Avaline

"As the years pass and the fog lifts, we see our parents for the real persons they were."

She stood at the ironing board, bearing down hard on the iron as she pressed one of my father's shirts. The steam from the iron had an acrid smell, reminding me of the way the air smelled after an electrical storm. Her back was crooked from a birth defect and she was so short that she had to stand on a stool to iron our clothes.

Avaline turned and caught me watching. She smiled that beautiful smile that went right to my heart. "Why ere you a-watching me, Danny?" she said. "You orta be outside playin' with the other kids."

"Ritchie is out there," I said. "He always tries to pick a fight."

"Well, don't fret. I'll be watching out the winder and come down thar if'n I have to," she said.

And I knew she would. Tiny as she was, she could make herself look big to the kids that hung around our apartment building. She had a fierceness that she never used on me, but I had seen her use on others -- even teenagers. They always backed down.

The only one who didn't back down was my dad. The result was violent arguments in which I heard words I didn't understand then at the age of six. The argument would end only when my mother would come into the room with her fists on her hips and scream at both of them, "There is a child in this room. Do you want him to learn words like that? Elvin, you should be ashamed."

My dad would turn away with his head down, looking at me as if he had forgotten I was there. "You didn't hear any of that did you, Danny?" I would shake my head and try to smile it all away; that usually worked.

My birthday was coming and I was hoping for a bicycle, the kind I could ride up and down the sidewalk in front of the apartments. What I didn't know was that Dad was already working on getting me a bike.

The bike he found was very special because it was one of a kind, a sidewalk bike with big balloon tires and an imitation gas tank that made it resemble a motorcycle. My father had bought it from Ritchie's parents for $15, a small fortune during the 1940's.

The bike was in very poor condition when Dad bought it. Ritchie had outgrown it and hadn't taken care of it even when he still rode it. The tires were soft and dry-rotted and the frame was covered with rust and mud. My dad didn't mention to Mom or me that he had bought the bike, knowing that I would get too excited and that Mom would have a fit about spending so much money.

For weeks he would disappear after supper, saying he was going to go for a walk along the river, but one day I tagged along at a distance and saw him circle back to the apartment building and go down into the basement. My curiosity was enormous, but I didn't dare try to spy on him. I didn't say anything to Mom, afraid to get my dad in trouble.

On my birthday, Dad sauntered into the apartment empty-handed with a look of pure innocence on his face.

"Elvin," my mother said. "Have you forgotten what day this is?"

Avaline appeared in the doorway and frowned at him. "Have you forgot your own boy's birthday?" she said. Earlier that day she had baked one of her marvelous pineapple upside-down cakes, knowing that it was my favorite.

My dad feigned surprise. "Birthday? No it couldn't be; it's too early in the year."

My mom said, "Elvin, how could you forget?"

He said, "Ruby, don't get worked up. I'll think of something." He took me by the shoulder and said, "Let's check down in the basement."

My mom looked surprised, then a look of understanding crossed her face. She knew my father liked to tease and play games, and she figured out how he had been spending his time "walking along the river."

The four of us went down to the basement, my dad leading the way. When we had all gotten through the door, he flipped a switch and the overhead light bulb came on. There, in the center of the room, was one of the most beautiful sights I'll ever experience. He had completely restored the bike, sanding off all the rust and painting it a robin's egg blue. The tires were new and fully inflated. I never found out where he got the tires. The war was still being waged and anything made of rubber was almost impossible to find. My guess is that he traded something for them, because that was how most things like that were obtained during those years. He had also painted a speedometer and other gauges on the imitation gas tank.

My eyes must have been huge, since my dad turned and laughed at me. "I didn't mean to scare you so much," he said.

"I'm not scared, Dad, just surprised. Where did you get such a beautiful bike?"

Avaline said, "It's just like you, Elvin. Scare the wits out of the boy! I'll bet you stole it som'ers."

Dad said, "Yes, that's what you would think, you old bat." And the argument started, but Mom jumped in right away.

"None of that on Danny's birthday! Now stop it, you two," she said. "Elvin that is beautiful. Did you have to spend a lot of time fixing it up?"

My dad beamed. "Oh, it wasn't that much work, and you know I enjoy fixing things."

Two days later I was riding my new bike on the sidewalk in front of the apartment house. We lived on the third floor, which was also the top floor. I could see Avaline at the window from time to time, keeping an eye on me. I was proud of my "new" bike and was enjoying showing it off to the neighborhood gang until Ritchie showed up.

"That's my bike," he said. "Get off."

"My dad bought it from your dad," I said. "Now it's mine. Besides you didn't want it anymore anyway."

"Well, now I want it," he said, grabbing my shoulder and starting to pull me off the bike.

I don't know how Avaline managed to get down three flights of stairs so quickly, but suddenly she was there with a broom in her hands. She swatted Ritchie across the butt with it and told him to get home and stop bothering me.

