ivetha review pages 1-33

8/4/2019 Ivetha Review Pages 1-33

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To Dana, without whom this would not have been possible.


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Copyright by Bradd Allen Saunders

All rights reserved.

- :- :


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architectural rm of Markham & Maybin was contracted by the city to design a set of buildings in the Italianate style to replace

them. Of these, one was destroyed in an explosion of a furnace in , and two others were eventually condemned, razed, and left as empty lots.

In , a group of homeless men made a tent city in the empty lot made by the Markham/Maybin furnace explosion,which was eventually abolished by a police action.

In the fties, Thanksgiving parades would wind through the city center from a southerly direction, turn onto Molitor, head north to Sasha, and then proceed up the slope of Ivetha to Monette.

A murder occurred on the sixth oor of the building addressed , in . Later, it was determined that the killer had been

lying in wait and had ambushed his supervisor in a disagreement

over money.In what was once a department store named Andersens, a

man named Cole Grebbs made a proposal to his ance on the second oor of the store and discovered, only minutes later, that shed had a heart attack on the fourth oor while shopping. Grebbs was later suspected of killing her because she had rejected his

proposal, but was tried by a jury and found innocent.In the early part of the twenty- rst century, money was set

aside by the city for the refurbishment of curbs, benches, and sundry items as part of a project called st Century Downtown, to revitalize the area.

Fourteen new businesses relocated on Ivetha over the next three years. Of these, three went bankrupt, but the others are still in

operation. Today, there are plans for private development on the north side, but the project has been put on hold due to nancial considerations.

It was said by a city planner familiar with the street: Though its history is as rich as any, it has failed, through whatever


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mysterious means, to make any sort of impression. Its as though it is but it isnt, as though we all know and agree on the idea of

it, but without being able to explain why. I have known men who have worked for the city for years who are unaware of its existence,though some have admitted, upon re ection, to have visited it

frequently. It is not so much a street as the memory of one, a rut in the less accessible precincts of a mans mind. I see no need for it to continue and have recommended it be razed and redeveloped. I hope to never tend to it again.

Robert Gordon Grier, author of, A Series of Encounters in the Accidental Edi ce, had this to add: It was as if all the time it was there it wasnt, as though we could only see it when we werent looking.

The Author


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THE BEGINNING: A Series of E-Mail Exchanges BetweenBenjamin Stuart Broyhill and Helen Van

Houten, from August 10th through the 12th


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END OF THE FIRST SET OF E-MAIL EXCHANG AND THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER BETWEEN THWRITER, ANTHONY PULSIPHER, AND HIS FRIENPERSEPHONE WERT, SEPTEMBER 5th, ROUGHLY THREE YEARS BEFORE THE PREVIOUS E-MAILS

A BRIEF SALUTE TO THE BEAGLE:

The playful and noteworthy Beagle is one of the most

popular breeds in the canine world. Curious, willful,friendly and independent, Beagles are amongst themost loyal companions of all dog breeds. Dif cult and distracted if not handled properly, it is their very temperament which makes them endearing to the trueBeagle lover. They are strong willed and fun loving andgreat with kids too.

The origins of this delightful animal are unclear, but it is believed that its progenitor was brought to England inthe TH century by William the Conqueror, in the formof the Talbot Hound a scent hound derived from theSt. Hubert, which had been developed centuries before.


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Beagles make excellent hunting dogs, but they alsomake wonderful pets if given proper, alpha dogleadership and plenty of exercise and love. Hundredsof clubs, kennels and associations have been createdin support of this iconic breed, guaranteeing that theBeagles proud place in the hearts and minds of itsowners will always be assured.


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END OF THE SECOND SET OF E-MAIL EXCHANG

AND THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK, A Series of Encounters in the Accidental Edice,BY ROBERT GORDON GRIER:

In his mind he didnt do it because he had to. It wasnt because his wife had quit her job and he needed themoney or because the world was in a constant state of ux and he had to do what he could to keep up. He didnt

do it because he was tired and needed a change or becausehe thought it might make him more interesting to peopleor improve his standing in the world. He did it because heowned the place and could do whatever he wanted. Did heneed a better reason than that?

It was thus that Oliver made the decision to look for anew and different place to set up shop. Feeling calmer andmore self-possessed than he was accustomed, he went into


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it with optimism. Why, he wasnt sure, but it was one of those rare periods in a mans life where he feels he can do

no wrong, when for reasons he could not quite put a ngeron he senses that the greater forces of the universe are inharmony with his desires. Though he was old enough toknow that this is never really true, the pure pleasure he felt in thinking this way was so seductive it made him forget.(Such is the pleasure in the absence left by forgetting, anabsence so potentially addictive it can become, for some,a kind of memory in itself or a memory of a memory of the possibility of itself.)

