The Mysterious Disappearence of Leon (6 page)

Mrs. Carillon was so involved in her story she didn’t notice that the twins had fallen asleep.

“Christmas Bells stepped wearily onto the track. His odds were 50 to 1. His head was bowed low; and it looked as if he might not have the strength to drag himself to the post. His odds went up to 100 to 1.

“They’re off!”
shouted Mrs. Carillon, startling the twins out of their peaceful slumber. They looked about, and finding everything all right, closed their eyes again.

“Christmas Bells was the last horse out of the gate. He was twenty lengths back at the first turn, and even more as he neared the far turn. Then, all of a sudden, miracle of miracles, that big black stallion lifted his head, flared his nostrils, and with a fantastic burst of speed, passed horse after horse after horse down the home stretch. And when there was only daylight between him and victory, Christmas Bells broke stride, took two quick little dance steps, turned to look at the people in the stands, then galloped across the finish line.

“He won!”
shouted Mrs. Carillon. Tina opened one eye and shut it again.

“And ever since that amazing day, Christmas Bells has won every.
. .” Mrs. Carillon yawned and saw that her children were fast asleep. She covered them with blankets and went to bed.

5
_*
Old Friend, New Friends

Settling Down

They found a large Fifth Avenue apartment with a terrace overlooking Central Park, but Mr. Banks said it was too expensive. “You’d have to own General Motors, not just a soup factory, to afford that one.” They moved into a smaller apartment, with no terrace, on Park Avenue.

Mrs. Carillon bought a purple-flowered sofa, purple-flowered chairs, purple-flowered drapes and wallpaper. Her clothes blended in so well with the furniture that the twins had to look twice to be sure she was there.

The twins refused to have purple rooms. “Pink and orange,” Tina insisted. Tony couldn’t decide what color he wanted for his room. “Anything but purple, and not pink and orange, either.” Mrs. Carillon chose red and blue, which looked like purple when she squinted her eyes.

They interviewed dozens of cooks and finally hired Mrs. Baker, a small-boned, thin-lipped woman with mouse-brown hair twisted into a tight bun. She could prepare any dish except soup.

Spring had arrived once again. Mrs. Carillon enjoyed her afternoons feeding the seals
²¹
in the Central Park Zoo. She still looked much the same and dressed the same, but she was beginning to smell of fish.

The twins loved New York and their apartment and Mrs. Baker’s good cooking. And they had made quite a few friends at school, thanks to Tina’s whopping lie.

Tina’s Whopping Lie

One afternoon, soon after they had moved into their apartment, Tina and Tony found themselves among a group of bragging classmates.

Jordan Pickney said his father was a famous actor and had just gotten a big part on a television show.

Rosemary Neuberger said that when she was little she got lost at the circus in Madison Square Garden and had to sleep with the elephants.

Mavis Bensonhurst said her mother spent two thousand dollars a year just for underwear.

“Tina and I are twins,” was all Tony could think to say. He didn’t want anyone to know about the orphanage, or Mrs. Carillon, just yet.

“What’s so special about that? I know lots of twins,” Rosemary Neuberger said in a voice that made Tony want to hide.

Tina hated Rosemary Neuberger. She hated her as much as she liked Jordan Pinckney, and that was a lot.

“I’ll tell you what’s so special about that,” Tina said. “We’re not just ordinary twins. We’re Siamese twins. We were born stuck together and weren’t cut apart until we were three years old.”

“Really?” They were the center of attention now.

“Really!” Tony said proudly.

“Where were you stuck together?” Mavis Bensonhurst wanted to know.

“At our hips.” Tony pointed to the spot. “We were connected at our right hips.”

“Both of you, at your right hips?” asked Jordan Pinckney, the one doubter in the group.

Tina immediately recognized Tony’s error. “That’s right. My right hip was joined to Tony’s right hip. When I faced front, he faced back; and when I faced back, he faced front.”

“Then how could you walk?”

“In circles!” Tina said triumphantly.

“Wow!”

Word spread quickly. Everyone wanted a friend who was a Siamese twin.

Same Old Argument

Mr. Banks was waiting in the living room when Mrs. Carillon returned from the zoo. He shook his head and tsk-tsked over a stack of bills.

“Six handmade silk dresses, ten handmade pairs of shoes, and look at this: a case of Burgundy Bash lipsticks made to order. Mrs. Carillon, you are too extravagant, much too extravagant.”

Mrs. Carillon explained that she had gained weight and her old dresses no longer fit; her shoes were walked clean through; and lipsticks don’t last forever. Everything had to be custom-made because the things she wore weren’t manufactured anymore.

