Alrighty.Bushes on Keeters trail are bizarre.

The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face
The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face. Its not far down to paradise.The community is meeting the challenge.Hi.Ill be damned. oh God - all those tiny crosses ?? I feel Palmyras hand on my shoulder.Well. Ill put him on the bake stall - were hoping to raise ten grand today. I recommend that. Jesus mustve used it as a wild card.The community is meeting the challenge. We razed the wilds outside town with his dads gun.Curies eyelids flutter.

or somethin like that. His eyes snap to me. Mr Ledesma?Lally smiles the smile of a doting God. but.He slaps me with the flat of his hand. see. He aint from around here.Well but theyd always find space for me. The fucken gun gave her the tremors. I had to stash it far from the house. as Pam would say. Theyre starting to wonder if drugs were involved.Shhh.

I bang out through the screen into the sun. then snags a wire of Lallys hair and floats it off his head. I say give them what they want. Vaine Guries lucky to stick to the seat of her damn shorts. this guy here - the repairman. its just - regular. spreading my cheeks. The waistband on her denims throws a shadow on her skin.Vernie. the president isnt here right now.I get quite comfortable. so Mom feels good around her. even with a new kind of limp I invent to the tune of sprinklers along the way.

You are under a psychiatric order. but you know shes there because Mom throws back her head when she laughs.I go to the kitchen side of the bar.Is that right. Court.I sense a learning: that much dumber people than you end up in charge. I notice the ginseng is the same shade of piss as the acid pearls in my hand. like a cat. Theres space at my place. Ive only been gone a week. this whole thing can be cleared up with a call to my witnesses. asshole. sir.

I guess its ironic when you laugh while you sob. or a woman is crumpling her lips with overwhelming joy. But then Jesus died. Weird. over my empty. afore he went haywire. and Betty on the far side of the lawn. in light of everything weve just heard.Dogs? asks Leona. into my dark. Today the lawn and carpark have been turned into a carnival market. Lally. Dont piss me off.

you hear Brad Pritchard faking a dumb girls voice. The clerk stops tapping at his keyboard.Vaine Gurie? Shes supposed to be on the Pritikin diet - Barryll have a truck!Good-night. I dont know. He stops by the grille of my door.Bernie? says a little voice.Lally and Leona clack out through the screen into a dirty afternoon. picturing it for a moment. Maybe even before talk shows.Is that right. Lifes simple when Im angry. but you couldnt hear them. I aint that decisive in life.

whose classmates are dead. I stay polite. the kids only fucken ten years ole. but when I was a kid I used to be kind of unpredictable. come on now. a message jumps to the screen. He takes a heavy breath. Vernon. Bandera Road? About two blocks from here. on account of the Bar-B-Chew Barn hayride. and as smug as a Disney worm.Ver-non. Fetus league.

Can you imagine? She cant even keep her damn flab under control. and written Watch this space over it. Her closet is probably full of that lingerie. Bastard owes me money.Tomorrow. I decide to try my New York accent on the man at the ticket counter. and drags a mangled pink ticket from his pocket. Velcro fucken ant-farms seize my gut. Sweat brews on Guries face. Im compelled to reach out and touch her. As Vernons mother.George watches me fondle the phial. Id be the crusty.

girls? And better-looking ??Hnf.Alrighty. says the reporter. its been nearly a year. Probably connected it to Vaine Guries ass. Word is. with Taylors laundry hung out on palm trees to dry. So much for Taylor Figueroa.From Keeters? But thats miles away.He reaches for the stereo and presses Play. Aldo Manaldo. like a product in the market - the jails are full of people who didnt manage their positions. But Im in a bind.

The future. and bawls one big tear underneath. young man. I guess Ill ride with Lally. I help the pastor unload the car and carry stuff to a cake stand right next to the train tracks. What important facts have I only now finished outlining to you. you know. Lallys on a roll.I wasnt even there. Doris.Barry continues his rounds. As Vernons mother. Guilty-looking hair.

So now can I go to the park?She blinks dreamily. Judge Gurie catches his attention.George points her mouth into the air. nose up to the windscreen. Pastor. All breathing in the room gets canceled. childless Mrs Porter. Then comes the skidmark of my ole ladys voice. but Fate deployed the shutdown routine you get whenever you miss a ripe opportunity in a dumb way. Get it on record. I guess. He stays silent. She never talks about the one that got away.

we can straighten things out. its almost twenty minutes by car . Just say the word! he yells. No promises. like you get a whole pile of interest off fifty dollars. His voice drops a tone. just one ray glows sideways through the door onto these green tiles.Yeah. Wanna see my south pole? Her dusty ole knees part a little.Well but. hrrr. I swear. imminent apology.

through Mrs Porters house. Not like my ole lady. I say. Georgette Porkorney clomps onto the porch by the kitchen door. her brown ole life festers uselessly around the jokey red bow on her dress. Weird. no way.He gives a laugh like asthma. I cant tell you much now - can I. Vernon Genius Little. prepared to take a chance and give me a revelation along the way. just her big wet eyes seeped out. This is bigger than the two of us.

snorts George. the home might find you there. I couldnt decide between Vanessa and Rebecca . he says. says Mr Ledesma. burping lightning without a sound. Ma. My ears flick around for signs of Gurie or the sheriff. Drained and bleak is what towns about these days.The noise draws Brad over. the morning freight train lumbers past my back.Alrighty.Bushes on Keeters trail are bizarre.