Arnet the Magician

  As long as Arnet could remember he wanted to disappear. He saw a magician at the church make a rabbit disappear and he knew if he could do that then his family would never find him.

   In nineteen-sixty-eight, at nine years old, Arnet had learned he was an oversight to his parents and a burden to his siblings.

   “Why do I have to look after Arnie?” “Hurry, let’s go before Arnie wants to come.” “Mom, why can’t he play on his own?”

   Arnet also learned he was incredibly stupid and knew nothing of the world. “You wait until you’re older.” “When you’re in High School if you don’t join a gang, you get beat up by them.” “Leave that be, son, that’s for grown ups.”

   At school he kept to himself, and at home he stayed in his bedroom. Only it wasn’t his bedroom alone, he shared it with his three brothers. But they stayed out of it most of the time until they slept. Arnet would go down to the kitchen because that’s where they made him eat his meals with the rest of the family. But Arnet’s real home was his bedroom, where could play make believe and read comic books. Except for the living room on Saturday morning, because that is where the television was. Saturday mornings were alright because almost everyone was still asleep then and Arnet could watch cartoons by himself.

   They only other time Arnet was stuck with his family was on Friday nights in the summer. Every Friday night in the summer there was the drive to the Beach Amusement Park. Around eight o-clock the family would pile into dad’s Buick. Three in the front, and five in the back, with Colette and Arnet sitting on laps.

   The night of his disappearance the family was doing just such a drive to the Beach Strip, as it was known locally. They parked across the road in a sandy lot. The lot had a hill beyond and on the other side was the lake. Everyone got out and shook themselves to waken legs that had fallen asleep and work out cramps from the squishy ride.

   Dad took Arnet’s hand to safely walk him across the road, then kissed Mama and headed off to the nearby Tavern. Mama gave dad a few dollars before he left, then she gave out allowances to all the children. Arnet pocketed his with no intention of spending any of it here. It would wait until tomorrow. Saturday when he could walk to the corner store for comic books, after the cartons, of course.

   His siblings fanned out over the park as his Mama took Arnet’s hand and dragged him into the Bingo Hall. Arnet wanted to disappear. The Bingo Hall was a converted bar, and Mama liked to sit at the high counter on the bar stools to play. She pulled Arnet onto a stool beside her. A card was played and then Arnet slid off his stool and to look around. Mama pulled him back and onto the stool again.

   Another card was played. Arnet slid down again, this time going a few stools down and squeezing between two strangers. After a few moments, and since someone else was calling Bingo, his Mama took the break to find him and drag him back to his stool again. “Stay!”

   Arnet stayed. He sat waving his hands over the counter from his chest to outspread, like the magician had done when he made the rabbit disappear. Arnet made to disappear again and again, until Mama reached over and clamped his hands down on the counter, then she slapped them off the counter. Arnet put them in his pockets. Another number was called and she forgot about him. Then Arnet began spinning around on his stool, dying for the time to pass. Mama grabbed his leg to stop the spinning, glaring into his face, then she gave up.

   “Go find your brothers.” She had given up on Arnet, but she was not going to give up her Bingo.

   Arnet walked out of the side door to the Bingo Hall, past the Arcade, which he would not waste his money on, past the candy concessions which were tempting, but could not compare to having Archie and Hulk comics, and finally found his brothers waiting by the tilt-a-whirl. 

   “Arnie, you’re too small. Where’s Collie? Chan? Chan, here, take Arnie. It’s almost our turn on the ride.”

   “I’m talking to my friends. Where’s Collie?”

   “She with that Renz guy.”

   Chanel knelt to be eye to eye with Arnet. “Arnie, go find Colette. She’ll look after you.”

   Arnet went to find Colette, then realized he needed to pee. The bathrooms were the public ones across the road where they parked. He was supposed to always cross with someone, and it was dark now, but he really needed to pee. Arnet looked both ways, and saw no car lights but ran across anyway for safety.

   The only light in the parking lot was what spilled out from the public restroom. When Arnet finished he came out and sat on a swing set by the restroom. The swing set was in the dark, blocked from the light of the restroom by a large willow tree between them. Arnet sat in the swing, idling in the dark, and waiting for the night to be over.

   When Arnet woke he saw his family Buick pull out of the parking lot and drive away down the road. He saw the fading red back lights get smaller and smaller. They hadn’t seen him. Neither Mama, nor Dad, nor Aldrich, Aubrey, Chanel, Colette, nor Alain had seen him. They had forgot about him. He had disappeared.

   Arnet put his hands on his chest and pushed them out quickly, just like the magician. Just like the rabbit, Arnet had disappeared. He was happy. He could do magic. He swung on the swing. Higher and higher. He almost got the swing all the way to the highest it would go, but then the seat jumped, and it scared him, and he swung down, and slowed down, until he could stop the swinging. He was shaken from having gone too high.

   Arnet looked across the road. The lights were going off where the rides were. The concessions were shuttered. The Bingo Hall was closed. It was all going dark.

   Arnet started to cry. He didn’t want to disappear. He didn’t like disappearing.

   Then the car lights came back. His dad reached him first and held him. Everyone patted him and told him it was alright and how sorry they were for forgetting him. Arnet got into the car, and sat on his Mama’s lap. They were all terrible people, but Arnet did not want to disappear anymore.