Reflections from the mirrored ball glinted on their faces with hypnotizing rhythm, shadow and light, sparkle and space. Like being caught in the beam of that ol’ Devil Moon…
Chapter Five
There once was a girl who had a curl right in the middle of her forehead,
When she was good she was very, very good
but when she was bad, she was horrid
Mother Goose
As the school dance spun on, Wade Finn sat in his living room, pissed off. The damned DEA had burned his marijuana fields today. It had been such a sweet operation, growing plots of weed here and there in the hills. Now how the hell was he going pay for his race cars and get to the meets? Busting his butt with the wrecker truck would be a pain in the ass.
As he sat on the sofa in his ramshackle living room nursing a beer and popping a couple pills, he looked around at all the crap in the room. Yeah, he had some nice things, the big screen TV, the workout equipment, video games. He liked his fifty-gallon aquarium with the monster fish that ate the goldfish he fed them. Of course the furniture looked like hell with dirty upholstery covering the couch and chairs. With all these damn kids, what could you expect?
At that moment, bickering children grated on Wade's nerves as they sat around the Formica kitchen table finishing off macaroni and cheese. George, age twelve, and Vince, age eight, engaged in a shoving match. Faith, the five-year old, colored a picture until Vince stole her crayons. She screeched like a bobcat. Baby Garth banged his high chair with his cup, jabbering and laughing.
Wade stared at the noisy kids, saw Ginger's fat ass washing dishes at the sink with the ever-burning cigarette dangling out of her mouth and just wanted to punch something. He was strapped with all these mouths to feed when he should be out making a name for himself. He should be on the race car circuit right now being the next, by God, Dale Ernhardt, instead of sitting around in this hellhole waiting for all the kids to go to bed so he could finally get some with his old lady. Life was so frigging unfair.
He stood up and hollered, "Can't you shut these kids up?"
Ginger twirled around, aware of his edgy mood. But she had worries of her own. With the pot money gone, what were they going to do? She'd tried working before, but making minimum wage down in the town didn't add up to squat. And who would take care of the baby?
She hollered back, "They're not botherin' you!"
"The hell they're not!"
He took angry strides to the table, swept his arm across the surface, sending bowls of sticky pasta flying. "Supper's over! Go to bed!"
Faith howled as chunks of macaroni ruined her pretty colored picture. The baby laughed and threw his bowl onto the floor. George and Vince quickly stood up and ran from the room.
Ginger grabbed Garth out of the high chair and hugged him in her arms. As she cast angry looks at Wade, she talked to Faith. "Take your colors and git to bed."
Faith cried, "He wrecked my picture!"
Ginger tried to keep her voice even. "I know. You can make another 'un tomorrow."
Faith wiped her eyes with the back of hands as she gathered up her crayons. When she reached the kitchen door she turned around, looked at Wade and yelled, "You turd!"
Wade took one step in her direction and she high-tailed it up the makeshift stairs in the hall to the room she shared with Reba.
He turned on Ginger. "You should teach them kids some manners!"
"I'm givin' the baby a bath and puttin' him to bed." Ginger disappeared into the hall.
Wade trudged back to the couch, dug for the remote and grabbed another swig of beer. As he surfed the channels he hoped there was something good to watch, maybe some wrestling or a rerun of Married, With Children .
* * *
On Saturday morning the scent of fall filled the air, a whiff of change. Maddie stretched on the running track that encircled the Beaver Cove High football field. A blacktop ribbon surrounded the green grass. She often ran on Saturday
Chapter Five
There once was a girl who had a curl right in the middle of her forehead,
When she was good she was very, very good
but when she was bad, she was horrid
Mother Goose
As the school dance spun on, Wade Finn sat in his living room, pissed off. The damned DEA had burned his marijuana fields today. It had been such a sweet operation, growing plots of weed here and there in the hills. Now how the hell was he going pay for his race cars and get to the meets? Busting his butt with the wrecker truck would be a pain in the ass.
As he sat on the sofa in his ramshackle living room nursing a beer and popping a couple pills, he looked around at all the crap in the room. Yeah, he had some nice things, the big screen TV, the workout equipment, video games. He liked his fifty-gallon aquarium with the monster fish that ate the goldfish he fed them. Of course the furniture looked like hell with dirty upholstery covering the couch and chairs. With all these damn kids, what could you expect?
At that moment, bickering children grated on Wade's nerves as they sat around the Formica kitchen table finishing off macaroni and cheese. George, age twelve, and Vince, age eight, engaged in a shoving match. Faith, the five-year old, colored a picture until Vince stole her crayons. She screeched like a bobcat. Baby Garth banged his high chair with his cup, jabbering and laughing.
Wade stared at the noisy kids, saw Ginger's fat ass washing dishes at the sink with the ever-burning cigarette dangling out of her mouth and just wanted to punch something. He was strapped with all these mouths to feed when he should be out making a name for himself. He should be on the race car circuit right now being the next, by God, Dale Ernhardt, instead of sitting around in this hellhole waiting for all the kids to go to bed so he could finally get some with his old lady. Life was so frigging unfair.
He stood up and hollered, "Can't you shut these kids up?"
Ginger twirled around, aware of his edgy mood. But she had worries of her own. With the pot money gone, what were they going to do? She'd tried working before, but making minimum wage down in the town didn't add up to squat. And who would take care of the baby?
She hollered back, "They're not botherin' you!"
"The hell they're not!"
He took angry strides to the table, swept his arm across the surface, sending bowls of sticky pasta flying. "Supper's over! Go to bed!"
Faith howled as chunks of macaroni ruined her pretty colored picture. The baby laughed and threw his bowl onto the floor. George and Vince quickly stood up and ran from the room.
Ginger grabbed Garth out of the high chair and hugged him in her arms. As she cast angry looks at Wade, she talked to Faith. "Take your colors and git to bed."
Faith cried, "He wrecked my picture!"
Ginger tried to keep her voice even. "I know. You can make another 'un tomorrow."
Faith wiped her eyes with the back of hands as she gathered up her crayons. When she reached the kitchen door she turned around, looked at Wade and yelled, "You turd!"
Wade took one step in her direction and she high-tailed it up the makeshift stairs in the hall to the room she shared with Reba.
He turned on Ginger. "You should teach them kids some manners!"
"I'm givin' the baby a bath and puttin' him to bed." Ginger disappeared into the hall.
Wade trudged back to the couch, dug for the remote and grabbed another swig of beer. As he surfed the channels he hoped there was something good to watch, maybe some wrestling or a rerun of Married, With Children .
* * *
On Saturday morning the scent of fall filled the air, a whiff of change. Maddie stretched on the running track that encircled the Beaver Cove High football field. A blacktop ribbon surrounded the green grass. She often ran on Saturday
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