The Bliss House by Jim Bartley

Author:Jim Bartley [Bartley, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Small Town & Rural
ISBN: 9781459751484
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Published: 2023-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

19

Dorie can see the smoke coming up. It’s just like Gramp burning. But it’s Luke Price. They lied but she knows. She saw the trailer. They drove down there with him.

Someone’s knocking. It better not be Tom again. Dorie looks and she nearly pees herself. It’s a church lady! Dorie shouts that Cam and Wes went out.

“I’ll come in, then, Dorie, might I? I have some good news. I’ll come in now and we can have a chat. Would that be all right?”

The voice is sweet as pie but it’s fake. The screen door opens and then the lady is right there with Dorie in the sitting room. She’s the fat one.

“They left you alone here, did they? Well, that’s just a crime. May I sit with you? Come on now, come sit beside me and I’ll tell you a secret.”

The lady plops her bum down on the sofa like she’s all set for fun.

Dorie won’t look at her. “You smell.”

“I what?”

“SMELL.”

The lady stares at her. “Do you know what, Dorie? You smell too. You smell dirty, like you need to wash. And that’s only one thing you need that you don’t get in this house, just a proper bath. Aside from all the other things.”

“I hate baths. I really hate them.”

“We can change that.”

“No you can’t. No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no —”

“Stop that.”

“— no no no no no no no no no no no no no no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”

“Are you done?”

“You smell like COW POO.”

“If I was your mommy, I’d turn you right over my knee and spank you.”

“No one’s my mommy.”

“That’s not true. Now stop your silliness and listen to me. Children’s Aid is trying to find your natural parents, your real mommy and daddy who have an obligation to support you. We found your father, Dorie. Mr. Luke T. Price, in Toronto.”

“He’s dead.”

The lady is quiet a moment. “Who told you that?”

“Dunno. No one.”

“You made it up. Well, that’s called lying and it has to stop. You know what I think, Dorie? I think you are a good girl, a smart girl, who pretends to be wild and bad so you can get what you want.”

“You can go now. I wanna watch TV.”

“Why don’t you tell me the real story about Kyle. The truth.”

Dorie is quiet.

“That Kyle nonsense in the barn is the result of this household. That’s just a fact. The shameless display of you, a young girl, to naive, susceptible boys who —”

“GO AWAY.”

“I could take you with me. I could take you right now.”

“FATTY, WHY’RE YOU SO FAT, DID YOU EAT A HORSE?”

Dorie looks right at the lady’s face and the lady looks back with her mouth all twisted. She gets off the sofa and goes outside.

Then she comes right back in again and says, “Are they out there, in the field?”

“NO.”

“They are. Something’s burning.”

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