Read Online The Girl in White Pajamas by Chris Birdy - Free Book Online

and Elizabeth. “Do yunz eat like this every night?” he asked speaking in his typical Pittsburghese. They flinched as though he’d cursed at the table, and Bud smirked. When no one answered him, the boy started to eat. He ate quickly and hungrily since he hadn’t eaten since he left Pittsburgh that morning. As he gobbled his food, he used the index finger of his left hand to push it onto his fork since a fork or spoon was the only cutlery he’d ever been given. Bogie continued to eat until he noticed the silence in the room. He looked up to find Baxter and Elizabeth studying him as though an animal was sitting at their table. Bud continued to smirk, his round dimpled cheeks puffing out. Baxter put down his knife and fork. He stood up and called, “James! James!” James quickly walked into the room. He watched as Baxter pointed to Bogie. “Take him out of here! He’ll eat in the kitchen with you until he learns some table manners and how to talk!”
    Mortified, Bogie rose from his seat and followed James from the room. None of the uneducated, classless people on the South Side of Pittsburgh had ever humiliated him the way these fancy Boston folks had.
    Bogie never ate another meal with the McGruder family.
    As the months passed, Bogie worked on removing the Pittsburghese from his vocabulary while Trudie showed him how rich folks used forks and knives. When Baxter asked if he was ready to join the family for a meal, Bogie said he wasn’t. Two years later, Baxter asked him the same question and Bogie gave him the same response. Baxter’s only comment was, “Fuck you!” When Bogie muttered something in Ukrainian under his breath, Baxter grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall. “I can understand that hunky talk, you punk! You’ll show me some respect!” Bogie’s suspicions were confirmed, Baxter was a liar. Once, when Bogie’s mother wasn’t too drunk she told him that Baxter had difficulty pronouncing Boghdun and made no attempt to learn Ukrainian or any other Slavic languages spoken on the South Side. Besides, if Baxter had actually understood what Bogie said, he probably would have knocked his teeth out before he put him through the wall.
    As Bogie, James and Trudie shared meals together, they formed a bond. With no children of their own the couple tried to look out for the boy. When Bogie was ready for school, he was required to take placement exams. He overheard Baxter telling Elizabeth that the short bus would probably be coming to the house to pick Bogie up for school since Baxter believed the kid was another dumb hunky. More than anyone, Baxter was shocked to learn of his son’s extremely high IQ and placement in the prestigious Boston Latin School, which was free for gifted Boston children. That was an accomplishment that neither Bud, with a legion of tutors, nor little Ann would ever attain. James and Trudie were as proud as if their own child had won the Nobel Prize. Trudie got out a mix and put together a cake to share that night. By then, Bogie knew that Trudie wasn’t really much of a cook. Her culinary skills were limited to opening packages and cans and displaying things nicely on plates. That was fine with Elizabeth and Baxter. It wasn’t the food so much as the presentation and pretense that made up the meal.
    Trudie was shocked when Bogie fixed himself a cup of herbal tea and passed on the coffee. “But you love coffee!” she protested.
    “I love coffee, I love cigarettes, I love beer, but I love something more–my life! I want to enjoy my life with my children and grandchildren. Giving up those things is a small price to pay.”
    “Speaking of your children, what about little daughter, Isabella? Are you going to see her?” James asked.
    “So far, her mother hasn’t told me she exists.”
    James studied Bogie. “Are you being stubborn or are you afraid Bailey won’t let you have a part in the child’s life.”
    “Both.”

13 SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW