Category: Literary Fiction Publisher: New Age World Publishing
ISBN-10: 1594050988
Type: Fiction
Pages: 274
Copyright: April 18, 2008
ISBN-13: 9781594050985
It's the 1970s. Brian is a college sophomore who connects with an offbeat mentor cum older brother named Hollis in a lopsided relationship. Hollis moves on, but Brian will not let go. Hollis is the aim- as clear as the bull’s eye emblazoned on any Zen-archer’s target.
Format- trade paperback
Size- 274 pgs
Publisher- New Age World Publishing
ISBN- 978-1-59405-098-5
Genre- Fiction, Adult
Publication date- April 2008
Price- $16.95 USD
exerpt: “Reality,” he once told me, “is the invention of memory.” The enigma of Daniel Hollis: he survived childhood huddled in an imaginary world; his adolescence, sleepwalking. After two decades of abstinence, he was hungry. No point going back; nothing substantive remained. He had fortified a deception. There was only illusion.
exerpt: “That’s not my parlance; for lack of better term, yes, I have one.” He led me into the hall, digging in his pocket for a key ring. I wasn’t eager; I’d rather postpone disassembly of the person I thought I knew.
He removed his shoes, importing I do likewise. “I keep it locked because the floor is white. …Don’t want dirt tracked in.” The lights came on; it was exactly as Angie described it.
Excerpt
Like a moray eel launched from its crevice in a coral reef, Graduation Day arrived. It was mid-morning. Hollis was on his back installing a fuel pump in the Mustang. Nadine struggled trying on pairs of jeans as if any might ensconce her maternity. Cindy and I mediated the extremes in temperament. Nadine shuffled into the kitchen; pants undone, opposing ends of waste band splayed inches apart. Her robin’s egg blue panties bulged between the V formed by the edges of the zipper. Frustration emanated from her eyes and a pout crinkled her lips. “None of them fit! Not one!”
Cindy had been busy washing breakfast dishes left in the sink. She dried her hands and walked over to the kitchen table. A pair of her own jeans lay folded on the tabletop; she handed them to Nadine. “They aren’t fives; pretend they are.”
“Thanks.” Nadine’s eyes softened. “Is Danny still working on that stupid car?” She leaned across the sink and cranked open the window. The sound of squabbling birds imposed on the room. “Those birds, I can’t stand them!”
“Danny?” she yelled, “You almost done? When are you supposed to meet your parents?” She turned toward us. “If you were graduating in an hour, would you be fiddling with a car?” Nadine reverted to the sink, cranking the window shut. She barely uttered a gasp; her cry swallowed up by an impact against the glass. “Mud Liu ah!” she exclaimed steadying herself.
“What was that?” cried Cindy.
Finding the source of the disturbance meant going outside. My intrusion in the yard expelled a flock of sparrows from the Hawthorne. A lifeless clump of black feathers lay broken below the window. It was a starling; its head wrenched in unreasonable contortion. One, downy-feather quivered, set in motion by the breeze. Nadine and Cindy gaped from the doorway.
“It’s a blackbird,” I reported, “Must have misjudged the window, broke its neck.”
Hollis walked by. Arms and forehead smudged; he wiped his hands on a rag. The bird caught his attention; he tilted his head to study it, glanced at me and then eyed Nadine. “Gau Hmm Dap Bah?”
“Hai Gum Seen!” she grumbled withdrawing from the doorway, “Enough of this shit!”
He followed her into the house, both of them framed in the kitchen window. Arms crossed, she glared at the Hawthorn, now devoid of birds. He tried to soothe her but his hands were black with grease. They waggled, ineffective and wanting.
He turned to the sink and washed up. Nadine rejoined Cindy in the doorway. “I’m almost done getting ready. Can I ride with you-two?” It sounded like she was setting Hollis up. “We all better ride together,” I intervened, “Parking will be a nightmare, no point taking two vehicles.”
Hollis dried his hands on a towel and stepped behind Nadine. He wrapped the towel around her middle, drawing her toward him. “I just want to prepare you.” Each time Nadine pulled away, he tugged her back with the towel. “You will be sitting with my parents. It would serve you to meditate on your favorite episode of ‘All In The Family.’ Archie and Edith, they are not. Bill and Caroline are unique, but their attitudes are a product of that generation. I’m heading for the shower. I’ll be ready to go in 15 minutes.” He lowered his face to Nadine’s ear, “Sic Fan May-ah?” Nadine suffered a laugh. “M’hou. Hou Gwai Seik.” Still harnessed by the towel, she was led away.
Cindy stepped from the doorway. “When did he learn Chinese?”
“He must have got it from her.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I take it you never met his parents?”
“Never have and he seldom mentions them. So what, everybody dreads turning out with their parents. It’s like waiting for a bomb to go off, sweating that goofy remark that proves how ‘with it’ they are. Or the first grade play saga, how I forgot my only line because my finger was up my nose. His can’t be any worse than anybody else’s.”
“You picked your nose on stage?” she laughed hysterically.
“You’ll have to ask my Mom; she tells it better than I do.”
Hollis’ hair hung in slick strands, wet from the shower. He had dressed for comfort in T-shirt, chinos and sandals. Nadine managed to button the pants Cindy had loaned her. Shod in Dr. Scholl’s, she modeled her silver, polyester shirt and jeans.
“You’re only four months,” Cindy chided, “You hardly show!” Hollis tucked his cap and gown under his arm. “Let’s roll!”
Waiting until the last minute was not advantageous. We joined the ranks of latecomers vying for limited parking. “Drop me off here,” Hollis prompted, “I will catch up afterwards.” He gave Nadine a farewell kiss. “You have the tickets, right?” She nodded, “Sure, sure.” He hopped out of the car, lit a cigarette and blended with a stream of pedestrians. A trail of smoke betrayed his place.
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