Me Again Read Online Free PDF Page B

those commercials I’ve seen for TV reruns, where the network proudly proclaims “It’s new to you ” – that pretty well summed up what every day was like for me.
    Teddy read my words, then laughed. “Jesus, where do I begin?” He pulled a heavy gold ring off his pinky and began to fidget with it. It was molded to look like a rough gold nugget.
    “Well, for one thing, work is going great. I’m kicking ass and taking names. Bro, you wouldn’t believe how good I’m doing. I mean, things got a little weird after all that Enron and WorldCom shit. They’ve really tightened up on things since then, you know, with everybody paying a lot more attention to the books these days. But we came through without a scratch, thank God. The old man just put a couple of guys quietly out to pasture, you know, real low-profile like, and nobody has said boo.”
    “Boo?” I said. The word made no sense to me. Then again, neither did anything else he’d just said.
    Teddy looked at me, picking up on this. “Maybe I should slow down. I mean, did you get any of that?”
    Here I’ll confess to falling into my old habits from my grunting days: since the answer to his question was no, I remained silent.
    “Jonny, did Mom and Dad tell you about my job?”
    THEY SAID YOU WORK IN CHICAGO , I wrote.
    “Did they tell you where? Or what I was doing?”
    I shook my head.
    Teddy slipped his ring back on his finger. “Jonny, I’m at Fisk and Tucker. Just like you. Well, like you were. You know, at your old firm.”
    He seemed nervous about telling me this. I couldn’t understand why. Clearly we’d grown up with similar interests and had thus pursued the same profession.
    Teddy went on. “Let me tell you, a lot has changed in the last six years, bro.” He was watching me intently, looking for some reaction that I didn’t know how to provide.
    “I mean, I know I was never any good in school. Hell, that’s why I quit – which was a dumb-ass move, I finally realized. Shit, I only needed eight credits.” Teddy laughed again, shaking his head at whatever he was remembering.
    “Anyhoo, a year or so after you got sick, Mom and Dad finally talked me into going back and finishing school. I got the sheepskin, and then started looking for work in Chicago. I mean, Mom and Dad are cool to live with and all, but shit, I was pushing thirty, you know? It was time to get the hell out of Springfield. You know what I’m talking about – hell, you left skid marks out of here when you split town.”
    This last bit corroborated what my parents had told me. Apparently I’d not been a fan of Springfield, although I couldn’t remember why. All I had seen of it so far was this facility, and the only unusual thing I had observed was an inordinate profusion of Lincoln-related items in the hospital gift shop.
    “Christ, I thought Mom and Dad had told you about this. About how your buddy hooked me up. You know, Brandon? He was awesome, man. Promised me a job as soon as I passed the CPA exam.”
    Incidentally, abbreviations and acronyms were still tricky for me. But my parents had told me enough about my old job for me to have remembered this term. And my old job had apparently become my brother’s new job.
    I guess I haven’t mentioned yet that I used to be an accountant. A licensed CPA.
    And now I couldn’t even count.
    * * * * *
    As if he had read my mind, Teddy spoke up.
    “Mom and Dad say you’re having some trouble with numbers and stuff.”
    He smiled as he said this, an odd smile. I guess he was trying to encourage me.
    YEAH , I wrote, CAN’T REMEMBER HOW NUMBERS WORK. I FORGOT A LOT OF THINGS .
    Like you, for instance, I thought silently.
    Teddy nodded thoughtfully as he read my words, still managing to keep that encouraging smile going. Then his face grew concerned.
    “Is that going to be permanent? Or will it come back eventually?”
    I shrugged, another gesture I’d mastered that had simplified communication for me significantly. When you