I back away from him. Feel a chill run all over my body. Is this guy queer?
"Then you bring the kids to the front door and knock." And it's as if whatever he did to me, he did by accident. "I'll open the door and you look surprised. Ask if Mary's home. I'll say, 'So you've come back to fuck my wife again, have you? I'll fix all of you worthless bastards.' Then you tell 'em all to run for it and run like hell yourself. I want two others that know it's a joke. Pick kids you can trust and tell them to keep their mouths shut. Leroy'd be a good choice. When they start screaming and dropping, it'll add a touch of realism."
Just before we leave, Charles steals all that was left in the kitchen. Two old dish towels that he says he can use as oil rags.
On my way home, I'm thinking that this is supposed to be a joke. But the way Charles keeps feeling of me, looks like the joke is on me. I can still feel his hand down there between my legs. And this joke about Mary doesn't seem funny anymore. But then, I've been against this from the start.
*
I don't sleep very good when I've been drinking, and sometime during the night I wake and wonder if Charles was trying to kill me the way he was bouncing those bullets off that embankment. And then it hits me. Charles told me he killed Lenny. I raise straight up in bed. I've got to tell Papa. We have to do something. But I know how Papa likes to get his sleep. It can wait till morning. So I lay back down. Then I don't know whether I dreamed it, or if Charles really said it. And if he said it, I don't know if he was serious or if he was lying. And he said that I'm adopted.
*
It's morning and as I crawl out of bed, I feel hot and puffy all over. Think I have a fever. I'm not so sure I should tell Papa about Charles. Once Papa gets going, there's no stopping him. I better be sure. I half believe Charles now. But this thing about Mama not being my mama...
I'm sitting here at the breakfast table with Mama and Papa talking peaceful about the price of cotton and how they hope it doesn't rain before we get it all picked. Seems like as long as I keep my mouth shut everybody gets along fine. And I'm thinking, no wonder things are so bad around here. I cause the trouble. I don't even belong to them. If I was with my natural family, wouldn't be any fussing and fighting. My papa would care as much for me as Papa cared about Lenny. And my mama wouldn't say she was ashamed of raising me.
I eat a bowl of cornflakes real quick and while they're still in the kitchen, I go into their bedroom and open the lid on Mama's big old cedar chest. I haven't been in here in a long time because she doesn't like people messing in it. She keeps all her sewing stuff in here too, so I have to dig down under that. And then there's a couple of flat cardboard boxes, and one of them has Papa's black pistol laying on it. I move it off to the side, but sure would like to pull that hammer back, aim and fire it. Papa never gets it out for target practice anymore. Then I raise the lid on one of the boxes, and it's full of pictures. Right on top is a picture of all four of us kids with Indian Chief headdresses, full feathers except for Trish and she has just one feather in the back. Lenny is about a head taller than me and damn if Trish isn't almost as tall as I am. Curt's a little thing. Looks like he just got out of diapers. Lenny has his thumbs in his front pockets with his fingers all spread real awkward like. He's trying to smile but has the sun in his eyes.
I go into the other box and after a bit I come up with Lenny, Trish and Curt's birth certificates. Lenny's is different from Trish and Curt's because his is from Oklahoma. Theirs are from California and in the left corner, the state seal. In the right corner, there's the mark of a paper crimper and words saying it's official. Mine should be like theirs because I was born in Merced too, but it's not here. I wonder where it is? I think I hear Mama, so I better get out. I put the boxes where they were and put the black pistol back on top, place the sewing like it was and close the lid. I know Charles lied. I just can't prove it right now. Walking out of their bedroom, I can't keep my face up.
*
It's afternoon now, and I'm in the field alone sitting high above the gray stalks, which are full of big fluffy cotton, driving the picker. The sun's shining in my eyes bad, and I wish I had Lenny's baseball cap. I wear it sometimes when I'm in the field. When the picker blows the cotton into that big basket behind me, it dumps cotton stalks, dead leaves, twigs and dirt, all over my head and back, stuff falls down my neck. I feel like a trash pile sitting up here. Sometimes I blow trash out of my nose for two days after driving the picker.
