The Carpenter Read online

  The Carpenter

  Matt Lennox

  Matt Lennox

  The Carpenter

  ONE

  SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 1980

  Leland King was back in town. He hadn’t yet figured out what to make of that.

  He’d arrived on the bus in the midafternoon on Labour Day, and had gone directly to a bachelor apartment that Pastor Barry had arranged for him. The apartment was above a variety store at the bottom of Union Street, near the south end of the town’s lakefront. Across the street was the back of an A amp;P grocery. Beside the variety store, past a patch of grass, was a fence around a small scrapyard.

  All of Lee’s earthly possessions amounted to the clothes on his back and one suitcase and a wallet and cigarettes and a plastic lighter. The apartment contained some furniture abandoned by the outgoing tenant. A swivel chair. A pullout couch. A lamp with an anchor motif on the shade. There were pale patches on the walls where pictures had hung, and from the bathroom came a steady hiss. Nothing was square or level.

  The variety store owner was also the landlord. His name was Mr. Yoon and he was one of Pastor Barry’s congregants. Mr. Yoon curtly told Lee a few of the rules, how he didn’t want loud noises or trouble. He wanted to know if Lee had a job.

  — I have a job, said Lee. I’m a carpenter. Cabinets, counters, doors, windows, trim. All kinds of joining, you name it. I got my trade, boss. Barry got me working with a guy here in town. I start on Thursday.

  Lee paid his month’s rent in cash and Mr. Yoon gave him a new-cut key.

  Thirty minutes later, Lee took a taxicab out to his sister Donna’s house. He had a return address torn off an envelope. She’d not written often, and in the last few years almost not at all. It was Pastor Barry who’d done most of the writing.

  The taxi driver had the radio on. Between songs, there was a news break recapping the events of the long weekend. The top story was an interview with that kid from out west … Near the end of the day, the kid was saying, eighteen miles, I was coughing and choking, had pain in my neck and my chest …

  — You know who that is? said the taxi driver.

  — Who?

  — It’s that one-legged kid who tried to run acrost the country. What’s his name, Fox. Terry or what-have-you. He’s been all over the news.

  The kid on the radio: All I can say is, if there’s any way I can get out there again and finish it, I will …

  — What a crazy bastard, said the taxi driver. Trying to run acrost the country with one leg. Sounds like they’re pulling him off the road.

  — Sounds like it, said Lee.

  The taxi driver droned on about other things, the weather, politics. Lee wasn’t paying him much attention. What he was remembering of these parts was how August could be cold or September could be hot, as it was now, even when the leaves showed a silver edge that heralded the coming autumn. They passed a drying cornfield and a line of hydro towers. On the edge of the road was the crushed hull of a snapping turtle. It looked like someone had swerved to hit it.

  The hometown to which Lee had returned was situated on the edge of Lake Kissinaw. Half an hour to the east was a smaller body of water called Indian Lake. The Indian River flowed back west from the smaller lake, pouring into Kissinaw, and dividing the town in half. Eighteen thousand people lived in Lee’s hometown, and made their livings in manufacturing and farming and summer tourism. On the northwest edge of town was a CIL chemical factory that had produced munitions during the war years. Lee sometimes wondered what he might have ended up doing with himself, had he remained here. Coming back now, at this time in his life, was stirring up a lot of strange feelings.

  The taxi driver was talking about hockey, what did Lee think of this season’s trades. Lee had a vague notion to lean up between the seats and tell the driver that he sounded like a goof, talking all this bullshit. Instead he just muttered a noncommittal response.

  Half a mile later they came to the house. It stood on two acres of shaggy lawn. It was sided in white vinyl with three wooden butterflies fixed to the front wall. The driver tallied a charge of six dollars. Lee opened his wallet. His cash felt desperately precious. He paid six dollars precisely. The driver gave him a strange look, expectant. The engine idled. Lee’s mouth felt dry.

  — Well, said Lee. Maybe that one-legged kid will get back on the road.

  The driver just shook his head. Lee got out and the taxi moved forward and turned around and headed back the way they’d come. The buzz of a cicada rose and peaked.

