Page 42 of Night Blind

“Well, if I ever received a got-damned invitation, I wouldn’t have to arrive at the order of someone else,” Bleu said. “Ms. Abigail, please let me know when you are free. I’d love to have you over to meet my DeShonda and my boy. I hear you’re going to add one more to the family. I am as well. Our second one is also a boy.”

He said the last part, looking at his cousin with a twinkle in his eye. The young man Jacob was unloading the pony just as Naomi came out of the house. She spotted it and squealed like a stuck pig making everyone jump.

“It’s a pony! Uncle Black Man got me a real-life pony! Oh, Daddy, I love that man so much,” she said, running off the porch.

Before Jay had left, she’d managed to finagle a story time out of her uncle, encouraging him to add in the special voices, which led to Jay’s signature whinny, which led to the talk of ponies, which led to his brother buying to daughter a got-damned pony.

The wispy curls whipped in the wind as she ran from the porch to see her new gift. Her tiny pajama bottoms twistedto one side of her hand full of boodie as she went over to meet her new friend. Cherry was outdone by her daughter, who immediately went to the back end of the horse to lift the tail. She bent looking underneath the carriage of the pony.

“Daddy, my pony has a vagina! It’s a girl. Can I name her Princess Poppy?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Slow mumbled. “The pony has a name, and it’s Ms. Sprinkles.”

“Ms. Sprinkles, oh my gosh. Wait until Michelle sees this. Daddy, can I call Michelle and tell her I got a pony? I want to tell her I got a pony,” she said. “When can I ride Ms. Sprinkles? Daddy, can you call Uncle Black Man so I can say thank you for the best present ever? I got a pony. I got a pony!”

His head hurt. His brother was a menace. His cousin was an asshole, and his wife seemed amused by it all.

Bleu didn’t miss a beat, laughing, he wanted to know, “She calls Jay, Uncle Black Man?”

Slow stayed right on track with him. “It gets worse. She asked Daddy, whom she calls the Grandpa Man, if my Mom had a black boyfriend so she could make a black baby.”

Bleu Neary burst into laughter. “Why have I never met this child? I think I love her already.”

A twinkle came to Slow’s eyes. “I think you should go over and give her a hug and get a kiss for delivering the pony to her.”

“I think I will do just that since I am her hero today, me and her Uncle Black Man,” Bleu said, walking towards Naomi with pride.

Slow said nothing as his cousin bent low, speaking to his daughter. He watched Bleu Neary lean in, going for a kiss. On cue, he watched Naomi ball up her fist and sock him in the mouth. He looked at his wife and winked.

“Children. I am going to spend my life surrounded by children,” Cherry said, appreciating her husband’s bold move.

Bleu looked back at him. “You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?”

“Yep, pretty much,” he said. “What is that building for on the other truck?”

“It’s the barn for Ms. Sprinkles,” Bleu said, asking where it should be erected. “It seems Jay thought of everything.”

“Did he send any feed for the pony?”

“Actually, he did,” Bleu said, watching Jacob lift Naomi onto the pony. “He also paid for Jacob to come by three times a week for three months to teach her how to ride, brush the pony down, and take care of her.”

“Yeah, good old Jay,” he said, wanting to call Mustang, but that could wait for later.

Cherry offered Bleu and Jacob a cup of coffee and breakfast, which both gladly accepted. In the kitchen, she pulled her husband aside and asked, “Is your brother really rich or something?”

“Yeah, Jay bought a small defunct vineyard in Oregon, turned it around, and some wine company bought him out,” he said. “He still lives on the vineyard, but the wine is taken care of by the company who bought him out. The money from the vineyard, he invested in some app a weird dude wanted him to go in on, and that made him like a billionaire or some shit. I don’t ask.”

“Oh, okay then,” she said, watching her cousin run her fingers over her vehicles. The Subaru was new; the pick-up truck was not.

Never in her life had Helen had a new car. There were very few things in her life that had been new or not purchased at a discount or from a wholesale rack. However, she now had a new car. From the back window, Cherry observed Helen as the man passed her an envelope.

Whatever was in the envelope brought Helen to her knees. She took a seat on the front steps of her home, cradling the package to her chest. The back of her hand wiped away tears. Whatever Mustang sent to Helen must have touched her heart.

“Family,” Cherry said, turning to chat with her husband's cousin. “Okay, who is the oldest, Zeke or Gabriel?”

****

Helen couldn’t believe her eyes. The carport went up without hassle as the quick-drying cement was poured into holes for the braces of the carport. The man said to allow it to dry after placing weights on the edges to hold it in place. The two vehicles sat in front of her home, both belonging to her. The second vehicle, the Subaru, was brand new with 25 miles on the odometer.

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