Window Boy by Andrea White Read Free Book Online

counter next to a razor.
    Miss Perkins waves.
    The man sitting in the barber’s chair has a rounded stomach. A blue bib tucked under his double chin falls to the floor. His skin is clean and slightly pink; he’s just been shaved. As he turns towards Sam, his eyes bulge—as if a boy in a wheelchair is as strange as a flying teacup and biscuit. Miss Perkins has never gotten used to the rudeness of strangers. Hurriedly, she pushes Sam over to the far wall so Sam won’t catch the man’s gaze.
    As she turns the wheelchair towards the small television mounted in the corner, Sam’s reflection appears in the paneled mirror behind the line of green barbers’ chairs. True. Sam’s body is twisted, and his neck is floppy. His smile is crooked and a tiny bit wet— although drool isn’t nearly as much of a problem for Sam as it was when he was a young child. Then, he was less in control of his body. Less able to communicate. More prone to rage. Now, except for minor details, Sam looks like any other boy his age should look. Why, he’s handsomer than most.
    The fat man has no business staring at her Sam!
    The television’s sound is turned off but on the screen, a group of long-haired hippies is sitting in front of a college building. They appear to be singing and chanting. A few are strumming guitars. A girl wears a lei around her neck. A small fire is burning in front of them.
    One boy with hair down his back carelessly tosses a bundle into the fire.
    The camera zooms closer, and Miss Perkins identifies a familiar red, white and blue pattern. Why, these kids have thrown a flag into the fire! An American flag, the symbol of her adopted country.
    A commercial for Kodak cameras, advertising Instant Photos, comes on the screen, but Miss Perkins can’t shake off her anger towards these students. Don’t they understand that sometimes countries need to fight to stay safe?
    She was twenty-two that horrible summer after France was defeated. When Hitler had started bombing London, she was only ten years older than Sam. America hadn’t entered World War II yet. Everyone thought that Hitler was going to invade and conquer England.
    But the Royal Air Force had held Hitler off. They had bombed Hitler’s planes. Made it too costly for him to continue. She will never forget the night that she and her parents had listened to the wireless. Tears were streaming down her father’s face when Winston spoke of the brave pilots, “Never…was so much owed by so many to so few.” 5
    And it was true. After she finished her shift at the hospital as an aide, she volunteered until late into the night, cutting up sheets, rolling up bandages. She would have done anything for those pilots. After all, England won!
    The view on the screen shifts back to the students strumming their guitars.
    Instead of protesting and keeping the country safe, these college students should get down on their knees and thank the United States military, Miss Perkins thinks.
    Mister John sweeps the bib off the man.
    The customer presses a few bills into the barber’s hands. “See you again next week,” the man says. He trudges out but not without shooting one last curious glance at Sam, Miss Perkins notices bitterly.
    Mister John turns to Sam and says, “Now for my favorite customer.”
    Miss Perkins is horrified when she glances at Sam. Sam is usually full of smiles. But today his lips are pressed together, and he is staring stonily ahead. As a customer, Sam is more trouble than most, and she counts on his sunny personality to win over the vendors whom she frequents. “Mister John, I don’t know what’s wrong with Sam today,” she apologizes.
    “Nooo cut,” Sam says loudly, rudely.
    Miss Perkins’ mouth drops open. What has happened to her obedient boy?
    But when she looks at Mister John, she’s surprised to find that the barber is grinning at her. “Didn’t you tell me that Sam was starting school?”
    “Yes,” Miss Perkins says. “But he’s only been there