{"id":2971,"date":"2020-07-11T16:51:18","date_gmt":"2020-07-11T20:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/?page_id=2971"},"modified":"2023-01-27T15:29:49","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T20:29:49","slug":"after-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/after-breakfast\/","title":{"rendered":"
After Breakfast<\/div>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"We meet Palmer again on a very, very hot summer day.<\/h4>\n

An Eddy and McClure Story<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

After breakfast, Palmer Eddy lounged on the steps of the front porch and stared blankly out at the street. Boy was it hot. And sticky. Locusts droned in the trees and the backs of Palmer\u2019s knees were wet where his calves and thighs met.<\/p>\n

The Eddy\u2019s nextdoor neighbor, Mr. Cramer, was out walking his dog. A massive St. Bernard named Tootsie. The big dog looked heavy and hot. His ears drooped and his tail dragged. Mr. Cramer already had sweat stains under his arms and beads of sweat on his forehead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, Mr. Cramer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHallo, Palmer. It\u2019s a hot one today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the heat, it\u2019s the humidity,\u201d Palmer sing-songed, mimicking his dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell your father I said hallo!\u201d Mr. Cramer winked and waved.<\/p>\n

Palmer slumped against the stair rail. Too much effort to even say hello, he thought. In the background he heard his dad getting ready to go out.<\/p>\n

Eddie Eddy had declared himself as a candidate for highway supervisor. He was spending all his free time going door-to-door introducing himself, handing out fliers which said \u201cClean up the Highway. Eddie Eddy for Crawford Highway Supervisor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer went with him a couple times to help hand out fliers and just to see what it was like. Some people knew his dad already. Palmer would give them a flier and Eddie Eddy would shake hands and ask for their vote. Some folks didn\u2019t know him. So that always took longer while his dad explained how he was in the Parks Department and that he would do a better job than Patrick DeGregorio, the current supervisor, hinting that he would root (\u201cPun intended. You know root? Route?\u201d he would always say) out corruption wherever he saw it.<\/p>\n

Some folks were friendly and offered them iced tea saying how hot it was this summer. Others answered the door angry when they saw it was someone they didn\u2019t know. All in all, it was pretty boring and lately way too hot to trudge around carrying fliers.<\/p>\n

Eddie Eddy came through the door carrying a stack of fliers. \u201cComing with me this time, Palmer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw, Dad. It\u2019s too hot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the way I see it, it\u2019s not the heat, it\u2019s the humidity,\u201d Eddie commented like he just thought of it. \u201cAll right. Palmer, you be good now.\u201d Palmer watched his dad back out the driveway and head up the hill to the west side of town.<\/p>\n

Heavy lidded, he stared at his phone. No messages. Plus, there was no breeze, nobody around, and nothing to do. Palmer sighed and stared out at their yard. Gravel driveway, big crabapple tree, long grass that his brother Hale was supposed to have mowed yesterday. \u201cToo hot,\u201d Hale had said. And that was that.<\/p>\n

Out of the corner of his eye Palmer caught a movement in the grass. Squinting, he saw it was a mouse working its way through the lawn. Nosing at this or that completely unaware of him.<\/p>\n

He was reminded of a comic book he found one time at his grandmother\u2019s house. She had this closet, he guessed it was a coat closet, it was just inside the front door, but it had become a catch all for anything that didn\u2019t have somewhere else to be. Long and narrow with shelves and coat racks on each side and a window at the end, it was awash with stuff. When he visited his grandma he always wanted to explore The Closet. He would wade in among the incredible jumble of junk and find the most amazing things.<\/p>\n

Once, under old encyclopedia books and a purple pillow, he actually found a trombone. It was so cool. Another time behind a camp trunk he came across a stash of comics from when his mom was a kid. One of those comics somehow came to mind when he saw the mouse in the grass.<\/p>\n

There was this girl character, Palmer couldn\u2019t remember her name, who had a pet mouse named Sniffles. In order to have various adventures together, the girl would close her eyes, cross her fingers and recite, \u201cPoof, poof piffles. Make me just as small as Sniffles.\u201d And when she opened her eyes and uncrossed her fingers, there was Sniffles now approximately the size of Tootsie the St. Bernard.<\/p>\n

Palmer laughed to himself. Poof, poof piffles. What was a piffle anyway? Make me just as small as Sniffles. Sniffles? A mouse with allergies? He lay back on the porch steps feeling a bit lightheaded. Whew it was hot. Then the world went black. Palmer couldn\u2019t see anything and he felt nauseous. Oh great, he thought, I\u2019m having heat stroke.<\/p>\n

Slowly his sight came back as a welcome breeze washed over him. He started to feel better. Not as hot and sticky. He sat up and looked around. The step was HUGE. Like he was sitting on a ledge overlooking the Grand Canyon. He looked left and banged into the stair rail the size of the crabapple tree.<\/p>\n

