"Hey, sheriff." "A Mercury is a real good car." "That was the car l was driving that day." "I owned a lot of cars." "Yeah, different kinds." "A lot of different kinds of cars." "She was standing, this girl... on the side of the street by this chicken stand." "Not the Colonel's, a different chicken stand." "I pulled the Mercury up alongside... and rolled down the window by electric power." "And she had this leather skirt on... and she had a lot of hair on her arms." "I like that. lt means a big bush, which I like." "She says, "Are you dating?" You know?" "I said, "Sure." So she gets in... and we pull off into... this remote location comfortable for both of us." "She says, "How much do you want to spend?"" "I said, "Enough to see your bush. I know it's big."" "She says, "$25."" "That's not chicken feed to a working man." "I produce the $25, she sticks it in her shoe... pulls up her skirt... and there is thin, crooked, uncircumcised penis." "You can imagine I wanted my $25 back." "Why are you weirded out?" "It's not San Quentin." "It's a nut house." "Most patients don't know where they are." "They won't hurt you." "It doesn't bother you we'll be facing a killer in a few minutes?" "You wanted to major in journalism." "They're from that newspaper deal." " From the college?" " Yes, sir." " l'm Jerry Woolridge." " l'm Marsha Dwiggins." "She's Theresa Evans." "She's here to take pictures." "Y'all sit down." "A man named John Leggitt Hunter had a filling station." "A good filling station business." "He was the type of person that I'm sure you've met too... who didn't deserve what he had." "One thing he had was... this beautiful, young bride, Sarah." "She was a Georgia peach." "She was more like the picture I had in my mind than any woman I'd seen." "So I took her away from John Leggitt Hunter... who did not deserve her." "Oh, I don't know if I told you... but he was a Frenchman who claimed to be an Englishman." "Took strong nylon cord to get her away from him." "She was a fighter and a Georgia peach." "There must have been a mix-up." "I talked to your sponsor, teacher or whoever... and told him no pictures." "This is for an article or something, right?" "Yeah, it's for the school newspaper which has pictures." "It's a regular paper." "Karl's real sensitive about having his picture made." "He wouldn't be on the bulletin board for the Easter collage." "Now... a shovel just makes too goddamn much racket." "I'll talk to him, see what he says." "You gotta make something explode to truly understand it." "You gotta examine all those particles while they're still on fire." "Karl, let's go down to the old classroom." "Mr. Woolridge has some people for you to see." "Let's go." "Remember I told you about those newspaper people?" "They want to ask you questions about your release." "They think it'll make a good story." "Will you talk to them?" "Get interviewed?" "They're women." "I think it'd be good for you." "You'll see all kinds of people on the outside." "This'll help." "Now, he'll only talk to you but you can't ask him anything... and don't stare at him." "How can I interview him if I can't ask any questions?" "Sorry, that's the best it's gonna get." "Can I ask you a question?" "If he's so troubled, why are you letting him out?" "What if he does it again?" "It happens." "His time's up." "That's the rules." "He's been treated, reevaluated, doesn't show any signs anymore." " Signs?" " Homicidal signs." "Miss, I'm sorry, but you'll have to step outside." " Why?" " Please?" "I have to change the light in here for Karl." "I hope you can still see to write." "I reckon what you want to know is what I'm doing in here." "I reckon it's because I killed somebody." "But I reckon you want to know how come I killed somebody... so I'll start at the front and tell you." "I lived out in back of my parents' place most of my life... in a little old shed that my daddy'd built for me." "They didn't want me in the house with the rest of them... so I sat around in the shed looking at the ground." "I didn't have no floor... but I had me a hole dug out to lay down in... a quilt or two to put down there." "My father... was a hardworking man most of his life... not that I can say the same for myself." "I mostly just sat around in the shed... tinkered around with a lawn mower or two... went to school off and on from time to time." "But the children out there, they were very cruel to me... and made quite a bit of sport of me, made fun of me quite a bit." "So mostly I just sat around out there in the shed." "My daddy... worked at the sawmill, down at the planer mill... for an old man named Dixon." "Old man Dixon was a very cruel fellow." "Didn't treat his employees well or pay them well." "Didn't pay my daddy too much of a wage." "Just barely enough to get by, I reckon." "I reckon he got by all right." "They used to come out, one or the other of them... usually my mother... feed me pretty regular." "So I know he made enough so I could have mustard and biscuits... three or four times a week." "But old man Dixon... he had a boy... name of Jesse Dixon." "Jesse was more cruel than his daddy was." "He used to make quite a bit of sport of me... when I was down there at the schoolhouse." "Used to take advantage of the girls in the neighborhood." "They used to say... that my mother was a very pretty woman." "They said that quite a bit when I'd be there at the schoolhouse." "I reckon you want me to get on with it and tell you what happened." "So I reckon I'll tell you." "I was setting out in the shed one evening, not doing much... just staring at the wall... and waiting on my mother to give me my Bible lesson." "I heard a commotion in the house... so I run up on the screened-in porch to look inside." "I looked in and seen my mother laying on the floor without any clothes on." "I seen Jesse Dixon laying on top of her." "He was having his way with her." "I just seen red." "I picked up a Kaiser blade that was sitting by the door." "Some folks called it a sling blade." "I called it a Kaiser blade." "It's got a long, wood handle, kind of like an ax handle... with a long blade shaped like a banana." "Sharp on one edge and dull on the other." "It's what the highway boys use to cut down weeds and whatnot." "Yeah." "I went in the house... and I hit Jesse Dixon upside the head with it... knocked him off my mother." "I reckon that didn't satisfy me... so I hit him again in the neck with the sharp edge... and just plumb near cut his head off, killed him." "My mother jumped up and started hollering..." ""What did you kill Jesse for?"" "Well, come to find out... my mother didn't mind what Jesse was doing to her." "That made me madder than what Jesse'd made me... so I took the Kaiser blade-- some folks called it a sling blade, I called it a Kaiser blade" "and I hit my mother upside the head with it." "Killed her." "Some folks has asked me... if you had it to do over again, would you do it the same way?" "I reckon I would." "Anyhow, they put me in here... and here I been for a great, long while." "I've learned to read some." "Took me four years to read the Bible." "I reckon I understand a great deal of it." "Wasn't what I expected in some places." "I've slept in a good bed for a great, long while." "Now they've seen fit to put me out of here." "They say they're setting me free today." "I reckon that's all you was needing to know." "You want more details." "I reckon I can tell them." "I don't know whether that's enough for your newspaper or not." "Will you ever kill again, Karl?" "I don't reckon I got no reason to kill nobody." " Where will he go?" " Anywhere he wants." "I think he's going to Millsburg where he's from, about 20 miles from here." " Will he be supervised?" " As much as anybody, I guess." "Y'all have a nice day, now." "I'll get Melvin to walk y'all out." "Would you walk these girls out?" "Thank you." "I reckon I'll have to get used to looking at pretty people." "Guess you will." "Reckon I'll have to get used to them looking at me too." "Better go get your things." "Ain't got nothing but them books." "Better go get them." "All right, then." "All right, then." "Can I help you?" "I was kinda