After months of carefully combing through a spate of empty spaces, however, he could nd nothing that seemedright. Everything was either too big or small or just plain

wrong or out of sorts. Since things were good, he felt he

could afford to be patient; but this only had the effect of prolonging everything to the point they were worse.

And then, through circumstances he could no longerrecall (and the fact that he couldnt recall them wassomething he would come to see as the rst and most signi cant of his memories of absence a memory of something that was not something at all), it was brought to his attention that there was a space which had becomeavailable in an area hed always hoped to be a part of.Though he had spent several days combing through just this part of town, he had not heard or known about thisopportunity until late into his search. It was as if thebuilding had not existed until he had known a need for it;

and now that he had nally acknowledged such a need it had appeared out of thin air.

It was address number , on a little street namedIvetha. When he looked it up on a map he found it couldnt be more perfectly situated. With a theatre andan upscale set of restaurants nearby, it was a choice area


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by any measure and sure to be in the crosshairs of just the kind of people he was trying to reach. It was in a part

of the city that had undergone one of those fashionablegentri cations that had become an urban trend, a place where the city makes an effort to dress up a neglected areain order to get people to take an interest in it again. Oliversold faithful reproductions of period piece furniture that

were licensed and in limited production, the price of which, for some items, was very dear. It was not the kindof stuff that appealed to everybody, but it would appeal tothe kind of people who came there.

It was represented by a Mrs. Janice Ackerman, of the Ackerman Property Management Agency a place andperson he had never heard of and available for viewingby appointment only, but Oliver wanted to take a look at

it, initially, on his own. Real estate agents, and their ugly cousins (property managers), are distracting as well asrenowned liars and he wanted to be able to assess theplace with a cold, hard eye.

To his surprise his wife wanted to come.Mind if I tag along?He didnt think she would suggest it. Staring at empty

spaces and speculating on how useful they might be to sellfurniture was not really Trinas cup of tea; but if he hadlearned anything over the course of his marriage it was

that if his wife wanted to do something, and he couldnt think of a good reason for her not to, then it was going tohappen.

Okay, he said, a bit more brusquely than he shouldhave. But dont dawdle, all right? Ive got to get back tothe shop for deliveries.


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She stared.I dont have to. I just thought you might want me to.

I do. I want you to. Im just in a hurry.Trina was beautiful in a lot of ways, but, unfortunately,the many ways in which she was beautiful could only beseen with real clarity through what made her ugly. Onequality she had in abundance was a conviction that shehad insights into people and places that others didnt andan obligation to share them when necessary. Giving her areason to apply this talent was something he knew betterthan to do.

Im not trying to say I dont want you to come, he said.Im just saying that I want you to come quickly.

Fine, she replied and walked away.Oliver was already beginning to feel like he shouldnt

have told her she could come with him but that ship hadalready sailed.

Sweetheart, he called, as he waited for her to get acoat or do whatever it was that women seemed to need todo before they went anywhere I dont know why but I havea good feeling about this place. I know it sounds a littlecrazy since I havent even seen it yet, but I think it could be

just what weve been looking for this time. Dont you havea feeling it could change our lives?

Oliver wasnt sure if their lives needed changing and,if they did, if Trina agreed, but the feelings he had beenhaving were so strong and so agreeable to him they seemedto create a reality of their own.

I know its kind of a risk, he continued. People say that if you have a successful business its not a good ideato move it, but I really feel its different in this case. Dont

you? Dont you think theres a time when you just have todo something different just because you can?

Again Trina didnt answer, but he wasnt too miffed.


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There were times when Oliver felt their relationship was alittle like a pair of convicts in separate cells communicating

to each other through a wall: though they knew the otherone had to be there (there was nowhere else to go) what was going on with the other, and whether or not you wereactually connecting in some way, could only be reducedto a guess.

Sweetie, he said, a bit more loudly. Dont you think it would be a good idea to push the envelope a little?

And then Oliver became aware of a feeling. It wasfaint at rst so faint it was hardly a feeling at all but gradually it began to grow like a wave that came from agreat distance, arriving with such a sudden and shatteringforce it swept out all other contents from his mind like a

ood. Trina is not here , he thought. Shes gone .

Sweetie, he said, warily.Nothing.

