The Ninth Metal by Benjamin Percy

Author:Benjamin Percy
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781328544186
Publisher: HMH Books
Published: 2021-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Talia showed up at the Lumberjack Steakhouse the morning after Jenna texted her. Talia was so big, her knees touched the bottom of the table and her fingers couldn’t fit through the handle of the coffee mug. Her nails and lips were painted the same shade of purple, and her hair was sprayed up in a thickly curled Medusa. She ordered the Bunyan breakfast with an extra side of bacon, and when Jenna delivered it, she slipped a piece of paper under the plate that told Talia what she needed to know.

“Do you love Dan?” Talia said when Jenna returned a few minutes later.

“I thought I did. At first.” But no. She had married Dan out of obligation. She was pregnant and he was willing and she remembers reciting her vows and feeling like the words were hollow even then. Love was something else. Love burned so hot it branded you for life.

Talia reached out and traced a fingernail along the bruise that colored Jenna’s forearm. “And now?”

“And now . . .” Jenna pulled her sleeve down to hide the green-yellow splash. “Now he’s just a fucking man I live with.”

Talia nodded and sniffed a sad laugh through her nose. “You remember how we used to have a dog, back in the day? Golden named Chewie?”

“I do. She was such a good dog.”

“That wasn’t an accident. You want to know how we chose her? We went to a breeder down in Mankato, and here’s this big litter of puppies pissing themselves with excitement. They’re all cute as shit. How could we ever decide? I’ll tell you how. My father, he took them one by one. And he held them down, hands on their chests, in the kill position. On their backs. Bellies exposed. The ones that squirmed and yelped and bit, he dismissed. But Chewie, she just lay there.”

“Okay,” Jenna said.

“That’s basically how I chose my husband.”

Jenna can’t help but smile, even though it hurts her head to do so.

“You chose the wrong dog,” Talia said. “You chose a bad dog. But the thing is . . .” And here she leaned forward. “There’s no fucking lack of dogs in the world.”

“So why am I wasting my time?” Jenna said.

“That’s my girl. Speaking of dogs—you know Johnny’s coming back? For the wedding?”

“I didn’t know for sure. But I wondered. I ​—”

“Hoped?”

“Yeah.”

“I know it was a tough time. When Johnny left five years ago. I know he never really had a chance to say goodbye.”

“I was so . . .” Abandoned? Devastated? Pissed? There wasn’t an adequate word for it. But none of that mattered anymore.

“He didn’t have a choice. Okay? I can’t say why, but trust me on this. It couldn’t be helped. You don’t need me to tell you it was a crazy time. Getting out of town hurt him just as bad as it hurt you. Understand?”

“Not really.”

“Look. Might not have always seemed like it, I know, but I liked you and my baby brother together. I really did.

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