by Bradon Nave
“Don’t you hate that shit? You wake up and have no damn clue where the hell you are,” Jared exclaimed as he sat down at the table.
“So, she found you by the door? How’d she get you back to bed?” Johnny took a large bite of sausage, which was still extremely hot.
“Hell, I don’t know. I guess I walked back by myself. I don’t know how I made it up the stairs without busting my ass,” Jared said, chewing his breakfast and talking with his mouth full. “I’m glad you decided to sit at the table this morning.” Jared looked at Johnny with humor in his eyes.
Johnny didn’t know exactly how to respond, as he was never allowed to eat at the table at his father’s house, not that he wanted to anyway. He was always forced to eat in the corner of the kitchen.
“Man, I’m just giving you shit. You can sit where you like, I don’t mind chillin’ on the floor to keep you company.” Jared was smiling, but Johnny could tell the boy was serious. He probably would have eaten with Johnny on the floor.
As Johnny continued chewing, he felt it was evident that Jared was regretful of the floor statement. He remained silent a few seconds, formulating his response in his head. “Every house is different, I guess. At my dad’s house I sat on the floor to eat,” Johnny said as he stared at his plate of food, avoiding eye contact with Jared.
“Man, that’s the truth. Every house is different. I know this girl from school whose family ate the placenta after she was born!” Jared was shaking his head and smiling, as both the boys started laughing lightly.
Johnny looked up at Jared with a comical, yet concerned look, “Why would they eat it?”
“Hell, I don’t know. She said her mom baked it in brownies and shared them with her dad!” Jared replied. They both laughed again. The tension was leaving the room as quickly as the daylight was filling it. It was time to get to work.
“Dude, if it’s gonna take six hours, we need to get out there,” Johnny said, and then finished off his orange juice, placing the glass back on the table. Johnny wanted to help Jared, but knew he would more than likely be leaving today, so they needed to get started.
“Yea, we better get out there,” Jared agreed.
Chapter Ten
Sweat
The stable was beautiful, but it almost appeared as though the rest of the property’s structures had been built long after the stable was erected. The structure stood at least two hundred yards from the house. It contained six stalls and was constructed almost entirely of cement. Foundational cracking was evident all about the building. The doors to the stalls, however, looked new, were made of wood, and were painted a brilliant red, the same color of red the large barn was painted. The stall doors opened up to the huge pasture. Green ivy covered the building from the ground and all the way to the top, and even appeared to be growing on top of the building in some areas. There was damp straw scattered in front of the all six doors, two of which were open, and inside every single stall. The Everetts only owned two horses; however, Jackson would frequently board an injured patient within the stalls.
The morning was beautiful, but the humidity was already intense, as it usually is in July in Louisiana. This summer had been relatively mild. There were even some nights that it seemed chilly. Today, however, was starting out as a typical Louisiana summer day. Johnny was almost put off by the fact that Jared’s parents had left them in the house alone. He knew he wasn’t a danger, but for all they knew, he was a serial killer on the run.
Johnny was carrying two shovels, and Jared was pushing a wheelbarrow. From Jared’s description of the task at hand, he was under the impression that the stalls were completely overwhelmed with horse manure. That, however, was not the case. Johnny walked the length of the stable, examining each stall as he passed by.
“Man, this isn’t gonna take us no six hours,” Johnny said to Jared as he leaned the shovels on the first red door.
“You don’t think? Well, that’s good anyways; I still gotta school you at some Call of Duty,” Jared said, smiling as he rested the wheel barrel by the first door as well.
“Call of Duty?” Johnny asked inquisitively.
“Aw, dude. Johnny, tell me you game. Please, for the love of God, tell me you game.”
Jared had a strange smirk on his face as his eyes looked sharply at Johnny.
“You mean video games? Your dad told me you played them,” Johnny said as Jared reached for a shovel.
