No Ears
by Jerry Vilhotti

 

Gianni's oldest sister Tina of the Troy never said anything about finding his way back home, because she feared "the brat" was stealing her father's love from her and would reveal the secret she was hiding.

Would he tell everyone she liked the principal who helped John Garfield get rid of his stammer and had gone out with a future middleweight champ for six months before he would be sent to an upstate reform school for bullying the people around Fordham Road?

When they were alone, she would shout things about his ears. She told him they were as big as elephant ears and always - to make the image come alive - she would fashion them from the air in big swoop-fulls with fingers used for pinching.
"Big ears! Look at yourself - big ears! Why don't you die and go away? Big ears!"

"What? What? What?" three year old Gianni would say; denying he had any ears.

 

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