Ritchie stood for a moment, knowing all the other kids were watching, then gave me the evil eye and strolled away nonchalantly.

"Thanks, Avaline," I said. "I could have handled it, but thanks anyway."

Avaline said, "That Ritchie hain't no good. You better watch out for him. If he bothers you some more, I'll really take care of him."

The next day I was enjoying the bike again. It was so smooth to ride. The balloon tires absorbed the shock from all the little bumps in the pavement.

Suddenly, I caught sight of someone running towards me from the side. I didn't have time to turn my head before I was sailing over the handle bars. My head struck the sidewalk sharply. Helmets for riding bikes were unheard of in those days, so my forehead took the blow.

The next thing I remember is waking up on the Taylor's front porch. I was laying on the glider and Clifford was sitting beside me in his wheelchair. Clifford was about twenty at that time and had gotten polio when he was fifteen. Even though I was much younger, we were good friends because I liked to play board games with him. He didn't have much other company besides his parents, so he indulged me and taught me how to play checkers, then chess.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You took a fall on your bike and must have hit your head," Clifford said. "Avaline left you with me to go call your father."

"Oh, no!" I said. "He's going to be mad and take the bike away from me."

"I don't think so," Clifford said. "He will be mad, but not at you. Ritchie stuck a broom handle in your spokes. That's why you took the fall."

About then, I heard the familiar shuffle of Avaline hurrying up the sidewalk. Her back would not allow her to run normally. She had to shuffle in a kind of sideways motion when she needed to hurry.

"Come on, Danny," she said. "let's get you up to your bed. Your dad is on the way home, and he won't like seeing you layin' on the porch this a-way."

Clifford said, "Excuse me, Avaline, but I think you should leave him here until his dad gets home. A blow to the head like that can cause some serious damage."

"Yeah. You're right, Clifford. His dad will be fit to be tied, but I don't care," Avaline said.

About then I heard someone running hard up to the porch. It was my dad. He had shut down the Sunoco station that he operated and had run all the way home.

"What's going on, Avaline? What's happened to Danny and why is he laying here on the Taylor's porch?"

"Calm down, Elvin," she said. "There was an accident with the bicycle and Danny hit his head."

Clifford had wheeled his chair to the side, but spoke up. "Mr. Clarke, I saw what happened," he said. "Ritchie stuck a broom handle in the spokes of Danny's bike and sent Danny over the handle bars."

My father's face clouded over in a way that I had never seen before. He was suddenly very calm.

"Avaline, you did the right thing by not moving him and by calling me. Thank you," he said.

I had never heard him speak to Avaline this way. He had always been abrupt and argumentative with her before.

"Elvin," she said. "Why don't you go get Doc Hayman? I'll stay with Danny 'til you get back."

Dad took off running again. Dr. Hayman's office was about half of a mile away, but he returned with my dad in just a few minutes.

I knew Dr. Hayman well because he came to the apartment every winter when I developed strep throat. He didn't normally make house calls, but made an exception for me because of the high fevers I would get when the strep got bad.

He and my dad came up to the porch. Dr. Hayman knelt down beside the glider and gently put his hand on my forehead.

"How are you feeling, Danny?" he asked.

"My head hurts a little," I said.

He took a small flashlight out of his medical bag and shined it into my eyes while taking my pulse.

"I don't think there is any serious damage," he said. "You can take him upstairs to his bed and make sure he rests for the remainder of the day. Call me if he starts to vomit or has any other signs."

Dad picked me up and carried me up the three flights. He was very strong and was not even winded when we arrived at my bedroom.

I slept the rest of the day and woke in the evening to find Avaline and my mother standing over me looking worried.

"I'm ok," I said. "Just a bump on the head."

"If you feel ok, come on to the kitchen," my mother said. "Avaline has made some chicken soup that smells really good."

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

"He's tendin' to some business," Avaline said. "Some business that's been a-waiting for some time."

I learned later that Dad had gone to visit Ritchie's parents to tell them about what he had done. The parents were angry with Richie and grounded him for two weeks. Avaline said that if he ever bothered me again, she would be sure the parents would hear about it.

A few weeks later, Mom and Dad found a house they could afford, but it was at the other end of town. We moved there in time for me to start the new school year. Mom quit her job at the shoe factory and stayed home to take care of me and the house. Dad found a new job that was more steady than the ones he had held previously.

Unfortunately, there was no job for Avaline with us since Mom was staying home. I missed Avaline for a while, but being a kid and as thoughtless as most kids, I soon forgot about her. But now as an old man, I think of her and realize that of the people in my life whom I have loved and who have loved me, she is certainly on the listl along with my mom and dad. I regret having lost contact with her, but I still remember that beautiful smile and that big heart inside a twisted body.