wanting something to eat." "Well, what would you like?" "You got any biscuits in there?" "No, this is a Frosty Cream." "We don't serve biscuits." "We got a lot of other stuff." "What you got in there that's good to eat?" "We got Big Chief Burgers, Bongo Burgers..." "Foot-longs, Corny Dogs, Frosty Shakes, Creamy Bars." "Did you want me to go through the whole list?" "What do you like?" "Well, the french fries are pretty good." " French fried potatoes?" " Yep, french fries." "How much you want for them?" "They're 60 for medium and 75 for large." "I reckon I'll have me some of the big ones." "All right." "One large french fries?" "These darn things are heavy." "Hard to carry too." " You got wash in there?" " Yeah." "Can't your mama and daddy tend to it?" "I got a mama but she's at work at Hoochy's Dollar Store." "My daddy's dead." "He got hit by a train." "How far you going with them sacks full of wash?" "Half a mile, I think." "I can help you tote it if I don't give out first." "Okay, but you don't have to." "All right, then." "My name's Frank Wheatley." "What's yours?" "Karl's my name." " What's your last name?" " Childers." "What are all them books?" "Oh, different ones." "One's the Bible, one's a book on Christmas... one's on how to be a carpenter." " Why do you carry them around?" " Ain't got no place to set them down." "Don't you live somewhere?" "Did live at the state hospital." " Why?" " l killed some folks a while back." "They said I wasn't right in the head so they put me in the nervous hospital... instead of putting me in jail." " They let you out?" " Yeah." " How come?" " They told me I was well." "Had to turn me loose." " Are you well?" " l reckon I feel all right." "This here's my house." "You don't seem like you killed nobody." "We can just set these bags on the porch." "All right, then." "You like to play football?" "I never was no account at it, never got picked out for it." "Me and the Barnett twins and some boys... play at the junior high school field all the time." "You want to play, come on over 'cause we ain't no good either." "I'll see you later." "All right, then." "Hon, you can't just go in there." "What in the world are you doing here?" "I want to come back and stay in here." "You can't." "You're a free man." "They let you out so you can do as you please." "I reckon I don't care about being a free man." "I don't know how to go about it." "You'll have to learn." "It'll take some time." "Don't you have anybody to help you out?" "No, sir." "Your daddy was living there last time I heard." "I guess he wouldn't want to help you out any, would he?" "Sorry. I wasn't thinking." "Don't you have anybody?" "No, sir." "Never did know too much of nobody down there." "Not to be helping me out, no way." "Karl, the truth is... I don't know where they expect you to go, what they expect you to do." "If I could, I'd let you come back here and stay if you wanted to." "I'm just doing my job." "You follow me?" "Listen, Karl, I know an old boy... who's got a fix-it shop deal in Millsburg." "He used to go to church with me." "You're good working on small engines and things." "If I was to put my neck out for you with him... do you think you could work it if he'll hire you?" "I'm pretty handy, I reckon, on lawn mowers and whatnot." "I know you are." "I've seen it myself." " Could you give it a try?" " l reckon." "Now I can't promise that he'll hire you." "I'll have to tell him about your history." "I never was no good with history." "No. I mean your past." "Why you were in here." "Take you down first thing in the morning." "You don't have anywhere to stay tonight at all?" "No, sir." "It's against the rules for you to stay here." "If something happened, I'd be liable." "I reckon I can walk around till morning time, sit and read a book." "Karl, would you like a muffin?" "No, thank you." "So Jerry's taking you someplace else tomorrow." "I don't know nobody named Jerry." "That's me, Karl." "That's my first name." "He's carrying me to look for work down in Millsburg... where l was born." "Would you like some coffee?" "Coffee makes me a mite nervous when I drink it." "Daddy, can I go to bed?" "Sure." "You sleep with your mama tonight." "I'm sleeping with your brother so Karl can have your room." "Why?" "Because he's company." " Karl, you up?" " Yes, sir." "Didn't you sleep?" "You been sitting there like that all night?" "Yes, sir." "Come on." "We'd better hit the road." "All right, then." "Jerry, how's it going?" " Hey, Bill." " Good to see you." " Good to see you." "How's everyone doing?" " Pretty good." "Kids are driving me crazy, and Phyliss is putting me in the poor house... but I can't complain otherwise." "Wouldn't do any good anyway." "You know Scooter?" "Don't believe I do." "Good to meet you, Scooter." "How about you?" "Well, this is the one I was telling you about on the phone." "If you get nervous, I'll understand, but I'm not going to lie to you." "He got into that trouble, but he was young." "I remember." "He cut them to pieces, and one was his mama." "And that Dixon boy." "Hell, I always wanted to kill him." "He was an asshole." "I remember him too." "Kinda retarded or something back in school." "Seems like he's pretty well-adjusted these days." "I don't think he'd ever hurt anybody." "He don't look much like he would." "And he can fix a small engine real good?" "He's a whiz. lt's all he's done since he was a kid." " You scared of him, Scooter?" " No, I don't guess so." " Can he talk?" " Oh, yeah." "You say he can stay out in the back?" "Fine with me. lf he steals anything... I'll take it out of your pocket." "He won't steal." "He's a good old boy." "Keeps to himself." "I got a room full of work." "Scooter won't do it." "Karl, come over here." "I want you to meet your new boss." "This is Bill Cox." "He runs the place." "Says you can work here, stay out back." " lt's good to know you, Karl." " Thank you." "It's minimum wage." "There's nothing back there but an army cot and a toilet." "That's fine. I'll go to the car and get your books." "All right, then." "They say you're a whiz on fixing lawn mowers and things." "I've tinkered around on them a bit." "We order from the Frosty Cream at lunch, usually." "We'll buy you lunch till you get on your feet." "I like them french fried potatoes." "Yeah." "Me too." "They make a good double meat burger." "All right, then." "I'll see y'all later." "Karl, you done good work." "They was right about you." "Scooter, he's gonna knock you out of a job if you're not careful." " l'll see y'all tomorrow." " Wait up." "I'll leave with you and lock up." "There's a blanket under the cot, soap in the bathroom for cleaning up." "One more thing." "The way we lock these doors, you can't get out at night." " Did you want to go anywhere?" " l don't reckon." "If it works out, we'll get you a key so you can get out at night." " l'll see you later." " All right, then." "Did I tell you the one about the two old boys pissing off the bridge?" "I don't remember." "These two old boys hung their peckers off a bridge to piss." "One was from California, one from Arkansas." "Old boy from California says, "Boy, this water's cold."" "Old boy from Arkansas says, "Yeah, and it's deep too."" "Get it?" " Yeah, that's a good one." " That is a good one." "I do believe you told me that before." "I've heard it a bunch." " A long time ago." " Yeah, that's a classic." "Karl, I've been thinking, and it's not Christian of me to keep locking you in." "You've been in lockup so long, you don't need me to keep doing it." "You need to come and go as you please." "Here." "Take this key. lt'll get you in and out of here at night." "All right, then." " Them french fries good?" " They's good, all right." "You got any money?" "They give me some when they turned me loose." "I spent some riding the bus, eating french fried potatoes." "I'm going to pay you today for this coming week... so you have some walking-around money." "You need to buy some toothpaste and cleaning up supplies to have back there." "Get you some magazines and some hard candy... something to keep you busy at night." "All right, then." "I'll let you off while it's still daylight." "I