you home.’ He pats my hand.
‘I’m here with your food,’ Stella announces, entering the barn and setting the plate on the table with a bang. She raises her head to find me on my pedestal bed across the room. ‘Lymon, Pooh, what the hell you doin’ in here?’
‘We was just passing by and heard some hissing in here, had to see if she’d changed form yet!’ Lymon says.
‘Had she?’ Stella asks, wide-eyed, and points to the bare feet sticking our from under my blankets.
‘No, she still had her human form on.’
‘Ugh!’ Stella shudders. ‘Pooh, you got them lined up a dozen deep. Maybe you should get on back to work afore a riot breaks.’
‘We’re just leaving,’ Lymon says and pulls up on the black scarf obscuring Pooh’s face.
‘Did she wake yet?’ Stella asks. ‘Maybe I ought to check and make sure she is okay. Le Loup might just end up feeding her to the swamp plants but he wouldn’t want any of us beating him to it!’ Stella laughs.
‘I done checked her. She’s all fine,’ Lymon grins.
‘I bet you did, Lymon. I bet you did check her. She okay, Pooh?’
Pooh nods.
‘I was afraid Petunia dosed her too high. Well, I am relieved y’all are here. I was afraid she’d be awake and try to charm me like she has before. Wish we’d’ve tied her down, but Le Loup is the only one likes to do that,’ Stella snorts.
Pooh and Lymon nod.
‘Well, we better get a move on.’ Lymon puts out his arm for Stella.
‘See you later, black snake!’ Stella calls over her shoulder and lets Lymon usher her to the door. She unlocks it and escorts Lymon and Pooh out.
Now, if Stella had herself stopped drinking, she might’ve taken note that Pooh was a good half a foot smaller and slighter then she usually was. And if Stella wasn’t a major contributor herself to the scarcity of sugar whiskey to be had at Three Crutches, she might’ve also even caught the hint of golden ringlets peeking out from beneath the scarf, reflecting off the barn door’s nightlight like a coin tossed into the air. If the possibility of deprivation of her precious drink hadn’t led her to store as much of it away in her cupboards and in her person, well, she might’ve noticed the silver gypsy rings on the toes sticking out from under the blanket. But all Stella could see were shadows and outlines. She trusted memory for knowing how to move and where to place things.
As Stella unwittingly locks Pooh in Le Loup’s barn she tells Lymon and me how she heard folks telling of burning that snake out if Le Loup don’t get to it soon enough.
‘Too many truckers have had their trucks inspected lately,’ she says. ‘Someone has to pay. And they’re all up at the diner, torches ready to go!’
‘Oh, I think that snake is gonna slide back home by its lonesome,’ Lymon tells her and pats her back gently so as not to knock her precarious balance out of whack.
Lymon waves goodbye to Stella, then puts his trembling arm around me and we walk off into the truck stop night.
‘Are they gonna burn up Pooh?’ I ask as he escorts me into his dilapidated tin shack.
‘She’s not even there anymore. I saw her let herself out with my keys when we weren’t half out of sight. Believe me, Pooh ain’t one to keep her business waiting.’ He gropes around in the air, then yanks a chain that clicks on a flickering bulb.
‘It’s all talk anyhows. Ain’t nobody would mess with anything of Le Loup’s.’
I nod and let out a long sigh and look around at the bare little room. There’s only a military made-up narrow cot, a large mirror shard on top of a steamer trunk, and some taped-up magazine pictures on the walls.
‘Besides, rumor has it Le Loup was once a wolf himself, practicing his own kind of black magic.’
‘Are you gonna drive me tonight?’ I ask and catch a glimpse of myself in the shiny black leather outfit Pooh pulled out of her rucksack for me to borrow. I can’t help but run my hands admiringly along
‘I’m here with your food,’ Stella announces, entering the barn and setting the plate on the table with a bang. She raises her head to find me on my pedestal bed across the room. ‘Lymon, Pooh, what the hell you doin’ in here?’
‘We was just passing by and heard some hissing in here, had to see if she’d changed form yet!’ Lymon says.
‘Had she?’ Stella asks, wide-eyed, and points to the bare feet sticking our from under my blankets.
‘No, she still had her human form on.’
‘Ugh!’ Stella shudders. ‘Pooh, you got them lined up a dozen deep. Maybe you should get on back to work afore a riot breaks.’
‘We’re just leaving,’ Lymon says and pulls up on the black scarf obscuring Pooh’s face.
‘Did she wake yet?’ Stella asks. ‘Maybe I ought to check and make sure she is okay. Le Loup might just end up feeding her to the swamp plants but he wouldn’t want any of us beating him to it!’ Stella laughs.
‘I done checked her. She’s all fine,’ Lymon grins.
‘I bet you did, Lymon. I bet you did check her. She okay, Pooh?’
Pooh nods.
‘I was afraid Petunia dosed her too high. Well, I am relieved y’all are here. I was afraid she’d be awake and try to charm me like she has before. Wish we’d’ve tied her down, but Le Loup is the only one likes to do that,’ Stella snorts.
Pooh and Lymon nod.
‘Well, we better get a move on.’ Lymon puts out his arm for Stella.
‘See you later, black snake!’ Stella calls over her shoulder and lets Lymon usher her to the door. She unlocks it and escorts Lymon and Pooh out.
Now, if Stella had herself stopped drinking, she might’ve taken note that Pooh was a good half a foot smaller and slighter then she usually was. And if Stella wasn’t a major contributor herself to the scarcity of sugar whiskey to be had at Three Crutches, she might’ve also even caught the hint of golden ringlets peeking out from beneath the scarf, reflecting off the barn door’s nightlight like a coin tossed into the air. If the possibility of deprivation of her precious drink hadn’t led her to store as much of it away in her cupboards and in her person, well, she might’ve noticed the silver gypsy rings on the toes sticking out from under the blanket. But all Stella could see were shadows and outlines. She trusted memory for knowing how to move and where to place things.
As Stella unwittingly locks Pooh in Le Loup’s barn she tells Lymon and me how she heard folks telling of burning that snake out if Le Loup don’t get to it soon enough.
‘Too many truckers have had their trucks inspected lately,’ she says. ‘Someone has to pay. And they’re all up at the diner, torches ready to go!’
‘Oh, I think that snake is gonna slide back home by its lonesome,’ Lymon tells her and pats her back gently so as not to knock her precarious balance out of whack.
Lymon waves goodbye to Stella, then puts his trembling arm around me and we walk off into the truck stop night.
‘Are they gonna burn up Pooh?’ I ask as he escorts me into his dilapidated tin shack.
‘She’s not even there anymore. I saw her let herself out with my keys when we weren’t half out of sight. Believe me, Pooh ain’t one to keep her business waiting.’ He gropes around in the air, then yanks a chain that clicks on a flickering bulb.
‘It’s all talk anyhows. Ain’t nobody would mess with anything of Le Loup’s.’
I nod and let out a long sigh and look around at the bare little room. There’s only a military made-up narrow cot, a large mirror shard on top of a steamer trunk, and some taped-up magazine pictures on the walls.
‘Besides, rumor has it Le Loup was once a wolf himself, practicing his own kind of black magic.’
‘Are you gonna drive me tonight?’ I ask and catch a glimpse of myself in the shiny black leather outfit Pooh pulled out of her rucksack for me to borrow. I can’t help but run my hands admiringly along
Similar Books
