Larry's Long Nap
Story
by Samuel Blackwell
Hungry, Larry mumbles from underneath his paper. Without hesitation
Colleen puts the shirt that she is working on in her sewing box, and
gets up to make his lunch. It's what she does; it's what she has done for
over fifty years. He sits at his easy chair smoke bellows from
underneath his news paper as he sucks on his cheap cigar, and mumbles to
himself over something he has read in the paper, something he doesn't agree
with, it's what he does, it's what he has done for years.
In the kitchen of their small apartment she opens a can of tuna and
puts it in a bowl. A very large orange tabby moves in between her feet,
meowing as she opens the refrigerator to get a jar of mayonnaise. Her
hand moves past the pickled relish and she thinks to her self how much she
loves relish in her tuna, but Larry doesn't like relish in fact he
hates it so much she's not allowed to eat it in his presence. The tabby
meows louder, almost begging for the tuna. Larry looks up from his paper
scowling at the loud noise coming from the kitchen. Colleen puts the
empty can on the floor the cat begins to lick the juice from the can, the
noise stops. Larry still scowling goes back to reading his paper. As
she spreads the tuna onto his bread she carefully moves it from the
center to the edges, "All the way to the edge Colleen, I want it spread all
the way to the edge don't glob it on." His words etched in her brain,
her orders, her programming. Just one of the million commands he has
given her through the years. As she works in the kitchen preparing their
lunch, he is in the living room reading the newspaper and puffing away
at his cigar. Suddenly his hands clench the paper; his face contorts
showing pain and fear at the same time. He bites down uncontrollably on
his cigar, it falls to the ground. He stand up his hands at his chest
now, in approximately two weeks the autopsy report will read a massive
heart attack brought on by a clogged artery. He falls to his knees, tries
to stand up, gasps for breath he manages choke out the word Colleen
before urinating himself then falling face down on the couch, his right
hand hits the remote causing the television to come on.
In the kitchen she hears her name and pretends not to. Waiting for the
second call she has also done this for years, it slightly irritates
him, she likes that. The sandwiches neatly cut in squares and placed on
two small plates. She comes back into the living room, notices he is
asleep on the couch and continues her routine. She sets up two TV trays one
at her chair one at his, then back in the kitchen for his beer. Opening
it and setting it on his tray. As she begins to sit down she sees the
lit cigar on the floor. Picks it up and places it in the ash try, neatly
folds the paper that he has left crumpled and spread out on the floor
and places it on his chair and proceeds to quietly eat her lunch. She
watches the television, she notices the green grass on the golf course
from a tournament that is on, and thinks how beautiful it is. It reminds
her of home, of Scotland, she remembers the green grass of Scotland,
the farm, how wonderful it was, how much she missed her family her Momma,
her sister Kate, and Poppa.
She was Papa's girl from day one; he was the best man she ever knew.
Little Stitches he would call her, his Little Stitches, she was always
tearing her clothes, Momma would stitch them up. At night after supper the
family would sit out on their front yard. Poppa would play his guitar,
she and Kate would dance, sometimes momma would sing. Then papa would
put them to bed and tell them such stories, stories of giants and ogres
and fairy princesses. Things changed during the war, momma and Kate
were killed by a bomb blast while visiting family in London; Poppa was
never the same. Then Larry came; he was a soldier from America sent to
help with the war. At the time Larry said it was love at first sight, she
was sixteen. The most beautiful girl in Scotland. That's what Larry
used to say. He convinced her Poppa that he was from a wealthy family in
Montana, the son of a rancher. Poppa made her go with him to America.
That was the last time she ever saw her Poppa, when she got to America,
there was no ranch in Montana only a small apartment in New Jersey,
Larry lied.
Lost in her thoughts; Colleen hadn't noticed the cat on Larry's TV
tray, by now most of his sandwich had been eaten by the large feline. It
was brought to her attention, just as the oversized cat knocked his beer
over. Mr. Buttons! She exclaimed trying to not to be to loud, not
wanting to wake Larry. She swatted at the cat causing him to jump off the
TV tray landing on Larry's backside and running straight up Larry,
using his head as a spring broad. Flying across the room and off into the
bedroom to hide under the bed. This caused the long strands of what hair
Larry had left to fall out of place. Larry lost most of his hair in his
early thirties; he would grow it long on the sides and wrap it around.
She held her breath in fear of Larry waking up, his right leg slowly
slid off the couch stopping at the floor. She sat silently for a few
moments and all was quite again. She began to quietly giggle to her self.
Then proceeded to clean the mess up and do the lunch dishes.
As the hours passed she enjoyed the quite afternoon playing solitaire
at the kitchen table, at four she begins to cook supper.
