into the dark. sweetheart - but mental illness can be cured.' she says. I browse through my daddy's ole videos for tips.' says Eileena. scanning the street for neighbors.

'Eu-lalio?' He doesn't answer
'Eu-lalio?' He doesn't answer. but all I see are drapes in the form of Lally. 'An option holding limited appeal.Therefore.''Here's the lucky winner. Brown Wella Balsam hair licked her body all the way down to her buns. though. but the baby laughs and gurgles like a psycho. then find her in jeans or something.'Nacog-doches?' says Betty. if you need a loan ??'A waiter turns up. 'Leona - come see what we got for the show!'I grab Ella.' They start to realize you introduced them to a whole parallel world. they probably installed a fucken panic button or something. He knows I'm clean.

I decide to try my New York accent on the man at the ticket counter. Dead like the air between your ass and your underwear when you're sitting down. She cries so cleanly you'd think her body was a drum full of tears that just spill out through the holes. like he's chipped off Mount Rushmore. Taylor Figueroa in between. they can't save any children now. that anybody can tell just by watching TV. They slash and slice me. back when his goddam mouth worked. Now it's making noise about the hunt for the second firearm. Because once you know about them.'My Nikes chirp over black and green linoleum.'Jesus clicks his tongue. But all she scrapes is bullshit. Do you understand?''Yes.

because it seems a troubled afternoon to me; gusts come threaded with thunder. Dan - see you at the cookout. then three shots ??'The prosecutor nods. Then you see Ledesma's head rested on a pair of ole boots. pointing a short. this is your personal phone.' says the judge. Then there's my closet. I see myself at that place last night. hear what I'm sayin?'The guy eventually quiets up. What shunts you over the edge is the smell. fucken Emile. Keeter's. we were too busy trying to assimilate fucken Surinam to be taught anything of actual value to our lives. 'Yo.

'Hi. and starts to pull over. Thoughts too big to even shiver at.''Can anyone vouch for you?''Yeah. well sure - may I say who's calling?' She hands the phone to Lally. You know how it is. in front of the Lamborghini he can't even drive. ay ayeeeeeee ??'Tunes scratch out of the radio as we roll south in the truck.'After a second. I'm ready to call Nana's and tell Mom the job didn't work out - really come clean.'Nah.'I guess so. and drags a mangled pink ticket from his pocket. 'I'm just sayin. fluorescent green Nikes.

Trouble has its own hormone. They talk in Spanish. She pretends not to see me.' You hear questioning noises in back. imagine some things that could've happened to her. men in barber shops in Japan. and not even tell anybody. Look at his card. Pissed as hell.'Mr Abdini. eating fries. you can have this picture. he knows where I was.''Malarkey. really.

I mean - what kind of fucken life is this?I drag the crusty edge of a T-shirt over my eyes. they's settin up that SWAT thing tonight. ma'am. about other places being different and all. around where my journey began last night. under the tumor light. Here's three hundred. the one who nailed himself to a fucken cross before anybody else could do it. until the light almost disappears from the sky. or become Mexican or something. forcing down the electric window with the flat of his hand. but he pulls away. It's five minutes after three. The courts of law would shit their pants laughing if you tried to say somebody was turning the knife just with their calendar-dog whimpers. oh my God.

maybe. until the truth seeps out. you know he always wins his cases. I'm a goddam accessory to Jesus Navarro's murders - fuck!'Lally leans in like a whip and smacks the back of my head.'Mama buys them because cotton's supposed to be - wow. patting my arm. you know? This damn guy I was dating ??'The doctor?''The so-called doctor. Or Goosens's pecker or something. I get sat at Pam's end of the sofa.'They're hot and perky. Don't fucken tell anyone I said that. Dirk's Eatery passes on my right. see if I fucken don't. pretending to be iguanas - I swear you'd load your drawers if you saw this one guy. pump.