I'm wondering if the real Bobby Ray Hammer died soon after birth, and they adopted me to take his place. If someone is adopted, what happens to their birth certificate? Maybe Mama and Papa don't even know the truth about where I came from. Maybe they found me somewhere. Mama always seemed to like to read me that story from the Bible of baby Moses being found in a basket floating down a river. Maybe that's how I ended up in Chowchilla. I came floating down the Ash Slough. Then I wouldn't have a birth certificate. Or, maybe this is all wrong thinking. Maybe my certificate just got put in another box for some reason.
And what's this about Mama having Charles' mother killed? Heidi Kunze died in an automobile accident, eight years ago.
CHAPTER 21: Mary Has a Little Something for Everyone
Word spread like wildfire. I didn't have to tell anyone. Leroy did. Now I have six kids with me in my Chevy, and we're driving through fog so thick I have the windshield wipers going, and since there's no white line, I have to use the side of the road to guide me. We're a half hour late and I have a bunch more kids than Charles wanted. Would have been even more, but I told them no. Never underestimate the ability of Leroy to con every kid in town into something. Some kid's parents found out about Mary and were looking for her house so they could run her out of the county. I have three cars and at least fifteen kids. Who's in the last car, I'm not sure. We even had a colored kid that wanted to come. I told Charles.
"Oh, bring him, Bobby," he said. "Please. We'll put him out of his misery. That'll add a touch of realism to the whole thing. We can bury his body under a peach tree. The peaches will be the sweetest a white man ever ate."
I told Chelsey it would be best if he found something else to do.
Leroy said that Phyllis kept asking questions about Mary. Wanted to know how many guys were coming. Acted like she might want to come too.
Bev knows about it. She came to me all puffed up. "You do this and I'll go out with Leroy Korenski. So help me God. He's asked me out twice in the last week."
And then there was Brenda. She heard about her little brother, Keith, coming. She had a lot of smart things to say about what she called my "sexual orientation."
Thomas Powers and Wayne Hickman are two of the four assholes I have in the backseat. Thomas and Eugene, Trish's boyfriend, are not really assholes, but they're back there anyway. Keith McCallum, Brenda's little brother, is sitting between me and Leroy. Here I am, trying to drive in the fog, and Keith won't shut his mouth.
"Tell me again what she's like, Bobby," he asks. "Help me keep my courage up."
"Well, she's really nice and she'll talk to you and run her fingers through your hair while you're doing it to her. Everybody better be good. No cutting up."
"Why does she want to do it with so many guys?"
I don't have an answer for that question. "You ever had any before?" I ask.
"No," he says.
I wonder why that's so easy for him to say when I've lied about it the last four years? Then I get to thinking about it being his sister that I did it with first, and I'm wishing that this was real for him. I know how bad he wants it. And Brenda. I wish I wasn't even here with this herd of kids and that I was off on a country road somewhere with her in the backseat of my Chevy. I just can't seem to shake that feeling I had with her. In the back of my mind I keep hoping Charles won't be there, that this whole thing falls through. I don't trust him with all these kids. I keep wondering if he really did something to cause Lenny's death.
The kids in the backseat are all drinking whiskey. Me and Lero
y are not drinking and I won't let Keith touch it either. Before I picked 'em up, I had a fifth of Jim Beam someone left in my car a couple of weeks ago. It was only half full and didn't seem like enough to get these guys going.
"We need some more, Leroy," I said. "But I don't have the money."
"No problem," and Leroy pulled out his pecker and brought the bottle up just below full. Then he shook it but it didn't fizz.
"This ought to blow 'em off," he said. "They may not even need Mary after a shot of this."
We put the bottle in the floorboard in back and let them find it. "Stay away from it cause I don't know where it came from," is what I told them.
"I know where it came from," said Wayne after he turned on the dome light. "Says here, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Eighty-six proof. It comes from Kentucky."
Every time Thomas turns up that bottle, I think I'm going to puke. I remember Leroy wiping his dribble off the side of the bottle against his pant leg and how warm it felt when he handed it to me. I feel kind of sorry for Thomas, the big dumb bastard that he is. But Wayne, I hope he gets hepatitis.
"Tastes a little weak," says Thomas.
"Or maybe a little strong depending on how you look at it," Wayne says. "Strange whiskey." He has to clear his throat.