thought I heard somebody on the porch." "Wasn't your name Karl?" "Yes, sir, it is." "You're named Frank." "Yeah." "What are you doing by here?" " You said for me to come by." " Wanna play ball with us?" "I ain't no good at it." "I just come by to see you." "I was going to see my mama at Hoochy's Dollar Store." "She works 2:00 to 8:00." "All right, then." "You want to go with me?" "You can meet my mama." "I ought not worry your mama with company." "Come on." "You'll like her." "She's real nice." "She'll give us anything we want her to, candy or something." "I was needing to do some trading." "Reckon they sell toothpaste?" "Yeah, they sell a little bit of everything." "I won't tell her about you being in the state hospital for killing." "Come on." "Let's go." "You have to learn to live without all that grease." "Here in the South, I like grease in everything." "I like fried chicken, fried okra, biscuits and gravy." " lt will kill you." " Hey, Mama, Vaughan." " What you up to, sweetheart?" " l bet I know." " You want candy and pop, right?" " Yeah." "That rots your teeth." "I've got something better." "Potted meat is on special-- four cans for a dollar." "They're not selling but I'll give the right kid some for free." "I don't like potted meat." "Daddy said it was made from lips, peckers and intestines." "Don't talk that way." "Did that strange-looking man follow you in here?" "Can I help you?" "That's Karl. I met him at the laundry mat." "Karl, this is Mama and Vaughan." "Vaughan is the manager." "He lets Mama off work anytime because they're best friends." "Nice to meet you, Karl." "Pleased to meet you." "Frank, come back here with me for a minute." "I haven't seen you here before." "No, sir, I don't reckon you have." "I haven't been in here before." "This store didn't used to be here." "It's been here 17 years." "Did you live here before?" "I was born and raised here till I was 12 years old." " What brings you back?" " What's that you say?" "Why are you here now?" "They turned me loose from the state hospital." "is that right?" "How long are you staying?" "Mr. Woolridge got me hired at Bill Cox's outfit." " You have family here?" " Not to speak of." "Hey, Karl." "Guess what?" "Mama said you can stay in our garage." "Our car doesn't fit anyway." "It's real neat." "Frank told me about your situation." "Frank loves company." "Especially after his daddy passed and all." "There's no sense in you staying in that greasy old shop." "He's mentally retarded, poor thing." " He just go out of the state hospital." " l know." " Can we get some candy and pop?" " Sure." "Go ahead." "Come on." " ls it safe to let him around that guy?" " Frank's crazy about him." "He likes the way he talks and he helped Frank carry home the laundry." "He's been in the hospital a long time." "There must be something wrong with him." "He's retarded." "Frank's always after a father figure." "Lord knows Doyle ain't a good one with his mean ass." " What about me?" " He doesn't see you as a "guy" guy." "Karl's a "guy" guy?" "I call this my secret place." "I come out here when I feel like being alone." "I used to come here with Karen Cross." "She kind of used to be my girlfriend." "We would come out here and hold hands and talk... and read books to each other with a flashlight." "She wouldn't have nothing to do with me in front of other people... because Mama and I don't have any money." "Her daddy's a dentist, so they're rich." "Was your folks well off?" "No, we barely had enough to scrape by on, I reckon." "Your folks still around?" "My mother's dead." "My daddy's still around but he don't want to have nothing to do with me." " How do you know?" " He never did want to." "I figure he probably ain't changed his mind much." "How'd your mama die?" "You don't need to hear things like that." "You just a boy." "You need to think good thoughts while you still a boy." "There's lots of time for all the other." "I had bad thoughts since Daddy died." "Sometimes I wish I was still little and he was still here." "Mama's real good, but I wish I had both of them." "We went to Memphis in the car once." "It was raining so hard we couldn't see the road... but I wasn't scared because as long as Daddy was driving... nothing could happen to us." "That's the way I feel about Mama now." "Mama has a boyfriend now." "His name is Doyle Hargraves." "He works construction so he makes a pretty good living... but he don't help Mama out with any money." "He ain't no good." "He's mean to her." "He don't like me at all." "Mama says he's jealous because I belong to my daddy." "He spends the night at our house and he's got his own house." "Somebody told me this way he can have more girlfriends." "I like the nights he's not there." "I ain't so nervous then." "How come she's still being girlfriends with him if he's mean to her?" "She says it's for the times he's good to her." "She's lonely since Daddy died." "Sometimes she don't know why." "He threatened to kill her if she left him." "My daddy would kill him if he was here and somebody was mean to Mama." "Vaughan's real good to Mama." "Vaughan that you met?" "But he's not able to do anything to Doyle." "He's funny." "Not "funny," ha-ha." ""Funny," queer." "He likes to go with men." "That makes him not able to fight good, but he sure is nice." "He's from St. Louis." "Queer people get along better in a big town." "I wish he like to go with women." "I'd rather him be Mama's boyfriend than Doyle." "Karl, remember I told you Daddy got hit by a train?" "Yes, sir, I recollect that." "It ain't the truth." "He shot himself with a shotgun on purpose." "How come him do that?" "Because he didn't have enough money to take care of us like he wanted to." "That's what the letter said." "He got laid off of work and did odd jobs." "I thought he took care of us just fine." "Karl, did you really kill somebody?" "Yes, sir, I did." " Who'd you kill?" " Two people." " Were they bad people?" " l thought they was." "Maybe they needed it." "I growed up and learned that you ain't supposed to kill nobody." "It's okay if you're protecting yourself, if it's self-defense." "Was it self-defense?" "My daddy was good." "I think too many good people die." "That's what I think." "You sure you wanna stay with these folks?" "You're welcome to stay here." "It's working out good." "That boy wants me to." "All right, then." "I'll see you bright and early." "How's that garden tiller coming?" "I fixed it." "It's working pretty good now." "You done fixed it?" "I'll be damned." "Scooter told me it couldn't be fixed." "Of course, Scooter's about as shiftless as one poor son-of-a-bitch can be." "You done fixed it." "Well, I'll just be damned." " l'll see you tomorrow." " All right, then." "I don't guess I'll give a shit, then." "I ain't here that much." "If you want a retard living in your garage, that's your business." "I do got some tools I'd rather not have stoled." "I could take those home with me." "He's real honest." "He wouldn't steal nothing." "Frankie, I wasn't talking to you, was I?" " No, sir." " "No, sir" is right." "I was talking to your mama." "It's her decision, not yours." "If I let it go on, it's because she asked me, not you." "Does this retard drool and rub shit in his hair and all that?" "I'm going to have a hard time eating around that kind of thing." "Just like with antique furniture and midgets." "I can't so much as drink a glass of water around a midget or an antique." "Doyle, you're awful." "You shouldn't be that way." "I ain't saying it's right. lt's just the truth." "He'll make me sick." " What was he in the nut house for?" " He's just retarded, I guess." "No, he had of gone nuts and did something." "A lot of retards running around that ain't locked up in the nut house." "Think about it, Linda." "You know what he done, Frank?" " l ain't sure." " You oughta want to find out." "He might have hacked his family to pieces with a hatchet or something." "Frank, you'd better ask him." "Don't hurt his feelings, but it would be good to know." "I'm sure it's nothing." "He seems sweet." "You're all hung up on people being sweet." "He's sweet." "Everybody's sweet." "Speaking of sweet, where's