Are you ready?He knew it was crazy, that she had to be somewhere,

probably taking care of some little bit of laundry orputting away a dish; but he could not shake the completeconviction that he was alone, that he had always beenalone and that Trina, his wife, had never been anythingbut the most fragile of inventions on his part, which hadsuddenly, like the insubstantial thing it always was, goneup in smoke. He knew there was no foundation for thisfeeling, but it was so powerful he couldnt make it stop. Hecalled.

Trina?He began to glance around the house surreptitiously,

at rst, as if someone might be watching him and he hadto be careful not to look like dumb but with a greaterurgency as he continued.

Honey?


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O nce theyd hit the road he felt better. Oliver hadalways liked having something to do. It didnt matter what it was. He had long ago learned that the only real tragedy in life is in getting what you want, but as long as you were only in the process of getting what you

wanted, and werent actually getting it, you were safe.Im really looking forward to this, he said, with a

smile. I have a good feeling about this.Since shed gotten in the car Trina had been

preoccupied. Oliver had noticed but had decided topretend he hadnt. Some things, he knew, worked better

that way.Oliver, she nally said breaking whatever spell she was under and looking at him as if he were invisible canI ask you something?

Sure.


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Do you think its possible were fucking it up?He stared at her.

Excuse me?Our lives. Do you think its possible were fucking upour lives? That were making a complete mockery of themand living like fools?

The utter lack of context in which she delivered thisquery threw him a moment. He groped.

Well, I dont know, honey, he said, and suddenly hefelt dumb, as if his head were a bell that couldnt ringanymore. Do you think its a mockery? Does it feel like amockery to you?

No. Well I meanThe manner in which she so clumsily disguised the obvious

need not to hedge this point bordered, he felt, on insulting.

No. I dont. I just wonderDo you think its possibleto do it wrong? To live a whole life and realize, perhaps at the point of death, or maybe even sooner, that youve doneit wrong? That you missed the point of it and messed it up? Do you think that can happen? Do you think therecould be a wrong way to live?

In many ways Oliver hated these kinds of questions.He had always suspected there was something self-aggrandizing about them and disingenuous.

Well, sweetie, he said, I dont know. If there is what can we do? Were only living, right? Isnt that what everybody else is doing? Living their lives? Besides, if there is a wrong way then wouldnt that meant theres also

a right one? And if there is, what would it be? What wouldbe the right way to live?

Just because I said there could be a wrong way doesnt mean that there has to be a right one. Not everything

works like that. Youre old enough, Im sure, to know that by now. Some things you can do wrong without there ever


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being a right way to do it. Relationships are like that, dont you think? At least most of them?

I dont know, he said, huf ly. Are you trying to say that theres no way to do our relationship right, but theresa way to do it wrong?

No.Then I dont think I understand.All Im saying is that its possible theres something

about it all were not getting and that maybe thats thepoint, thats the point of the whole thing, to get that onething and that somehow either through hard-headednessor sheer stupidity we missed it, we may have missed it and

were living wrong.Oliver didnt want to talk about this anymore. He

sighed.

Well, he said in the tone he always used when he wanted to bring a subject to an end, I guess I dont know,honey. I just dont know. What can I say?

She sneered.Thats so like you. Whenever you dont want to talk

about something you pretend theres nothing more totalk about, as if every subject is an enormous gum-ballmachine that only has so many pieces of gum to dispense,and once theyre gone its through. Theres something socontrolling about it and arrogant, Oliver. I just wanted toknow what you thought. I didnt expect you to have the

wisdom of Job.Well, I told you what I thought but you didnt like

what I said. Do you want to know what I think, or do you want me to say whatever you want to hear? I said, I dont know and thats true. If youd like a different answertell me what it is and Ill say it. Im not even sure I know

what youre talking about. Its making my head dizzy just arguing about it right now.


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She waved him off, peevishly. Though theyd only beenon the road a short time it already felt like forever. Oliver

hoped the space they were going to would be everythinghe was looking for. He needed some good news.

Though there had been every bit as much congestion asOliver had expected, he had negotiated the traf c deftly,

and once they had pushed, crept, and cajoled their way through the tangle of one-way streets, through the mish-mash of moving metal, and clouds of diesel fuel, he nally found Ivetha where he expected it to be, and turned. What he saw there made him feel much better about everything.Ivetha was great.

Slicing a block in two on the diagonal, the street wasessentially located on a shortcut, a road that linked twomajor thoroughfares together in an area that could almost qualify as the citys cynosure. While everything aroundit in all directions was a smattering of controlled anduncontrolled confusion, old and new shops, makeshift patches of urban improvement and neglect, Ivetha was a

veritable oasis of timeless serenity and charm.Tree-lined and gracious, it was in a charter part of

town, a product of the citys original foundation and early urban expansion. In those days, the federal style reignedand the streets were a proud representation of the citysfaith in itself and its future.

