Читать книгу Gwen - E. Lippert - Страница 11

Chapter 7

The Toe-Thumb

Gwen and Claire resumed the mah-jongg lessons the following afternoon as they waited for Miss Ann to get home. Gwen was picking up the game and was really starting to enjoy it. While they played, they also discussed the books they had read, so it was a combo mah-jongg /book club. Claire made them each a cup of tea, and they felt very grown up.

For the first time, Gwen noticed that Claire sometimes had trouble picking up the mah-jongg tiles with her right hand. She looked more closely and noticed that there was some scarring on Claire’s right thumb knuckle, and her right thumb was noticeably shorter than her left. It was also shaped a bit differently. Claire caught her staring.

“I lost my thumb when I was about three. It got caught on an escalator. I was picking something up off the stair of the escalator just as it got to the top, and my thumb got pulled in.” She said this as though she was telling a story about losing a shoe.

“Oh my god! That’s awful,” cried Gwen. “Did it hurt?” Of course it hurt, you idiot. What a dumb thing to ask, Gwen scolded herself.

“Honestly, I don’t remember, but my mom said I screamed bloody murder. Someone shut down the escalator and called an ambulance. Mom says a maintenance guy took apart the escalator to free my hand.”

The game forgotten, Gwen stared at her friend in disbelief. “That’s awful. I guess the doctors were able to sew it back on?”

“Well, the thumb didn’t actually come off in the escalator, but it was so damaged that it had to be removed.” Claire held up her right thumb. “They replaced it with my toe.” She smiled when she saw Gwen’s eyes widen.

“Okay, now you’re just trying to fool me,” Gwen said suspiciously, sitting back and crossing her arms.

“No, it’s true,” answered Claire. “Look, I’ll show you.” Claire bent down to remove her right tennis shoe. “Prepare yourself. This isn’t pretty, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was right after it happened. Mom says the surgeons did a great job, and it looks like I was just born this way.”

Gwen watched with fascination as Claire pulled off her sock, revealing a little foot with just four toes. No big toe, just an empty space there. Gwen leaned over and examined the foot more closely. Miss Ann was right. It looked like maybe Claire had been born that way. You really had to look to see the scarring.

“That’s amazing. I had no idea they could do that. Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore. It did at first, and for a while, I remember that much.” Claire smiled. “I had to learn to get my balance, which doesn’t sound hard, but the big toe must help us balance because it was weird. That’s why I walk a little funny now. And I had to learn how to use my new thumb. I went to physical therapy for a while for that. But really I hardly ever think about it now.” Claire started to put her sock and shoe back on. “Unless, of course, someone stares at it,” she added, smiling.

“Sorry. That might be the coolest thing I have ever seen,” said Gwen, still awed by what she now would always think of as the toe-thumb.

Claire laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is pretty cool.”

Gwen stared at her friend’s thumb for a few seconds more, then turning back to the game, she teased, “By the way, your feet stink.” Both girls laughed.

Gwen had a new sense of respect for her friend. She had been through a lot but didn’t make a big deal out of it. She could have shown the bullies at school her missing toe when they made fun of her walk, but she didn’t. Gwen would bet that Claire was being completely honest when she said she hardly ever thought about it. “You’re a lot tougher than you look.”

Claire laughed again. “I don’t know about that, but thank you.”

The girls went back to their game and book discussion as though they had not just discussed a very traumatic event in Claire’s life.

As scheduled, Gwen had dinner that evening with Claire and Miss Ann. Ann prepared spaghetti and meatballs. What kid doesn’t like spaghetti and meatballs? Ann knew she had chosen well as she watched Gwen eat.

During dinner, the three of them talked about the books the girls were reading. Ann tried to read most of what Claire read but only vaguely remembered reading what they discussed. She held her own though and really enjoyed having a “literary” discussion with the girls.

The girls enjoyed it too. Gwen loved how Miss Ann would ask her opinion about something and then actually listen to the answer. It was obvious that they were all part of the discussion, and Gwen responded by opening up. She felt completely comfortable in the Lambertson house. She could be herself, and never once during her time there did she wonder what her friend and Miss Ann thought when they looked at her. She didn’t worry about her nose or her eyes or her hair or her weight. None of it mattered.

As they were having dessert, a really yummy chocolate cake that Miss Ann had picked up today, Ann said to Gwen, “I understand that you have been a big help to Claire in school. Thank you for taking up for her.”

“You’re welcome. I was happy to do it,” replied Gwen, thinking back with satisfaction to how she had handled some of Claire’s bullies. She hoped Miss Ann didn’t know all of it.

“It was very brave of you. Kids your age can be so mean.”

“I know what it’s like to be picked on,” said Gwen. “I wanted to stop it.”

“I’m sorry that you’ve had to deal with that too, sweetie,” said Miss Ann sympathetically.

Thinking about how Claire dealt with having a toe-thumb and the awful experience leading up to that, Gwen replied, “It’s no big deal. I learned how to deal with it.”

“You’re a sweet girl, Gwen. There are probably three hundred students at that school, not to mention a few dozen adults, and you were the only one to stand up for my girl. I will never forget it.”

Gwen smiled, a bit embarrassed now. She just nodded her head and held Miss Ann’s gaze. After a few seconds, they both smiled and went back to their cake. Miss Ann knew that Gwen understood how much she was appreciated, and Gwen knew that Miss Ann truly meant what she said.

