STORIES
Daniel Asa Rose
THE GOODBYE PRESENT
1. H ow did Roy's w ife react when Roy said: " Th is? Th is here's
an elk tree," and s lapped the bark authoritat ively?
Roy's wife did no t say a word o r change her exp ress ion. But
she felt vicLOriou s. Rita inva ri abl y felt victo ri ous when h er
husband fa ltered , o r made a mistake, or made a fool of himself.
She was always prepared fo r vi ctory of thi s type, and so sh e wore
an expression of pa ti ent, queenl y sufferance whenever sh e
listen ed to him. Behind thi s frozen expression sh e waited pas–
sion a tel y for her hu sband to stumbl e. Even if h e were telling a
funn y sto ry whi ch h appen ed to amuse h er, Rita would p roject
th e pl easant, bo red a ir of h aving endured th e sto ry a hundred
times befo re.
It
was as if sh e were saying to everyon e else: " You
think h e's ch a rming, but put up with it as long as I have.. . ."
And then when h e made a mi stake sh e' d be p roven right-all sh e
had LO do was hold the expression , it was proof.
2. Surely th is was n ot a funny story he was telling?
Correct. H e was an swerin g a qu es tion about a tree's
identity.
J.
In w hat way was h is answer a mistake?
T h ere is no such thing as an elk tree. T here are elms and
there are oaks.
4. Did Rita alw ays f eel bett er aft er th is sort of victory?
Always. Rita was no t a ham like h er husband, so thi s was
how sh e competed : counting minutes before he stumbl ed ,
waiting, wa iting; and gloa ting swee tl y on ce h e did. Hearing him
say "elk tree" was parti cul arl y gra tifying. Sil entl y, and without
ha lling an eyelash , she ch erish ed the moment he said it, and
wish ed deepl y th a t the moment would freeze, that everyone
