Page 56 of The Night the Lights Went Out
“I think he’s sweet on you.”
I felt like someone had hit me in the chest, knocking the air out of me. “What? That’s the craziest thing I ever heard. He’s just lonely. He’s got no family and no friends because of his meanness. And I’ve never encouraged him, if that’s what you’re saying.”
“I’m not sayin’ that at all. Do you want me to stay? I could call Daddy to come over, too.”
I smiled with more confidence than I felt. “That’s all right. I can handle Curtis Brown. I know how to punch and where to kick, and I’m a straight shooter. There are a few things that are good about being raised with brothers.”
She grinned as I opened the car door. “You know where to find us if you need us.”
I nodded, then exited the car, feeling somehow abandoned as she drove away, grinding the gears with every shift. It was a miracle her daddy let her drive at all.
Neither one of us said anything as I climbed the porch steps, and Curtis didn’t stand, either. If it was anybody else but Curtis, I could have forgiven his bad manners on account of his daddy being lower than a gully snake and his mama being dead. But there are some people you can’t forgive for taking up space.
I reached the porch and stood facing him. “I hope you’re not plannin’ on stayin’ for dinner.”
His hair was cut short, and his face and nails were clean—something I wasn’t used to seeing. And he was wearing a uniform, which made even the most average-looking man appear more interesting. If I hadn’t known him, I might even have said that he was handsome. Except when he smiled, I saw the badness in him. Then all I could see was the ugly.
“I’m sure you can rustle up somethin’ good for me. Or just give me Jimmy’s portion. That retard brother of yours don’t need it.”
I refused to let him get me in a state. I was already exhausted from working all day, and I still had supper and my mama to contend with. She didn’t speak at all anymore, just sat in bed, looking at the door every time it opened, hoping to see Bobby, I expect, before returning to stare at the wall when she realized it wasn’t him. I got her dressed and fed every morning, and helped her to the bathroom, then did the same thing every night. It never changed.
“I’ve asked you before, and I’ll ask you again. Please do not call my brother names. You only show your own ignorance when you say things like that.”
A slow, crooked grin spread across his face. “And whatcha gonna do if I don’t stop?”
I stared at him, refusing to argue. I wanted him off my porch and my property and I didn’t know if I had the energy even to argue.
“Good-bye, Curtis. Next time you pass by, don’t bother stopping.” I reached for the front screen, but he’d stood and grabbed my arm before I could move out of the way.
“What’s the hurry, sweetheart?” His foul breath blew across my face, but I stared him in the eye, not wanting him to see my fear.
“I’m not your sweetheart.”
A low chuckle rumbled in his chest, and I felt it up my arm. “That’s right. You got your own sweetheart now, don’tcha? Thinks he’s pretty special, I guess, bein’ a navy pilot and all. But is he a real man to you? Because I could show you what a real man is like.”
He pulled me closer and I felt vomit rise in my throat. I gathered all the liquid in my mouth that I could and spat in his eyes. He let go of me in a hurry, wiping his eyes and giving me a chance to go inside and latch the screen. Not that it was much protection, but he’d have to explain a hole in the screen door to my daddy if he wanted to get inside.
“You tell that retard brother of yours and his nigger friend to stay off my property. And any Indian arrowheads he finds are mine and he better be givin’ them to me or there’s gonna be trouble.”
I stared at him through the screen, incredulous. Curtis could only call his farm home because of my daddy’s good graces. And the old trading post that sat disintegrating on the edge of the property had once belonged to the Cherokees, who’d owned all the land long before my family got here. So any way he looked at it, neither the land nor the arrowheads belonged to him. Not that I wanted to stand there and argue. Stupid people rarely want to hear the truth.
“Good-bye, Curtis,” I said again, this time closing the front door in his face.
His visit had unsettled me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I made supper and fed Mama, then returned to the kitchen table, where I ate with Jimmy. His field glasses hung around his neck as always, and he ate in a real hurry, barely taking time to chew his food.
“Is there a fire somewhere that I don’t know about?” I asked.
He replied around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “Nope. Just spotted a whippoorwill nest in the woods I want to study tonight. I found the perfect tree and Lamar’s gonna help me get into position. I expect to spend the night out there, so I’ll bring a pillow.” He swallowed, then coughed. He’d never completely gotten over the chest cold he’d had when we’d met Tom that past spring. Dr. Mackenzie said it had weakened his heart and lungs in a bad way and that he needed to take it easy. Not like anything like that would ever slow Jimmy down. For a boy in a wheelchair, he was probably more active than the average person. His arms were so strong I’d once watched him climb a tree with his legs dangling beneath him.
“I wish you wouldn’t do stuff like that, Jimmy. You could really get hurt. And it’s going to get cold tonight—and you know what that does to your chest.”
“Lamar’ll be with me and I’ll wear a sweater and bring a thick blanket, all right? So you can quit your worrying.”
I slid my napkin across the table toward him. “Clean your glasses. I swear I don’t know how you see anything.”
He smiled as he took the napkin, his face so sweet and precious to me. I figured that even if I never had any children, just having Jimmy in my life would always be enough.
Despite his assurances, I did worry. I lay in bed, sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but the exhaustion of the day must have overtaken me, because when the scream awoke me it was full dark.
