Jesus Hallie

You know this to be gospel
yet you try to remain coy unflappable  

and desperately try

to be genuine  leave it be  be thankful grateful to the comfort they are extending you

despite being uncomfortable before its very apparent innocence

she lived in the ramshackle house in the neighborhood

every neighborhood he ever lived in had one
                                   and it usually held an elderly man or woman whose impediment to maintaining their home and yard was simply the infirmity age had bestowed onto them(where well all be one day

if growing very old is granted us by the script) 

the early football game was over and he had a nice beer-buzz going  somewhere in the buzzing he remembered
that the old womans lawn on the corner needed cutting

he had a manual lawnmower(of course he did)  he turned it overits blades whirring as he pulled it  often he didnt know which aspect he appreciated more  its functionality to cut grass and the cut-grass perfume that rose in passing over it and into his nose or the blue air sliced whistling through its honed blades  

he loved sharp blades  his whetstones and steels   his stained butcherblock

they were something to love when you accidently cut yourselfyou never felt the cut  it was the trickle of blood or its colour that captured your attention

he left the mower inverted on the gravel beside the road opened the flimsy gate(hed have to get to it soon for her) and went up the broken stone walkway to her door

the front door was open   as was her absolution every day of her life for as long as hed known since moving into the neighborhood  she saved money on gas and electricity
she was frugal                    

the screen door he had fortified was shut

he rapped at it hard with his knuckles which reported like gunshots  they always gathered her attention 
Hallie  he called into the house

he heard noise coming from the back of the darkened house  she slowly emerged into the soft light coming from without

Hallie  Ive come to cut the lawnalright

approaching the screen she give him the look hed come to expect  Dear Lord  Is it You?

Its me  I saw you needed the grass cut and I have some time right now  Okay

his recognition finally crept into her rheumy eyes   Ah  Would you like an iced tea when youre finished

usually he declined but the second game hadnt made him curious  it was almost certainly written in stone despite
thats why they play the game  he rather do something else than see why they were playing it this afternoon

Hallie please  yes  that would be very nice   Thank you thats very thoughtful of you

Excellent   and she seemed to disappear float  back into the house

it took him all of a halfhour  the edging and clipping of the grass grown under the fence tines on his hands and knees stuck him with another half

finished  he walked about to be sure he hadnt missed anything like a thorough barber or hairdresser  and satisfied he left the mower on the stones before the gate walked up onto the porch again and rapped
Hallie

she floated into the light  Will you have the tea inside with me we could talk

That would be very nice   Though if you dont mind Ill sit on the floor   I do not want to soil any of your chairs or doyleys

Nonsense I prepared a chair in case you decided to come in and sit a spell

In that case excellent

she jimmied with the hook-eyed latch a bit(they decided shed lose the key if he put in a masterlock)  became briefly exasperated  to which he made her laugh when he told her he thought he heard the ice trying to get out of their glasses
she finally sprung the latch 
My  that took forever

Good things are typically worth the wait  Correct

Yes  You are right  All good things come to he who waits

And you made me wait

You are such a tease  and a kidder

I am   But you make me so

the last time he had been inside her house was when he placed the new screen door  some years now
she was old then 
the house smelled of her  soft roses   gentle roses
thats all he knew about her 
and that her Church came early on Sundays to pick her up and returned her home again

she had prepared a chair for him   a ladderback covered with newspapers

he gestured towards it 
Thank you  I could have saved you time   Sat on the floor 

I dont want you to sit on my floor 
she laughed 
Then you would have exposed the dirt and I would have to sweep the whole livingroom

he laughed Too sharp for me  

they sipped iced tea and talked generally 

she wanted to hear of where he had traveled and what he saw 

she was born in the house

during their conversation as his eyes grew more accustom to the closed curtained room he took in her curios the pictures on the wall

she had a fine fireplace
he told her he would be happy to confirm it drew so she might use it during the winter  she might enjoy a fireits warmth
but she declined
she had terrible dreams of dying in a fire and didnt want to her dreams at least those dreams to come true

he told her he could appreciate that

on its mantle there appeared something that was nearly brand-new   

bright like a new penny

too obvious to ignore in his now accustomed eyesight


it was that thing  that innocent thing  he wanted to leave be

Do you like it

he must have hesitated  wasnt as inobvious as he thought he was being 
Its something

You know of course who it is

I do  As you

If you do then I do

Yes

Why do you say it like that

That we know who it is  How can we not  I see youve embellished it with a palm frond cross

I did  I believe it is the truest image I have ever seen of Jesus Christ

Jesus

Dont you think

I think its really something
    

he scooped up his glass and finished its little remains  the icecubes small tickled his lip
I must go Hallie  Thank you for the tea

Thank you for sharing some time with me  and really enjoying my Jesus

Youre welcome sweetheart

 

1525,  Sunday,  26  7. 15