Free Stealing Flowers by Edward St Amant Page B

threw
him out onto the front lawn.
    Sally came running to the front hall.
“What’s happened, Una?” she screamed, crying.
    Una’s eyes were glazed over and she took a
large breath. “Getting rid of vermin. Oh, the stove.”
    She raced to the kitchen and I took Sally
into my arms, hugging her. Then I told her the story. We returned
to the Rose-room and helped Una clean the blood off the floor. “You
were brave, my full-grown child,” Una said, “and did good to fight
back. Remember, when you’re in trouble, it’s no shame to call for
help. It doesn’t mind at all, if you’re a boy or a man.” She caught
my eyes. “You both understand, something of this has to be
explained to Mary and Stan.”
    I nodded, but wasn’t happy about it. “What
will you say?” I asked.
    “I’ll tell them what I saw and that you were
resisting with all your might. I’ll tell them that big Una boxed in
his ears and that we won’t see him again.”
    “What about Lloyd?”
    “This doesn’t change a thing. They are two
separate issues.”
    To me, it didn’t feel like two separate
issues. Worse still, I had lost my teacher two weeks before the
test, and as the time drew nearer, I’d become desperate to pass and
show Mary and Stan that their faith in me wasn’t wasted. “What will
happen to my instruction?”
    “I’ll do it,” Una said. “Would you like to
partake in it, Sally?” Sally gave a little giggle and nodded.
“There, problem solved. Go play.”
    That night we ate together and I knew Una
had told them about Mr. Vondt. After our meal which I couldn’t eat,
I was too nervous, we sat in the living room. I again sat in a
Wassily chair and Sally sat in the powder-blue couch with Mary.
Behind me, the curtains weren’t completely drawn, and by turning
slightly, I could see part of the pool and the clusters of white
birch trees from where I sat. The two enormous pictures on the wall
were lit up tonight. One of them was of a mysterious landscape; a
wretched mountain and forest in the mist. It was silvery-blue-grey
in color and was taller than it was wide, blending perfectly into
the room. I didn’t know then that the room had been designed for
the painting and not the other way around. It was worth more than
anything else in the mansion.
    Stan stood before it as though studying it
anew and then sat in the other Wassily chair beside me, turning it
to face me. Una sat on a love-seat against the wall and took up
almost the whole chair. “First of all, Christian,” Stan said, “Mary
and I wish to apologize to you. I chose Mr. Vondt and feel guilty
about it, but we are very proud of you. You weren’t intimidated and
fought back. You won’t see Mr. Vondt again. Una has agreed to
finish your educational instruction for the next two weeks. She’s
highly educated, far more so than Mary or I or even Mr. Vondt. We
are equal partners with her and have every confidence in her
decisions. From the beginning she could have done it, but she does
so much for us already, that we didn’t dare ask. We’ll get Una some
help in the kitchen for the next weeks, but we don’t want you to
think that Mr. Vondt has been replaced by someone who’s his
underling in this regard, on the contrary, she is a genius, even if
quite mad.”
    Both Mary and Una laughed at this, but Sally
seemed baffled, and I know I was as well. Bringing up the matter of
Lloyd, was as hard a thing as I ever did. I simply didn’t know
where to begin and felt not too thrilled about further obliging my
new parents, but there was nothing for it. Una knew, and so did
Sally, if I didn’t speak up, they might. “This morning when I
visited my mother’s gravesite,” I said, “a friend was waiting for
me. His name is Lloyd Mills. In Carling Street, there were bullies
who made the younger kids do mean things.”
    Mary was obviously shocked. “Like what?”
    “They took their food, toys, money, whatever
they had,” I answered seriously. “Lloyd wasn’t afraid of