  As Lee made his way up the walk, the front door opened, but it wasn’t Donna who came out. It was his mother, Irene. She came onto the stoop, pushing on a rubber-footed cane, and took the first steps down with great care. Lee could hear her long and shallow breathing. She stopped once to look at him. He arrived at the base of the stoop and they came together. She was panting for breath and her eyes were wet.

  — Here you are.

  — Hello, Ma.

  She put her frail arms around him.

  Behind her, Donna appeared on the stoop. Donna was thin and knobby-kneed in a pair of canvas shorts and a cotton shirt. Irene released him and stood back.

  — I don’t know what to say.

  — Don’t say nothing at all.

  — You’re working too hard, Mom, said Donna. You shouldn’t of done the stairs.

  Lee nodded and said: Donna’s right, Ma.

  — Come in, said Irene. It’s too hot.

  Lee led Irene up the stoop. At the top, Donna did not meet his eye. In a small voice, she said: It’s good to see you.

  And then, abruptly, she embraced him. She smelled of soap. Lee felt the fabric of her shirt over her shoulder bones.

  As Donna helped Irene into the house, Lee looked at a wooden plaque on the front door: AS FOR MY HOUSE, WE SHALL SERVE THE LORD.

  What he first saw in the living room were three different crosses. One was a simple rood. One was a framed needlepoint depiction of Golgotha. Finally, there was a cross of macaroni glued onto a paper plate, hung over the entranceway into the kitchen.

  Two young boys, maybe seven or eight, hurtled into the living room, one chasing the other. They stormed past Lee, shouting, and angled down the basement stairs. Donna paled. She leaned over the banister and yelled after them: Boys, what are you doing? Don’t run in the house. You’ll upset Grandma’s tubes.

  She cast a helpless look at Lee and Irene. Lee badly wanted a cigarette but he’d heard you didn’t smoke in people’s homes any more unless they invited you to.

  Irene struggled into an easy chair. Beside her was an oxygen cylinder on a slender dolly, with a nasal tube at the end of a hose. Lee went over and picked up the tube and held it. He felt stupid, holding the unfamiliar equipment. Almost immediately Donna came and took it from him.

  — She’s okay, Lee. She just shouldn’t of done the stairs.

  And then Pastor Barry came into the room. He was wearing corduroy trousers and a cotton T-shirt and tennis shoes. He was ten inches shorter than Donna. He spread his arms.

  — Leland. Welcome.

  — Good to see you, Barry.

  Barry embraced him. Lee looked down at the top of Barry’s head. Barry stood back.

  — I’m afraid I don’t have beer.

  — No problem. You know I’m dry.

  — I do. And it makes me happy to hear it. Was everything in good shape with Mr. Yoon? I had him leave some things in the apartment. I thought they might make you a little more comfortable. It’s a simple place, but simple never harmed anybody. I can think of one guy in particular who didn’t mind a simple bed.

  — Simple as can be, said Lee.

  Lee was given a glass of lemonade. Desperate for a cigarette, he went out onto a deck overlooking the backyard. Ther
e was a swing set and a sandbox and a wood-line on the far edge of the property. He wandered down to the grass. He put the lemonade down beside him and lit a cigarette. For the moment, he was alone. He took off his shoes. His big toe poked through a hole in his sock. He looked around and then he stripped off the socks and flexed his feet in the grass. He picked up his lemonade and walked down to the wood-line. He wondered how much he’d expected them to look different, his mother and Donna. To be different. Or had he expected them to be the same, somehow? What had he expected at all? Along the wood-line, the trees were pine and the smell of sap was strong, cut pleasantly by the cigarette smoke. Needles blanketed the ground. A chipmunk stuttered past and branches creaked and insects whined and a hawk circled overhead.

  Coming back up the yard ten minutes later, Lee saw that his mother and Barry were out on the deck, his mother sitting with her oxygen cylinder beside her, Barry starting the barbecue. Lee also saw a young man napping in a lawn chair beside the house. Lee put his socks and shoes back on his feet. He went up the steps.

