Twelve Gates to the City by Daniel Black

Author:Daniel Black [Black, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2015-10-10T19:30:07+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Daddy nodded casually as he stepped onto the porch. “Afternoon, fellas! Hot enough for ya?”

“Yessir!” TL said.

George murmured, “I ain’t never felt nothin’ like this.”

“Well, it’s hotter’n this someplace else.”

Daddy proceeded to tell TL, “Yo’ uncle Rayford’s low sick. Don’t know how much time he got left. Thought you’d wanna know. Call yo’ momma when you get a chance.”

“I will, I will.”

He looked at George. “How you doin’, young man? You from ’round here?”

“Oh no, sir. I’m from New York. My name’s George Thornton. It’s good to meet you.” George extended his hand and cringed when Daddy crushed it. “TL talks about you all the time.”

“Is that right?” Daddy said, released George’s hand. “Well, I hope he said good things. It’s good to meet you. What you doin’ here?”

“I just came to check up on my buddy. He was due back weeks ago, but he didn’t make it, so I thought I’d make sure nobody kidnapped him!”

Daddy’s eyes bulged. “You can’t get kidnapped at home, son. How much sense that make?”

George gasped.

“He must be where the good Lawd want him, else he’d be in New Yawk wit’ you.” Daddy descended the steps and slang over his left shoulder, “You fellas have a good afternoon, hear?” From the truck window, he waved and hollered, “And, young man, see if you can’t find some britches yo’ size. It’s too hot down here for all o’ that. A man needs to be free, to let his stuff breathe. Talk to you boys later.”

When the truck disappeared, TL and George collapsed into the porch chairs.

“Did your father just read me?”

TL’s laughter echoed in George’s head.

“Oh my God! That man just read the shit out of me!”

They screamed for several minutes. Actually, TL was relieved. Part of his apprehension about George’s presence was how others would respond to him. Now TL knew. And he loved it.

They lounged on the porch, talking ’til sundown. George asked about the boy who ran away when he arrived, so TL told him everything. George said they should march over there and kick Gary’s black ass. The fact that he didn’t know the man was irrelevant, he said. The point was to take a stand against domestic violence and show those boys an example of men fighting for the lives of women. TL didn’t disagree; he just wanted to handle the situation differently since he had to live in Swamp Creek. George shrugged and surrendered.

When he asked about Sister, the rhythm of the conversation changed. TL felt overwhelmed all of a sudden, like one finally purging his heart from years of emotional distress. George asked if TL had learned anything new, and he said no, except what Daddy had said—that Willie James didn’t know what he thought he knew. George pondered for a moment, then offered what TL already knew—there was more to the story. It just didn’t make sense, he said. TL agreed, but didn’t know what else to do. George warned him not to play his folks dumb.

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