“Dude, we gotta get this shit shoveled. I gotta get you up to speed,” Jared said in an enthusiastic tone as he opened the door. “My system is in the basement, you haven’t been down there yet. It has surround sound and the recliners down there are pimp!” Jared exclaimed from inside the first stall.
“Well, we better get after it then.” Johnny happily grabbed the remaining shovel. “Dude, I saw a basketball hoop on the side of the barn, do you ever play?” Johnny asked as he walked into the second stall.
“Oh, hell yea, I love me some hoops when it’s not two thousand degrees outside. What about you?” Jared sneezed as he unloaded the first shovel full of manure into the wheel barrel.
“Yea, man. I play. I ain’t too good, but I try,” Johnny replied.
“Don’t let Mom hear you say ain’t, it might cost you a quarter,” Jared said playfully.
From up by the house a horn honked loudly, and the parade of dogs and their wild warning was heard.
“I guess Pops is home,” Jared said as he peeked out of the stall.
“What else do you do around here to stay busy?” Johnny asked as he shoveled manure from outside the stalls.
Jared began laughing an exaggerated, dramatic laugh that was obviously sarcastic. “Dude, there is nothing to do out here. Pop’s hardly ever lets me go to town, and when I do I gotta be home by like, nine o’clock on the weekends.” Jared looked extremely and happily surprised as he emerged from the stall. “Damn, Johnny, you almost got that thing full! We’re gonna be done with this horse shit in like an hour!” the boy said approvingly.
Johnny looked at Jared and found himself completely intrigued. “Your dad didn’t care if you came home at nine at night?” There was a hint of shock in Johnny’s voice.
“Ha, that’s nothing. I used to be buds with this dickhead, Tyler, and his folks don’t even care when he comes home on the weekend. They just leave the door unlocked until he gets home.” Jared heaved another shovelful into the barrel. Johnny felt somewhat bewildered by the statement, and then began to shovel again.
“Man, let’s go empty this deliciousness and fill the bitch up again,” Jared said, smirking, as both the boys started laughing.
“Where do we empty it at?” Johnny asked, looking at the disgusting load of horse manure.
Jared looked at him and then pointed off into the woods across the pasture. “We can take turns pushing it over there, past them trees,” Jared said, continuing to point, standing on his tiptoes, and looking off into the distance.
“Wow, that’s really a long ways away,” Johnny replied as he looked off across the pasture.
Jared started laughing again, “Dude, I’m messing with you. I would smell like total ass if we pushed this bad boy all the way over there,” Jared said, smiling quite proudly.
“What do you mean you would smell like ass?” Johnny replied.
“Ohhhhhh!” Jared yelled as both boys began laughing loudly.
Johnny noticed Jackson up by the house, watching the two guys interact. “Boy!” the man finally yelled out loudly.
Jared sat his shovel down on the ground. “Come on, dude, Pops is hollering.” Johnny sat his shovel next to Jared’s and began to follow him up to the house.
As Johnny trailed Jared, he felt overwhelmingly uncomfortable. Jared and Jackson appeared so close. Jackson’s love for his family was evident in everything he did. Johnny felt like he was intruding as he lingered behind Jared. The urge to draw back finally anchored him as he instinctively placed his hands in his pockets and stopped trudging in the direction of the house. He
rocked back and forth on his feet and looked up at the sky looking for birds, clouds, or anything else to focus on.
“Johnny! Come on up, bud,” Jackson said loudly from beside the house. He had on green scrubs that were covered in turpentine and excrement. Slowly, Johnny began walking toward the house, with his hands still in his pockets. His gaze remained toward the grass as he approached. He was anticipating that Jackson would tell him he had talked to the salvation place, and that he had found a place for him to stay for the night.
This place was great, but Johnny knew this arrangement was not a permanent thing. He wasn’t a necessity here, and the family had gone out of their way to be kind to him. He had eaten more in the last twelve hours than he had eaten the two days before that. They had done right by him, and Johnny was okay with moving on.
