Read Online None of this Ever Really Happened by Peter Ferry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Peter Ferry
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Trier grads who are doing things in
theater and movies and stuff like that." He issued me a pass,
and I climbed to the third floor, where the library occupies a
large corner of the building.
I asked for the yearbook for Lisa Kim's graduation year,
the one for the previous year, and the one for the next year.
I sat beside four girls who were chatting and doing homework
at the same time. They kept looking at me as if they
recognized me from somewhere. I suppose it was really because
they didn't recognize me, because I was an anomalous
adult. I certainly felt out of place. I also felt a mixture of guilt
and resentment. The guilt was because I had begun to conceal
things from Lydia; she did not know that I was here, for
instance, trying to find out something about Lisa Kim. Had
she known, she would have shaken her head and rolled her
eyes; she was treating me like a little boy and acting as if Lisa
Kim were the wounded bird or mangy dog I'd brought home.
That's where the resentment came from. In truth, Lydia was
not the only one. I'd been taking a good bit of shit and getting
a good bit of gratuitous advice about the whole thing.
My gosh, Lisa Kim was a lovely girl.
LISA LOUISA KIM
"To try when there is little hope is to risk failure. Not to
try at all is to guarantee it." Anonymous. The unKorean.
The antiKorean. Fire. Love to Mother Rosalie and the C's.
Thanks to Friedrich Nietzsche. Volleyball 1; SADD 1; Talent
Show 2,3,4; Bye Bye Birdie 2, Little Shop of Horrors 3; Hedda Gabler 3; Oklahoma! 4; Death of a Salesman 4; Senior
One-Acts 4.
I looked for Peter in all three books. Nothing. I read Lisa's
entry over again. Then I began to slowly read other entries.
I found Annie Pritchard, who was also in Hedda Gabler,
Oklahoma!, and the Senior One-Acts. Her entry included the
designation
"Water." Fire; water. It took me a while to find
Wind. She was Hannah "Sammy" Stone. She was not a theater
kid, but she did thank Mama Rosalie and wrote, "Go C's!" I
could not find Earth. I went through each entry twice.
I decided to look for Peter in the other books. No luck,
but in the earlier one I came across Rosalie Belcher, a senior
when Lisa had been a junior who had been in the cast of both Bye Bye Birdie and Little Shop of Horrors. In addition, she
called herself "C Earth Mother."
I found Annie Pritchard in the Chicago phone book and
called her. She thought I was a salesman. "No, no," I said.
"Listen, don't hang up. It's about Lisa Kim."
"Lisa? What about Lisa?" I told her most of the story. I
told her most of the truth.
"So who are you exactly?" I told her most of that, too.
"I'm sorry, what exactly do you want?"
"There's a guy named Peter Carey or Peter Cleary that
Lisa went with."
"I know Pete Carey. We worked together at John
Barleycorn."
"John Barleycorn?"
"He's a bartender. I'm a waitress slash actor, just like
Lisa."
"Anyway, I have a letter Lisa wrote this guy, and I just
want to get it to him."
There was a long pause. "What kind of letter?"
"A personal one."
"Well," she said, "I guess you could send it to me. I guess
I could get it to Peter."
"You think you could?"
"I think I could. Let me give you my address. I'll get it
to him."
"Okay, yeah," I said, "that would be good. Or you could
tell me where to find him and I could do it."
"I think maybe I should do it. He knows me. He was
pretty broken up." She paused. "Lisa was sort of the love of
his life."
"Okay. Sure."
I never sent it to her. I guess I didn't want her to see what
Lisa had written, to pass it around like a bag of chips. I mean,
I wasn't even sure they were friends at the end. Or maybe it
was because I wanted to see Peter Carey myself.
I talked to a bartender, an assistant manager, and the
manager at John Barleycorn. The manager said, "Sure, I remember
Pete. Fact, someone just called me looking for a reference
for him. Let's see. I think it was Paddy Shea's."
