Thieves at Heart by Tristan J. Tarwater Page A

on her chest, turning her bare back towards him. “That’s as big a load of shit I’ve ever heard,” he offered her at last, and she could see his blond eyebrows raising on his face in her head. “Who told you that?”
    “Old Gam did, last time I seen her,” she said, her voice rich with false wisdom. The sound of Derk’s laughter made her purse her lips in anger and her face grew hot with annoyance at him.
    “Old Gam? I’ve seen what she’s got ‘tween her neck and belly and I wouldn’t put any stock in what she’s got to say.” Tavera heard him try not to laugh and she slammed the onion onto the table and hurriedly pulled her blouse back in, fumbling with the ties as she knotted them. She could see he was trying to take her concern seriously but the smile threatening the corners of his mouth just made her angrier. Derk sighed, loudly. “Besides, why’re you so keen on growing before your meant to? You’re still young, I think, you’ve time enough.”
    Tavera didn’t say anything but kept her back to him, staring at the wall. She could feel his eyes set on her and all the humor draining from his voice “What, is there some boy you’re looking after?”
    Tavera whipped around, her short, dark hair flying and the look on her face betraying her, although she was already protesting loudly. Derk shook his head and made an exasperated sound, looking around the room for something to light his smoke with. “No, no, no, no, no. I don’t want you running round with boys or doing stupid things just so they like you. It’ll end badly, take my word.”
    “Take your word?” she half shouted, her voice squeaking as she did. “I ain’t never seen you with any women ever, save ma and Old Gam. What d’you know ‘bout relations?”
    “Relations?” Her father found a match in a pocket of his pack an struck it on the table, lighting the lamp first and then his cigarette. Derk took a deep drag, holding the acrid smoke in his lungs as he spoke to Tavera. “This ain’t about relations, this is about young people acting foolish and getting into shit they shouldn’t be.” He exhaled quickly, almost choking on the last bit of smoke and pointed a finger at her, ignoring the face she made at him. “You start liftin’ yer skirts for boys who like big tits, you’ll get into the kind of trouble I won’t be able to help you with. You’ll wind up like Daffy Helk.”
    Tavera blinked and leaned back a bit. She didn’t understand what her father was implying. “What d’ya mean? He’s crazy ‘cause he’s old. That’s what the priestess said.”
    “She just said that because she thought you was too little to know,” he said taking another drag, laying back in the bed once more. “But obviously, the truth would serve better in this case. He’s like that because he’s plowed too many women.”
    Was he telling the truth? Tavera kept her dark eyes narrowed, her arms crossed over her flat chest as she looked over her father’s face, trying to read him. Sometimes he did just say things in jest to her but this time he looked sincere, his blue eyes shining with earnestness. Tavera thought about the old man who wandered the town of Greenmire. He was disgusting and seemed to be wasting away, sores on his fingers and face a clear sign that he was to be avoided. Helk was always mumbling to himself and falling over things, the people in the alleys he frequented staying away from him. How could that be caused by women? She shook her head no. “You’re just saying that to scare me.”
    “I ain’t lying. Everybody knows when you sleep with too many people, you give away too much of yerself and you fall apart. His brain ain’t right because he’s got too many women in there and not enough of him to keep himself together.”
    “That don’t make no sense,” she said. “Why don’t faithful folk go mad then? Wouldn’t they be giving themselves too?”
    “They give themselves to the same person though, so themselves is