I told Leroy that if he let Wayne in on this being a trick, I would tell his mother about his stealing.
"So it's blackmail is it?" he said.
"I'm not looking at it quite that way," I said.
"Doesn't matter how you look at it. It's still blackmail."
"I'd just say, it's added security."
"Against what?"
"Against Wayne."
"So it's come down to that."
"Down to what?"
"Blackmail."
"It's not blackmail, I told you."
"Then you don't trust me."
"Sure I trust you. I trust you now."
He felt better after he pissed in the whiskey.
The only other kid that knows that Mary is a hoax is Eugene. He's still Trish's ex-boyfriend. They were about to get back together again, but she's mad as hell after finding out he was coming with me. Eugene will have some tall talking to do. He has more balls than I ever thought. He sure wants Trish back too.
"Whoa," says Leroy. "Damn. You just missed the turnoff. Just ran a stop sign too."
"I'm going to get everybody killed in this fog," I tell him. I slow to a stop, the other cars coming up close behind.
"That must have been Road 22," he says. "It's the first road after the railroad tracks."
So I have three cars turning around in the middle of the road. Hope no one is coming. They'll never see us.
I'm back on the right track now and turn off Road 22 down the short dirt drive to Mary's place, going slow through the mud puddles from the rain we had last night. Can't see the house until we are almost on top of it. Looks a lot darker than I thought, and I have to look real close to see that there's a light on at all. I feel like this whole thing could just be my imagination. What if someone has moved in there, and Charles didn't know? The car doors slam behind us. I get out quick and tell them to get back in because I have to make sure the coast is clear. Their interior lights glow in the fog around us. Feels like fine rain on my face. I tell 'em to keep quiet because Mary has a baby, and if we wake the baby she'll make us leave.
It's dark around the front of the house, which faces away from the road and toward the railroad tracks. I try the door and it's locked, so I knock and Charles pulls it open, has a shotgun through his left arm, pointed at the floor. This one's not sawed off. I feel heat coming from inside, but Charles has on a big leather coat made of sheep hide and, with his hat pulled down low on his face, I hardly recognize him. Seems real solemn. I step inside and it's even hotter than I thought. He has a couple of candles burning and at first I think I see a shadow move but then realize it's someone else in the room. An electric shock runs down into the pit of my stomach. It's Herman, the guy from Mountain View that I beat in a drag race. Hope he's not mad at me for my car outrunning his. Herman looks like an old bald-headed man. Doesn't say anything to me, acts like he doesn't know me. I don't like that at all. He's pacing like a mountain lion and banging a rifle butt on the floor as he walks. Doesn't look like a shotgun. I think it's a lever action 30.06. This was just suppose to be just a bunch of kids having fun, and now Charles has men mixed up in it. Red shotgun shells are scattered all over the counter. I'm hoping he's dumped the shot, so I go over and start fidgeting with them.
"Get away from there," says Herman.
"Who you got in the cars?" Charles asks. "I see three. I thought you were going to keep this small."
"It's all kids from school. I tried to keep it small, but Leroy wouldn't keep his mouth shut. Word just spread. I couldn't help it, Charles." I hear something moving around in the back bedroom.
"Jesuschrist," he says. Shakes his head and walks away from me. "What do you think, Herman?"
"She doesn't like crowds, usually no more than five or six."
"I don't see what difference the number of kids makes," I say. "This is just a trick."
"I've got some news for you," says Charles.
I hear snickers, sounds like a girl's voice. "Who's back there?" I ask.
"We got a girl. You want a quick piece of ass? We're doing this straight up."
What little light there is in this place dims, and I swallow hard.
"We have a real girl, Bobby. This is called the Flip-Flop. All those who think this is supposed to be a trick are about to get their balls tested. All those who thought it was the real thing are about to get their wish. Their wish and a little more."
"You mean there really is a Mary, and she's going to screw all these kids?"
"She always was real. She lives for fucking. But now you've got too many guys."
"I couldn't help it. Once word got out, everybody wanted a piece. I turned away two car loads."
Charles, he snickers, and Herman, he laughs, coughs a little.
"With that kind of publicity, the next car that pulls up 'll be police. What do you think, Herman? Can she handle them?" asks Charles.