Boiling the potatoes, mixing the meatloaf, Mr. buttons at her feet
again, meowing, if she had a cat translator he would be saying, give me,
give me. She drops a piece of raw hamburger at her feet; Mr. Buttons
pounces on it. The table is set, the food is on, she gets his beer out of
the refrigerator this time not opening it, and sits down to eat. For a
moment thinking to her self, should I wake him? No. She begins to eat
alone. It is now evening; the dinner dishes are done. Colleen puts
Larry's unopened beer back in the refrigerator. She sits in her chair for a
moment, watching the TV an old movie is on, she is not interested but
not wanting to wake Larry his hand had been on the remote all day. A
bath, a nice long bath, yes that would be a fine thing. Colleen thinks
to herself. Walking down the hall she stops to take notice of the
pictures on the wall. Pictures of a little girl who gets older as you move
down the hall. Colleen stops at the last one, a picture of a young woman
in a cap and gown and the words Class of 83 on the bottom of the
picture. She puts her hand up to the photo as if she could actually touch
her, wanting so desperately to be able to touch her.
"Nancy where are you now?" She quietly asks. Remembering the night
Nancy and two men came into the house attacked Larry and stole all the cash
and the TV. The police felt it was for drugs. One of the men grabbed
her and started to lift his hand when Nancy stopped him, "No! She
shouted, Momma I want you to go in the kitchen wait there until we leave."
That's the last time she saw her.
She remembered when Nancy was nine; Nancy loved baby dolls. Every night
when Colleen would put Nancy to bed, Nancy would insist that she kiss
the doll. Saying, Momma, don't forget to give your grandbaby a kiss
too. Eyes shut Colleen slowly took in a breath as if she could smell her
nine-year-old daughter once more.
She let out a sigh as she remembered how good her little girls scent
was.
Hot bath, I must have a hot bath. She thinks to herself when the
memory started to hurt too much. She slowly sinks into the hot water and
begins to think to herself how nice it is when he takes these long naps.
She remembers how nice it was when he was working before they forced
him into retirement. Larry never missed a day of work. She loved not
having him around during the day. She never knew what he did for a living,
she wishes he were still doing it though. The hot water is very
soothing; she begins to drift off into a light sleep... "COLLEEN! WHERE'S MY
DINNER?" She hears him yell. Startled she almost jumps right out of the
tub. She waits for a few moments but there is nothing but silence.
Well it was nice while it lasted. She thinks to herself. He'll probably
be angry with her for letting him sleep all day; of course he also gets
angry when she wakes him. She's waiting for him to bellow out her name
again, but it is still silent, maybe she dreamed it maybe he is still
asleep.
Bathrobe on, she quietly peeks out of the bathroom; the apartment is
dark except for the glow of the television, she can see his figure still
on the couch. Good, she thinks to herself as she tip toes to the
bedroom. At this point she hopes he stays asleep, if he wakes up he will be
rested and it's been at least three weeks since he's done his man business
as she calls it. He'll most likely want to. Of all the things that she
doesn't like about Larry that's probably one of the biggest. She hates
it when he makes love to her, if that's what you want to call it. He
hurts her every time; it's usually over pretty quick though. She
remembers how painful and humiliating it was on her wedding night. She begged
him to take it slow be gentle, but Larry didn't know how to do either of
those.
She hated the feel of his body on hers, his weight, his smell, he
smelled horrible. As soon as he was done he was fast asleep and snoring. Oh
his snore, it was loud and as soon as you'd get used to the pattern he'd stop. You know he hasn't snored at all today not that I've notice
anyway, she thinks to herself. Oh well, he's probably in a deep
sleep, he must have been dead tried.
As Colleen lay down on her bed she thinks to herself, it was a very nice
day today, with plenty of time to myself. As she drifts off images
of her childhood began to flash in her mind. Before she realizes it;
her subconscious has taken over. She is getting off a bus with her bags
in her hands; she is standing outside the farmhouse she lived in as a
child. The grass is so green and her mother and her little sister Kate come
running out of the house and embrace her. They are the same age they
were when they died. They tell her how much they miss her. Nancy is there
also and Papa. They surround her; they lavish her with hugs and kisses,
as they all go into the house. As she goes into her room, the house
goes quite, she comes out of her room the house is empty. She goes from
room to room and no one is there. In the kitchen, she stands in the
silence. The farmhouse changes into the New Jersey apartment. She is
standing in the hall staring at the bathroom, her eyes focus on a baby's
pacifier lying next to the toilet, and she falls to her knees and begins to
cry uncontrollably.
