Bone Fire by Mark Spragg

Author:Mark Spragg
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction - General, Wyoming, Family Life, Fiction, Literary, American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +, General, Domestic fiction
ISBN: 9780307272751
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2010-09-15T07:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

A BANK OF COTTONWOOD fluff had drifted in against the river-rock foundation, and when Paul parked beside the cabin it huffed up in the headlights, skittering away into a brake of wild roses. He cut the engine, sitting quietly in the darkness, the sawing of crickets, the gentle exhale of the night winds feeling like an embrace.

He flipped his cell phone open, the face and number pad glowing amber in his hand. He’d turned the ringer off while he and Griff were at the drive-in, and there still weren’t any messages. He dialed and she answered on the first ring.

“Hey, baby.” It was her half-phony, half-seductive voice.

“This is Paul.”

“Well then, hey, baby brother.”

She laughed, and he could hear others laughing around her, the click of glassware against a faint background of conversation.

“Don’t you check your messages? I’ve been calling since this morning.”

“I sure wish I would’ve looked at my caller ID. Right now, for instance.”

“Most people wouldn’t admit that.”

“I’ve never for a minute thought I was like anybody else.” The background noise dimmed.

“Where are you?”

“I’m enjoying a cocktail.”

“Where?”

“At a lovely home in Seattle.”

“How lovely?”

“Very,” she said. “The poor can’t afford enlightenment.”

“You want to tell me why you shipped Kenneth south?”

“He wasn’t shipped anywhere. He’s with his father.”

“I know where he is, and as far as fathering goes, Rodney’s just a guy you met at a powwow in Lodge Grass twelve years ago.” He heard the sizzle and buzz of rainfall. “You drinking outside?”

“I am now. How did dear McEban take it? When Rodney showed up with the papers, I mean?”

“He absorbed the blow.”

“The Guides thought it was best.”

“It’s me, Rita. You don’t have to act like you believe your own bullshit.”

“I believe if you were more in touch with your higher self, this is something you’d understand.”

“What I understand is that Rodney got a wild hair up his ass and decided he wanted to play father for a month.”

“The man has his own children.”

“So, this was your idea?”

“Mrs. Rodney thought it was a good idea too. After I explained the situation to her.”

“Jesus Christ, Rita.”

“Her name’s Claire. Unlike you she’s a person of deep compassion.”

He could hear the hiss of a car passing in the street. “I can’t believe you did this to your own kid.”

“Mostly it’s important for Rodney. Growth-wise, that is.”

“Why don’t you just say you wanted to punish him for knocking you up.”

“I was never meant to bear a child. I don’t have the hips for it, or the temperament.”

“Really?”

“Bye now,” she said.

He snapped the phone shut, tossing it on the dash and sliding the seat back. He thought he’d sit just long enough to allow the sound of her voice to drain out of his mind, but he didn’t want to be out here all night, and the kitchen lights were still on at McEban’s.

He stepped up onto the porch and looked in through the window. The aluminum shelving from the refrigerator was tilting out of the sink, the countertops stacked with dishes. He let the door slam coming in and stood in the mudroom.

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