your girlfriend?" " l thought he was coming over." " He'll be here in a while." " We're going for ice cream." " Now ain't that sweet." "What do I do about supper while you're running around with that fag?" "You're not crippled." "Go make something." "Talking back and everything, aren't you?" "That makes me horny." "Frank, go and play in your room, if Doyle's going to talk nasty." " l don't want to go play." " He don't want to." "Let him stay." "Let's be a family till your mentally retarded and homosexual friends arrive." "Yes, sir?" "You're really going to stay here." "That boy wants me to." "Have you knocked yet?" " No, sir, I ain't." " How long have you been here?" "Quite a spell, I reckon." "Before you get used to staying here, we need to talk about a few things." "Can I take you to lunch?" "I done ate a little bit ago." "I mean tomorrow or the next day." "I reckon I could eat something at noontime." "Bill Cox generally gets me a box lunch... but I reckon he can lay off doing it tomorrow." "Then I'll come by and pick you up around noon, all right?" "All right, then." "There's your girlfriend." "Y'all come on in." "Come on." "Have a seat in here." " Hey, Vaughan." "How are you, Karl?" " Tolerable, I reckon." "Karl, this is Doyle." "Frank, you and Karl go fix him up a place in the garage." " Vaughan, you ready to go?" " Sure." "Honey, don't rush everybody off." " You and Karl want to go with us?" " l don't want to." "We got things we need to do." "Vaughan, you know what I heard?" "That you been putting it on Albert Sellers over at the funeral home." " l know Albert." "We're friends." " l heard you was more than friends." "I heard Dick Rivers caught you two going at it in the same room... with poor old Mrs. Ogletree and her dead as a doornail laid out on a gurney." " That's ridiculous, a total lie." " Let's go, Vaughan." "We'll be back in a while." "I'll bring you something." " Your food's in the oven warming over." " You fixed him something." "Vaughan, I was just going on with you." "Just joking around." "You know, buddy." "I know." "You're a real card." "Karl, come over, sit down and talk to me." "Come on, Karl." "Let's go to the garage." "Goddammit. I want to talk to him." "Sit down, Karl." "What's in your bag?" "This and that." "Toothpaste and whatnot." " What's all them books?" " Different ones." "One of them's the Bible." "You believe in the Bible, Karl?" "Yes, sir." "A good deal of it." "I can't understand all of it." "I can't understand none of it." "This one begat that one, that one begat this one... and begat and begat and lo and behold someone says some shit to someone." " How retarded are you?" " Stop it, Doyle." "Frankie, be quiet." "We're talking." "The adults are talking." "Was you in lockup for cutting someone with a hatchet or something?" "I ain't never used no hatchet that I remember." "So you're just crazy in a retard kind of way then?" "It wouldn't matter to me if you did do violence." "I ain't scared of shit." "You think I'm scared for you to stay here?" "You just a humped-over retard." "I'm just kidding you." "Welcome to our humble home, buddy." "Frank needs all the friends he can get." "Frank's a weak little kid." "His daddy taught him how to be a pussy." "Don't talk about my daddy." "Go on out to the garage." "Leave me be." "Go on." "Come on, Karl." "Don't say nothing about our little spat to your mama." "I don't want her worrying." "I'd like to kill that son-of-a-bitch." "I hate him." "You ought not talk that away." "You just a boy." "Well, I hate him." "He ought not talk that away to you neither." "He ain't no account." "He's mean to you and your mama." "Your mama and that fellow that's carrying me to get something to eat's... going to be back directly." "Will you be here with us for a long time?" "I reckon, if you want me to." "I got some of that potted meat and soda crackers if you want some." "How can you eat all that stuff with them insides it's made out of?" "I reckon it tastes pretty good to me." "I like the way you talk." "Well, I like the way you talk." "You think it's really got peckers in there?" "You know better than to say that word." "It smells kinda funny." "It's a little loud." "Looky right here." "I believe you right." "I believe I see one in there." "Thank you, sir." "Mister, could you hand me that mustard over there?" "Thank you." "Okay, Karl." "The reason that I... brought you here is... to talk about something that's on my mind." "I'm just going to put it right out on the table." "Where do I start?" "Linda and Frank are very important to me." "They're like family." "My own family was never like a family." "They're horrible people." "As a matter of fact... for years I prayed every night that my father would die... and finally realized, through a lot of therapy... I was wasting my energy on hating him." "So now I just don't care." "But you see, you and I are a lot alike... as strange as that may seem." "I don't mean physically or even mentally, really... but emotionally." "Actually, the hand we've been dealt in life" "We're different." "People see us as being different, anyway." "You're-- You've got... your affliction or whatever and l" "Well, mine's not as easy to see." "I'm just going to say it." "I'm gay." "Does that surprise you?" "That I'm gay?" " You know what "gay" is, don't you?" " l don't reckon." "Homosexual." "I like men." "Sexually." "Not "funny," ha-ha." ""Funny," queer." "That's an offensive way to put it." "You shouldn't say that." "You were taught that, weren't you?" "I've heard it said that away, yes, sir." "Anyway, it's hard to live gay-- that's the right way to say it-- in a small town like this." "I've wanted to leave many times, but... because I love..." "Linda, Frank and... a certain other person" "They've kept me here." "Anyway, I'm rambling." "If you're going to live in the Wheatley garage... you need to know it's not going to be easy." "Doyle is a monster." "Not just a closed-minded redneck, but a monster, a dangerous person." "I've told Linda that one day that man is going to hurt her and that boy... maybe even kill them." "I see it in his eyes." "I'm very in tune, even psychic." "But Doyle is going to make your life hell." "There's one more thing." "It's none of my business why you were in the state hospital." "Everybody has something in their past." "Maybe... you tried suicide." "Maybe you did something terrible." "But what I see before me... is a gentle... simple man." "All I want you to promise me... is that you are capable of being around Frank and Linda." "You know." "You would never... hurt either of them for any reason, would you?" "I would never hurt them." "That's what I thought. I'm sorry if I've offended you in any way." "You seem like a thinker, you know." "You seem to always be deep in thought." "What are you thinking right now?" "I was thinking I might wanna take some of these potatoes home with me." "How about before that?" "Let me think." "Before that, I was thinking... I could use me six or eight cans of that potted meat... if you got any extra." "Frankie, get some of this salad." "Hold your plate up for me." "I'm just gonna reach." "How come Karl won't eat in here with us?" "I don't know." "He said he'd eat out there." "I wouldn't let it get to you." "Put some dressing on there." " Yes." " l just feel sorry for the poor thing." "Who the hell could eat with him making all that racket in his throat?" "He does make some funny noises." "I like the way he talks." "Sounds like a race car motor idling." "Makes me not be nervous." "I'm glad of it." "What have you got to be nervous about?" "You're a kid." "You got no bills to pay, no business to run." "You don't even have to have a job." "You got no old lady on your ass at all." "I don't know." "I just stay nervous." "Could I have some of that ham?" "Yeah. I'm sorry." "Thank you." " You know what, by God?" " What?" "I know what I ought to do tonight." "Please, don't." "I'm gonna call up Morris and get the band together." "We're gonna party our asses off." "I'd love to show them Karl." "They'd get a kick out of him." "Not tonight." "I'm not up for it." "They always stay till morning." "I'll just give out." "You