More Than Human

Miss Kew said, ‘Where are your sisters and the baby?’

I’ll bring ‘em.’

‘Is it near here?’

‘Near enough.’ She didn’t say anything to that, so I got up. ‘I’ll be back soon.’

‘Wait,’ she said. ‘I – really, I haven’t had time to think. I mean – I’ve got to get things ready, you know.’

I said, ‘You don’t need to think and you are ready. So long.’

From the door I heard her saying, louder and louder as I walked away, ‘Young man, if you’re to live in this house, you’ll learn to be a good deal better-ma

I yelled back at her, ‘Okay, okay!’ and went out.

The sun was warm and the sky was good, and pretty soon I got back to Lone’s house. The fire was out and Baby stunk. Janie had knocked over her easel and was sitting on the floor by the door with her head in her hands. Bo

I hit Janie in the arm to snap her out of it. She raised her head. She had grey eyes – or maybe it was more a kind of green – but now they had a fu

I said, ‘What’s the matter around here?’

‘What’s the matter with what?’ she wanted to know.

‘All of yez,’ I said.

She said, ‘We don’t give a damn, that’s all.’

‘Well, all right,’ I said, ‘but we got to do what Lone said. Gome on.’

‘No.’ I looked at the twins. They turned their backs on me. Janie said, ‘They’re hungry.’

‘Well, why not give ‘em something?’

She just shrugged. I sat down. What did Lone have to go get himself squashed for?

‘We can’t blesh no more,’ said Janie. It seemed to explain everything.

‘Look,’ I said, ‘I’ve got to be Lone now.’

Janie thought about that and Baby kicked his feet. Janie looked at him. ‘You can’t,’ she said.

‘I know where to get the heavy food and the turpentine,’ I said. ‘I can find that springy moss to stuff in the logs, and cut wood, and all.’

But I couldn’t call Bo

We all stayed like that for a long time. Then I heard the bassinet creak. I looked up. Janie was staring into it.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Who says so?’

‘Baby.’

‘Who’s ru

‘Baby,’ Janie said.

I got up and went over to bust her one in the mouth, and then I stopped. If Baby could make them do what Lone wanted, then it would get done. If I started pushing them all around, it wouldn’t. So I didn’t say anything. Janie got up and walked out the door. The twins watched her go. Then Bo

It was better when we were all outside. It was getting late in the day and the air was warm. The twins flitted in and out of the trees like a couple of flying squirrels, and Janie and I walked along like we were going swimming or something. Baby started to kick, and Janie looked at him a while and got him fed, and he was quiet again.

When we came close to town, I wanted to get everybody close together, but I was afraid to say anything. Baby must of said it instead. The twins came back to us and Janie gave them their clothes and they walked ahead of us, good as you please. I don’t know how Baby did it. They sure hated to travel that way.

We didn’t have no trouble except one guy we met on the street near Miss Kew’s place. He stopped in his tracks and gaped at us, and Janie looked at him and made his hat go so far down over his eyes that he like to pull his neck apart getting it back up again.

What do you know, when we got to the house somebody had washed off all the dirt I’d put on the door. I had one hand on Baby’s arm and one on his ankle and him draped over my neck, so I kicked the door and left some more dirt.

‘There’s a woman here name of Miriam,’ I told Janie. ‘She says anything, tell her to go to hell.’

The door opened and there was Miriam. She took one look and jumped back six feet. We all trailed inside. Miriam got her wind and screamed, ‘Miss Kew! Miss Kew!’

‘Go to hell,’ said Janie, and looked at me. I didn’t know what to do. It was the first time Janie ever did anything I told her to.

Miss Kew came down the stairs. She was wearing a different dress, but it was just as stupid and had just as much lace. She opened her mouth and nothing came out, so she just left it open until something happened. Finally she said, ‘Dear gentle Lord preserve us!’

The twins lined up and gawked at her. Miriam sidled over to the wall and sort of slid along it, keeping away from us, until she could get to the door and close it. She said, ‘Miss Kew, if those are the children you said were going to live here, I quit.’

Janie said, ‘Go to hell.’

Just then Bo

Miss Kew turned around and saw her and sat down plump on the steps. Miriam went down, too, like she’d been slugged. Beanie picked up Bo

‘What’s the matter with her?’ Janie asked me.

‘She gets sick every once in a while.’

‘Let’s go back home.’

‘No,’ I told her.

Miss Kew grabbed the banister and pulled herself up. She stood there hanging on to it for a while with her eyes closed. All of a sudden she stiffened herself. She looked about four inches taller. She came marching over to us.

‘Gerard,’ she honked.

I think she was going to say something different. But she sort of checked herself and pointed. ‘What in heaven’s name is that?’ And she aimed her finger at me.

I didn’t get it right away, so I turned around to look behind me. ‘What?’

‘That! That!’

‘Oh!’ I said. ‘That’s Baby.’

I slung him down off my back and held him up for her to look at. She made a sort of moaning noise and jumped over and took him away from me. She held him out in front of her and moaned again and called him a poor little thing, and ran and put him down on a long bench, with cushions under the coloured-glass window. She bent over him and put her knuckle in her mouth and bit on it and moaned some more. Then she turned to me.

‘How long has he been like this?’

I looked at Janie and she looked at me. I said, ‘He’s always been like he is.’

She made a sort of cough and ran to where Miriam was lying flaked out on the floor. She slapped Miriam’s face a couple of times back and forth. Miriam sat up and looked us over. She closed her eyes and shivered and sort of climbed up Miss Kew hand over hand until she was on her feet.

‘Pull yourself together,’ said Miss Kew between her teeth. ‘Get a basin with some hot water and soap. Washcloth. Towels. Hurry!’ She gave Miriam a big push. Miriam staggered and grabbed at the wall, and then ran out.

Miss Kew went back to Baby and hung over him, titch-titching with her lips all tight.

‘Don’t mess with him,’ I said. ‘There’s nothin’ wrong with him. We’re hungry.’

She gave me a look like I’d punched her. ‘Don’t speak to me!’