Caroline 2

At recess Elaine smiles, "so tell me, what's your full name?"
"Caroline Indira Karsch-Ramyar."
"My Dad says any of those double barrelled names, big ego conflict between husband and wife."
I blush, "I don't even know how to answer that. Spent the whole summer at Grandma's, don't remember the parents."
She pales, "not at all?"
"Nope."
"My Dad says means big family problems. So, start with your Grandma, she's the white one. Where are the East Indian relatives? You are obviously half and half."
"I don't know for sure, think it's Guyana."
And with that, Elaine wraps an arm round me, "makes no difference to me, might to some. We gotta stick together, we're the Jews. And yes, I already know there are Jews in India."
No point bluffing, better to be honest, "Elaine, what is a Jew?"
She groans loudly, then, "sorry, not groaning at you. Now you see, your parents obviously didn't want to talk about it. So, they'd have told Grandma, don't say any of that stuff. So, summer's over, where are they?"
"I don't know, Grandma got a lot of suspicious calls from the base."
Her face clouds, "grownups always lie. They ran away, left you stuck with Grandma. Know what you hafta do?"
"Yeah, be careful not to upset Grandma. If she gets tired of me, then what?"
"Good, now a little more detail."
"Don't cause trouble at school, do the work right. Don't whine about buying stuff, help out with chores."
Elaine grins, "see, smart already. Now I saw the look on the principal, she's scared to death of you. There's some huge story happened at the base. Just we don't know yet."
And so it goes. For all of Grade One and Two, Elaine is my best friend.
I have no problems with either school work or other kids.
I spend a lotta time at her house, learn from her parents.
And yet, life's big mystery remains unknowable.
Until the first day of Grade Three, when the universe unloads upon me.
Morning recess some kids are engaged in catching up. For Elaine and me, no need. With the exception of the week she was away with her parents, we were together - at least some - every single day.
A new face walks by, one of the big kids in Grade Six.
I see recognition on her, "so, this is where you hang out Caroline."
I blush, "truth is, your face rings a bell, but I can't say where."
"Over at the base, you were in kindergarten when I was in Grade Three. I'm Jennifer."
"Oh that explains it."
"So, they ever tell you the truth or just grownup lies?"
"I believe it's lies."
"Shouldn't we talk alone?"
"No, this here is Elaine, my best friend, we have no secrets from each other, she's helped me out a lot."
"Ok then, let's start. Ever heard of magic mushrooms?"
"No."
"Have you Elaine?"
"Yes it's a drug, grows wild all over the Island."
Jennifer turns back to me, "ever eat mushroom?"
"Sure, Grandma makes mushroom soup."
"Ok, so how do you know it's safe to eat? There are poisonous mushrooms."
"Because companies grow the good kind. Food inspectors check."
"Good, now let's say you were camping. If you didn't know the difference, you could eat the bad kind, right?"
"Yes."
"And if you didn't know the difference, you could even eat magic mushroom, thinking it was as safe as Grandma's soup, right?"
"Yes."
"When they found your parents' bodies, autopsy showed a huge amount of the drug. Caused them to go crazy, stab each other."
"For real?"
"Only one question left. Was it a one time accidental poisoning or was it a long history of drug abuse? Tests showed a long history."
"Oh."
"And then the Col took over, total whitewash. Media never heard. Everyone on the base knows."
"Oh."
"So whatever garbage they told you, forget it. They're dead."
"Why are you telling me Jennifer? You could just have walked by, pretended not to know me."
"Caroline, old mil tradition. Families stick together. Anything at all, just ask. Only, don't tell Grandma this."
I laugh uneasily, "yeah, see your point. Things would get worse if she had a heart attack."
Jennifer turns to go.
"Please don't go yet. I don't even know. Was one in or both? Rank and such."
"That Grandma of yours needs a kick. See they married when both were Cpl. Then later he's M/Cpl and she's Sgt. Lotsa fighting then. Stupid a**hole, he was on the list. Another month and he'd be Sgt. They'd be equal."
I groan aloud.