don't gotta do nothing." "Just put chips in a bowl... and run ice out to us when we get low." "Last time, you got mad and run Morris and them off and told them to stay away." "That ain't none of your business." "Besides, that's the way friends are." "Fuck. I'm calling them up." "Linda, go into the garage and get my guitar." "It's out there with that looney toon." "Now?" "Yeah, now." "I'm calling them up." "Morris, what you doing, boy?" "Where's Randy and them?" "Yeah, now." "Please." "Frankie, go help your mom." " When are we gonna eat?" " Hang on." "Eat when you come back." "Get my guitar." "Come on, sugar." "I wanna get together." "Yeah." "Call him." "One." "Two." "One, two, three, four." "You gotta play through it." "Wail on the gig, but you gotta play through it." " No, you play through" " You like that, Vaughan?" "Sure. it sounds like a number one hit tune." "Karl, did you like that?" " l reckon." " l wish you'd all lay off for tonight!" " l can't think with that racket!" " Hey!" " lt's nighttime." " Hey!" " l'm calling the police!" " l told you already!" "The law's on my side!" "I play cards with J.D. Shelnut, chief of police!" "So kiss my ass, you old bastard!" "You and Frank clean this mess up." "Put the tarp over these instruments." "Me and the boys are going to the county line." "We're out of liquor." "Karl, come with us." "Vaughan, come on." "It's late." "I have to work tomorrow." "Don't be a pussy." "We all gotta work tomorrow." " Come on." " He don't want to." "Don't go if you don't want to." "You'll wreck, Doyle." "You're drunk." "I ain't gonna wreck." "I'll be good. I promise." "I love you, sweetie." "Come on, Karl." "Go with us." "Just trying to make these two feel like they're part of it." "Come on, Vaughan." "This'll be fun." "Karl, let's go." "Come on." " You gotta lay out on that tambourine." " l ain't did nothing wrong." "Hey!" "Ain't anybody gonna come get me?" "I don't understand what you are talking about." " Exactly the point, my young friend." " l don't get it." "I rest my case." "Morris is real smart with philosophies and things." "That's why him and me is the songwriting team of our group." "I come up with the good tunes, or melodies, as we call them..." "Morris is the lyrics." "Not unlike Gary Brooker of Procol Harum." "We don't ever played songs y'all wrote. I ain't heard one of them." "Y'all just talk." "We don't play any songs with words at all." "We ain't got no fucking microphone!" "We ain't got no speakers!" "We wrote one last night outside the mini-mart." "Morris called it, "Stuart Drives a Comfortable Car."" "Then, like in country songs, in parenthesis it says..." ""There's usually someone in the trunk."" "And I came up with a tune, just humming." "You don't wanna question a genius, Vaughan." "Morris here's a modern-day poet." "Kind of like in the olden times." "Yeah, I got a new tune." "This composition's entitled, "The Thrill."" "Goes something like this:" "I stand on the hill, not for a thrill... but for a breath of a fresh kill." "Never mind the man who contemplates... doing away with license plates." "He stands alone anyhow... baking the cookies of discontent... by the heat of the laundromat vent." "Leaving his soul." "Then, like in poetry, I go dot, dot, dot." "You know, kind of off-center, then I drop down... and then I go:" "Leaving his soul... parting the waters of the medulla oblongata... of... mankind." "Damn good song, wasn't it?" "You like that song?" "All right." "I don't think that's right." "I believe the "dot, dot, dot" come between..." ""medulla" and "oblongata."" "Well, it did." "The dots are where l say they are." "Melody and tune." "That's your trade, Terence." "You're a tunesmith." "I don't understand the words." "Y'all don't shut up, I'm gonna go out of my mind." "Besides, Karl's liable to bust his spring." "He's already off balance." "That wasn't the way you made it up before." "That's all I know." "We don't need no fancy words." "We need to practice, to rehearse." "I'll tell you what we need." "We need some paying gigs." "We don't need this messing around." "That's ridiculous." "Amen, Johnson." "We don't got no goddamn band!" "We don't need to fucking practice!" "We don't need a shit-ass manager neither!" "You motherfuckers!" "You're all just a bunch of losers!" "I'm the only sane son-of-a-bitch here!" "Get the fuck out of my house!" "It's not your house." "It's Linda's." "I'll whip the dog shit out of you." "I will fucking kill you if you talk to me again!" "All of you get the fuck out before I get too mad to turn back!" "What about our instruments?" "Come here, you little prick!" "Come here, you little fucking prick!" "Get out!" "All y'all!" "Get the fuck out!" "Come on, you motherfuckers!" "Get the fuck out!" "Randy, you tuning son-of-a-bitch!" "Go fucking practice!" "Come on, Morris." "You fucking genius." "Get the fuck up... and get the fuck out of here, goddammit!" "This ain't right, Doyle." " There's something wrong with you." " Get out!" "Nobody wants to take this shit." "Dots look good on paper." "You don't sing them anyway." " You're just showing your true colors." " Stay out of my face, you buzzard!" "Hey!" "I said get out of my house!" "That goes for cocksuckers and retards!" "Get up off your asses and go!" "This is not your house." "This is my house." "I'll say who stays and goes." "You got a house." "Why don't you go home to it?" "You know better to talk like that when I'm hurting." "Don't make me knock the piss out of you." "Don't you touch her." "That's funny, Vaughan." "Linda, go to bed." "And take little snot-nose here with you." "You're not staying here tonight." "Get sober before you come back." "I'm tired of my child seeing this." "Get your ass straight or I'll lock your ass out of my life for good." "If you even think about leaving me, I told you... I'm gonna kill you deader than a doornail." " That might be better than this." " l'm a witness to you threatening her." "You get the fuck out now!" "Leave!" " Don't tell me what to do." " Leave!" " Don't do that!" " l'm calling the police!" " Goddamn you, little prick!" " Don't touch my mama!" "Don't touch her!" "Go home!" " Get away from here!" " Jesus!" "Hey!" "Goddamn you!" "Get away from us!" "Get away from us!" "All right." "Okay." "I'm gonna leave now." "Fuck me." "I'm gonna go home and sober up." "Go on, then." "Everything's bothering me." "I'm hurting, Linda." " l love you." " Well, I hate you!" "I hate you, you little prick!" "No, I don't." "I love your mama." "I just-- l can't explain what goes on." "You bunch of freaks." "I hope you have fun." "I'll call you tomorrow." "I'm sorry, honey." "I said I'm sorry, Linda." "All right." "You can kiss my ass." "And if you ever hit me again, you little bastard... I'll make you sorry your daddy ever squirted your ass out." "You hear me?" " You all right?" " l'm fine." "Let's just try and forget about tonight." "We don't need to think about bad thoughts, do we?" "No, honey." "We don't." "I'll make some coffee and start cleaning up." "Karl, you want some coffee, hon?" "Coffee kindly make me nervous when I drink it." "You scared me." "l didn't aim to." "You wanna sit down?" "You need something?" "No, ma'am." "There was these two fellers standing on a bridge going to the bathroom." "One feller says that the water is cold." "The other says that the water is deep." "I believe one feller comes from Arkansas." "Get it?" "I'll be dog." "Reckon you can make some biscuits?" "You mean right now?" "Whenever you take a notion to." "I don't mean to put you out none." "It is nearly breakfast time anyway." "I can't go to sleep." "I have to be at work in three hours." "You know how it is if you only sleep an hour or two." "You feel worse than if you hadn't slept at all." "Yes, ma'am. I do." "Sit down." "I'll make you some biscuits and gravy." " Mustard's good on them to me." " Okay." " Thank you." " lt's all right." "I was thinking-- There's this girl that works with me." "She's real heavy, but she's cute in the face." "Well, you know, she's slow." "She's a little bit-- She's not retarded." "It don't matter." "I thought you might like to meet her." "Vaughan wants to have a