Authors: Barry James Hickey
Julio Ramirez paced the halls outside the GED Testing Center at the local community college on an unseasonably warm Saturday morning for April. He’d never set foot on a college campus before and it made him extremely nervous. Julio’s dad dropped him off an hour earlier so he wouldn’t be late. The test was scheduled for ten in the morning. Julio showed his state ID card to a girl sitting behind a folding table used for registration. She put his sixty-five dollar fee into a metal cash box and gave him a receipt.
There were only a few real college students around on the weekend, taking advantage of the library to catch up on assignments and studies. Julio was amazed at the age of some of the people showing up to take the test. One elderly couple came from a retirement center to take the test together.
Julio anxiously stared up at a hallway clock. 11:55.
Where are they?
A minute later, Toby, Matt and Marie came running down the hallway.
“Where you been? It starts in five minutes!” Julio scolded them.
“We took a taxi from the hospital,” Toby said, catching his breath.
“
The hospital
?”
“Mrs. Powell is with Amber. They’ve been there since yesterday.”
“She’s having her baby,” Marie huffed.
Julio started for the exit.
“Don’t go!” Matt said. “She doesn't want us there. She says if we don't take the test today, she’ll kill us.”
Julio paused, unsure of what to do. “Having her baby alone…”
“Amber says you better not use her as an excuse to cop out,” Toby said.
“If I can do this test, you can do this, Julio,” Marie sounded confident.
“Yeah, but Amber’s not here. We’re supposed to be a team.”
Matt snapped his fingers and pointed to the GED Testing Office. “Let’s go, Julio. Test. Now.”
“For Amber,” Marie said.
Tears welled up in the big kid’s eyes. “I’m scared.”
“All we lose is money and time,” Toby reassured him. “We can take it again if we fail.”
“For Amber and Mr. B?” Matt begged.
Julio dabbed at his eyes, then pulled out his pearl as if it were a tiny crystal ball. “Show me who I am,” he begged. He slipped the pearl back in his pocket and pulled his friends towards the registration desk. “Pay the girl so we can get on with it. For Mr. B and Amber!” he hollered.
A moment later, the GED instructor flew into the hallway just as the pearls headed towards the classroom. “Who is causing all the commotion?” the instructor snapped.
The students stopped short in their tracks.
“As I suspected,” laughed the man who would be administering the test. “Tadpoles.”
“Hello, Mr. Wirtz,” said the fallen students.
“Hello, indeed.”
The Tadpoles shuffled into the crowded classroom where the test would be administered.
“And not a minute too late!” Wirtz smiled, his finger pointing at the clock. “Hope you don't mind, but I simply
had
to administer the test today. Where's the fifth wheel?”
“Having her baby,” Marie said.
“At least someone will deliver today. Have a seat.” He pointed to the front row where five empty seats remained.
Julio hesitated at his seat and stared at all the strangers’ faces in the room, then at his friends, then finally at Mr. Wirtz. “Mr. Wirtzy, I have something for you.”
“Yes, Mr. Ramirez?”
Julio unrolled his sleeves and pulled out wads of cheat sheets. He dropped them on Wirtz's desk. Everyone in the room, including his proud friends laughed and applauded him.
“My name is Julio Ramirez,” he told the class. “Remember it.”
Mr. Wirtz clapped too. “You’ve made yourself an honest man, Mr. Ramirez.” The instructor swept the cheat sheets into a trashcan then passed out test booklets to the room of nervous teenagers and adults. “Number Two Pencils sharpened, everybody?”
Students nodded.
“A few simple rules. During the seven hour exam you are not allowed to leave the room for
any
reason except at designated restroom breaks between tests. If you leave the center, your test will be voided and you will have to reschedule for another time... There will be zero talking... Any questions?”
After he answered a handful of questions about how the tests were scored and evaluated, he shouted, “Good luck to every one of you present. And I mean that! You have taken a brave step towards self-development. Take a deep breath. Relax. Now on your mark, get set, and pass!”
Exhausted Julio, Toby, Matt and Marie sat under the shelter at the campus bus stop. They’d been waiting for almost an hour before Mr. Wirtz pulled up in his old Volvo.
“Hop in,” he said. “The bus doesn’t come out here on Saturday.”
The students climbed in.
“Awfully nice of you, Mr. Wirtz,” Julio said.
“Yes, I know.” Wirtz said. “Lucky you, I stayed behind to grade your tests personally.”
“
You
graded them?”
“Yes. The results were most interesting.”
“Can you tell us if we passed or failed?” Matt said.
“I suppose I could,” he said. “Do you kids need a ride to the hospital or the park?”
“The hospital.”
“Which one?”
“Memorial.”
“Memorial it is.”
Mr. Wirtz turned on the radio and whistled along to a Beethoven symphony much to the angst of the pearls. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the boys in the backseat and Marie next to him.
“Tough test, eh?”
“Hardest one I ever took,” Julio gushed.
Mr. Wirtz caught his eyes in the rearview. “I imagine, Mr. Ramirez, that’s it’s the
only
test you ever finished.”