Jared and Jackson were already talking lowly before Johnny approached them. He walked up with his head down, and his hands still in his pockets. He couldn’t help but wonder what the salvation place was like. He wondered if he would be staying there, or if they found him a place to stay at like a shelter.
“Johnny, you like pizza?” Jared turned from his father and asked. Johnny was caught a little off guard by the question, considering he was expecting a different conversation entirely.
“Well, yea. Who don’t like pizza?” Johnny replied, as he felt his mouth curl into a smile.
“It’s settled then,” Jackson announced. “We’re having pizza and a duty calls tournament tonight,” the man said confidently.
Jared stared at his father in a disapproving manner. “Duty calls, Pops? If you don’t even know the name of the greatest game ever known to man, then you don’t stand a chance. And it’s not a tournament, just me teaching two guys the baby steps of playing a masterpiece,” Jared said as he playfully socked his dad in the arm.
“Okay. Okay, I see how it is. You hear this, Johnny?” Jackson asked, giving Johnny a friendly smile.
“Yes, sir, I do. Sounds like he might be scared of a challenge.” Johnny removed his hands from his pockets and began to feel a little less tense.
“Sounds like it!” Jackson replied as Jared flashed a cocky smile, and shook his head.
“Pops, did you know Johnny is the best damn shit shovelin’ fool in Louisiana?” Jared asked laughing as the words came out of his mouth. Both Johnny and Jackson began laughing as well.
“Watch your mouth! What if your mom heard that nonsense?” the older man shook his head again as he put his son in a headlock.
Chapter Eleven
Mr. Hops
Graye
Graye hadn’t shown Johnny the things she had gotten him that day in town yet. There was never a good time to bring it up as Jared was always around. It was a delicate situation. As she thought about the circumstances in a practical manner, it didn’t make sense to give him the things now. That might give the message that they would like him to stay longer. Of course, this didn’t make sense. They didn’t know him, they didn’t know what he came from, and twenty-four hours ago they had never even heard of the name Johnny Tregalis. Now, this young man was playing basketball with her son out by the barn.
As she watched them play and goof around, showing off their rather sad moves, the impractical maternal sense kicked in. Where would he sleep? Would he be warm enough? Would he have enough to eat? All these questions which were heavy on her mind, and she had only known this boy for a day. The fact she had grown so fond of him so quickly was somewhat troublesome to the woman. Looking at the boys, carefree and happy, she couldn’t help but imagine Johnny becoming a permanent fixture at the residence, regardless of how crazy it sounded when she said it out loud.
“Momma, I want juice!” Bryce yelled as she came running into the kitchen. The request startled her mother, who had been in deep thought. Bryce had done exceptionally well at her piano lesson. Her mother had given her quite a bit of praise throughout the day, and it seemed to have fed her ego rather well.
“Okay, Miss Thing. You need to say please, and perhaps your request will be fulfilled,” Graye replied in a condescending tone.
“Pretty, pretty, pretty please!” the little girl said with a big smile as she looked up at her mother. Bryce was only four, but Graye knew the little girl understood how to work the system.
“Okay then. But only because you added that third pretty to your please.” Graye walked to the refrigerator. As she opened it to grab the orange juice, she heard Jared in the living room.
“Yea, man, I’ll be right out. I think it’s up in my room,” she heard her son say as he ran up the stairs. Bryce dashed off toward the living room.
“B, don’t bother your brother, he’s busy,” Graye said passively. She returned to the kitchen counter and poured the orange juice in Bryce’s Tinker Bell cup. “B, come get your juice.” As Graye called out, she believed the girl to be upstairs, bothering her brother. Jared was always patient with the little girl, but Graye knew her son didn’t always have the opportunity to simply goof off and be a guy with other guys his age because of their location. She wanted him to be able to enjoy his game in peace. She was also glad he was outside doing something, rather than being stuck in the man cave, playing games. Graye exited the kitchen in pursuit of her daughter. She walked through the living room and up the stairs to Jared’s room.
