The H-Bomb and the Jesus Rock Read Free Page B

Garfield. He has a big round friendly face like a cherry pie.
    You only see Garfield’s head. He talks but it’s just his big shiny beak clapping together. Frazier Thomas knows what he’s saying though because he’ll say things back, like, “Oh, now you’re being silly, Gar.” He calls him Gar.
    Garfield was all excited today because it was his birthday and all his friends were coming, Romberg Rabbit and Macintosh Mouse and everyone. Sometimes when Garfield gets excited he starts banging his beak on the ledge in front of him. So that’s what he was doing, banging his beak. Then one of his eyes came off.
    I sat up.

Toby
    My mom came heading up the sidewalk in her muumuu and babushka, step by step, all redfaced, huffing and puffing, ankles hanging over her shoes.
    Poor thing.
    She made it up the walkway, to the porch. Then she stood there, down at the bottom step, holding on to the railing with one hand, hanging her head, catching her breath.
    “Lotta people?”
    She nodded.
    “Get a seat?”
    She nodded.
    “Father Clay?”
    She shook her head.
    “Rowley?”
    She nodded.
    “Good sermon?”
    She nodded.
    “Let me guess: ‘Pray for peace.’”
    She looked up at me. “‘The whole world, ’ Father said, ‘the whole world is holding its breath.’” She glanced at the sky. “Come in the house,” she told me, climbing the steps. “I want you to come inside.”
    I laughed. “Ma, that’s not gonna make any—”
    “We’re going to pray together.”
    “Now wait a minute.”
    “Please don’t argue with me.”
    “I’m not. It’s just, I got all my stuff—”
    “I’m so scared, honey.”
    “All right, don’t start crying.”
    She stood there with her chin—her chins— all a-quiver. “I’m so afraid,” she said.
    “They’ll work it out,” I told her. “They always do.”
    “I want you to come in the house, Toby. Now.”
    “All right, look. Tell you what.”
    “ No. No deals. Do as I say.”
    “I’m all set up here, Ma. I’ll have to bring all my boxesback in.”
    “I’ll help. Come on.”
    “ Leave it. Just...I’ll get it. God. ”

Lou
    Frazier Thomas said, “ Now look what you’ve done, Gar. You’ve lost an eye.”
    And he picked it up off the ledge. It was just cloth, just a little round piece of cloth, and he stuck it back on. But before he did, there was Garfield with only one eye. Where the other one should be, it was all just blank. Frazier Thomas said, “What will the boys and girls think?” Then they went back to talking about Garfield’s birthday party.
    But Frazier Thomas looked like he was embarrassed. His big face looked all hot and blotchy, like he was still wondering what the boys and girls will think.
    I thought it was okay. Garfield is just a puppet, I already knew that, so I thought it was fine. Except, it bothered me a little, the way it looked. Just for a couple of seconds, where his eye was supposed to be it was all just smooth and blank and Garfield had his beak wide open like he was thinking, Oh my God, oh my God!
    They were talking now about getting some carrots for Romberg Rabbit, for the party.
    I got scared.
    They kept wondering how many carrots they would need. Probably a lot, they said, because Romberg really loved carrots, that was the one thing he loved more than anything else, so they better make sure they got lots and lots, and I started thinking, What if they don’t get enough? What if Romberg gets really mad? What if he goes crazy? What if he has a gun?
    I knew that was a stupid thing to be scared about but I didn’t care, I just kept wishing my mom or Ralph would hurry up and get back here.

Toby
    “We can stand, that’s all right,” I told Mom, and folded my hands to show her you can be just as religious on your feet. She agreed. I don’t think she really wanted to kneel. So we stood there in the living room side by side in front of the picture of Mary on a cloud with a slice of moon beneath her feet. I was hoping we could just run off