To change the subject and lighten the mood a bit and to remind them both that she was sitting right there, Claire said, “I showed Gwen my foot today and told her about my thumb. She thinks it’s pretty cool.”

Gwen responded, “It is cool! Who knew you could replace a finger with a toe?”

“I guess it is pretty cool,” said Miss Ann doubtfully. “It wasn’t cool when it happened, but it is…unique. Your mom is a doctor. You should ask her if she’s ever seen that.”

“Oh, she’s not that kind of doctor. She has a PhD in biochemistry. So does my dad. So they are doctors, but not doctors like you work with.”

“Oh, I misunderstood. Do they do research?”

“Some, but mostly they teach, both at the Dulaney U.”

“Wow, that’s pretty neat. They both must be very smart,” said Miss Ann, impressed.

“I guess so,” replied Gwen. She had never really thought much about it. She knew she was smart but hadn’t considered just where that had come from.

When they had finished dessert, Gwen and Claire helped clear the table and then headed back to Claire’s room to do their homework.

“Can I ask you a question?” asked Claire.

“Sure.”

“The first time I saw you was when you punched Sam in the stomach. Thanks for that, by the way.” Claire smiled at Gwen. “Where did you learn to punch like that? He went down like he’d been hit by Muhammad Ali!”

Gwen laughed. “Good, I didn’t stay around to watch, and I didn’t think anyone saw that it was me.”

“I did.”

“Well, I learned in the third grade that I had to take care of myself. I could either accept the abuse of all the bullies I would come across in school, or I could learn to defend myself. So I learned to defend myself. I do push-ups every night. I have weights that I lift daily, not heavy but enough to build muscle. And I started punching. First, I would set up my mattress on its side, against the wall, and punch that, then I used my allowance to buy a punching bag. It’s in our basement. I punch on that a few times a week. I thought about taking some kickboxing classes, but my parents are non-violent.” Gwen added air quotes to show just what she thought about that. “So that would be hard to get past them.” Gwen smiled.

“Don’t they care about the punching bag?”

“I told them I needed it for exercise. They weren’t happy, but they wanted me to keep my weight down, so they allowed it.” Gwen stopped and gave Claire a conspiratorial smile. “If they had any idea that I used it to prepare for punching Sam in the gut, they would die.”

“Mum’s the word,” said Claire, smiling. “It’s our secret. Is he the only person you have ever punched?”

“No, but he was the first in a long time. I had to punch a few kids back in third grade to get my nonbullying message across, but between then and Sam, I had no reason.” She looked at Claire. “I’m not a bully, but I will defend myself, and I wanted to defend you.”

“And boy am I glad you did!” exclaimed Claire. “I never thought you were a bully! Just a nice person who stepped up to help me, and now my best friend.” She smiled at Gwen.

Gwen didn’t know how to respond to that. She had never been anybody’s best friend before. She wanted to say thank you but was afraid to speak. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would cry. Claire seemed to sense that and went back to her homework. So did Gwen.

It wasn’t long after that when they heard a knock at the door. Gwen’s heart sank a bit; she knew it was time to go home.

Claire ran to open the door, anxious to meet Gwen’s mother. Swinging open the door, she said, “Hi! I’m Claire. Come in.”

Dr. Marsh entered the house. “Hi, Claire, I’m Dr. Marsh.”

Gwen spoke up immediately, “You can call her Miss Madeline.” She wanted Claire to be as comfortable with her parents as she was with Miss Ann.

Madeline looked sharply at her daughter but didn’t contradict her.

Miss Ann came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Hi, Madeline, so nice to meet you,” she said, reaching out her hand.

Shaking hands, Madeline replied, “Very nice to meet you too. Thank you so much for having Gwen to dinner.”

“You’re very welcome. She is delightful!”

Madeline smiled at her daughter, proud to hear that she had been a good dinner guest. “We would like to have Claire for dinner on Tuesday, if that’s okay with you. We live only two streets over. They can come to our house after school, and then I’d be happy to run her home for you after dinner.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Claire would love that.” The girls smiled at each other. Neither failed to notice that they hadn’t been consulted, but that was okay. “I can pick her up though. No reason for you to have to run out.”

“That’s fine. If you change your mind, just call. It’s no problem.” Arrangements for Tuesday being made, Madeline motioned for her daughter to grab her things. “Thank Mrs.…Miss Ann for dinner, dear.”

“Thank you for dinner, Miss Ann. It was great!” Madeline was a bit surprised when Ann gave Gwen a big hug.

“Thank you for joining us! You are welcome anytime.”

The girls said their goodbyes, and Gwen left with her mom.

And so it began that each day after school, the two girls went to one house or the other. Usually, it was Claire’s, but maybe once a week, it was Gwen’s. Gwen’s parents did pretty well too. They engaged Claire over dinner, enjoyed learning mah-jongg, and taught the girls how to play bridge. There were no hugs though; Dr. and Dr. Marsh, or Miss Madeline and Mr. Carl as they allowed for Claire only, were just not the hugging type.

The weekends were the same. The days were spent together, and they even spent a few hours each Saturday at the senior center, playing mah-jongg with “the ladies.” To Gwen’s surprise, Claire was right, it was fun! And once the ladies learned that the girls could play bridge, they would alternate games. Also, as there were three ladies and two girls, Gwen and Claire took turns each hand. It worked out well.

The girls were inseparable all through seventh and eighth grades.