Unknown - The Genius

This must be quite an adjustment for you. Tony waits and looks at him. Then he says We’re going to make up for everything. You’re free to do whatever you want. You can go outside, you can go to the museum or to the park. You can go to the baseball game. You can have anything you want.

Victor asks for another plate of eggs.

As much as you like. Tony sips his coffee. There’s shops nearby. What do you need?

Victor thinks. He says Paper.

There’s a store right up the way. They’re probably closed at this hour but I’ll show you the way and you can go buy whatever you’d like, I’ll give you some extra money. Do you want some dessert?

They walk to the store. In the street a man sells peanuts from a cart. The smell is wonderful and Victor’s mouth waters. He wants some peanuts but he doesn’t want to interrupt Tony, who is talking about all the possibilities Victor has open to him. Victor notes the location of the peanut vendor. He notes places that look interesting. He draws a map in his head. He can write it down later.

The stationery store is closed, but in the window Victor sees appealing stacks of paper and pencils. He does not know how much money Tony gave him but he hopes it will be enough.

They walk around the neighborhood. Tony shows him where to buy food. It is getting dark and cold and Victor shivers. Tony says You need a new coat.

After that they walk home. Victor goes to the wrong door and Tony says No, that’s not ours. Then Victor understands that the house is like a dormitory, after all. He feels disappointed. He had wanted to see the other rooms.

Tony brings him to the correct room. Victor memorizes the way as best he can. Tomorrow he wants to get pencils and paper and pens and some envelopes so he can write to Freddy.

Are you going to be all right here tonight?

He nods.

I’ll be back tomorrow. In the meantime you call me if you need anything.

Victor is alone. He looks out the window and thinks about Freddy. He takes the clothing out of his suitcase and puts it neatly in the bureau. He fills a cup with water and drinks. He is very thirsty so he drinks some more.

Then he gets undressed and lies down on the bed. He thinks about Freddy. He touches his privates and then he falls asleep.

Usually his eyes open at sunrise. But the next morning he keeps sleeping until pounding at the door wakes him. He stands up and puts on his pants and his shirt just as a key turns in the lock. It is Tony. He looks worried and he is breathing hard.

You didn’t answer the door.

Victor says nothing.

Are you all right?

Victor nods.

You can’t frighten me like that Victor.

Victor does not know what he did to frighten Tony.

Under one arm Tony holds a folded coat. Here.

Victor puts on the coat. Its sleeves go past his fingertips.

We’ll have to fix that. Have you eaten anything?

They go back to the restaurant. Victor eats eggs. Tony drinks coffee.

I see you like eggs.

Victor does not talk with his mouth full; Mrs. Green taught him. He nods.

You can learn to make eggs at home. That way you can have them whenever you want. Should we teach you?

Tony teaches Victor how to use the hotplate. They make eggs that do not taste as good as the eggs at the restaurant but Victor does not want to be rude. He says Thank you. But he is impatient because he wants to get to the paper store before it closes. He does not want to wait another day.

When you’re done you wash the pan. Did they teach you how to do that?

Yes.

But Tony insists on standing there and watching while Victor does it. Good job he says like Victor is a child. Victor decides he cannot trust Tony. After Tony leaves Victor runs to the store.

In the beginning Tony comes often. He comes with gifts or money or to

say hello. He takes Victor to a doctor and the doctor says Cough. Tony takes Victor for clothing and shoes, things that Victor doesn’t want. He tells Victor about the interesting things to see in New York City. He takes Victor to see the Statue of Liberty. He takes him to the Museum of Natural History and to the park in Flushing. Victor says Thank you but inside he wishes he could stay at home with his drawings and the quiet and the view of the bridge. Outside there is too much honking, too much banging; it hurts Victor’s head and makes him want to shut his eyes. He endures the trips with Tony because he has made a new bargain with God. If he suffers enough, he can bring Freddy sooner. So says nothing; he welcomes the loneliness he feels.

Soon it grows too cold to go outside. Tony comes less often. He says I want you to be independent. Instead he calls on the phone. Their conversations are short. Hello and Hello and Is there anything you need and No thank you.

One time he cannot open his door. There are two locks and you have to turn them in the opposite directions. Though he tries and tries the door will not open. Maybe he went to the wrong room. But no, it is the right one, he remembers the number. He does not know what to do. Finally he gets the locks and goes inside and sits on the bed, so scared that he cannot stop shaking all night long.

But most of the time he is okay. Sometimes he sees other people in the hallway. They look at him strangely. He walks around the neighborhood. He buys pencils and paper. He buys some pens and markers and discovers that he likes those, too. The man behind the counter offers to sell him paints or drawing pads. Victor says No thank you. He likes the paper that comes in huge bunches. He buys five bunches and the man asks if he’s writing a book. On the way to and from the store he always stops to buy peanuts.

He goes to the restaurant. He wants to understand why his eggs taste different from the eggs at the restaurant, and so he sits at the counter where he watches the chefs with the paper caps, their foreheads dripping with sweat as they chop onions. He sees that they put milk in the eggs. So he buys some milk and tries to make eggs for himself. But the eggs burn and after a few days the milk stinks. He flushes it down the toilet. He will go to the restaurant instead.

Every two weeks a letter comes from Tony. The man at the front gate gives it to him. Inside is some money. He uses the money to buy what he needs but he has most of it left over. The money grows. He saves it up.

He sends letters to Freddy. He sends drawings. He draws the bridge and the water. He draws birds and flowers. Freddy never writes back but Victor knows that his efforts are not wasted. He can tell the moment Freddy gets a letter, no matter how far away. He hears the envelope tear open in his mind.

The seasons change. Since Mrs. Greene no longer sends him books he buys a new one and writes down the weather. He writes down everything so that he can tell Freddy when Freddy comes. He will say Here is what I saw while I waited for you. He prays. He goes to church. He bargains and confesses. A long time passes. Then one day the man at the gate hands him two envelopes. One is the cream-colored paper Tony uses; the other is flimsy and bluish. Victor tears it open.

Dear Vic. I’m coming.

Victor is excited. He decides to buy Freddy a gift. He takes his money and goes to a store. There he stands for a long time, thinking about what Freddy likes. Freddy liked sometimes to throw glass bottles against the trees and listen to them break. What else? Thinking about what to buy Freddy is the most difficult thing he has ever done. The man in the shop says May I help you sir?

Victor says A gift.

The man shows Victor ladies’ gloves, handmirrors. He shows Victor some scarves. Victor leaves without buying anything.

For days he wanders around the neighborhood, looking in the shop windows. He is very nervous because he doesn’t know when Freddy is coming, he didn’t say anything in the letter. He has to find a gift as soon as possible; he wants to be at his apartment when Freddy arrives. He goes from one store to another, running through them, ignoring the shopkeepers when they try to talk to him. He has almost settled on a woolen hat when he sees the best thing yet: a horse made of gold and silver. It glints, its head thrown back with nobility. Victor asks the man for the price. The man looks distrustful. A hundred and fifty dollars he says. Victor pays him and takes the horse and leaves.