Michael Bryson - Wandering the Earth: A Selected Stories Sampler

From page one Brysons prose had mescribbling words of praise: clean, spare, pure, enters themind like thought. The Globe and Mail

Showcases Brysons disparate reach andcontemporary voice. Quill & Quire

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A SELECTED STORIES SAMPLER

by

Michael Bryson

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Michael Bryson onSmashwords

Wandering the Earth:

A Selected Stories Sampler

Copyright 2011 by Michael Bryson

Cover image 2011 by Kate ORourke

ISBN 978-0-9866206-3-8

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personalenjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please purchase an additional copy for each person youshare it with. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it,or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should returnto Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the authors work.

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WANDERING THE EARTH:

A SELECTED STORIES SAMPLER

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Table of Contents

Bonus Track:

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Boys andGirls, Girls and Boys

Bob called last week to say that hed beendumped by my grandmother. I said that I was sorry, it was the firstthat Id heard about it. I said I hoped that we would still be ableto see each other. I dont know why I said that. It wasnt like wewere pals or anything. I didnt want him to feel too rejected, isall. Bob said he was glad that I felt that way because he hadenjoyed meeting me. Just because your grandmother doesnt want tosee me anymore, he said, but he didnt finish the sentence. Yeah,sure, I said. Maybe we can, I dont know. Go to a movie, hesaid. And I said, Why not? It could be fun. Then Bob suggestedTuesday would be a good night for him, and it so happened I wasfree that night, and I didnt feel like lying to this old man, whowas feeling depressed and rejected already, so I said that I wasavailable and we arranged to meet at a theatre downtown. Then Icalled Grandma.

Grams, I said when she finally picked upthe phone. What happened? Bobs a nice guy. Whats going on?

I cant talk now, sweetheart, she said.Theres someone here. Hes in the bathroom right now. Ill callyou back, okay?

And she hung up.

Just like that.

My grandmothers seventy-three and shes hadfive boyfriends since my grandfather died. That was five years ago.You do the math.

The first time I met Bob was at mygrandmothers place. Shes got a small apartment in a seniorsbuilding in Scarborough, a one bedroom with a kitchenette off theliving room. I went to visit and Bob was sitting on the couchsipping tea and enjoying a batch of my grandmothers cookies. Hesaid that he had met her when he came to visit a friend. Mygrandmother said it was nice to meet someone who didnt live in thebuilding. She often complained about that, about how she didntlike her neighbours. Why should I like them? she would ask.Because theyre old like me? I could see her point, but there wasnothing I could do about it, so I was glad she met Bob. Also I knewthat Ernie, her boyfriend at the time, had gone to Florida for thewinter, so I thought she might be feeling lonely. And Bob seemedreal nice, and he seemed nuts about Grandma. I remember the way hetalked. Your grandmother this, your grandmother that. It wasactually kind of embarrassing, but grandma ate it up.

Tuesday came before I could do anything aboutcanceling my appointment with Bob. I had a talk with mygrandmother, though. She said Bob was nice. There was nothing wrongwith Bob. But life is short, you know. And you have to enjoyyourself. Imagine my grandmother saying this to me and me trying todecide if I should tell her that she had hurt Bobs feelings. As ifshe didnt know. As if she cared. Bob was starting to bore her, shesaid.

So Tuesday came and I prepared to meet Bob atthe theatre. We were going to see some Hollywood comedy. I dontmind them every once in a while. Im not nuts about them, youunderstand, but Hollywoods good at making stupid comedies, so youhave to give them credit for that. This one was about a waitresswho gets a lottery ticket instead of a tip and the ticket turns outto be a winner.

Bob showed up right on time, wearing anovercoat and a fedora, looking very old. He said he had a hard timefinding a parking spot and I was suddenly afraid for the citysdrivers. Im sure hes a fine driver, but it was supposed to rainlater, and I was equally sure that Bobs reflexes were in less thantop form. We made our way to the theatre and Bob said he couldntremember the last movie hed seen. He thought maybe it wasSinging in the Rain with Bing Crosby. I nodded and askedwhat that was like, but he hit me on the arm and said that he wasjoking. Singing in the Rain came out years ago. He said thathe went to movies all the time, but he usually went by himself. Heused to work in the movies, he said. Hed been a film editor inBurbank before moving to Toronto with his second wife. She was fromhere and she wanted to be closer to her family.

Id been thinking of retiring, Bob said,so we moved up here.

Then his wife died from a quickly spreadingcancer. Now he was alone.

You could go back, I said, but he said hedidnt have anything to go back to. We never had any kids, and wenever made too many friends, he said. He also said my grandmotherwould only agree to watch videotapes with him, but he said he hatedwatching movies on a small screen. I guess Im old fashioned, hesaid, but I said, Im with you, and then he winked at me andsaid, Glad to hear it.

After the movie we were walking through thelobby of the theatre when Bob asked, You want to go watch thegirls?

What do you mean? I asked.

Dont go stupid on me, he said. The girls,you know.

Okay, I said.

Its been a while, I said.

Me, too, he said, and he winked again. Hewas starting to look better, I thought. If you were to ask me, Idsay he looked five years younger, at least, if that is evenpossible.

We got to the club soon enough and passedthrough a door covered with mirrors. Inside a raunchy rock songfilled the place. We passed between the tables and found a seat offto the left of the stage. A stripper was in the middle of herroutine, swinging around a pole.

What do you think? he said, after awaitress in a halter top took our order.

Nice, I said. Very nice. That seemed tosum it up. What a terrific looking woman, I thought. She was on thestage now, rolling around on a blanket. I sat up in my chair towatch her.

The waitress brought us our beers and setthem on the table beside Bobs fedora. When the stripper finishedher routine, Bob leaned over and tapped me on the arm.

What did your grandmother tell you aboutme? he asked.

She said it wasnt your fault, I said.

He waved his hand in the air. I know that,he said and gave my arm a little squeeze, real gentle, like hewanted to emphasize his point without being threatening, you know,real subtle. But what did she tell you about me?

I couldnt think of anything. Not much, Isaid. She said she was glad to meet someone from outside thebuilding. But this didnt seem to satisfy him. I think he wasafter something specific, something maybe he was worried about,like a secret or something, because he turned away from me andleaned back in his chair. If it was something bad, I hadnt heardabout it. My grandmother hadnt said anything, nothing that stuckout in my memory anyway.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I wassuddenly thinking how crazy it was for me to be sitting in a stripclub with my grandmothers ex-boyfriend. It took me ages to findthe bathroom, and then I just locked myself in a stall and satthere. What did he want from me anyway? Information, friendship,someone to see movies and strippers with? He was an interestingenough guy, more interesting than some of my friends, I had toadmit. Hed had a life, worked on famous movies, met some stars.Dated my grandmother. But I didnt see why the companionship roleshould get passed down to me. I thought I could probably come upwith a hundred other places that Id rather be than sitting off tothe left of the stage with this old guy in a fedora, but then Ithought hanging out with me probably wasnt his first choiceeither. I sat on the john for a few more minutes then went back outinto the music.