Read Online American Tropic by Thomas Sanchez - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Thomas Sanchez
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the pink luminescent shell to his lips. He takes a deep breath and blows a high-pitched melancholic note.
Nina, seated in her wheelchair next to Luz, bends her head to the conch shell’s unsettling wail. She becomes agitated. Luz places her hands on Nina’s shoulders to calm her. The old shrimper blows harder into the shell, forcing a shrill note into the night air. Nina’s frail body trembles.
The old shrimper keeps blowing as women from the crowd step to the edge of the pier, facing the anchored boats. The women hold large bunches of long-stemmed white roses. They solemnly toss the flowers at the brightly painted high hulls of the boats. The roses hit the wooden hulls with soft thuds and fall below, where they scatter on the water and float around the boats. Zoe, among the women, tosses all of her roses except her last one, which she keeps, breaking off its long green stem, then securing its prominent white bloom next to her ear.
Noah jumps down from the deck of his trawler onto the pier and walks toward Zoe. He is grabbed roughly from behind. He spins around, staring straight into the face of Hogfish.
Hogfish screams urgently: “Roses can’t stop El Finito from coming! Listen to the roses talking! Chattering away like mourning widows of drowned shrimpers! They’re saying the Devil’s wind is winding up to punch the lights out of civilization! Roses are crying because the hurricane is coming!”
From behind Hogfish, at the far end of the pier, Big Conch lights the fuse of a fireworks cannon-barrel launcher. Shrieking fireworks sail high into the night sky and explode, illuminating the uplifted faces of the cheering crowd.
From inside Noah’s trawler, Rimbaud stares wide-eyed through the pilothouse window. His terrified face lights up from fireworks bursting with brilliant streamers. He cringes at the exploding sounds and twists his body in sharp turns, as if each of the flaring fireworks has him as its intended target. He falls to his knees and scrambles, with his head down, from the pilothouse out onto the deck. Fireworks whistle in the air around him; dazzling light showers down from above. He scurries to the boat’s edge and hurls himself overboard, plunging from sight beneath the water.
The crowd on the pier watches the last of the trailing light fade from the night sky. A belligerent voice calls out, “Fuck the eco-Gestapo!” The crowd turns to Pat, unfurling a canvas banner from her boat’s side railing. The banner proclaims NO TURTLE EXCLUDERS ON SHRIMP NETS! Some in the crowd break into an eruption of cheers at the sight of the banner. Pat shouts defiantly: “Listen, all ofyou! My family fished turtles for generations off of Key West. No eco-Gestapo can dictate to me. I’ll net turtles, harpoon turtles, hook turtles, kill turtles with my bare hands if I want. The ocean is the last free frontier, the final home of the brave.”
More cheers burst from the crowd, followed by loud boos from others. Men angrily wave their fists and shove one another, their reddened faces inches apart. Women jostle each other, screaming vulgar insults. The priest frantically waves his gold crucifix in the air, but he is ignored.
The band strikes up a sudden rhythmic dance tune. Noah breaks away from Hogfish and makes his way to Zoe. He slips his arm around her waist and spins her in a dance to the band’s beat. Some in the crowd stand back, giving Noah and Zoe room; others join in the dancing. Luz lifts Nina up from the wheelchair and sways her in her arms to the joyous rhythm.
Zoe stops dancing and pushes Noah away. “If I want to dance with you, I’ll make the choice.” She pulls out the white rose tucked behind her ear and hands it to him. “You didn’t know you were in a garden of roses when you had it.”
Noah holds the rose up and plucks off a petal. “She loves me.” He plucks off another petal with a brave grin. “She loves me not.”
“You can pluck every petal off that rose, but it won’t
Nina, seated in her wheelchair next to Luz, bends her head to the conch shell’s unsettling wail. She becomes agitated. Luz places her hands on Nina’s shoulders to calm her. The old shrimper blows harder into the shell, forcing a shrill note into the night air. Nina’s frail body trembles.
The old shrimper keeps blowing as women from the crowd step to the edge of the pier, facing the anchored boats. The women hold large bunches of long-stemmed white roses. They solemnly toss the flowers at the brightly painted high hulls of the boats. The roses hit the wooden hulls with soft thuds and fall below, where they scatter on the water and float around the boats. Zoe, among the women, tosses all of her roses except her last one, which she keeps, breaking off its long green stem, then securing its prominent white bloom next to her ear.
Noah jumps down from the deck of his trawler onto the pier and walks toward Zoe. He is grabbed roughly from behind. He spins around, staring straight into the face of Hogfish.
Hogfish screams urgently: “Roses can’t stop El Finito from coming! Listen to the roses talking! Chattering away like mourning widows of drowned shrimpers! They’re saying the Devil’s wind is winding up to punch the lights out of civilization! Roses are crying because the hurricane is coming!”
From behind Hogfish, at the far end of the pier, Big Conch lights the fuse of a fireworks cannon-barrel launcher. Shrieking fireworks sail high into the night sky and explode, illuminating the uplifted faces of the cheering crowd.
From inside Noah’s trawler, Rimbaud stares wide-eyed through the pilothouse window. His terrified face lights up from fireworks bursting with brilliant streamers. He cringes at the exploding sounds and twists his body in sharp turns, as if each of the flaring fireworks has him as its intended target. He falls to his knees and scrambles, with his head down, from the pilothouse out onto the deck. Fireworks whistle in the air around him; dazzling light showers down from above. He scurries to the boat’s edge and hurls himself overboard, plunging from sight beneath the water.
The crowd on the pier watches the last of the trailing light fade from the night sky. A belligerent voice calls out, “Fuck the eco-Gestapo!” The crowd turns to Pat, unfurling a canvas banner from her boat’s side railing. The banner proclaims NO TURTLE EXCLUDERS ON SHRIMP NETS! Some in the crowd break into an eruption of cheers at the sight of the banner. Pat shouts defiantly: “Listen, all ofyou! My family fished turtles for generations off of Key West. No eco-Gestapo can dictate to me. I’ll net turtles, harpoon turtles, hook turtles, kill turtles with my bare hands if I want. The ocean is the last free frontier, the final home of the brave.”
More cheers burst from the crowd, followed by loud boos from others. Men angrily wave their fists and shove one another, their reddened faces inches apart. Women jostle each other, screaming vulgar insults. The priest frantically waves his gold crucifix in the air, but he is ignored.
The band strikes up a sudden rhythmic dance tune. Noah breaks away from Hogfish and makes his way to Zoe. He slips his arm around her waist and spins her in a dance to the band’s beat. Some in the crowd stand back, giving Noah and Zoe room; others join in the dancing. Luz lifts Nina up from the wheelchair and sways her in her arms to the joyous rhythm.
Zoe stops dancing and pushes Noah away. “If I want to dance with you, I’ll make the choice.” She pulls out the white rose tucked behind her ear and hands it to him. “You didn’t know you were in a garden of roses when you had it.”
Noah holds the rose up and plucks off a petal. “She loves me.” He plucks off another petal with a brave grin. “She loves me not.”
“You can pluck every petal off that rose, but it won’t
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