supper at his house." "We could invite her." "Would you like that?" "I reckon I wouldn't mind having a little supper." "Vaughan's friend will be there too." "He works at the funeral home." "You know, Frank really likes you a lot." "He says you make him feel calm." "I like Frank." "He's a good boy." "Me and him made friends." "It ain't right for me to keep from telling you... how come me to be in a state hospital." "That's okay." "It's not really my business." "Have wondered, though." "Why was it?" "Was it like a nervous breakdown?" "I killed my mother and an old boy named Jesse Dixon." "I thought they's doing wrong." "I was about your boy's age." "They told me I'm well from it now." "Was that you?" "I remember that." "I was only three or four... but I always heard about it growing up." "They say you're well?" "Yes, ma'am." "I like your garage." "I never would hurt you or that boy." "I'd lay my hand on the Bible and say the same thing." "I know you wouldn't, hon." "Well, I'll make you some biscuits." "How about you, Jerry?" " How are you, Bill?" " Doing pretty good." "Got a sick tiller." "What's got you down this way?" "I thought I'd check up on Karl." "See how things are working out." "He's pretty quiet, except for them rackets and breathing things he does." "He ain't threatening me with a killing or nothing." "You couldn't have been more right about him fixing things." "He's a regular Eli Whitney on a lawn mower." "And loves french fries." "He can eat four larges and won't even belch." "I'm proud to have him." " Him staying working out?" " He's gone to staying with... that Wheatley boy and his mama in their garage." "That little boy's adopted him like a mascot." "He got a key here to come and go as he pleases." "He's working out real good." " Can I see him?" " Sure." "Scooter, take Jerry in to talk to Karl." "All right." "Sure you'll be okay staying with that woman and her boy?" "Yes, sir." "Do they know about you?" "My history?" "Yeah." "I told them about it." "They know I'm well." "That Miss Wheatley made me some biscuits." "I'll be." "That boy, he's my friend." "He likes the way I talk, and I like the way he talks." "I knew you were gonna be all right." "I just wanna check on you." "I'm gonna tell Bill good-bye and head on back." "All right, then." "Karl, see if you can figure out what's wrong with this thing." "It won't crank up." "Everything seems to be put together right." " Bill, I'll see you." " Okay." "Stop back by." "Don't worry about your boy." "He's doing good." "It ain't got no gas in it." "You see there, Scooter." "Thinks of the simplest things first." " Does everybody like the food?" " Yeah." "Good. I haven't decided yet if I'm a good cook." "Karl, you know what?" "Melinda was voted employee of the month at the Dollar Store last February." "Isn't that something?" "Yes, ma'am. I reckon." "When you like pricing items as much as I do... it's just bound to happen sooner or later, I guess." "Maybe you and Melinda might like to take a walk tonight." " lt's such a nice evening." " Vaughan, don't get pushy." "I'm sorry." "I kind of like walking from time to time." "I stay on my feet all the time at work." "I just can't find shoes that's comfortable." "Hospital shoes might be the answer." "Nurse's shoes." "Or the kind old ladies wear who work in school cafeterias." "Same difference." "I get real mean when my feet hurt." "It's the only time I don't like checking out customers." "When my feet hurt." "You and Karl aren't talking much." "You boys must really like that food." "Well, I ain't got nothing to say about shoes." "Listen, everybody." "This might sound corny, but-- l've had some wine and that tends to make me emotional... but I'm gonna say it anyway." "It came over me in a rush." "I just want you all to know... that I care about each and every person at this table." "Thank you." "That's really sweet of you." "We care about you too." "Don't we, y'all?" "Yeah." "Also, please don't tell anyone at the store... that Albert was here tonight." "Why?" "You know how this town is." "People talk... and they spread cruel rumors." "Unfortunately, there's certain parts of my life I have to keep private." "You mean about you and Albert being together in that way?" " Yes." " l think everybody already knows." "They're always talking about it." "Maureen Ledbetter told the most awful story... about why you ain't allowed at the First Baptist Church no more." "Karl, why don't you and Melinda take a walk?" "It's nice out." "All right, then." "That sure was quick." "You walk fast, don't you?" "I reckon." "These are the worst shoes I own for walking." "How far'd you say you want to go?" "I don't reckon I thought about it too much." "I don't know." "She just ain't catching fire." "I don't know." "She just ain't catching fire." "Did you check them points?" "No, I didn't." "That's probably it." " Yes, ma'am?" " ls Karl here?" "Yes." "Just a minute." "Karl." "There's somebody out here to see you." "Some gal holding a nice bouquet." "Come on out." "She wants to talk to you." "Don't just sit there." "Hi. I'm on my lunch break." "These are on sale 'cause they're not fresh." "Two ninety-nine a bunch, plus my ten percent employee discount." "Since I didn't bring nothing for you on our date last night... I thought you might like to have them." "Thank you." "Scooter, let's go over to the Frosty Cream and pick up something for lunch." "I can go." "You don't have to." " You don't never go." " Goddammit, Scooter." "Let's go." "Pardon my language, ma'am." "Well, I just thought I'd bring them." "I liked walking with you." "I got a blister the size of a quarter on one heel." "Well, I'll see you sometime, I guess." "Blisters sure can hurt." "Yeah." "Flowers is pretty." "I've always thought that." "Me too." "Hey, Karl." "How'd you know I was in the garage?" "I seen that door cracked open a little." "I figured you was in there." " You off of work?" " Yes, sir." "Where'd you get them flowers?" "That gal that made employee of the month at the Dollar Store." "She gave them to me for walking with her." "I was going over to the secret place." "I borrowed one of your books." "You ain't mad, are you?" "No, sir." "You can look at every one of my books you want to." "Thank you." "It's name's "A Christmas Carol."" "That's that one on Christmas I was telling you about." "You wanna go with me?" "All right, then." " Yeah." "Come on." " All right." "Know why I want you to play ball with me?" "No." "'Cause it's fun." "Don't matter if you ain't no good." "It takes your mind off of everything else." "And when you're trying to score a touchdown... that's all you're thinking about." "I ain't no account, but Daddy always said... he was proud of me when I threw the ball and ran with it." "Did you have any brothers and sisters growing up to play with?" "I had one there for a little bit." "But... it didn't get old enough for me to play with it." "Why not?" "It die?" "Yes, sir." "Why?" "It got born a little too early." "My mother and father made it come out too early." "So it died when it come out?" "My daddy come out to the shed and got me... said, "Here." "Take this and throw it away."" "He handed me a towel with something or another in it." "I started for that barrel... and I opened up the towel 'cause there was a noise... and something moving around in it." "That towel was all bloody-like all around it there." "It was a little old baby, not no bigger than a squirrel." "It was alive?" "Yes, sir." "Right then it was." "A boy or girl?" "It was a little old boy." "You threw it in the trash barrel?" "That didn't seem right to me." "So I went into the shed and got a shoe box... and emptied out the screwdrivers, washers and nuts... and things out of it." "I taken the little feller and put him in the box... buried him in the corner of the yard." "That seemed more proper to me, I reckon." "It was still alive when you buried it?" "I heard it crying a little through that box." "That don't seem right. lt seems like you would have took care of him... if he was your brother." "I wasn't but six or eight." "I reckon I didn't know what to do." "I didn't know how to care for no baby." "My mother and father