Black by Barry B. Longyear

Author:Barry B. Longyear [Longyear, Barry B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Enchanteds Publishing
Published: 2019-12-12T21:00:00+00:00

Santamas morning we got up, Reb, Lorena, and Jazmín turned to cooking, while Tex and I noticed with a pitiful clump of horror a number of presents beneath the tree. The number of presents was twelve, which meant Reb, Lorena, and Jazmín had each gotten something for the rest of us. Neither Tex nor I had gotten anyone anything. We hadn’t discussed presents so we both had come to the same erroneous conclusion.

Tex said a rude word to which I concurred, we grabbed our coats and said we’d be back. Before leaving we made clear that it was rather important for us that the present-opening tradition for Santamas at Monkey House be in the evening after Santamas dinner.

Tex drove the van around 130 kph, which was okay. The snow banks alongside the highway were moderately high and the road surface was clear and dry. I held down the shotgun seat while we traversed the icy wilderness in search of a store that was still open. Villages like Moscow, Solon, and Bingham took in their sidewalks for holidays. Other villages like Caratunk hadn’t yet thought about sidewalks. Our discussion had to do with how we missed the memo, what to get everyone, and if the guilt and urgency we were feeling were indicative of a traditional family zeitgeist. We decided it was, at least for the family fuckups.

As we neared the turn off for the tiny hamlet of Caratunk, I saw that sign for the Indian curio shop, the “Indians” being not the kind from India. What I suddenly wanted to get was painted right there on the sign. I had Tex take the turn off onto the village’s Main Street, the van slowed, and Tex pulled up in front of the traditional old Maine looking home with a “Painted Feather” sign pointing toward the gravel drive to the right.

Tex shrugged and said, “I’ll check in and pick you up on the way back.” After dropping me off, he dug out and headed south, in the direction of Skowhegan.

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