Paddy Shea's even smelled like an Irish pub. They must
have brought the whole thing over. I
theater and movies and stuff like that." He issued me a pass,
and I climbed to the third floor, where the library occupies a
large corner of the building.
I asked for the yearbook for Lisa Kim's graduation year,
the one for the previous year, and the one for the next year.
I sat beside four girls who were chatting and doing homework
at the same time. They kept looking at me as if they
recognized me from somewhere. I suppose it was really because
they didn't recognize me, because I was an anomalous
adult. I certainly felt out of place. I also felt a mixture of guilt
and resentment. The guilt was because I had begun to conceal
things from Lydia; she did not know that I was here, for
instance, trying to find out something about Lisa Kim. Had
she known, she would have shaken her head and rolled her
eyes; she was treating me like a little boy and acting as if Lisa
Kim were the wounded bird or mangy dog I'd brought home.
That's where the resentment came from. In truth, Lydia was
not the only one. I'd been taking a good bit of shit and getting
a good bit of gratuitous advice about the whole thing.
My gosh, Lisa Kim was a lovely girl.
LISA LOUISA KIM
"To try when there is little hope is to risk failure. Not to
try at all is to guarantee it." Anonymous. The unKorean.
The antiKorean. Fire. Love to Mother Rosalie and the C's.
Thanks to Friedrich Nietzsche. Volleyball 1; SADD 1; Talent
Show 2,3,4; Bye Bye Birdie 2, Little Shop of Horrors 3; Hedda Gabler 3; Oklahoma! 4; Death of a Salesman 4; Senior
One-Acts 4.
I looked for Peter in all three books. Nothing. I read Lisa's
entry over again. Then I began to slowly read other entries.
I found Annie Pritchard, who was also in Hedda Gabler,
Oklahoma!, and the Senior One-Acts. Her entry included the
designation
"Water." Fire; water. It took me a while to find
Wind. She was Hannah "Sammy" Stone. She was not a theater
kid, but she did thank Mama Rosalie and wrote, "Go C's!" I
could not find Earth. I went through each entry twice.
I decided to look for Peter in the other books. No luck,
but in the earlier one I came across Rosalie Belcher, a senior
when Lisa had been a junior who had been in the cast of both Bye Bye Birdie and Little Shop of Horrors. In addition, she
called herself "C Earth Mother."
I found Annie Pritchard in the Chicago phone book and
called her. She thought I was a salesman. "No, no," I said.
"Listen, don't hang up. It's about Lisa Kim."
"Lisa? What about Lisa?" I told her most of the story. I
told her most of the truth.
"So who are you exactly?" I told her most of that, too.
"I'm sorry, what exactly do you want?"
"There's a guy named Peter Carey or Peter Cleary that
Lisa went with."
"I know Pete Carey. We worked together at John
Barleycorn."
"John Barleycorn?"
"He's a bartender. I'm a waitress slash actor, just like
Lisa."
"Anyway, I have a letter Lisa wrote this guy, and I just
want to get it to him."
There was a long pause. "What kind of letter?"
"A personal one."
"Well," she said, "I guess you could send it to me. I guess
I could get it to Peter."
"You think you could?"
"I think I could. Let me give you my address. I'll get it
to him."
"Okay, yeah," I said, "that would be good. Or you could
tell me where to find him and I could do it."
"I think maybe I should do it. He knows me. He was
pretty broken up." She paused. "Lisa was sort of the love of
his life."
"Okay. Sure."
I never sent it to her. I guess I didn't want her to see what
Lisa had written, to pass it around like a bag of chips. I mean,
I wasn't even sure they were friends at the end. Or maybe it
was because I wanted to see Peter Carey myself.
I talked to a bartender, an assistant manager, and the
manager at John Barleycorn. The manager said, "Sure, I remember
Pete. Fact, someone just called me looking for a reference
for him. Let's see. I think it was Paddy Shea's."
Paddy Shea's even smelled like an Irish pub. They must
have brought the whole thing over. I
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