All American Boy by William J. Mann Read Free Book Online

wanted Wally to attend the funeral, telling Wally’s father that the boy was too young. But Captain Day insisted his son be there to watch his grandmother lowered into the ground.
    Wally was glad to go. He loved coffins and the people in them. On Dark Shadows an old lady died and they laid her out in her coffin right there in the living room. She even opened her eyes and sat up, scaring everyone on the show. But as hard as Wally willed his grandmother to move, she remained still and waxy lying there in the funeral parlor.
    I wonder what she looks like now , Wally thinks, sitting there holding his mother’s hand, imagining the maggots and worms eating through Gramma Day’s face.
    â€œAnd the winner for the second grade’s Most Creative Costume goes to our always imaginative Wally Day!”
    Sister Marita Claire leads the applause. Everyone turns around in their chairs to find the little witch. Wally doesn’t dare look up at his father. He just slides out of his seat and hurries down the row of folding chairs, his heart beating in his ears. He trips over his long black dress as he climbs up the steps to the stage, but quickly catches himself. He accepts his award from Sister: a small carved pumpkin with candy corn inside.
    â€œI think it’s marvelous that Wally came as a witch,” Sister Marita Claire says into the microphone. “How very, very clever!”
    Wally feels as if he might break down and cry, so much attention is suddenly thrust upon him. He seems to float back to his seat rather than walk, lost in the sound of the applause.
    â€œHe’s a good boy, Robbie,” a man tells Wally’s father afterward. “Even in that girl’s costume, he’s still got your charm.”
    â€œA smart boy,” another says. “Everyone says that about Walter. Smart and clever.”
    â€œClever,” his father repeats.
    â€œHe’s going to go far, Robbie.”
    â€œThat boy’s going to make you proud.”
    â€œCongratulations, Wally,” his Aunt Bernadette says, leading a tearful Kyle out of the auditorium by the arm. But she doesn’t mean it. She’s angry because Kyle never wins anything. He brings home Cs and Ds and his teachers all ask him why he isn’t as smart as his cousin Wally.
    â€œWill you stay for more cider?” Sister Angela asks.
    â€œNo, thank you,” says Wally’s father. “We have to be heading home.”
    â€œYou must be so proud of Wally’s creativity.’
    His father smiles.
    â€œAnd might I add, Captain Day, how proud everyone in Brown’s Mill is of your service to this country. At a time when so many are out in the streets protesting and shouting, your bravery and patriotism are inspirations to us all.”
    No one speaks on the ride back home. Wally just sits in the backseat with his pumpkin in his lap.
    In the morning his father is gone.
    â€œHe got a call,” his mother explains, ironing shirts. “He was needed back on the ship.”
    â€œSo he won’t be coming back for a while?”
    â€œNot for a while.”
    Wally smiles. But his mother doesn’t keep eye contact with him. She just concentrates on her ironing.
    Pretty soon, though, she starts to sing, low and sweet.
    â€œ My little baby loves short’nin’, short’nin’ …”
    Wally joins in. “ My little baby loves short’nin’ bread .”
    Fade in on a boy, a few years older. He’s in the basement, stacking comic books on a shelf. Each one is carefully bagged in plastic, labeled with issue date and number. On a lower shelf he notices a box. He bends down.
    On the soundtrack: “If happy little bluebirds fly …”
    He stares down at the box.
    â€œBeyond the rainbow …”
    He lifts the lid.
    â€œWhy oh why …”
    It’s a pointed witch’s hat.
    â€œCan’t I?”
    Fade to black.

4
    TOUCH ONE
    The phone rings like a witch at the