“Mr. Wirtz, do you think you and me will ever get along?” Julio asked.
“I doubt it, Mr. Ramirez.”
“Why is that, Mr. Wirtz?”
“We’ll never know.”
“Uh, Mr. Wirtz? Did
any
of us pass?” Matt leaned forward anxiously.
“I suppose I can tell you without any risk of repercussions from the State Board.” The teacher smiled.
When they arrived at the hospital, Mr. Wirtz gave the delighted students a twenty-dollar bill.
“Buy your new mother some flowers,” he said. “It’s a great day.”
After checking with reception and fighting over which flower arrangement to purchase and still have enough change left for a pack of gum for Julio, the satisfied teenagers rode three elevators before they found the right wing for the hospital birthing center.
Marie led the charge down the hallway past expectant mothers walking off labor cramps and wilted dads waiting for their wives and newborns to wake up from their first naps. When they found Amber’s room, Mrs. Powell was sitting in a chair reading a magazine by an empty bed.
“Oh my God!” Marie was frantic. “What happened? Is Amber all right? Is the baby okay?”
“It was a long delivery, but Amber’s fine,” Mrs. Powell reassured her with a finger to her lips indicating they should whisper. She pointed to a closed white curtain where another bed was. “The baby’s fine too. See for yourself.”
The four pearls peeked in through the curtain together. There was petite little Amber again, holding a tiny blackhaired baby in her arms.
“Hey!” Amber said.
“Hey!” whispered her friends.
Mrs. Powell pulled back the curtain. The kids gathered around the bed, reaching in and touching the baby’s fingers and toes.
“It’s beautiful,” Julio said. “What is it?”
“It’s a baby,” Amber said sarcastically.
“I know, I mean... A boy or a girl?”
“A boy.”
“He’s big.”
“Just like his father.”
The kids exchanged looks. Ever since Amber told them that she was pregnant, the issue of who the father was had been a taboo subject.
“You know who the father is?” Toby asked.
“Of course I do. I was there when it happened.”
“Who is it?” Matt asked.
Amber looked at Julio. He lowered his eyes. She stared at him for the longest time, then said, “it isn't important.”
“How can it not be important?” Marie asked.
“Because at the present time the father is a deadbeat. Me and the baby just don’t need the stress he’d bring. Maybe someday…”
“Did you name the baby?”
“Yes. His name is…. But wait! Oh my gosh! I almost forgot! The test! How did it go? Did you pass it?”
Her friends swayed from one side to the other like little kids hiding something behind their backs until they could contain themselves no more.
“We aced it!” Matt said proudly.
Amber nearly screamed with joy. She reached for her friends and passed out congratulatory hugs.
“Shhh, kids! The baby!” Mrs. Powell whispered as she hurried to close the hospital room door.
“You should have seen Mr. Wirtz's face!” Marie said to Amber.
“Mr. Wirtz was there?”
“Mr. Wirtz will always be there,” Matt said. “He gave the test.”
“And Julio? Did you cheat?”
“Hell, no.”
Marie bragged for him. “He got the highest score out of all of us.”
“Oh, Julio! I'm so proud of you!” Amber pulled Julio to her and planted a big kiss on his cheek.
He blushed enormously. “Thanks, Baby Beulah.” He remembered the flowers in his hand. “We got you some flowers.” He set the arrangement by her bed.
“Thanks. They look wonderful.”
“So, what’s the baby’s name?” Marie persisted.
Amber sipped water with a straw from her plastic glass on the bedside stand. “First things first. Everybody sit down. I have something to share.”
While her friends found chairs from the room and hallway, Mrs. Powell fetched a box from the bedside that Miss Feely had dropped off from the group home.
“This is the box I stole from Loomis House after Mr. B died,” Amber said. “It contains a lifetime of secrets. More about them later, but first, I want to read a letter that he wrote just before he died. It's addressed to all of us.” She found the letter, cleared her throat and began to read.
“‘To My Five Precious Pearls... I must go now. I don’t want to go, but who ever does? My job is unfinished and my heart is broken. I hope I did not fail you. And I hope you will not fail yourselves. Be kind to people and make people be kind to you. Ignore the ignorant. Cherish wisdom, no matter how old the wise man. Don’t slam doors when you're angry. Keep your eyes on your road ahead and never dwell on your mistakes. Be the biggest breath of knowledge you can be. Fill the sails! Do great deeds. Speak great words. Suffer noble sorrows and cry elegant tears when happy or sad. Above all else, cherish each other as much as I had the opportunity to cherish you’.”
Amber finished the letter. Her friends reflected quietly.
“This whole box is filled with his letters and diaries,” she said.
“Who was he, Amber? Who was he really?”
“John Battle’s real name was John Beulah. He was my father.”
Her friends gasped.
Amber went on to tell them what she knew of his life from his letters and diaries, that he had been a lawyer, about the drunken driving accident that destroyed his family. She told them about his time in prison, about the cancer and his recent plot to find his daughter and reconcile with her.
“He came back for you!” Matt said.