“Sweetheart, is Bryce not up here with you?” she asked her son, who was on his belly half way under his bed.
“Nah, Mom,” the boy replied from under the bed. “Hey, have you seen my air pump?” He asked as he began pushing himself backward from under the bed.
“Look in your closet,” Graye replied as she left the room. As she began her descent down the stairs, she heard her daughter’s voice on the front porch. Quietly she walked down the remaining stairs and made her way to the screen door, which Jared had left open.
“So, you don’t have a sister?” Bryce asked Johnny in an innocent voice. The two of them were sitting next to each other on the first step of the porch. Johnny was sweating and out of breath. He was wearing Jared’s old basketball shorts and a black t-shirt. A black t-shirt in this heat seemed absolutely miserable to Graye.
“Nope. No sister. I got a baby brother, though,” the boy said proudly as he looked at the little girl and smiled.
“Where is he?” The little girl was quite curious to learn more about this little brother. Johnny remained quiet for a few seconds.
“Well, that’s the thing, Bryce. I guess I’m not too sure where he is,” Johnny said with a smile. The little girl was obviously very confused.
“Is he with your momma?” she asked inquisitively.
“Yes he is. I imagine they’re havin’ a good ol’ time somewhere on the beach,” Johnny said as he looked at the girl again.
“Johnny, are you gonna stay here forever?” Bryce asked as she grabbed his hand and looked at him in a sweet and loving manner.
“I’m afraid not, I gotta get a job and all that other fun stuff you do when you grow up. But maybe I can visit you sometime, Bryce.”
The little girl gave him a disapproving look. “You are not a grown up. Jared doesn’t have a job. He goes to big kid school. Do you go to school?” the girl asked as if she were scolding him.
“Well, that’s a good question.” Johnny stared off out into the wooded area.
Graye wanted to interrupt before she asked anything else, but she had developed a lump in her throat from witnessing the interaction. She listened to the boy, knowing there was so much mystery surrounding his past. She wanted to know more, but asking up front wasn’t an option at this point. Luckily, Jared came barging by.
“I found it, Mom!” the sweaty teen said as he darted out the front door. Graye smiled as she watched Jared jump completely over his sister to the ground. “Let’s go, dude,” he yelled to Johnny.
“Go beat him!” Bryce said as she jumped up excitedly.
***
Johnny
The two boys returned to the barn to inflate the ball.
“Man, Pops should be back with that pizza here soon. I’m about to starve,” Jared said as he inserted the needle of the hand held air pump into the basketball and began pumping it to fill it up. Before Johnny could respond, the boys heard something odd. It was high pitched, like the sound made when letting air out of a balloon while pulling either side of the mouthpiece outward. The two boys raced to the side of the barn where the noise was coming from.
By a large, white, rusty, truck-bed tool box, which was surrounded by ankle-high weeds, was a small bull snake. It had a baby cottontail rabbit by the hind quarters and was attempting to coil around it, but the young rabbit was too energetic for the small snake to overpower immediately. The diamond pattern shimmered in the fading sunlight as the pair danced off for life.
“Let’s go, man. I don’t wanna see this,” Jared said as he turned to leave.
Johnny looked at the rabbit as it was tiring, and the snake was slowly gaining the advantage. It was a pathetic sight to watch the little animal suffer and struggle to live.
“Dude, we should help it. We gotta help it,” Johnny said as he stared sympathetically at the small rabbit.
“Man, its nature, let it be. It’ll stop squealing in a minute,” Jared replied and continued walking away.
“No,” Johnny said sternly. “It’s just a baby; the damn snake can go find a rat.” Johnny pushed Jared from his path and walked to the snake. He bent over and grabbed the snake at about its midsection, holding it out away from his legs. This was all that was needed to convince the snake to release its young victim. The bull snake viciously attempted to bite its capturer, but Johnny released the snake before it could bite him. The serpent was quick to exit the scene, but the young rabbit was not.
