"Yeah, I know what you mean." I spied him looking in the direction of Count's grave.
"How do you deal with it?" I asked.
"It seems I don't have a choice. I gotta deal." He ran a hand over his head.
We stood in silence, the frigid breeze and the echoing expressway our only company.
"You know he's not buried here." I nodded at my grandfather's headstone.
"I wish I could say that about my boy." Bear patted my back. "Oh how I wish I could say that." I watched him walk away, his head down as if counting blades of grass. He disappeared into the Maintenance shed.
From the old church's porch Flossy glared. I managed a half-hearted wave. She answered with a continued stare. Mustering my courage, I moved towards the old church. She disappeared inside, slamming the door behind her. I retreated across Fernwood. I wondered past my house and down Cemetery Street. I wanted to talk to Russell.
Beyford is a small town, it's almost impossible to get lost. I managed. Till this day, I have to think about right and left. I'm better with cardinal direction. I wandered around hours before finally finding Main Street and Russell's column of cigar smoke.
"Russell," I cried as he approached.
"If it ain't James Mo-ison." Russell shook my hand. "I hear you gone off and got yourself in loads of trouble. Boy you got to watch them telephone poles, they always going about jumping out in front of good folk."
After some small talk Russell said: "It's colder then an Eskimo's Clitty, let's get us some anti-freeze."
"Not allowed to, you know, my condition," I said.
"Your condition?" Russell stared at me from behind his Sunglasses. "You're a pup, pups don't got no conditions. C'mon, just a little juice to keep ya lose."
"Ah," I hesitated.
"What them there doctors don't know can't hurt 'em." He clapped my back. "Let's us have one for old times sake."
I followed Russell to his apartment.
"What's this I hear about that old girlfriend of yours?" Russell slammed a half-empty bottle of Ten-high on the coffee table.
"Shannie?"
"No you fool, not my butterfly - she ain't really your girlfriend anyhow." I recoiled. "I'm talking 'bouts that Jenny Wade character. Yeah it's a good thing I bailed you out of her hell. That's be life sentence waiting to happen there, wooo-eeee. I know fellows do softer time in the penny." Russell took a swig and passed the bottle. "I hear she got her ass knocked up."