\u201cOMG! I said the rhyme and now I\u2019m shrunk!\u201d Visions of all the movies he\u2019d seen with his dad flashed through his head. The Fly. Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Antz. Bugs Life.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheesh. Now what do I do?\u201d The steps were too tall to jump down from. Essentially, he was stuck here.<\/p>\n

Palmer shuddered. He really did not want to see a mouse the size of Tootsie. And he hadn\u2019t even closed his eyes and crossed his fingers when he said the rhyme. And then he realized that he\u2019s forgotten how the girl got back to her real size. \u201cOh, man.\u201d Palmer could hear the guy in The Fly squeaking \u201cHelp me! Help me!\u201d<\/p>\n

A rather large beetle trundled across the step. It looked like it was about the size of a football. \u201cHoly-camoly. How small am I?\u201d Palmer held out his hands. They looked full sized. \u201cI feel full-sized,\u201d he thought. Palmer scrambled to his feet. He could just peer over the top of the step. \u201cWhat\u2019s that make me? Six inches, seven inches tall? Oh, man!\u201d Palmer sank down cross-legged on the step and closed his eyes. Maybe when he opened them again things would be back to normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Palmer! Get up, lazy bones. We\u2019re all going swimming.\u201d It was Hale..<\/p>\n

Palmer opened his eyes. A gigantic pair of eyes was staring at him up close. Palmer started to say, \u201cI can\u2019t I\u2019m too small,\u201d when Hale turned away saying, \u201cHey, Doug, commere. Let\u2019s get this dude going!\u201d Hale wasn\u2019t super large. He\u2019d just had stuck his face up real close. Palmer wilted in relief. He must be back to his normal size again.<\/p>\n

Palmer yawned. He glanced around. The beetle, maybe a half an inch long, was just disappearing through a crack in the step. Palmer shook his head. Heck, it was just too damn hot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go in three minutes,\u201d delivered in typical Hale staccato. \u201cStarting\u2026now.\u201d Palmer looked past Hale\u2019s shoulder and saw Doug and Doug\u2019s sister Nancy, and another girl he didn\u2019t recognize in the background. Palmer brightened. \u201cSure. Hold on. I\u2019ll get my suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPalmer,\u201d the girl said to Hale, \u201cthat\u2019s a funny name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2019s Hale.\u201d Hale said looking hard at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYea. I guess.\u201d She said watching Palmer bound up the porch steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo minutes!\u201d Hale shouted.<\/p>\n

Palmer turned his bureau drawer upside down on the floor of his bedroom. No bathing suit. He thought about wearing his gym shorts, but that would be too goofy with Nancy and that strange girl there<\/p>\n

\u201cOne minute!\u201d Hale\u2019s voice sounded triumphant.<\/p>\n

Palmer looked around. Gym shorts. Gym bag! There was the bathing suit. He scrambled into it and dashed out onto the porch and down the steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cBye!\u201d Hale was starting off with Doug and Nancy. The strange girl was staying behind, waiting for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Palmer puffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo worries,\u201d she said staring at his flushed face and tousled hair. \u201cI\u2019m Julia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer ran his hands through his hair and attempted to regain some poise. \u201cI\u2019m Palmer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYea. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer walked alongside Julia looking at her sideways so she wouldn\u2019t notice he was staring. She\u2019s beautiful, he thought. He watched her soft fluffy hair dance as she moved her head. \u201cYou know Nancy?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Julia answered with a big smile punctuated by a dimple in each cheek. \u201cNancy\u2019s grandmother is my godmother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer looked puzzled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was baptized, of course. Don\u2019t you have a godfather?\u201d Julia\u2019s voice was like music. Low when she said \u201cof course\u201d and a flutey soprano when she said \u201cgodfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer shook his head. \u201cI don\u2019t think so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Julia\u2019s curls bounced. \u201cWell, anyway, that\u2019s how I know Nancy. We used to play together when we were small and are still friends. Nancy\u2019s smart and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer realized he wasn\u2019t as interested in Nancy right now as he ordinarily would be. He watched (out of the corner of his eye) how Julia illustrated what she said with expressive hand gestures, long fingers tracing shapes in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou play the piano?\u201d he asked apropos of his thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019d you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust guessed, I guess.\u201d Oh, man, that was a lame answer, he thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m studying Debussy.\u201d Julia didn\u2019t notice. \u201cDid you know that In Arabesque No. 1 you have to play three against four?\u201d Julia\u2019s fingers were flashing in the sunlight. \u201cSometimes I get it right and sometimes I just can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer nodded. Then thought it might be better if he shook his head. Was three against four even a real thing?<\/p>\n