didn't want him." "They learned me to do what they told me to do." "I figure it probably best we give him right back to the good Lord... right off the bat anyhow." "That makes me feel real sad." "Couldn't you have done something?" "I would have." "I wish I'd had him." "He'd still be right here, now." "Living." "It makes me sad too." "I wish there was something I could have did about it." "I don't think nothing bad oughta happen to children." "I think all those bad things oughta be saved up... for the folks that done growed up, that's the way I see it." "I shouldn't have told you about that." "Boy your age ought not to hear such things." "It just kind of come out." "I didn't mean to say nothing bad about you." "You're good." "You don't mean no harm." "You ever think about killing yourself on purpose, like Daddy did?" "I studied about it some." "Bible says you ought not to." "Says you do that, you go off to Hades." "Some folks call it hell." "I call it Hades." "Bible says the same thing about killing others too." "Yes, sir." "I reckon it does." "Spend more time over here" "Well, hell." "There's the boys." "How you doing?" "Glad you all came back." "I was wanting to talk to y'all." "Come sit down." "Come on." "Sit down." "I was just telling Linda-- We were thinking that things... would be a lot better if I spent more time over here." "And if we could-- Hell, I'll just start over." "I took off work early today, and your mama did the same, so we could talk." "Really what I came over here to do was apologize-- which ain't easy for me-- about how I acted the other night." "I admit it." "I was drunk." "I got all worked up and one thing led to another." "I care about you all, though." "I do." "I don't mean to be so damned-- well, asshole-ish, I guess would be the word." "Karl, I don't believe I hit you, did I?" "So no apology necessary, I guess." "But, Frankie, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry I hit your mama." "It's just that I'm jealous of her." "I don't like her life or how she lives it." "I don't like homosexuals." "And she goes out and buddies up with one, so I gotta deal with that." "I don't like wimpy-ass kids or mental retards... and she got one of each living with her." "I'm just kidding about that." "I mean, we all got to get along... no matter what our differences are." "See, I work construction." "I build things." "You understand how important that is to the world, Frankie?" "I don't know if you realize the pressure a man like me's got on him." "The upshot is, I'm gonna be spending a lot more time here." "We're gonna all get along like a family should." "I might even surprise you and pop the question." "Well." "I'm gonna get on back over to the job site... lock up some stuff over there." "I just wanted to stop by and give y'all a little piece of happiness today." "Bye-bye." "You be a good boy now." "Hear me?" "Well, at least he's trying... but who knows for how long." "He's lying, Mama." "He'll never do better." "I know, honey." "Just remember what I said." "We'll bide our time." "You just steer clear of him as much as you can." "Doyle's had a hard life." "It's just about run him crazy." "We had hard lives too, Mama." "You're a hell of a boy, Frank." "Someday, you're gonna get all the good things you deserve." "Karl's gonna get some more biscuits tonight." "What do you think about that?" "I could sure use some." "Karl, come unload a generator for me." "Lift this thing down and carry it to the back." " lt's on the blink." " You want us to help you lift that?" "No." "That Karl's strong enough to lift a bulldozer." "He can fix anything too." "He's mentally retarded, but he's a whiz at small engines." "The Lord works in mysterious ways." "What I was telling you was, he didn't just make the team..." "Coach says he's gonna start him at end on defense." "Guy's a chip off the old block, ain't you, Steve?" " l guess so." " How's the rest of the team look?" "Pretty good." "We expect to do well." " Got a quarterback this year?" " Jeff Bailey's boy." "You know him." " Got a good arm." "A little slow." " l watched him in junior high." "He throws the ball pretty well." "He's taller now." "You gonna start at the defensive end?" "Hup!" "Come on, man!" "Good job, Karl." "We got a touchdown." "That was a good lateral." "That was just like the wishbone." "Yes, sir." "I darned near made me a touchdown." "Then I seen them boys bearing down on me." "Figured I better give it off to you. I seen you following me." "We liable to win if we keep this up." "For somebody like you, you sure can run fast." " Come on." "Let's kick off to them." " All right, then." "I know you could have scored that touchdown by yourself... instead of throwing it over to me." "Them boys was trying to pull me down pretty hard." "You're strong." "You just threw it to me... where l could score that touchdown so I'd feel good." "My daddy used to do that kind of thing." "It don't matter to me about us losing." "Does it to you?" "No, sir." "It was fun anyhow." "I wasn't thinking about nothing else, just like you told me I'd do." "Can we play every Saturday?" "If I ain't too stove up." "I ain't like you." "I'm old and give out." "I'm proud of you." "I'd kick your head in 25 years ago." "You're dead, I guess." "Where'd you go to?" "I know, Mother." "That's kind of sad." "I was drunk when I did it." "I'm your boy." "I ain't got no boy." "I'm your oldest boy, name of Karl." "I ain't got no boy." "They turned me loose from the nervous hospital." "Said I was well." "I got hired on to work for Mr. Bill Cox, fixing lawn mowers and whatnot." "That grass out there in the yard growed up quite a bit." "I figured I might cut it for you." "I told you I ain't got no boy." "Get on out of here and let me be." "You ain't no kin to me." "I learned to read some." "I read the Bible quite a bit." "I can't understand all of it." "But I reckon I understand a good deal of it." "Them stories you and Mama told me, they ain't in there." "You ought not done that to your boy." "I studied on killing you." "I studied about it quite a bit." "But I reckon there's no need for it if all you're gonna do... is sit there in that chair." "You'll be dead soon enough." "And the world'll be shut of you." "You ought not kill my little brother." "He ought of had a chance to growed up." "He would have had fun sometime." "Little feller." "What the goddamn hell you doing up in the middle of the night?" "What you want, hon?" "I wanna be baptized." "Get baptized then." "I don't give a shit!" "Call up a fucking preacher!" "We can't baptize you." "We'll go see Brother Epersom tomorrow and get you baptized." "It's Sunday." "You go on back to bed now." "What are you doing with that damn hammer?" "I don't rightly know." "I just woke up holding it." " What's he's doing with that hammer?" " l don't know." "Upon his profession of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ... in obedience under His command... and by the authority of this church... I indeed baptize this brother... in the name of the Father and the Son... and the Holy Ghost." "Amen." "Marie, would you sing 137, please?" "Softly and tenderly" "Jesus is calling" "Calling for you and for me" " How'd the baptizing go?" " Real good." "Yeah?" "Good." "I'm kind of hungry." "Isn't it about time to eat?" "You know what I got a crave for?" "Some of that Chicken Champ." "Why don't you run down and get some?" "I'll buy." "Would y'all like that?" "It sounds fine to me." "I'd value me a chicken leg or two." " Get some of their cole slaw too." " Okay." "Y'all wanna go with me?" "They don't need to go with you." "There's a ball game coming on." " We'll sit here and do man things." " l'll be back in a little bit." " All right." "Get some extra gravy." " Okay." "Why don't y'all sit your asses down here." "Sit down." "I just wanted to get your mama out of the house so we could talk." "Here's the deal, Frank." "If I'm gonna throw my life away to come live with y'all... we're gonna get some shit straight." "Your mama and I don't have no problems except for you." "Fact is, we never have a bad word between us." "But since you do exist... and I'm gonna be the head of the