Though the street did have its drawbacks (he couldsee it wasnt quite as clean as it could be and it was a bit narrow), it still had the overall feeling of a small andfriendly Parisian boulevard, with the concomitant sense of ease and leisure that entailed. Buildings were anywherefrom four to eight stories tall and well maintained. The


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sidewalks and curbs were in good shape. The street was vigorous and alive with shoppers. It was elegant without

being haughty; a world apart, yet clearly a part of the world.He was smitten.He was just getting ready to share these feelings when

he turned to his wife.Jesus Christ, she said, when shed nally gotten out

of the car and had a chance to look things over, is thisit?

There had been many times, in the course of theirrelationship, when Oliver had seen something very differently than Trina. Sometimes these differences ledto disagreements and sometimes they didnt, but they werealways slight enough that one, or both of them, were able,at least in some small way, to understand the point of the

other. But this was different. Oliver could not understandhow anyone could have a problem with this street. It was

wonderful. It was as if he had found the fountain of youthand she had called it a sewer.

You dont like this, he said, trying to curb a quick,and potentially disruptive, ash of anger.

No, and she looked at him as if she thought he might be on the verge of losing his mind. Do you?

Maybe , he reasoned, Im not looking at what is actually here. Women are often better at processing the subtleties of things, and he had been so excited about seeing the placeit was possible he was seeing what he had been hoping tosee, rather than what was actually here. He tried to take a

sober inventory. When he did, what he saw was even better than his rst

impression: women were pushing baby carriages, there were outdoor cafes with people smiling and eating goodfood. It did not look so much like a street but a refuge, aplace to go to get away from all the other places you didnt


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want to be. It just felt good to be here, for some reason.He turned to his wife. She did not look well.

Trina, he said, his face lled, suddenly, with concern,are you okay?She exhaled slowly and then brightened and seemed

better, then nodded. Oliver remained unsure.Lets take a look at the building, he said nally, still

feeling a bit leery about his wifes behavior and regrettingthe fact that he had ever told her she could come. Isnt that why were here?

If Oliver liked the street, he liked the building evenbetter. was clearly the architectural agship of theavenue. Five stories tall with plenty of space still availableon the upper and lower oors, every unique element sorepresentative of its particular period had been expertly maintained and respectfully preserved.

Filled with an abundance of windows which gave thebuilding an open, inviting feel, Oliver liked them becausethey werent of the austere, modern variety, which often

made things look antiseptic, but instead were a carefully integrated part of the buildings original design.

There were two entrances trailing off Ivetha itself and Monette (the northernmost street running by thebuilding), which would make deliveries easy and offereda broad access for large items. The entrance proper was a

double door of glass, framed by polished cherry, cappedby a hunter green canopy, extending modestly over thesidewalk. The stone on the building was a freshly cleansedcream and the roof was capped with crenellations anarchitectural gewgaw that were not so much kitschy asdelightful, bringing a contradictory touch of both whimsy


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and majesty to the place. At the top of the northwesterncrenellation was a ag and on each cornerstone was a

coat of arms which produced a faux, castle effect that wasdelightful. The building had a sense of tradition whichrefurbishment had somehow managed to make seem new.Place likes this didnt grow on trees. He knew becausehe had looked. He cast a hopeful glance in his wifesdirection.

Trinas face was wan. She was acting queasy. Shepitched back and forth on the balls of her feet, just a littleat rst, but with increasing vigor with each moment, asthough she had been abruptly placed on a balancingboard and had to concentrate to keep from falling off. Shestumbled a moment then steadied herself, her expression

xed on some distant and inde nable point she seemed to

need to align with to stay erect.Honey?Her eyes rolled back a moment in her head and

he could see her mouth twist as if she was ready to say something but couldnt. Her breathing became shallowand her jaw set forward. She looked as if she was in thegrip of some private, invisible force that she was doing herbest to allay. Her aspect took a sudden, dramatic turn forthe better and just as quickly looked bad again.

Oliver?He stepped forward.She raised a hand and then straightened. She

looked better, almost well, but then bent double suddenly,

convulsed, and vomited, splattering an uneven andelliptical brown patch a foot or so along the sidewalkonly inches from her feet. Oliver stared at the vomit,too shocked, initially, to react. He found himself morefascinated with it than disgusted, as if there was a messagein it meant just for him. She wheezed.


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Sweetheart, his face was ashen. Are you all right?She nodded, the color rapidly returning to her face,

though she still did not look well.Oliver, she said, still looking a little disoriented andtrying to catch her breath, I think Ive seen enough fortoday. Have you?