They walked quiet for a while. Up ahead, Doug and Hale were teasing Nancy. Finally, she had enough and turned back toward Palmer and Julia. \u201cI\u2019m walking with you guys,\u201d she called. \u201cThese dweebs belong in a zoo.\u201d<\/p>\n

When they caught up to her, Nancy started whispering to Julia right away about something that sounded like \u201cstrappy sandals.\u201d Though it could have been \u201ccrappy handles.\u201d Or maybe \u201cbirthday candles.\u201d It was just too hot.<\/p>\n

Palmer sensed that he was not included and drifted off to join Hale and Doug. Funny, he never noticed that Hale was starting to grow a beard. Maybe that was right at 15. He remembered watching his dad shave when he was little. His dad reaching down to put shave cream on his face. How it smelled like clean and felt like whipped cream. I wonder when Hale will start shaving, he thought.<\/p>\n

Hale was still practicing the quarter flip \u2014 rolling a coin over his knuckles. He was actually getting pretty good at it. He\u2019d start with the quarter between the first and second knuckle on his hand. Then, by moving his fingers he edged the quarter over the top of the next finger until it was wedged between that finger and the next. The hard part was going from the pinky under the palm back to the thumb to start again. At that point the quarter would usually hit the ground and Hale would swear.<\/p>\n

Doug was\u2026well, just Doug. A little older than Palmer, younger than Hale but in the same grade. Doug was smart, but he treated Hale like a hero. Doug had on a cap with a rearview mirror. As they walked along, Doug would adjust the mirror so he could see Julia and Nancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019d you get that cap, Doug?\u201d Palmer saw the cap said \u201cBoston Est. 1630.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother Sheldon. He\u2019s on a sculling team at Boston U. It\u2019s a sculler\u2019s mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLemme, try it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure. Knock yourself out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer adjusted the cap so he could see Julia. She and Nancy were talking. Suddenly she looked straight at Palmer and mouthed \u201cI see you!\u201d pointing two fingers to her eyes and then to him. Palmer hurriedly handed the cap back to Doug. \u201cCool,\u201d he said forcing himself not to turn around to check if Julia was still looking at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s your face so red?\u201d Hale stared at Palmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDunno.\u201d Palmer walked ahead.<\/p>\n

They were almost at Crawford Lake. Swimming at Crawford Lake was not in the lake at all. There was a fenced off outdoor pool with a diving board, lap lanes and a kiddie pool where a lot of shrieking was always going on. Nancy and Julia caught up and they all pulled out their ID cards at the gate. Hale and Doug went first, then Nancy. Palmer hung back and let Julia go first.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I see your ID?\u201d the college student working the gate asked Julia. Palmer watched astonished. Julia just stood very, very still, staring at the gate keeper and saying nothing. The student gate keeper looked a bit puzzled and finally said, \u201cUm, okay. Go ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer showed his ID and followed everyone into the pool area wondering what it was he just saw.<\/p>\n

The pool was packed. There were mothers standing waist deep in the water talking to each other while watching their pre-schoolers in swim fins paddle about. There were grade school splashers and senior lap swimmers and college student lifeguards paying attention but bored out of their minds.<\/p>\n

Palmer left his clothes in a pile with the others and stood at the edge of the pool. The sun sparkled on the water. Palmer looked for Hale, Doug, and Nancy \u2014 or, Palmer squinted in the glare, maybe that was Julia. He thought he saw Julia with them he now wasn\u2019t so sure. Nancy seemed to look like Julia or maybe it was Julia that seemed to look like Nancy.<\/p>\n

Palmer decided maybe it was Julia after all when a voice behind him said, \u201cAren\u2019t you going in?\u201d He swung around. It was Julia. He looked towards to pool again and there was Nancy just disappearing under the water. She bobbed up again 10 feet away.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, Palmer!\u201d Julia did a straight dive off the edge of the pool. \u201cNO DIVING!\u201d the lifeguard shouted blowing her whistle.<\/p>\n

Palmer lowered himself into the water. It was cold at first and he was tempted to splash water on his arm like his dad did. But he didn\u2019t want to look like a sissy. He took a deep breath, ducked down under the surface, and looked around. There was Julia three feet away, sitting cross-legged on the bottom beckoning him with a smile, bubbles coming out of her nose.<\/p>\n

Just then two small boys splashed through in front of him. He broke the surface out of breath and looked around for Julia. Puzzled, he took a deep breath and went under. There she was still sitting cross-legged on the the floor of the pool. She must have been holding her breath since she dove in.<\/p>\n

