I put out of mind that which is injurious to mind. You revel in it.
Sloppy, sloppy, she said. Self-pity monstrously unattractive.
Hunkwash, she said, you are perpetuating myths.
Julie made a circle of thumb and forefinger and popped him smartly on the ball.
Goatish still. Cops a feel whenever he can.
Yes now that you mention it, she said.
I dont know, said Thomas. Ill have to think about it.
Amazing, said the Dead Father. I remember.
Thomas spoke a long paragraph to the effect that this was true.
Shes not bad-looking, Thomas said.
I like this drink, Emma said, this is good stuff, can I have two more?
Not too bad are they?
Not necessary. I know the drill.
Well, God damn it, I guess wed better have a drink, then, said Thomas.
Usually damp.
Thomas and Julie underneath the bush. Thomas holding Julies feet in his hands.
The two of us, she said, damn it, cant you get this simple idea into your head? The two of us against the is.
Anguish of Thomas.
You dont appear to me to be overly hurt or damaged.
Thomas began counting on his fingers.
Rough-textured.
I wouldnt mind a drink right now, said the Dead Father. Some little something.
Could an Emma do as well?
I do not revel in it.
You are being stuffy. I find that quite extraordinary. You of all people.
There are some times when you are not too bright, said Thomas.
He was a goat, Thomas said, thats well known.
Times when I am not too what?
I like tellingeverybody what to do, Thomas said. It is a great pleasure, being boss. One of the greatest. Wouldnt you agree? he said to the Dead Father.
Washcloth, he said. Thats the little blue square one.
One more, said Thomas, we have many a league to cover yet this day.
It is obvious that but for a twist of fate I would be his and not yours, Julie said. Had I lived within his domains at a time when he was administering them with full heaviness of hand --
Julie cramming more hemp into her mouth.
Remember the last time you had a drink, Thomas said to her.
Expectoration of bhang juice (emphatic).
Yes, Julie said. Its giggles in the sphinxeries.
You and I, she said, reaching into her knapsack for a bit of bhang. Have a chew?
Ive observed.
Julie broke out the whiskey.
Oh you are a viper.
I will wash them for you if you wish.
Oh yes, Thomas said, he has something. I would not dream of denying it.
Julie and Thomas watching.
I dont like it.
Well fuck you, Thomas said, there are some times when I forget and tell the truth.
What? said the Dead Father. ;
Viper, she said.
A temporary fact, said Thomas.
Measuring, are you? A measuring man.
Emma threw down a guzzle of beer, then a guzzle of aquavit.
There is that.
And you replied?
Oh misery me.
You forget the decay of time, Thomas said, I never forget it.
I remember.
With harrowing sweetness, as usual. Still he has something.
Julie began to unbutton her shirt.
Wow, said Emma, tasting her glass. Wow wow wow wow.
You and I, she said, the two of us.
Me, she said. Me, me.
Bright, said Thomas, there are some times when you are not too bright.
You are an apprentice fool, she said, not even a full fool, nevertheless I will give you a little taste, because I like you. You are a lucky dog.
With all my heart, said Thomas, but I cannot abandon what I know. One doesnt find an absolute every day.
I look at everything, Thomas said. Everything that is in front of me. Emma is in front of me. Therefore I look at Emma.
Nine lines and a freckle, all immaculate. Nothing to be desired. The height of.
Who likes it?
It will pass, she said, dearly beloved, it is only temporary.
Yes, thats a way, said Thomas. Fifteen minutes or in the best case, thirty-five.
Aquavit with a beer chaser, she said.
I know nobetter soul, he said, and the body is also attractive.
I could just put some bags on them I suppose, heavy canvas bags with locks like the Mail Department uses.
Quite good, said Thomas, the beer helps.
It is one of the best pleasures, the Dead Father said. No doubt about it. It is bang-up, but mostly we dont let people know. Mostly we downplay the pleasure. Mostly we stress the anguish. We keep the pleasure to ourselves, in our hearts. Occasionally we may show a bit of it to someone -- lift a corner of the veil, as it were. But we only do that in order to certify the pleasure to ourselves. Full disclosure is almost unheard of. Thomas is being criminally frank, in my opinion.
Temporary!
Right.
Ive seen it.
And in terms of verbal rather than physical attentions, he has proposed variously a shake of the sheets, a dive in the dark, a leap up the ladder, and a goose-and-duck.
Oh boy, she said. Yep. Sure do.
And Emma, she said. Ive seen you looking at her.
The backs of the knees are on the other hand positively lustrous.
Well fuck you, she said.
Why are you always telling everybody what to do?
Come crawl behind a bush with me.
Wash feet, he said.
Prefers the bum, she said, a great grab hes got there.
Emma begins to demonstrate. Parts of Emma huckle-buckling in various directions.
Not now, thanks.
Do you know the Hucklebuck?
Julie pulling at Thomass sleeve.
He signaled the men to halt. The cable loose in the road.
What does that mean? Thomas asked. Me of all people?
Okay Fat Daddy, she said, show me how to dance.
And she at you, Julie said, Ive seen some gazes.
Cobwebs in my throat, said Emma.
Oh well damn well yes. Im sorry. But I am taking action, am I not? I could as well have sat at home, worn the cap-and-bells and bought lottery tickets hoping for the twist-of-fate that would change my life.
Emma wearing blue velvet pants burnished to silver where she sits.
The men look like they need a drink, said the Dead Father, shading his eyes with one hand and peering up the road.
But remember there was a time when he was slicing peoples ears off with a wood chisel. Two-inch blade. And remember there was a time when his voice, his plain unamplified voice, could turn your head inside out.
A student of decay, is all.
Authority. Fragile, yet present. He is like a bubble you do not wish to burst.
Temporarily, said Thomas.
I do not.
But we, you and I, care for each other, Julie said. It is a fact.
Ive noticed.
I could stand a drink, said Julie.
What is it today? asked the Dead Father.
My God, Im simply telling the truth, said Thomas.
The hell I am, Thomas said. It happened.
Yes, he said.