  — Would you like one sausage or two? said Barry. Never mind. I’ll make two for you anyhow.

  Barry closed the lid on the barbecue. He turned to Irene. She was watching them intently and wearing the nasal tube. There was something obscene about it.

  — Did you need anything, Mother?

  — I’m fine, Barry.

  Barry squeezed her hand. He went into the house.

  — I can’t believe you’re home, said Irene.

  — Me either, said Lee.

  — Look at all those grey hairs you sprouted. But you’re still skinny as a beanpole.

  — Not so much any more, said Lee, patting the small pad of belly fat he’d grown.

  A quiet moment passed.

  — Don’t be cross with Donna, said Irene. All this has almost turned her on her head.

  — I didn’t have to come for dinner.

  — Everyone is glad to see you, Leland. Of course you had to come. We’re your family.

  — I know, said Lee.

  A hornet buzzed around the rim of Lee’s lemonade glass. He waved it away.

  — I seen a kid snoozing around the side of the house, said Lee. I’d say that’s Peter. I wouldn’t of known him from the pictures you sent me.

  — I sent those snapshots years ago.

  — Is he a good kid?

  — Yes. He disappointed me when he quit going to church and school both, but yes, he’s a good fellow.

  — He quit school?

  — Yes. All he does is work at the gas station. Works and works. He left here at five o’clock this morning, and only got back here an hour ago. I can’t guess what he wants.

  — Maybe he doesn’t know himself.

  Lee drank down the lemonade. He crunched the ice cube between his back teeth and said: And I don’t guess he knows about any of the other business?

  His mother looked out over the backyard. A long moment passed.

  — Leland, said Irene, quietly, there’s no reason to stir up any of that old upset. Upset is all it would be.

  Do you remember writing Christmas cards to your Uncle Lee? asked Donna.

  The two boys did not respond. The elder was frowning at the tablecloth. The younger stared at Lee. Their names were Luke and John.

  — Close your mouth, John, said Barry.

  The boy managed to close his mouth for a short time and then it fell open again. From the other side of the table, Peter, older than his half-brothers by ten years, watched with amusement.

  — They’re afraid of outsiders, said Peter. That happens when you home-school.

  — Peter, said Donna.

  The two young boys looked like Donna and Barry, with Donna’s high cheekbones and Barry’s black hair and blue eyes. Peter had brown eyes and thin blond hair. He had Donna’s high cheekbones but no other obvious suggestion of his parentage.

  Luke finally spoke up.

  — I remember you wrote some letters to us. You spelled happy wrong.

  — Luke, said Donna.

  — He put an e after the p.

  — That’s enough, said Barry.

  — I’m sorry, Lee, said Donna.

  — It’s okay, said Lee. See, Luke, I didn’t pay attention in school like you guys, so you’d think I’m a dummy if you read my letters. But I always liked to get them cards from you.

  John stared at Lee. The boy’s jaw remained unhinged. Finally, he said: Didn’t they teach you to read and write in jail?

  Donna clapped her knife and fork down.

  — Maybe we shouldn’t of done this.

  — Mom said you had school in jail, said John.

  — John …

  Lee turned his plate with his thumbs. The meal was potato salad and two overdone bratwurst sausages.

  — You’re right, said Lee. There was school in jail. There was school for reading and writing, but that’s not what I learned. Because reading and writing is more for you guys, who can be anything you want when you grow up. A guy like me isn’t going to be a doctor or nothing like that, so I decided to learn something I was okay at, which was carpentry.

  — You boys know what a carpenter is, said Barry.

  — It’s a guy who builds things, said Luke.

  — That’s right. That’s what Jesus was. So Uncle Lee learned a pretty good thing. What do we say about school?

  The two brothers responded in unison: The Bible says it’s important to gain wisdom.

  — Good, said Barry.

  Lee nodded.

  — You boys go to school right here at home? You’re lucky. You don’t have to wait for the school bus or nothing.

