the street directly in front of Jamie ’ s house . We hadn ’ t turned the clocks back yet , so it was still light out when I got there , and I strolled up the cracked walkway to her door . I knocked and waited for a moment , then knocked again . From behind the door I heard Hegbert say , “ I ’ ll be right there ,” but he wasn ’ t exactly racing to the door . I must have stood there for two minutes or so , looking at the door , the moldings , the little cracks in the windowsills . Off to the side were the chairs that Jamie and I had sat in just a few days back . The one I sat in was still turned in the opposite direction . I guess they hadn ’ t sat there in the last couple of days .
Finally the door creaked open . The light coming from the lamp inside shadowed Hegbert ’ s face slightly and sort of reflected through his hair . He was old , like I said , seventy-two years by my reckoning . It was the first time I ’ d ever seen him up close , and I could see all the wrinkles on his face . His skin really was translucent , even more so than I ’ d imagined .
“ Hello , Reverend ,” I said , swallowing my trepidation . “ I ’ m here to take Jamie to the homecoming dance .”
“ Of course you are ,” he said . “ But first , I wanted to talk with you .” “ Yes , sir , that ’ s why I came early .” “ C ’ mon in .”
In church Hegbert was a fairly snappy dresser , but right now he looked like a farmer , dressed in overalls and a T-shirt . He motioned for me to sit on the wooden chair he ’ d brought in from the kitchen . “ I ’ m sorry it took a little while to open the door . I was working on tomorrow ’ s sermon ,” he said .
I sat down .
“ That ’ s okay , sir .” I don ’ t know why , but you just had to call him “ sir .” He sort of projected that image .
“ All right , then , so tell me about yourself .”
I thought it was a fairly ridiculous question , with him having such a long history with my family and all . He was also the one who had baptized me , by the way , and he ’ d seen me in church every Sunday since I ’ d been a baby .
“ Well , sir ,” I began , not really knowing what to say , “ I ’ m the student body president . I don ’ t know whether Jamie mentioned that to you .”
He nodded . “ She did . Go on .”
“ And . . . well , I hope to go to the University of North Carolina next fall . I ’ ve already received the application .”
He nodded again . “ Anything else ?”
I had to admit , I was running out of things after that . Part of me wanted to pick up the pencil off the end table and start balancing it , giving him the whole thirty seconds ’ worth , but he wasn ’ t the kind of guy who would appreciate it .