"Bring 'em on. Once she gets going, she stays hot for a week. Keep 'em quiet though."
"Okay then. Nothing's changed. Just tell the last carload that they have to stay in the back and take their chances. Mary may not want all of them. She's never had so many stiff peters."
"Bring her in here now," says Herman. "See what she thinks of this young punk. You ready to dip your wick, boy?" His voice is real gruff and sassy.
I don't have an answer for him.
"Get the guns out of sight," says Charles as he goes into the bedroom door.
It's hard for me to believe they're telling the truth. And the image I had before of Mary being pretty and nice has all changed. If she was to walk out of the bedroom now, I would see her as tough as leather and worn as an old saddle. Charles comes back with Gordy and following along behind, sure enough, he has a naked girl by the arm and pulling her into the living room. The girl is giggling and has a drink in her hand. She smiles and sashays up to me.
I've never seen a naked girl before. Even Brenda never took all her clothes off. So that's what all the fuss over tits is about. This girl has the most beautiful body I've ever seen. I never knew girls had so much skin on them. She smiles at me and starts to put her arms around my neck. Then she stops like there's something wrong with me. Her face looks like she just saw the devil. She turns, puts her head on Charles chest, cuddles up to him.
"Not this one, Hon," she says. "I can't do this one."
"What's wrong, Grace? He's not that ugly, is he?"
"I know his papa."
I don't want any part of this anymore. I know this girl. I wonder how I can kill this whole thing?
"Oh shit," says Charles. "Gordy, get her back in the bedroom." And when her naked butt has waddled out, he turns to Herman. "You go in the spare bedroom. We better get this going qui
ck. If she gets on one of her crying jags, this could blow up in our face." Then he turns to me. "Bobby, this is getting tough. We wanted you to be the one to introduce the guys to her, one at a time. It would've worked nice if you'd been the first to crawl on her. She's like that. The first one always sets the tone. But she's not going for you. So she'll be alone in the bedroom for the first guy. Now this is the tricky part. I want the nicest kid you've got to go first. Someone gentle and understanding. You pick him. For sure, don't choose Leroy cause he's a little rusty with girls. She's always a little wild at first. This guy 'll have to tame her and take care of her while the others get their ride."
I know right away, I have a special guy for this job.
"Herman, Gordy and me will be hiding in the spare bedroom. We've got a little surprise for everyone."
"What are you going to do now? I thought it was the real thing. Just a Flip-Flop."
"The show is still on. You're still in charge. Don't forget to scream when we start shooting. Scream like you're hit and fall to the ground."
I feel like screaming right now. "Does she know what this is all about?" I ask.
"She knows about the kids. That's all she's interested in. She loves kids. The surprise will do her good."
"How far are you going to let it go?"
"We'll play it by ear. If they all make it through the bedroom action, we'll call it the Long-and-Hard. But I bet the Flip-Flop is more like it."
And then I realize where I have seen Grace before, and I've seen her twice. The first time was when I got Papa out of the Cotton Club. She was the one that walked away from Papa and looked me over good. The second time was when I was talking to Charles in Farnesi's. She was the woman on the phone with the kids at home alone. I wonder where her kids are now?
Herman sticks his head out the bedroom door. "Get 'em in here," he says. "Shit. Don't take all night."
I go outside into the cold, and my legs are shaking so hard I feel like I'm dancing. Grace knowing Papa and not wanting any part of me because of it, is really bothering me. What has Papa been doing with her? I go from car to car telling them to stick together and be quiet. Melvin is in the second car and he wants to know what I was doing in there so long. I tell him I already had my turn, that she was even better than I remembered. Tits were the size of balloons. "How would you know what a good piece is like?" he laughs. "If you got some, it was your first." I just brush it off and tell him he'll find out for himself. I go on to the last car. I don't know how these kids made it here. When the driver rolls down the window to talk to me, the smell of beer is as thick as the fog. I see Eugene in the backseat. His eye lids are drooping and he's trying to talk to the kid next to him about how he ain't ever had a "pieces-of-ass" before and he's real scared. His words come out all stuck together. I tell them that there are too many kids, and that everybody may not get a turn, but they can stay to the back of the pack and see how Mary is feeling. They're all real disappointed. I tell them not to worry. We'll just have to see.