How Not to Rear a Genius
Archibald returns to his
recliner. “That should keep him busy.”
“What’d you give him?” Loretta says to her husband. She leans back
in her recliner and hits the Play button.”
“Rubik’s Cube.”
“Huh? Bennie’ll solve that in a minute.”
Archibald chuckles. “I
rigged it so one of the sections won’t twist. I might not be a genius like our
son, but I’m handy. He’ll—”
“Dad, I’m done,” Bennie calls out from his bedroom. Archibald sighs and pushes his recliner forward.
“Stay,” Loretta says. “I’ve got a tough one for him.” She goes to her son’s room.
Moments later, she returns shaking her head.
“Well?”
“I gave him that tough math problem we found online.
He said he solved it weeks ago to help fall asleep. I told him to brush his
teeth and go to bed. He glared at me, walked backwards in a circle and did that
thing with his eyes.”
“Creeps me out.”
“Me, too.” Loretta nods toward the television. “Rewind
it a couple minutes.”
#
Loretta and her husband collapse into their recliners. “What a day,” Loretta says.
“Exhausting,”Archibald says and aims the remote at the TV.
“Mom, Dad, I’m bored,” Bennie yells from his room.
Welcome tonight’s contestants to Can You Stand It? blares from the television.
“Did you see that textbook they gave him?” Loretta says.
“Something about knot theory.”
“Yeah, he worked out the formulas faster than I could
tie my shoes at his age.”
“It gave me an idea,” Loretta says. As she gets out of her recliner, Bennie enters the room. He’s about waist high to
his mother, has red hair like his father, and wears blue pajamas with pictures
of magpies, his favorite bird. “You know what Dr. Spencer said about keeping me
challenged.”
“I have something for you,” Loretta says. She goes
to the laundry room and returns with a basket of dirty clothes. “Solve these,”
she says, dropping the basket at the boy’s feet.
“You want me to wash them? That’s no fun.” He starts
walking backwards.
“No, no don’t wash them. Solve them. They’re twisted
and tangled. Like knots. But trickier because they’re … just thrown in. You
know, random.”
Bennie stops walking and his eyes widen. He grabs the
laundry basket and drags it to his room.
“Good job, honey,” Archibald says. “Now we can watch our program in—”
“Mom, Dad, I’m done.”
Archibald sighs. “Brush
your teeth and go to bed, son.”
#
Archibald and Loretta are watching
television when Bennie steps in front of them. “I’m hungry.”
“There’s leftover pizza in the fridge,” Loretta says.
“You’re in the way, son.”
#
“This’ll be good,” Archibald says, cramming a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
On the TV screen, a blindfolded woman climbs into bed
full of snakes. Can she stand it? the game show host and audience shout
in unison.
“Mom, Dad,” Bennie calls from his room, I’m—”
“Not now, son,” Archibald yells back. “Bedtime.”
“I’m not sleepy, Dad.”
“Now.”
Several minutes later, Loretta stands and stretches
her arms over her head. “Best episode ever.” She shivers. “Snakes … ugh.”
“Gave me an idea … By the way, did Bennie get enough
to eat this evening?”
“I’ll make him an extra egg tomorrow,” Loretta says
through a yawn.
#
“Stopped by the pet shop on the way home,” Archibald says, entering the kitchen as Loretta makes baloney sandwiches.
“I thought we agreed we already have our hands full
with Bennie? I don’t want a dog.”
Archibald smiles and
steps to the side, revealing a glass cage full of snakes.
Loretta jumps back.
“Relax. The pet shop guy assured me they’re harmless.”
Archibald chuckles.
“Slithering knot theory. Even our boy genius won’t be able to solve these for
awhile.”
“I don’t know, honey. You’re sure they’re not
poisonous.”
“That’s what the man said.” Archibald grunts as he lifts the glass cage. “I’ll take it in to him. Tuck his
supper under my arm.”
Loretta shoves a sandwich into her husband’s armpit.
A few minutes later, Bennie screams. Loretta gasps. Archibald drops his half-eaten sandwich onto the TV tray and rushes to their
son’s room. Loretta starts to follow, but before she’s halfway there, Archibald comes back out.
“He was whooping,” her husband says, “because he
‘solved the snakes’—something about revolving algorithms, fractal
irrationality. Damn things are going back tomorrow.”
#
“Mom, Dad, I’m bored. Dr. Spencer warned you that—”
Archibald turns up the
TV volume.
Bennie emerges from his room and walks backwards
around the two recliners. Loretta looks away to avoid seeing her son’s eyes.
#
“I think I finally found something that will challenge him,” Archibald says.
Loretta mutes the TV.
“I hope you’re right. He sees Dr. Spencer tomorrow. What is it?”
“I gave him my revolver and told him to calculate the area in square
centimeters. All those curves, grooves, and irregular surfaces. Plus, I told
him to include the inside of the barrel.”
Loretta’s jaw drops. “Archibald! That’s dangerous. He could—”
“I’m not stupid, Loretta. I unloaded the thing.” He holds out his open hand.
In the middle of a sigh of relief, Loretta’s eyes practically scream. “Archibald, there are only five bullets.”
“Don’t be silly, I …” Archibald looks at his hand and touches each bullet. He checks his pockets,
kneels and feels under the chair. Then he rushes into their son’s room.
“Bennie,” Loretta hears her husband shout, “give me that gun, I—”
Bang!
#
“I’m sorry,” the
doctor says. “We did all we could. Just a horrible, horrible accident.”
Sobbing and whimpering, Loretta squeezes her son’s hand. The two sit in silence for
several minutes.
“What are you thinking, Bennie?” Loretta says finally.
Her
son stands and walks backwards in a circle
while doing that thing with his eyes.
David
Henson
David Henson and his wife have lived in
Brussels and Hong Kong and now reside in Illinois. His work has been
nominated for four Pushcart Prizes and has appeared in various publications
including Ariel Chart, Best Microfictions 25, Ghost Parachute, Moonpark Review,
Maudlin House, Bright Flash Literary Journal, and Literally Stories, His
website is http://writings217.wordpress.com. His X handle is @annalou8.