household... you're gonna learn to live by my rules." "The first rule is:" "You don't speak unless you're spoken to." "You got me?" "Now you stay the hell out of my way." "And do what a regular kid does." "You're a weird little shit, Frank." "And I don't get you." "So wake up and face what they call reality." "We're gonna be a family." "My family." "I'll be paying all the bills." "So that means, you're stuck with my ass... but I ain't your daddy." "You just act like I am." "The other thing I say is... your buddy Karl is going." "We can't be no normal family with him living in the garage... and coming in the bedroom at 4:00 in the morning with hammers." "Karl could stay if he wants to." "Mama said" "What I tell you about your mama?" "Mister, don't you never lay another hand on that boy." " You understand me?" " Let go of my hand, you retard." "Get out there!" "Get your shit and get out!" "That's a wake-up call, Frankie." "You remember what I said about reality!" "Get out, retard." "Where you going?" "Didn't you want some chicken and things?" "No, ma'am." "I'm going off somewheres." "Well, okay." "I got you some." "Frank-- he went off somewheres too." "So when you go in there, he won't be indoors." "Where did he go?" "What's going on?" "He just wanted to go play, I reckon." "You go in and eat with that Doyle... and don't worry yourself none." "All right, then." "Well, I'll see you later." "If you see Frank, tell him to come home." "I don't get to see him except Sundays." "He can go play tomorrow." " Ma'am?" " Yeah?" "You're a good mama to that boy." "You care for him." "You work hard to care for him." "You light him up in his eyes." "I've seen it." "That boy wouldn't know what to do without you." "Thank you." "That's real good of you to say." "I wouldn't know what to do without him either." "You been real good to me too." "It ain't everybody that'd make biscuits in the middle of the night." "You and that boy's given me a good feeling." "We sure like having you." "Thank you." "I'm just now getting around to telling you" "But I fixed that washing machine so that boy ain't gotta tote laundry no more." "Thank you." "You been real good to me." "Hey, Karl." "How'd you know I'd come out here?" "I knowed you'd be out here." "What you doing digging with that stub?" "Just digging." "I ain't never gonna be happy now." "Not with that son-of-a-bitch moving in for good." "I wish me and you and Mama would just run away." "She said... wherever we went, he'd find us." "He's crazy." "Sometimes I think it'd been better off if I wasn't even born." "I'm glad of it you was borned." "I don't reckon I'm gonna be out there in the garage no more." "You have to." "You have to look out for me." "You can't let that son-of-a-bitch run you off." "You just a boy." "You ought not use language like that." "I don't mean to say nothing bad about you... but why don't you stop Doyle when he's being that way?" "You're older than him." "You're strong too." "My daddy wouldn't let him do that to me and Mama." "That feller's a whole site meaner than me." "He'd just whup the tar out of me." "Yeah. I guess so." "I'm real tired, you know that?" "A boy my age shouldn't be tired of things." "I'm tired too." "Just 'cause I ain't gonna be around no more, maybe... that don't mean I don't care for you." "I care for you a good deal." "I care for you more than anything else there is." "You and me made friends right off the bat." "I care for you too." "But you'll be around." "Don't say that." "It don't make no difference where l was to be." "We'll always be friends." "Can't nobody stop that." "I aim for you to have these books." "You don't wanna give away all your books." "I aim for you to have them." "Maybe you can make more sense of them than I can." "I made you a bookmarker and put it in that book on Christmas." "Thanks." "You know when you got a feeling and you don't know why?" "Yes, sir." "I got a feeling today." "Reckon, what kind of a feeling?" "Like something different." "I don't know." "You leaving, ain't you?" "Would you do something for me if I was to ask you to?" "You know I would." "Whatever you want." "When you leave outta here tonight... I don't want you going over there and staying with that Doyle." "He's got it out for you tonight." "I got me a feeling too." "You ought not be over there when he's all liquored up and mean." "Your mama neither." "When you get up here and leave, I want you to go to that feller's house-- your mama's friend." "I want you to give me your word on it." "Okay. I give you my word on it." "is everything gonna be okay?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah, everything's gonna be all right, boy." "I kind of wanna put my arm around you for a minute... then I'm gonna get up and leave out of here." "I love you, boy." "I love you too." "All right, then." "What are you doing here?" "You wanna come in?" "I ain't staying." "I need to ask you for a favor." "This evening I want you to go get Miss Wheatley... and let her and Frank stay over here with you tonight." "What's wrong?" "is everything all right?" "That Doyle... he's in a bad way again with that drinking and being mean to folks." "I want you to give me your word you'll do it." "Sure." "Okay." "He hasn't hurt them, has he?" "No, sir." "Not yet." "Here." "I want you to give that to Miss Wheatley." "It ain't much... but they might be a little something there to help out." "It's what I made fixing lawn mowers and whatnot for Bill Cox." "How about you, Karl?" "You wanna stay here?" "I don't reckon that you have to go with women to be a good daddy to a boy." "You been real square dealing with me." "Bible says two men ought not lay together." "But I bet you the good Lord wouldn't send nobody like you to Hades." "That boy" " Frank-- he lives inside of his own heart." "That's an awful big place to live in." "You take care of that boy." "I will." "Where's everybody else?" "You seen them?" "Didn't I tell you to get moved out of here?" "How does a feller go about getting hold of the police?" "Use the fucking phone, I guess." "Which numbers do you put in?" "Can't you see I'm trying to relax?" "I thought I told you to get out of here and leave me alone." "What the hell you doing with that lawn mower blade?" "I aim to kill you with it." "To call the police you push... nine, one, one." "Just tell them to bring an ambulance." "Or a "hearst," if you're gonna kill me." "Yes, ma'am." "I need the police sent over here to the Wheatley house." "I've killed Doyle Hargraves with a lawn mower blade." "Yes, ma'am." "I'm right sure of it." "I hit him two good whacks with it." "That second one just plumb near cut his head in two." "It's a little old white house... on the corner of Vine Street and some other street." "There's a truck out front, says "Doyle Hargraves Construction" on it." "I'll be sitting here waiting on you." "And Doyle said besides sending the police... you might wanna send an ambulance... or a "hearst."" "Thank you." "So... now on the third day... I washed her, 'cause she wasn't too clean, you know." "But I got all the right spots." "She was the first one I ever kept... 'cause I get bored real easy-- l got a short attention span, you know." "Now I can't say that she enjoyed her stay... with that washcloth I put in her mouth and held in place with duct tape." "Kept her complaining down to a minimum." "I don't like people who talk all the time." "I like to do all the talking." "That's why I think I'm so fond of you... 'cause you just so easygoing, you know." "Although, I do sense a little tension in you from time to time." "So you were out in the world?" "Did you have fun?" "Did you make any acquaintances?" "There was a boy." "We made friends." "I'll bet you did." "I was never bent that way." "I was bent the other way." "So?" "What was it like out there in the world?" "It was too big." "It's not too big in here, is it?" "You know something?" "I feel real... generous today-- l feel like listening." "I bet you got plenty to tell." "Who'd you kill?" "Was it the boy?" "Don't you say nothing about that boy." "Fact of business, don't you say another word to me." "I ain't listening to you no more." "Yeah."