tell you I know May well as I know my right hand, and I can see she misses you. But I also see she knows what's best when she says she wants you to stay. So you better do like she says."
    "I guess I better."
    "You better."
    I read that letter a hundred times that day. I thought it over and Uncle Dave was right. If that's what ma wanted then I'd follow her instructions to the letter. It hurt and all, but I'd do it. Boy, it did hurt.

XVIII.

    The next few weeks are kind of a blur. I did jiu-jitsu with Ueda Sensei four or five times a week and did all kinds of other exercise to get in shape. I also watched a lot of television because the one back at ma's had been broken for several years and we never had it fixed. One day when I was watching a show, someone knocked on the door. Uncle Dave was out and Aunt Anne was out too so I went and opened it myself.
    "Hey, ya big lug," said Vinny.
    "Hey, Vinny. My uncle's not home."
    "I know. And that's okay because I didn't come to see Dave. Came to see you."
    "What 's up?" I said.
    "You ever been bowling?"
    "Oh, sure," I said. "Lots of times. We had a place back –"
    "Good, let 's go."
    "Oh, but I can 't."
    "You don 't look busy." He looked at the television and a man was rubbing his hand on a woman's chest.
    "I 'm supposed to go ride my bike