Colleen wakes up at 7:00 am as she always does. She has been crying in
her sleep. She rolls over and realizes she is alone in bed, then she
remembers Larry had been napping all day yesterday. She could hear
talking in the other room, and then she realized it was the television. She
quickly got up; got dressed then into the living room to see Larry
hadn't moved all night. She begins to think that something is wrong, but
quickly put it out of her mind. I'll make breakfast, when he smells the
bacon cooking and the coffee brewing he'll wake up. She gently removes
the television remote from underneath his hand, and turned the television
off. His hand is very cold, she gets a blanket from the linen closet,
and as she put it over him she notice a strong urine smell. Colleen sees
a dry stain between the legs of his trousers, he must have wet his
pants in the middle of the night, she ignores it. Colleen then went into
the kitchen to make breakfast. She begins banging pots and pans, and
being very loud; maybe the noise will wake him.
She ate a very large breakfast alone, and then went about her daily
chores, she vacuumed making sure to bang the couch a few times, he didn't
move. Occasionally she would look at him, a little worried that
something might be wrong, but would quickly put it out of her mind, he's just
sleeping, sometimes he needs to catch up on his sleep. She then
continued to work. Dusting the furniture, she dusted across the mantle
stopping at a very dusty old bottle of scotch, his words jumped out of her
head. "Colleen don't ever touch this bottle, don't even dust it!" Then she
remembers the thousand or so times she had sat quietly as he retold the
story of how General Patton himself had given him the bottle in the big
war.
Colleen looked at Larry and then at the bottle, back at Larry's
motionless body, she then dusted the bottle. Then down the line dusting
figurines, lamps, tables, book shelves. She stops at a figurine of a little
baby angel with arms out stretch, as if the baby angel wants to give a
hug. She gently cradles it in her hand; it is so small and delicate.
Colleen carefully wipes the dust off of it. "How are you this morning my
sweet Mary Rose?" she says out loud, then stopping and quickly looking back
at Larry as if she said something she shouldn't have. She remembers
like it was yesterday, but it was years ago. They had gotten back from the
funeral; the last person offered their condolences then left. Leaving
Larry and her alone in their apartment. Colleen sat on her bed holding
the blanket of her dead baby, she had cried all the tears she could and
still it didn't take the pain away. Larry took all the babies things
and put them in the crib. Taking the blanket out of her hands, he told
her that we would not speak of the baby, or say her name ever again. We'll get busy making a new one and we'll get all new things for the new
baby. Larry left the apartment with all of Mary Rose's things. She kissed
the figurine and put it back, her little secret, her little girl.
Colleen sat at the small kitchen table eating a sandwich, across from
her sat Larry's untouched sandwich and his unopened beer. After lunch,
solitaire. She sat at the kitchen table and played solitaire for the rest
of the day, occasionally looking up at the couch that Larry has been
occupying for days. How long has he been sleeping? she wonders to
herself. Two days, three days, or was it yesterday? She can't remember.
As she starts to think that something might be wrong, she quickly puts
it out of her head. He's just napping that's all; he must have needed
to get caught up on his sleep. She goes back to her card game, looking
up again, worried. She reaches over across the table, and takes Larry's
beer. Popping the top off with a can opener; she takes long drink. The
beer makes her a little drowsy. "A nap would be nice." She whispers to
herself.
Colleen walks passed Larry deliberately not looking at him and down the
hall to her room and lies down on top of the bed. Within seconds she's
asleep.
She is brought awake by a fowl odor. She looks at the clock by her
bedside; it is 4:30 in the morning. "Oh my, I've slept all night, what is
that smell?" she says with a disgusted tone. Making her way to the
living room the stench gets stronger. She is standing in the living room
covering her nose with her hand, trying to evaluate the situation. Mr.
Buttons is scratching at the window franticly. It must be a dead rat
somewhere in the apartment, she says to herself, as she opens the window
to let some fresh air in; Mr. Buttons is out and up the fire escape.
Colleen begins to search the apartment for a dead rat. After a few hours
she is sitting at the kitchen table every cupboard, drawer, and closet
in the small apartment are open. She is staring at the couch were Larry
lay covered in a blanket. Why don't you wake up? Doesn't the smell
bother you? It's your job to find this rat and get rid of it... Dammit
Larry wake up! Her thoughts screaming in her head. Oh dear, what if he's...No he can't be. He can't leave me alone, who'll do his jobs. She thinks to herself.
You see on the outside Larry is an abusive, obnoxious oaf of a man,
and Colleen seems to be a doormat waiting on him hand and foot, but as in
any long term relationship they have there parts they play. Larry took
care of the dead rats, the trash, the plumbing, the bank account etc.
