sober, though, right?” she says.
“He’s like that, just sober.”
“Yesterday I woke up with Carmella in my bed. She was holding my hand. The lightning, she said.”
“Lightning?”
“The thunderstorm. The woman sleeps with a Snoopy night-light.”
“I like your mom a ton.”
“If Anthony dies, she’ll go from beer to liquor. After that, it won’t be long. I’ll wake up one morning, and she’ll be dead on the couch with some DVD menu music on perma-loop. Pretty Woman . You ever see that one?”
“Hey?” I pull her close. “Tony’s not gonna die.”
She studies my eyes. “I believe you.”
“I been wanting to send him a letter. To thank him for the medal. Can you help me write it?”
She hugs me. “We’ll do it right now. C’mon.” We’re just a couple houses down from her house.
“I need a little time to figure out what I want to say.”
“My mother made Christmas cornbread.”
“In July?”
“I know,” she says. “Red and green icing.” She pulls me toward the house.
I hold up. “I’ll come in Tuesday night.”
“Promise me.”
“We’ll make dinner and sit at the table and make out, but not when we have food in our mouth, of course.”
“Of course,” she says.
“After that, we’ll write the letter to Tony.”
“And after that?”
“Man, you’re cute when you’re pouty, and I think you know it too.” I walk her to her door and kiss her good night. She watches me back down the porch steps with Boo. “Don’t know how I’m gonna look your mom in the eye at work tomorrow.”
“Anthony was dating this girl for two years, and he was a junior in high school when Ma finally sat him down to talk birds and bees. Ant told me he chewed a hole in his cheek to keep from laughing. Slutty as she was in her youth, Carmella apparently assumes everybody’s a virgin now. The last twenty-five years of soaking her brain in Bud Light must’ve eaten away the part of her brain cerebrum that’s supposed to initiate reasonable suspicion.”
“Say that last part in English. Sure, the cerebrum.”
“Or is it the cerebellum?”
“Your pick.”
“ Hate bio. Don’t worry about my mother, baby. The woman is out to lunch when it comes to this stuff.”
“Yeah huh? Good luck.”
“Good luck?”
“The kitchen light just went on. I better git.”
(Sunday, July 19, late night)
CÉCE:
Ma’s sipping in the kitchen. I walk by fast for the stairway. “Night.”
“Cheech babe, can you c’mere for a second?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Sit. Spend a few on the old lady, catch me up on you.”
“Would so love to, but I gotta study. G and T’s just around the corn—”
“Just for a sec. Grab yourself a hunk of Carmella’s Christmas Confection there. I’ll take one too. Yeah, no, the one with the headless snowman painted onto it. The top part was burned. I had to chop it off. I’m saving the good pieces for Anthony’s platoon.”
I sit, smile, force myself to look her in the eye. “Howya doin’, Carmella?”
“Hangin’ in, you know. You? ”
“Oh you know. Everything’s good.”
“Excellent.” She’s nodding. She’s squinting. She’s drinking coffee . I am so fucked. “So looks like my Tuesday trip to the shore is getting canceled.”
“Julie crash the camper again?” Shit.
“Weather’s supposed to suck out loud.” She drowns her creepy headless snowman in her coffee. “But Mack can still stay over.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m going away, and you’re not gonna try to swing the overnight? Hello, we share DNA. If you’re gonna do it, and you are, then you’re gonna do it someplace safe. You keep sneaking around, and that’s how accidents happen. If you trust me about nothing else, trust me on that one. The apartment downstairs, the storm door. You have your own entrance. I don’t have to know when you’re down there, and I don’t want to. Be respectful. Be discreet. Tell me you’re using birth control.”
“I
“He’s like that, just sober.”
“Yesterday I woke up with Carmella in my bed. She was holding my hand. The lightning, she said.”
“Lightning?”
“The thunderstorm. The woman sleeps with a Snoopy night-light.”
“I like your mom a ton.”
“If Anthony dies, she’ll go from beer to liquor. After that, it won’t be long. I’ll wake up one morning, and she’ll be dead on the couch with some DVD menu music on perma-loop. Pretty Woman . You ever see that one?”
“Hey?” I pull her close. “Tony’s not gonna die.”
She studies my eyes. “I believe you.”
“I been wanting to send him a letter. To thank him for the medal. Can you help me write it?”
She hugs me. “We’ll do it right now. C’mon.” We’re just a couple houses down from her house.
“I need a little time to figure out what I want to say.”
“My mother made Christmas cornbread.”
“In July?”
“I know,” she says. “Red and green icing.” She pulls me toward the house.
I hold up. “I’ll come in Tuesday night.”
“Promise me.”
“We’ll make dinner and sit at the table and make out, but not when we have food in our mouth, of course.”
“Of course,” she says.
“After that, we’ll write the letter to Tony.”
“And after that?”
“Man, you’re cute when you’re pouty, and I think you know it too.” I walk her to her door and kiss her good night. She watches me back down the porch steps with Boo. “Don’t know how I’m gonna look your mom in the eye at work tomorrow.”
“Anthony was dating this girl for two years, and he was a junior in high school when Ma finally sat him down to talk birds and bees. Ant told me he chewed a hole in his cheek to keep from laughing. Slutty as she was in her youth, Carmella apparently assumes everybody’s a virgin now. The last twenty-five years of soaking her brain in Bud Light must’ve eaten away the part of her brain cerebrum that’s supposed to initiate reasonable suspicion.”
“Say that last part in English. Sure, the cerebrum.”
“Or is it the cerebellum?”
“Your pick.”
“ Hate bio. Don’t worry about my mother, baby. The woman is out to lunch when it comes to this stuff.”
“Yeah huh? Good luck.”
“Good luck?”
“The kitchen light just went on. I better git.”
(Sunday, July 19, late night)
CÉCE:
Ma’s sipping in the kitchen. I walk by fast for the stairway. “Night.”
“Cheech babe, can you c’mere for a second?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Sit. Spend a few on the old lady, catch me up on you.”
“Would so love to, but I gotta study. G and T’s just around the corn—”
“Just for a sec. Grab yourself a hunk of Carmella’s Christmas Confection there. I’ll take one too. Yeah, no, the one with the headless snowman painted onto it. The top part was burned. I had to chop it off. I’m saving the good pieces for Anthony’s platoon.”
I sit, smile, force myself to look her in the eye. “Howya doin’, Carmella?”
“Hangin’ in, you know. You? ”
“Oh you know. Everything’s good.”
“Excellent.” She’s nodding. She’s squinting. She’s drinking coffee . I am so fucked. “So looks like my Tuesday trip to the shore is getting canceled.”
“Julie crash the camper again?” Shit.
“Weather’s supposed to suck out loud.” She drowns her creepy headless snowman in her coffee. “But Mack can still stay over.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m going away, and you’re not gonna try to swing the overnight? Hello, we share DNA. If you’re gonna do it, and you are, then you’re gonna do it someplace safe. You keep sneaking around, and that’s how accidents happen. If you trust me about nothing else, trust me on that one. The apartment downstairs, the storm door. You have your own entrance. I don’t have to know when you’re down there, and I don’t want to. Be respectful. Be discreet. Tell me you’re using birth control.”
“I
Similar Books