Amber smiled sadly. “With only a few short months to live and years to make up for, he didn’t know how to just
show up
in my life and make things right.”
“He didn't want to freak you out,” Toby assumed.
“I know... Still... Hey... My father and me? We ran out of time… But I still have you.”
Her friends joined her for a group hug.
“And now for the baby’s name. I’m naming him John. John Beulah Junior.”
Toby shuffled his feet. “Amber, if you’re going to give the baby away, do you think it’s right to give him a name?”
“I’m not giving the baby away. He’s mine, I love him and I’m keeping him.”
“Awesome!” Matt said.
“That’s a good decision,” Toby agreed.
“Can I baby-sit?” Marie said.
“Are you absolutely sure about keeping the baby?” Beads of sweat crowded Julio’s forehead.
Amber’s tired eyes smiled. “Hey, look around. The world is full of messed up kids and adults. Maybe we will be, maybe we won’t be. Who really knows until we’re able to look back over the years at what we did and didn’t do? Don’t worry, Julio. I made an adult decision.”
“You all did today,” Mrs. Powell reminded them.
Anxious Julio, Toby, Matt and Marie sat across from Mr. Petrie in the bank. He was examining their diplomas. Amber sat in a side chair, softly rocking a baby carrier with her foot.
“Your diplomas seem to be in order,” the banker finally said. “So, I guess it’s time for me to pay what’s due.” He pulled out a ledger sheet of checks and offered a pen to Amber. “Miss Beulah... I'll need your signature on these.”
Amber signed the checks and handed them back to Mr. Petrie. As he passed out the checks, her friends stared at her with dumbfounded looks.
B!”
“Actually? It was a little scheme hatched by Mrs. Powell and
me,” Amber said. “The box in the woods and the letter? My
idea. I didn’t know what else to do to motivate you. I was
losing you all and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“But the money, Amber. Where did you get it?”
“Miss Beulah inherited a substantial amount of money
from an insurance settlement,” said the banker with a wink.
It was a spring day like no other.
The Five Pearls drove to Shooks Run in Matt’s new car. It was a cheap heap but the tags were good and he had insurance.
Julio had a six pack of beer on his lap and Toby munched on a taco he brought from his new job at a fast food restaurant.
At the park, Marie volunteered to carry Amber’s baby to the creek. “How do you like living with Mrs. Powell, Amber?”
“I love it. She’s so good to the baby. We’re almost approved as a National Historic Site!”
“That’s great!” said her friends.
“When I told the society’s steering committee the story of how we all studied in her house and passed the GED, that probably swung the vote.”
“Really?” Marie asked.
“Just kidding,” said Amber.
When they reached the intersection in the woods where the path veered downhill from the bridge, the pearls opted to stand on the bridge instead.
“Nobody wants to sit on the old log?” Julio asked.
“Not today,” Amber said. “I like the view up here just fine.”
“I can’t believe I start college in a month,” Matt said.
“Or that I’m moving to California!” Marie seemed excited.
“So this is it, huh? This is how it ends?” Toby said. “The end of our little sanctuary in the woods. When I get old? I'm going to bring my kids here and tell them, ‘this is where my life was changed forever.’”
“The end of youth,” Julio finally realized.
“Thank God!” Amber said with relief.
They found themselves staring up at the old, black Cottonwood together. It was in full bloom this time of year.
“If this tree could talk!” said Amber, “Oh, what a story it could tell!”
The Five Pearls headed back towards Matt’s car. Julio took one last look at the bridge.
Speed Racer was there now, at the other end, sitting on a new bike and wearing a new helmet.
“It’s my birthday today,” said the kid. “Can I cross the bridge for free?”
Julio laughed and swept his hand for the kid to pass. “I’ll do you one better,” he said. “Today I’m giving you the bridge. It’s yours to keep until the next schmoe comes along.”
“What about that log down there?”
“The log? Hmmm,” Julio thought, rubbing the top of his head. “I suppose you get the log, too.” He crossed the bridge and grabbed the small boy’s bike by the handlebars. “But only under one condition.”
“What’s that?” Speed Racer asked nervously.
“You leave the trees alone. No poking at them with a knife, no pissing on them.”
“Sure,” said the kid. “I like trees.”
Julio tapped the kid on his helmet and turned to run back to his friends.
“Hey Mister Julio,” the bewildered kid asked. “Why you letting me have it all?”
“We don’t need it anymore,” Julio smiled. “We’ve entered phase two of our lives.”
“What’s phase two?”
“I don’t know yet, but it sure better beat my phase one!” He hurried away and joined his friends.
Speed Racer waited for the older kids to drive off. He still sat on his bike, hands tight on the steering bar, staring down at the small creek that ran below his feet. He stomped on the bridge and heard a
thong thong
sound. He studied the log, thinking it might make a nice Indian canoe for future adventures. Then he looked up, up, up at the big black Cottonwood. It seemed alive with big furry arms and tufts of wild hair way at the top.
“This place is mine now,” Speed Racer decided. “Now all I have to do is find me some friends.”