In fact if you asked Colleen she couldn't tell you how much money they had
in the bank, for that matter she didn't even know what bank they had an
account with. Larry even did the shopping; Colleen hasn't left the
apartment for over thirty years. After Nancy was born Colleen wouldn't let
her out of her sight. Sure there was the occasional visits to the park
and she would walk her to school, and school events but as the years
went by and Nancy grew and left, Colleen became more and more afraid to
leave the apartment, and after Larry retired she never needed to leave,
if she needed anything, he would get it. This arrangement worked for
Larry also, she was always home, he never had to keep tabs on her, and
when he was out he could go wherever he pleased.
He'll wake up soon, she thinks to herself. He'll wake up; He'll be
hungry as a crocodile. Of course he'll need to get some groceries. Yes I
better make a list for him. After shutting all the cupboards and
drawers, she begins to make a shopping list for Larry. She puts the list on
the table; the smell of the apartment is giving her a headache. She
retreats to her bedroom with a stack of Home Journal magazines, that she
has read before. Shutting the door behind her, she spends the entire day
in her room, coming out only to fix herself a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich, covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief as she does.
She has stopped making meals for them at this point.
She has lost track of time, the cupboards are almost bare, she has been
living on peanut butter sandwiches and beer, and then the bread ran
out. She is no longer getting dressed for the day or bathing. She no
longer notices the smell or the fact that Larry at this point is covered in
flies. The flies seem to buzz back and forth from his body to the open
window. After getting another beer, she walks passed the living room,
stops and looks at the figurine of the angel baby. Mary Rose. My sweet
Mary Rose. She looks at Larry's fly covered corps. "That's right I
said it, Mary Rose!" She yells it at him.
Picking up the figurine she proceeds to her bedroom. As she makes her
way down the hall, she seems to get younger and the figurine becomes a
brand new baby. It is the early 50's she is a brand new mother, Larry's
off to work and she is alone with her Mary Rose. Colleen lies on the bed
and begins to nurse the newborn. She is happy and content, counting the
babies fingers and toes; She puts her nose to the babies head and
slowly breaths her in. As her memories move on; Mary
Rose is a toddler just learning to walk, she takes her first step and falls
into mommy's arms.
Now we find Colleen standing at the mirror putting on earrings. She is
dressed to go out, she's spending her first night out since the baby
was born. She and her friend Midge are going to the movies, it's a girl's
night out. Colleen is a bit nervous leaving the baby with Larry; she
goes over the list with him one more time. "Don't worry, I've got it
covered, you two girls go out and have a good time." Larry says
confidently.
Colleen gives Marry Rose A long hug before she leaves, in her memory
she holds her tight longer then she ever had and once again smells her.
A tear runs down her cheek. Larry takes the baby. Don't worry, she'll
be fine. The next memory is of the end of the evening, as the cab
turns the corner she sees several police cars and an ambulance.
Larry is sitting on the front step of their apartment building with his
head in his hands, there are two police officers talking with him, he
is crying. "My baby!" Colleen screams.
She jumps out of the cab and runs towards the ambulance. There is a
small body on a gurney covered by a sheet. Colleen throws the sheet back
to find Mary Rose's lifeless body lying on it. She scoops the dead baby
in her arms and begins weep uncontrollably. She will find out that Larry
fell asleep on the couch, he woke from his nap with a strong urge to
urinate from the beers he had been drinking, he stumbled into the
bathroom with out even turning the light on.
It was the sound of his urine not hitting the water that made him open
his eyes to see the baby. While he was sleeping the toddler made her
way to the bathroom and managed to climb up to the toilet bowl, but fell
in headfirst and did not have the strength or motor skills to get
herself out, she drowned.
As Colleen held her baby in her minds eye, the child disappeared.
Looking at her empty hands they begin to age. We find Colleen in her room on
her knees holding the figurine weeping. There is a strong knock at the
door. She makes her way out of the bedroom, the odor in the apartment
is overwhelming; she doesn't seem to notice it, as she makes her way
through the now filthy apartment. She opens the door to find two police
officers at her front door, as the smell from the apartment hits them,
they both cover their mouths.
"We're sorry to bother you ma'am, but we got a call that there was a
fowl odor coming from your open window, can we come in check it out?"
Colleen responds, "Yes officers please come in, but can you do it
quietly, my husband is napping and he doesn't like to be disturbed. He gets so
grouchy if hasn't had his sleep." As they discover Larry's badly
decomposed body one of the officers runs to the open window and vomits on the
fire escape. The coroner is called to the scene. Colleen is brought to
the station, where she is deemed to be suffering from dementia. After
days of evaluation she is put in a convalescent home, where she spends
her final days thinking she is a young widowed mother living in a small
farm house in Scotland, taking care of her new born baby, Mary Rose.
Larry's Long Nap© COPYRIGHT 2005 Samuel Blackwell. Reproduction prohibited without permission from the author. 04/15/05
