Tales of the City 07 - Michael Tolliver Lives

honey,” his grandmother told him. “We’ll get it later.”
    “Is that your puppet theater?” I asked the boy.
    “Yes sir,” he replied. “It fits on the these here poles.” I’d forgotten about that “sir” business. I had to do that myself when I was Sumter’s age.
    “So it works like a tent,” I said. “That’s pretty cool.” (I don’t know why I insist on saying “cool” around the young; it only makes me feel older.)
    Sumter crawled into the vehicle and laid his hand reverently on a cardboard box. “This is where we keep the puppets.” He pulled out a yarn-haired Muppet-style creature and held it up for my scrutiny. “These sticks here make the arms move, see?”
    Lenore gave me a grown-up-to-grown-up look. “He’s real into this.”
    “Nothing wrong with that,” I said, smiling, taking the puppet in hand. It was a Bert or possibly Ernie look-alike with the letters GAP imprinted on his sweatshirt. I didn’t get it. “Is the Gap sponsoring you or something?”
    “Oh, no.” She chuckled at my ignorance. “That stands for God Answers Prayers.”
    “Oh…okay…”
    “All the puppets have little sayings on their clothes. It’s the best way to teach kids the Bible. Keeps ’em interested, you know.”
    Sumter had removed another puppet for my inspection, a female in flowing Middle Eastern garb. “This one here’s a Foolish Virgin.”
    “So I see,” I said.
    Lenore took my arm. “You know that story, don’t you? The Five Foolish Virgins?”
    I shrugged. “Maybe I did once but—”
    Sumter piped up. “Their oil ran out. They weren’t ready for the Bridegroom.”
    Their oil ran out?
    “That’s right, Sumter. They weren’t prepared, so they didn’t have enough oil to light their lamps.” She turned back to me. “It’s a parable about readiness. Preparing our souls for the Kingdom of Heaven.”
    “Well…you can never have enough oil for that.”
    I made that joke purely for myself, knowing it would breeze past Lenore. Ben and I had already agreed not to confront the biologicals about the war in Iraq unless they brought it up first. My dying mother was waiting to meet my true love at a Christian old folks’ home in Orlo-fucking-vista; there wasn’t time for all-out holy warfare.
    Sumter slid out of the SUV and posed by its side. “I wanna be the Foolish Virgin next time.”
    “Well, you can’t,” his grandmother said, slamming the tailgate.
    “Why not?”
    “Because…you’re perfect as the Bridegroom. And boys don’t get to be Foolish Virgins. That’s just plain silly, honey. I’ve told you that before. Don’t give Nor-Nor a hard time about this.” She turned, gathering the plastic poles in her arms as she widened her eyes at me. “And not a peep out of you, mister.”
    “I wasn’t even—”
    “I know it’s a silly name, but one of the kids picked it, and…I can’t be Granny yet. I’m sorry, I just can’t.”
    I gave her a smile and a salute. “As you wish…Nor-Nor.”
    Lenore heaved a sigh. “Sounds like a creature from Star Wars, doesn’t it? That’s what Irwin said.” She readjusted the poles and began striding toward the house. “Did he offer y’all somethin’ to eat? No, of course not. What am I talkin’ about? You look wonderful, Mikey. You really do. Mama Tolliver’s gonna be so happy to see you.”
    She charged ahead of me into the cluster mansion—hell-bent for the first sight of Ben, I guess—leaving me and Sumter to fend for ourselves. The boy looked up at me pleasantly, blinking once or twice, then rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.
    “Wanna see the rest of my puppets?” he asked.

9
    Uppity
    W ith Lenore in the house the menfolk relaxed a little. Ben and I welcomed the enlivening effects of a woman—even this one—and Irwin seemed much more at ease with the proof of his normality fluttering nearby. Sumter, meanwhile, had taken an instant shine to my husband, heaping puppets at his feet like offerings to a fair-haired god.
    “This one here’s a lion who’s scared all the time,” the kid announced. “And this one’s a witch, even though her dress is way too pretty for a witch, if you ask me.”
    “Well, she’s the good witch,” Ben explained. “That green one over there is the wicked one.”
    “He’s never seen the movie,” Lenore said, smiling at Ben. “A neighbor brought those over for him.”
    “Well, we’ll have to fix that, ” said Ben. “Do you watch DVDs,