Palmer bobbed up feeling a little freaked out. This girl was unusual. She did mention a godmother. Maybe that gave her strange powers somehow. Palmer ducked under again. Julia wasn\u2019t there. He swam under water looking in all directions. He came up spluttering and there was Julia sitting on the edge of the pool, legs dangling in the water laughing with Hale and Doug. How did she get there so fast, he wondered. It was sort of annoying. He swam a lazy crawl over to the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere you are!\u201d Julia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there you are.\u201d Palmer was a bit grumpy.<\/p>\n

Nancy swam up. \u201cBeat you all to the other side!\u201d And took off.<\/p>\n

Palmer swung around and, by golly, there was Julia right behind Nancy. He took off after them, pumping, two strokes to one breath. Panting, the three swimmers hung on the far side of the pool watching Doug and Hale racing each other. They all hauled out of the pool together and stood dripping in the sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can levitate,\u201d Julia said suddenly. \u201cWanna see? You all have to look at me and concentrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hale smirked. \u201cNo way!\u201d Doug was already doing the force of gravity math in his head figuring Julia must weigh 100 pounds like Nancy. Nancy was watching with a bemused look on her face.<\/p>\n

Palmer squinted as the sun glared off the pool. Julia\u2019s bathing suit was twinkling with water. Her hair was wet and stuck in curls around her face. Here shoulders were strong as she stood on tip toe. Slowly she rose above the ground. Maybe 6 inches. The sun shown on the wet footprints where her feet had been..<\/p>\n

\u201cNo way!\u201d exclaimed Hale. \u201cNo way you can levitate!\u201d Palmer turned to look at Hale. He heard a thump and looked back. Julia had fallen in a clump to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks a lot, Hale!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot me! What about Palmer?\u201d<\/p>\n

Doug said, \u201cI hear thunder.\u201d They all stopped to listen. The lifeguard whistled, \u201cEveryone out of the pool! Thunder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julia and Nancy were toweling their hair. \u201cLet\u2019s go back home before it starts to rain,\u201d Nancy said. \u201cHere,\u201d Julia said and pressed something into Palmer\u2019s hand. It was a hair clip in the shape of a butterfly. Palmer hastily stuffed it in his swimsuit pocket before anyone else could notice.<\/p>\n

They started out with Nancy and Julia in front. Another clap of thunder and it started to drizzle. Nancy and Julia started to run. Palmer watched them dashing away in the rain as it began win earnest. Hale and Doug were arguing the weight and gravity thing. Doug\u2019s position was that even such a light weight like Julia couldn\u2019t overcome 9.8 newtons per square inch. Hale, to save face, just changed the subject saying if Julia was a \u201clight weight\u201d then Nancy was a welter weight. Doug didn\u2019t take the bait as they walked on and the rain came down.<\/p>\n

Doug and Hale headed for Doug\u2019s house. Palmer didn\u2019t feel like hanging out with them anymore. Back home he flopped on the porch steps and let the rain beat down on him. That was the strangest day he had ever had. And he wasn\u2019t sure he wanted another one either. He lay back with his eyes closed and replayed all the strange things Julia said and did.<\/p>\n

A crack of thunder and a flash brought Palmer out of his reverie with a start. Sitting up he saw his dad pulling into the driveway.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there, son! You still on the front steps? It\u2019s almost one o\u2019clock. Come on in out of the rain and have some lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer stood up a bit unsteady. He looked down and he wasn\u2019t wearing a bathing suit. The spot where he was sitting was dry. Hadn\u2019t he gone to the pool at all? Hadn\u2019t he seen Hale and Doug and Nancy? Hadn\u2019t he seen Julia at the bottom pf the pool or \u201clevitating\u201d whatever that was? \u201cWas I dreaming the whole thing?\u201d he thought.<\/p>\n

His dad threw is arm across Palmer\u2019s shoulders as they stood on the porch watching the rain pour down. \u201cCanvassing called on account of rain,\u201d Eddie said, pleased with the baseball analogy.<\/p>\n

Palmer stuck his hands in his pockets as he leaned against his dad. His fingers felt something he didn\u2019t recognize. Not a rock or a phone charger. He pulled his hand out and looked.<\/p>\n

It was a butterfly hair clip.<\/p>\n

\"Butterfly<\/p>\n

\n

Story by Caroline Meyers, \u00a92020<\/p>\n

Photo credits
\nPhoto 169527728<\/a> \u00a9 Kukotaekaterina<\/a> | Dreamstime.com<\/a>
\nButterfly hair clip \u00a9 Caroline Meyers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We meet Palmer again on a very, very hot summer day. An Eddy and McClure Story After breakfast, Palmer Eddy lounged on the steps of the front porch and stared blankly out at the street. Boy was it hot. And sticky. Locusts droned in the trees and the backs of Palmer\u2019s knees were wet where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2971","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2971"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3421,"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2971\/revisions\/3421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otownmedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}