WINTER ' FOURTEEN
Lonnie smacks his fist into his open hand. “Well he’s gonna have ta learn how ta fight. Those
monkeys are like a pack of dogs. They’ll chase ya till ya stop runnin’ and fight back. You’re gonna
have ta teach him, Grandma.”
“Me? I’m too old for that kind of shenanigans.”
“Ha! Ha! You taught me and Tommy and Andy and ya woulda’ taught Paulie if he wern’t too
ornery ta listen.”
***
Archie is standing in the alley behind the Johnson’s house. He is wearing faded brown leather
boxing gloves. The surface of the gloves is hard, cracked, and worn. The gray wool-like stuffing is
pushing through some of the cracks. Grandma says, “Keep your gloves up around your face. Don’t
drop ‘em for an instant. Ya gotta learn ta get used to having those on. They’re gonna get hot and
heavy but ya gotta not let that stop ya. Keep your hands up. For now, you ain’t gonna do no punching.
If you hit me I’ll have your hide. Jest sidestep to one side or the other when I come atcha. Don’t let
me git close enough ta hit ya.”
Grandma steps towards her pupil and Archie throws his hands in the air and leaps backwards.
“No! No! That ain’t the way ta do it. I see we’re gonna have ta start at square one.”
Two days later Archie and Grandma are sitting on the back steps while Archie, wearing boxing
gloves, cools off. Grandma says, “Remember when ya met Andy? Well ya didn’t know it but he was
testing ya. He tests everybody all the time. He said you showed spunk when he said sumptin’ ya didn’t
like about your mama. And when he shot a punch atcha, ya pulled your head outta the way like a real
fighter. The capper was when he run with ya. He said ya could run fast and that showed that ya was
stronger than most your size. He said for a little piss pot you had all the makin’s of a fighter and I
never knowed Andy to be wrong about sumpthin’ like that. So don’t worry about nothing. Just do
what I tell ya. By the end of next week you’ll know how to move around and we can start teaching ya
how ta punch and ever’ thing else.”
Archie listens but his mind is in turmoil: what does dancing around in a circle have to do with
fighting? He has begun to understand that holding his gloves up will help but moving around without
punching just ain’t right. He studies Grandma and decides he’ll do it to please her.
###
from the Musee Marmottan Monet in Paris, but
was recovered undamaged in 1990, and was put
back on display at the museum in 1991.
The Linnet's Wings