“You don’t seem to understand, Mr. Banks,” she explained. “If I don’t dress the same as always, Noel might not recognize me.”

Mr. Banks slammed the bills down on the table. “When are you going to come to your senses and give up this ridiculous search?”

Mrs. Carillon, used to Mr. Banks’ frequent outbursts, ignored the question. Instead, she promised not to eat so much of Mrs. Baker’s good cooking.

“Mrs. Carillon, I’ve told you time and again. . .” Tina whispered in Tony’s ear, knowing exactly what the next words would be.

“Mrs. Carillon, I’ve told you time and again,” Mr. Banks shouted, “Noel must be dead, or he’d have asked for money by now. Anyhow, he’s been missing so long that he’s legally dead.”

“The law has nothing to do with it,” Tina whispered.

“The law has nothing to do with it,” Mrs. Carillon said. “My husband is my husband, until I find out otherwise.”

Mrs. Carillon’s reply, about Noel having amnesia and being poor and sick and needing her, was mouthed word for word by Tina. Tony tried not to giggle, but a loud snort escaped.

“Young man, I don’t see what’s so funny,” Mr. Banks hissed.

Tony lost all control. He laughed so hard he doubled over and rolled on the floor.

Tina had to act quickly. “Mr. Banks,” she said sweetly, “won’t you stay for dinner?”

Mr. Banks looked at Tina standing before him in wide-eyed innocence.

“At least there’s one sane person in this family,” he said.

Tina and Tony really didn’t dislike Mr. Banks. They just found this tight-collared, tight-vested, gray-haired, gray-suited man boring. He talked only about money, and he never laughed. He ate heartily, though, and the twins were surprised when he actually smiled and said, “Best meal I’ve had since my wife died ten years ago.”

He never watched television, of course, and left right after dinner.

Cardinals vs. Mets

For an hour, every evening after dinner, the twins watched television with Mrs. Carillon. They scanned the faces and neckties of men in the local news, national news, and international news; men in picket lines, parades, and demonstrations. They even watched commercials.

“Who knows but some soap company might want a handsome man like Noel to tell housewives what soap to use in their washing machines,” Mrs. Carillon would say. “Or maybe some razor-blade company might pay Noel to shave off his red moustache on television.”

Sports news was their favorite, though. Whenever the announcer said, “The feature race was won by Christmas Bells,” Tina and Mrs. Carillon let out a lusty cheer. Tony was more interested in baseball.

“The St. Louis Cardinals are playing the Mets at Shea Stadium tonight,” Tony said. “And the game is going to be on television.”

“Wouldn’t you rather go to the movies?” Mrs. Carillon asked, her eyes still glued to the set. “We usually go to a cowboy movie on Fridays.”

Tony couldn’t make up his mind.

“Tina, what would you like to do?” Mrs. Carillon asked. “Tina?”

Tina was deep in thought. “One minute, I’ve almost got it, except for the ‘I
glub.’
”

Mrs. Carillon turned away from the television set to stare at Tina. “What have you got?”

“‘C
blub
all’ could mean St. Louis Cardinals’ and ‘new....’ could mean ‘New York Mets.’”

“Tina, that’s wonderful!” Mrs. Carillon decided to stay home and watch the ball game.

Tony didn’t think Tina’s idea was at all wonderful. Noel had said that in December, and major league baseball isn’t played in winter. Besides, the Mets weren’t around twenty-one years ago. Football was a possibility, but Tony didn’t mention any of this. He had decided he wanted to watch the game.

Mrs. Carillon disappeared into the purple-flowered couch. The twins sat on either side of her, waiting for the first pitch.

It was a strike.

“Oh, no!” Mrs. Carillon sighed.

“That’s good,” Tony explained. “The Cardinals are at bat. We’re for the other side.”

“It’s just that I realized Noel is too old to be a ball player.”

The batter hit a high foul into the stands. The camera followed the ball as it bounced off the fingertips of one fan into the hands of another. The crowd around him waved at the unseen television audience.

“Look at all those faces,” Mrs. Carillon exclaimed with renewed interest.

The batter struck out, as did the next, and the third man popped up to short.

“We don’t have to watch that,” Mrs. Carillon said when the commercial was shown. “Noel is too genteel to drink beer.”

The Mets came up to bat; three easy outs. The first inning was over.

“My word, look at that! Look at all those banners: ‘Let’s Go Mets,’ ‘Massapequa Loves the Mets.’” Mrs. Carillon read aloud from the boldly lettered bedsheets held aloft by the fans. “Tiny, look carefully for ‘Noel Carillon Loves the Mets.’”