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------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- “It’s junk!” Terry said. Terry was rarely critical of anything, but she thought trying to sell a fifty year old electric organ that someone had rescued from the dump was nuts. -------“A lot of people looked at it,” Morris said. ------- “You’re saying that to be nice, Morrie. If this next guy doesn’t want it, can we take it back?” ------- “Sure, we’d better. Everyone’s sick of looking at it.” ------- A few minutes later a young man appeared in the chapel doorway. ------- “Hi,” he said. “I’m Josh. About the organ.” ------- “It’s yours if you want it,” Morris said. “I‘ll help you move it.” ------- Josh flipped the switch and touched a few keys. Then he sat on the bench and played. He tried several of the stops. Morris couldn’t hear any difference. ------- “Needs work,” Josh said. “I want to look in the box.” ------- He removed the wooden panel at the back of the organ. Inside was a maze, everything covered with dust. Strands of electricial tape hung from a sea of wiring. The desiccated body of a mouse lay on the bottom of the organ case, its bony arms raised in supplication. ------- “Jeez,” he said. “What a mess. Some of these old Gulbenkians are nice, but this one’s shot. See there?” He pointed to the rank of soldered circuit boards. “Fifty years ago they all had to be hard-wired. No way to fix them now. I’m always hoping to find a cherry.” ------- “It’s worthless?” Morris asked. ------- “Except for firewood,” Josh said. ------- “Well, thanks anyway,” Morris said. “We appreciate your coming.” ------- “So what’ll we do with it?” Terry said after Josh left ------- “You heard the man,” Morris said. ------- ------- The phone rang. Terry answered it in the kitchen. “Morrie,” she said, “someone wants to donate an organ to the chapel!” It was after supper. Morris was reading the paper. ------- “You got to be kidding. Give him Josh’s number. Maybe it’s his cherry.” ------- “For you again, Morrie,” Terry called a half hour later. “You absolutely won’t believe it! This guy says he’s from the Organ Donors Association!” ------- “Bizarre,” Morris agreed. “Tell him no thanks.” ------- “I told him we gave at the office,” Terry said with a little squeak. ------- “Funny,” Morris said. He hadn’t looked up from the paper. A few minutes later he was asleep. ------- ------- The doorbell rang. ------- “I’ll get it,” Morris said. He turned on the porch light and looked out the living room window. A tall, spare man was standing at the door. Morris saw no one else nearby. He opened the door. ------- “Jesus!” he said. ------- “Hey, good for you,” the man said. “I don’t even look like my picture. Okay if I come in?” ------- Morris showed Jesus into the living room. ------- “So tell me, Morris,” Jesus said. “Are you a good Jew?” -------“Am I a good Jew?” ------- “Who else we talking about here? It’s all I ask of my disciples.” ------- “So I’m a disciple now?” ------- “I don’t know, Morris,” Jesus said. “I guess you’ll have to decide that for yourself. It’s funny how things work out. I just wanted people to be good Jews, and what do I get? Two thousand years of murder and mayhem. You kill twenty-seven men for money, and it’s a public service. ------- ------- “You were talking in your sleep, Morris,” Terry said. She waited for Morris to say something. When he didn’t, she went back to the kitchen. Morris sat in his high-backed chair and stared at the TV. ------- “Someone at the door,” Terry said. “I’ll get it. Maybe it’s another organ donor!” she added with a laugh. ------- “Wait!” Morris started to get up, but Terry was already opening the door. -------Morris heard voices. Terry came into the room a moment later, followed by a large man. -------“Guess who,” the man said to the back of Morris’s chair. “Couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you at the library. I thought you were dead, Albert. No such luck, huh? I called a little while ago to make sure you were home.” -------“Hello, Abe,” Morris said from the hall behind them. He had his coat on and his right hand was in his pocket. “Let’s take a ride.” ------- -------Terry had begun to worry by the time Morris returned. -------“Everything all right?” she asked. -------“Sure,” Morris told her. “Just a guy I used to know. We talked about old times.” -------“Not another organ donor?” She grinned. -------Morris thought about that a moment. -------“I should have asked.” ------- ------- ------- ------- < |