The Constellations

The bag of cans

THE Bag oF cans landed with a crash in the center of the garbage pit. With a gesture Roy pointed Eric to an old railroad tie and they sat down side by side. Eric folded up into himself, hands tucked between his knees, elbows close against his body, ankles crossed. “When I was fifteen,” Roy said,“I left home. It was scary. Part of me didn’t want to go. I’d never been on my own like that and I had to leave my younger sister—your aunt Pam—behind. You know why I went?” “Why?” Eric whispered. “Because it was a chance to do better than I was going to do at home,” Roy said. “What happened to me, son—you see, my parents weren’t so good. They didn’t do things for me that parents should do for their kids. It’s hard to explain, but one of the most important things a parent can do is get his kids ready for the world. Because when a person grows up and leaves home, it’s like starting a long trip, and your parents, see, they have to provide you with what you need to make it through the trip—to make it through life. Do you understand?” Eric nodded. “My parents didn’t provide me with much of anything,” Roy said. “Not even love, really. So when I left there was this road ahead of me, and sometimes it was hot, the way blacktop is in the summertime, and sometimes it was wet, or icy and dangerous. And they sent me out to walk it without any shoes.” Roy put his hand on Eric’s back as he felt him begin to cry. “If they had,”he continued,“things would’ve been easier for all of us. For your mother, too. I’d have been taught things instead of having to learn as I go. I remember a few weeks ago, you had a baseball on the dining room table, and you were moving it to 170 The Constellations block another ball. You remember that? It’s good to learn things on your own like that, but you need people to show you the way, too. Believe me, there’s a difference. Sending you to this new school, son, it’ll give you a head start, it’ll expose you to people who’ll teach you things and provide you with some of what you need.You won’t get hung out to dry.” “What if I don’t want to be an astronomer?” Eric declared. “There are a lot of other things to do,” Roy said. “This’ll give you the best chance to find one that makes you happy.To find out what you ought to do.” “I have to go to the school,” Eric whispered. “Yeah, you do.” Eric closed his eyes as gravity pulled him into a new orbit. ...