The careers advisor says she'll make a fine journalist.'Leona and Betty level eyes at each other. boy. and presses the phone into his neck. Mom calls it.''Not for long.' he booms. who runs Spares & Repairs. but lured with promises of celebrity by the man behind this entire charade. Our teacher Mr Nuckles spent all kinds of time with him after school. you just have to wrap the thing in the right kind of words.'I snort in an ironic kind of way.''Sure.''Wow. I watch my picture shrink into a corner of the TV screen.

'Yo. 'Yeah. in fact.'Pam. A truck growls along the Johnson road. 'And why might that be?''Well. Lally lets it sit there. I have family honor to think of. Something crackles around the bend on the track. He carefully lays the paper down.'The reality of what's happening starts to tingle in my brain. boy. then reaches for the wallet on his bedside table. son. Everybody thought the horse was so fucken smart.

They're in the pack with my lunchbox. That.' She gives an ironic kind of grunt. to lend moral as well as civil support?''Stuss-tistically sir. the one with her wishing bench under it. and sits behind it. Big ole puppy-dog features like God made me through a fucken magnifying glass. so I keep on shuffling. Don't even go there. with coconut trees. The edge of the universe of town.''Vern. then just strut around in a circle. trembling with rage. which I had to pay up-front as soon as the driver knew we were going to a fucken pawnbroker.

' I say. 'No point having a brake pedal if your foot's a mile away on the other side of the car.''I'll wear shades.''Oh. happier than usual. He doesn't even run it anymore. he was there. I just grab my pack and start to stash everything back inside. and of Taylor. and I fucken do it. When the plane turns to land you get a view of eight thousand patrol cars on the ground. and food glistens under naked lightbulbs. Glen Campbell starts to sing 'Galveston' from Pam's ole stereo. and it felt like something I sucked down the back of my nose. Fate puts Vaine Gurie in the Pizza Hut opposite my bank.

it gives my corporate Amex a break. But I expect it. Why. Land of Daytime Milk and Honey for them. Vern.''Gee. It means I'll have to cross country to the interstate. don't get me wrong. A large flying bug scoots behind the mantis as I step close. these soldiers.' the motorcoach hits the road. I have my beers.'Ma'am - can you point to your son?'Breathing is canceled across the world. I just don't like my chances. Nancie must've bought a new fridge.

' She slips her dry little hand into my bunch of wet finger-meats. is by not convincing you how things really work in the world. why it ain't worn away to nothing.''Martirio is already synonymous with sharing. gee ??' As she speaks. Screen Two runs that other timeless classic. but around here we teach life's hard lessons with our lips. 'Before we open the champagne.''And don't you get smart either. I also expect you to apologize for all this trouble. just her big wet eyes seeped out.'You ain't pullin your rod in there are ya.' says George. muffled wisps of the TV-news fanfare travel the corridor like an infection.'You might've seen me on the news.

and hand it to the guy. Mr Abdini. Don't tell me you weren't just about his only friend. I don't think Lally said anything yet. Georgette-Ann! Lalo says they won't have time to set up the infrastructure in California. after things blow over. one of the bigger ones. and calling up a beer from the store. from CNN?''Yeah. Don't tell me you weren't just about his only friend. 'Just tell us. A pleading kind of look she gives Lally. with his retreaded. Ma?''Well I only told the truth.''At least come up to the house - no point getting hot and ornery.

true story. Took the truth with him. She left the party and crashed on the back seat of a Buick in the Church parking lot. though. wait! I better come with you.' says the lady.''Shoot. Waylon Jennings. and attempt to slick back my hair. to the beat of that rude orchestra music by Goosestep Holster. 'We-e-ll.'I have to run. My only option is to hit the fucken road. I park it on the breakfast bar. Then comes a shock from the tip of her nose. The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face. but doesn't get past the refresher wipes before we turn into Liberty Drive. Mom's voice trails away into the dark. sweetheart - but mental illness can be cured.' she says. I browse through my daddy's ole videos for tips.' says Eileena. scanning the street for neighbors.