  They chewed on through their meal and some quiet minutes passed. Finally, Barry said: Lee, Clifton Murray will be waiting for you on Thursday morning. He’s going to be real busy right through the fall. You boys remember Mr. Murray from church?

  — Yes, Daddy.

  — He’s given Uncle Lee a job as a carpenter.

  — We’re very proud, said Irene.

  The boys kept looking at him between bites. John had not closed his hanging mouth.

  — I can give you a lift, said Peter. I have a car.

  — Say again?

  — I’m guessing you don’t have a car yet. I’ll give you a lift on Thursday. I have an early start that day anyway.

  — Well, thanks, Peter. You know where I live?

  — Yeah. I saw it. Keeping the lamp was my idea.

  After supper Luke and John went into the living room and sat on the floor in front of the couch. They swatted at each other when they thought nobody was looking. Barry had disappeared somewhere. Peter helped his grandmother over to her easy chair.

  Lee watched all of this from the kitchen doorway, and then he turned back to Donna, who’d started the dishes.

  — Should I go?

  — You can stay for a bit, said Donna. They’re going to do their after-supper thing.

  — What, do they play Monopoly?

  — No. Barry does a bible study with them. After that I think he’s going to the church. He’ll give you a ride back into town.

  Barry reappeared carrying a cloth-bound study bible. He sat on the couch in front of the boys. Peter was leaning against the wall. He saw Lee watching him and he shrugged.

  — Tonight we’re going to talk about Jonah and the whale, said Barry.

  Lee pulled a dishtowel off a hook above the oven. He started drying a plate. He saw Donna glance at him out of the corner of her eye.

  — They do this every night?

  — He’s a good dad, Lee.

  — I never meant nothing. He’s been real good to me, sister. It was him who came to see me when I was in the city.

  — I had the boys to look after. Mama too. It would of been pretty hard for me to go to the city.

  — Look. I don’t mean nothing. Anyhow, it can’t hurt to learn about the Bible. I read it a couple times. I have questions about it, but you know me. The questions I have are probably for
the experts.

  He helped with the drying for a few minutes more. Then Pete was standing beside him.

  — I can take over.

  — I can do it, Peter, said Lee. Or do they call you Pete?

  — Sure, I like that better, said Pete. Anyway, the dishes aren’t any trouble. Usually I dry them. It’s that or the bible study.

  — You’d rather be in here?

  — Yeah.

  Lee handed him the dishtowel and moved over to the doorway. He looked at the boys and at Barry addressing them:

  — It wouldn’t take long for you or me to get real uncomfortable in a whale’s belly. But not Brother Jonah. He just kept on praying and giving thanks. Saying his hallelujahs till the third day. So what does the Lord do? He tells that whale to let Jonah out of his belly. That’s not the end, either. Jonah goes on to Nineveh, just like he was supposed to. This time he isn’t afraid to preach the Word. He goes and tells those unbelievers what’s what. And this time? The people listen to him. So I want you to think about being a brave Christian. About going out to spread the good Word. That’s one of your jobs, boys. That’s something the Lord expects in exchange for all the great things He’s done for you.

  By the time the lesson was done, Irene’s eyes were closed. Lee went over and took her hand. Barry smiled at him and said: Come on, Brother Lee. I have to swing by the church. I’ll drop you off at your new place.

  Sometime after midnight, Lee woke from the same dream he’d been having for as long as he could remember. In the dream he was a boy again, venturing down into the basement of the boarding house in town where he and Donna grew up. The basement had brick walls and a dirt floor and towards the back was a coal furnace. A set of octopus pipes stretched up from the firebox and transmitted strange sounds through the house at night.

  In Lee’s dream, none of the dimensions were quite right and it seemed as if he approached the furnace slowly, over a great distance. He’d hear a sound and turn to see a crippled caretaker, bearing a spadeshovel full of coal, taking shape out of the dark. The caretaker always looked like he was about to say something but he never did. Lee would try to run, but would find his feet fixed to the floor, and with the certainty of dreams he knew the spadeshovel was meant for him, to lift him whole or in pieces and carry him over to the furnace and load him onto the burning coals.