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T he drive back was quiet. Though he had asked herrepeatedly if she was all right, Trina kept dismissinghis concerns as if they were nothing. Oliver wasnt sure what had happened, but he knew better than to argue

with her about her feelings. They rode a while without

talking before she shot him a quick glance. He did what he could to disguise the fact he was annoyed.

So, she said, pretending that nothing unusual hadhappened, what did you think?

About what?About the building, silly. What did you think about

the building? Did you like it? Was it everything youhoped it would be?Maybe. I like the neighborhood. There are some

things I need to nd out about it rst, but it looks goodso far.

She nodded and they rode awhile. Moments passed.


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Sweetie?Uh-huh?

Just out of curiosity, how did you nd out about it?How did I nd out about what?The building? How did you know it was available?

How did you nd out it was there?He had wondered that himself, but for some strange

reason couldnt come up with an answer. It was as if in afunny way he had always known it was there but had only chosen to remember it now. He shrugged.

I dont know. Probably an ad. Im not sure.She nodded again and they rode a while longer.

Did it seem funny to you?In what way?I dont know. In a certain way? Just the way it was?

The way it seemed?The way it seemed? Trina? What are you talking

about? What are you trying to say?I dont know. Just the way it looked. Did it seem funny

to you in the impression that it made?No.She nodded again. Oliver didnt want to try to even

imagine what she was thinking. Even if she told him, he wasnt sure he would understand.

Im going to pick up the dry cleaning today, she said,nally, her tone sounding strangely at and removed. Is

there anything you want me to bring in?The dry cleaning?

Yes.Oliver had to think a moment about what she was

saying. The dry cleaning , he thought. Why in hell would she ask me about that?


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When he pulled into the drive, Trina got out and wavedto him as he left. The gravity with which she made the

gesture made him feel as if he were driving a hearse. Hehad no idea what had just happened with his wife, or why,but what he did know was that he didnt have time to worry about it right now. What mattered was that he had nally found it. After a lot of time, trouble, and uncertainty, hehad nally found the perfect space for the future of hisbusiness, and if the details proved to be acceptable (thelength, in particular, of the lease), he could see that he wasstanding on the precipice of a new and exciting chapter inhis life. If his wife was less than enthusiastic (and maybeeven acting downright odd), he knew she would eventually come around. It was, after all, inevitable. The universe

was in harmony with his desires.

Once she had watched her husband drive away, Trinaturned toward the house. The day was still quite youngand already it felt long. She had asked to come with herhusband on a whim, just so they could do something nicetogether, and she had nished it by making a public display of herself. She knew that Oliver would be annoyed, but shealso knew it wouldnt matter much in the end. If Oliverhad any talent to speak of it was an ability to rememberonly that which was useful to him and forget the rest.Though this might not be the best way to go about life, oreven a relationship, she also took a bit of solace in it too.(Complacency is a kind of cancer in a relationship, but it is also a cure.)

Meanwhile, she had things to do: there weregroceries to buy, laundry to clean, stuff to pick up at thehardware store, and other errands to effect. It seemedthat ever since she had quit her job to devote more of her life to the upkeep of their world together, she hadless of a life of her own to look after. But it is always that


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way, she reasoned, about anything you have: As soon as you recognize it as something valuable and try to hold

onto it, it goes away. When she stepped in the house she saw, to her chagrin,that the foyer was dirty again. She could not gure out how two people could track so much dirt into one smallspace. She grabbed a broom.

While she swept, she tried in as calm and carefula manner as she could to come to some kind of understanding of what she had just been through. Shehad looked into a pane of glass, in an empty shop, onan obscure street and had seen (as far as she couldunderstand) everything not just what was before her inthe window, but all there ever was, or would be. It wasas if every moment in time past, present, and future

had always existed simultaneously and could be seen, withlittle effort, in a shop window in the time it took to blink

your eyes. It was impossible. She knew it could not havehappened. But it had.

Well , she told herself, at least I gured out one thing today .I found out that Oliver is unhappy. He wont say it because either he doesnt know it, or he doesnt want me to know; but the fact that he wont say that were not living wrong means he thinks were not living right. He doesnt like his life. All this talk about change is only a kind of code. Im not even sure if he likes me.

She opened the door and swept the dust from the ooronto the front porch then tried to decide her next move.The oor, despite the fact she had just swept it, was still

dirty. It really needed to be mopped, but she didnt feellike doing it right now. She put the broom back in thecloset and told herself she wasnt going to worry about it anymore today. After all, it would only get dirty againtomorrow

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