Radix had some difficulty getting away for Xavier's funeral the next day.
His supervisor was in a disgruntled mood. For long moments he appeared
to ignore Radix, rubbing his temples and complaining to his secretary
about his sinuses acting up. He indicated he had too much on his plate
that morning and suggested Radix take his problem to Bob Darling (A.P.
Admin).
Bob Darling asked Radix questions: did he know the student? was he
staying out all day? did he have lesson plans for the teachers covering his
classes?
Then there were forms to fill out, some running back and forth for
signatures of approval. His supervisor, still unhappy with the short notice
given, said he wasn't sure he'd find teachers to cover the classes.
Finally, with a gesture of impatience, he got Bob Darling on the phone,
and must have been persuaded it would be good for community relations
to have teacher representation at the funeral of a John Wayne Cotter
student.
When that point got through to him, his manner became less irritable. Still
complaining of his sinuses, as if that was the reason for his irritability, he
asked friendly questions about the dead student. But by then Radix had
had just about enough of him.
He'd arranged to meet Judy Wiener in the lobby at the end of period 3, but
he had to go looking for her. She was still at her desk in her classroom,
giving last minute instructions to the covering teacher; and not in any
great hurry to get moving. She wore a black dress, black stockings and
shoes, and she had touched up her cheeks and eyelids. Radix for his part,
in his workday long sleeves and skinny tie, hadn't thought of wearing
something different for the funeral.
Later when he remarked on how attractive she looked in black, Judy
Wiener threw him an anxious look and asked if he thought her wardrobe
had gone a bit too far for the occasion. They decided to use his car.
When they emerged from the building on the sidewalk they were seen,
recognized and hailed by students on the third floor who shouted Radix'
name and wanted to know why he was cutting class; and where was he
taking Miss Wiener?
"So where are we going?" he asked.
Judy Wiener took a piece of paper from her bag. Xavier's mother had
called the night before, apologizing for not contacting her earlier; she was
having a "hectic" time with the police, her lawyer, the funeral arrange-
ments.
"I wrote it down here…The Seraphim and Cherubim House of the
Redeemer." Radix gave her an incredulous look. "That's what his mother
told me. It's on Third Avenue."
"I know where Third Avenue is. Never heard of the church."
"It doesn't sound like a church. In the conventional sense, I mean."
He eased into the mid-morning traffic; they' would avoid the expressway,
taking the route through the Bronx streets choked with pedestrians and
stop lights.
He told her how difficult and begrudging his supervisor seemed in letting
him go. "Oh, they do that all the time. They monitor every step we take
inside the building, outside the building."
"I don't understand why we must account for every word, every minute we
use. The punch-in clock, the lesson plan. The other day I heard someone
suggesting they mount video cameras in the hallways….he was serious…
mounted video cameras would help cut down on the hallway walkers, the
perps banging on the doors."
(from "Ah Mikhail, O Fidel!", a novel by N.D.Williams, 2001)
FARJOURNEY CARIBBEAN 