A Sign Of The Times

by Reid Laurence

It was April in Chicago, and the nineteen-fifty baseball season had just begun with the Cubs suffering a loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field. Regardless of the loss, Raymond remained a die-hard Cub fan and just as he was about to close the refrigerator door on his new buddy, he thought for awhile about how nice it would be if his friend could share in his enthusiasm for the team. Remembering the Cubs hat he hung up on a hook by the front door,he went to retrieve it, placed it snugly on the head in his fridge and bid his new buddy farewell for the evening as he gently stroked the side of the face nearest him.

"Good-night, Guy," said Raymond affectionately, deciding that a generic name like 'Guy' might suit his new friend very well. "We'll make dinner together later, how does that sound? If you're not hungry," continued Raymond, "just tell me and I won't set a place for you at the table." Then, in Raymond's mind, Guy seemed to really be answering him.

Since Raymond was a boy of ten he'd suffered from schizophrenia, and so filling in blanks in two-sided discussions that never really existed was no problem at all to him. Unfortunately, it was something he'd gotten used to doing for many years.

"I don't know," said Guy, in Raymond's mind. "It's been kind of a tough day for me. Wouldya mind if I took a rain check just this once?"

"Heck no," replied Raymond. "I understand, don't worry about it. I'll just make a little something for myself then. Talk to you later," he said, gently closing the door, doing his best not to offend Guy by slamming it too hard.

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A Sign Of The Times