remembering grimley

a fragile mouse skeleton intact in the finepowderfine dirt in the crawlspace beneath the front porch of the house he grewup in

originally a farmhouse

turned onehunred during his teens

after the farmer sold his property it slowly transformed into neighbourhoods of hundreds of homes  Dutch Elm-lined streets and curbs electric lines sewer lines corner lampposts

as a boy each block was dotted one side of the street and the other with empty lots he called them prairies the last were filled by the end of his freshman high school year

his parents knew about the crawlspace under the front porch  a 2ftX2 accesspanel was screwed in place

the kids he the oldest of eight were forbidden to open it

                                                       FORBIDDEN is more tempting than told NO

as the eldest he had no choice

one night when his parents had gone out on a date after bathing the youngest and put them to bed he and his Irish twin next two in line were sisters also Irish were going to test the waters

they did not apprise their sisters of the foray theyd rat them out typical brothers versus sisters contingencies

                                                                                                   however

the girls ensconced themselves in their upstairs bedroom  door shutYou better knock if you think to come in.  Yeah, like we want to come in.

                                     from their fathers tools his workshop down in the brick-foundation basement they liberated a flashlight screwdriver discovered a pint of Old Crow  took wee pulls so not to be found out then stealthilysnuck outdoors for their forbidden mischief

he unscrewed the panel handed it to brother

                                               opened  the crawlspace exhaled a cool cool breath in his face

he thought Tomb

                     entering headfirst flashlight in hand over his shoulder he told his brother how fine the dirt was  It doesnt look like anyones been in here for a long long time

Yasee anything?

he cast the light left into the corner of the framed shortwall ran it slowlyup to the far corner  thirty feet off across that wall into the corner where it adjoined the brick foundations then along the bricks to the corner not two feet off his elbow

                             Nothing  Gonna explore

he began shuffling forward on all three really impressed how soft fine the dirt was  talcum

If nothing, what’s to explore?

 there was some rationale in that

I just want to see if there is nothing

Ya said, there’s nothing.

Nothing I can see

                      From here

I’m not coming in to see nothing.

    Suit yourself

How far in are you intending to go?

Across to the far wall

You’re crazy.

No no

         Curious                                                                                                                      

Awright.

           In case the porch collapses on top of you . . . any last words?

Jah

       Tell everyone youre a fraidy-cat

 

not halfwaystartled him he found the mouse skeleton

                                                              they laid on their sideassumed the fetalposition

in that moment he imagined  dying alone  of course youd tuck protect your vitals  like boxing hands up elbows tucked

he didnt molest the mouse

reversecrawled a couple of feet

                                 then turningturned off the flashlight  let his eyes adjust to the darkness

the panel opening was less dark  following the freshfurrow he made back

                                                                               a little creeped as he crawled

 

emerging his brother nowhere to be seen he seated the panel screwed it back in place

heading on the walk alongside the house to enter through the backporch the headlights of a car driving in alley sifted through the neighbours bushes lighting him in its flickering stopped him in his tracks

no way he could walk into the house

he started patting his pantlegs shirtchoked on the talcum

                                                             Well he thought  Got to do whas got to be done

 

Irish was watching TV

litup in its bluelight he asked from the couch

                                                   What the heck?

Whawha the heck  Youve seen me naked before

0909approximately,  Tuesday,  12  5. 26