Read Online Father and Son by Larry Brown - Free Book Online

and lighter from his pants pocket.
    â€œWhy don’t you cut that TV off when you go to bed? Ain’t nothin on that time of night anyway.”
    His daddy tossed the rest of the biscuit to the puppy, who had come from under the porch. He sniffed it, picked it up delicately, then trotted back out of sight wagging his tail.
    â€œIt’s just company. I didn’t even know you was here till I got up. What time did you get in?”
    Glen came back down the porch with a cigarette in his mouth and stopped to stretch near the steps.
    â€œI don’t know. Twelve-thirty or one.”
    â€œYou go see Jewel?”
    â€œI went over there and fucked her.”
    Virgil got still and didn’t move. He’d almost given up on trying to get along with Glen but never had given up on blaming himself for not unloading the gun that morning. He didn’t know how one man could keep so much hate inside him. Especially his own boy, especially for his own father. Puppy was right. Going down there didn’t do him any good.
    â€œI don’t see how you can talk about her like that. Like she ain’t nothin.”
    Glen snorted. “What you gonna do about it, whip my ass? You got too old for that a long time ago.”
    It was getting hot already. The bright spots of a thousand drops of dew gleamed in the grass and with the sun risen the spans of new webs stretched down from the clothesline and over the rusted fence and the vines of morning glory threaded through the wire.
    â€œI just think she deserves a little more consideration than what you give her.”
    â€œConsideration?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Glen hooked a ladder-back chair with his toe and slid it close enough to sit down. He crossed his legs.
    â€œOkay, old man. Lay your wisdom on me. What do you consider I ought to do about her?”
    â€œShe’s in the mess she’s in cause of you.”
    â€œAin’t you a good one to talk about stuff like that? A man who never made a mistake. Seems like I talked to one of your mistakes yesterday.”
    Virgil half turned and leaned his shoulder against a post, then looked into the eyes that studied him with such contempt. A face so like his own mocking him.
    â€œWhen I was sick last year she come by here and cleaned this house. Fed me too.”
    â€œI never asked her to do a thing for me. You neither.”
    â€œShe brought that boy over here too.”
    â€œShe better not bring him no more.” Glen flicked his ashes idly on the porch and slumped in the chair and stretched his legs out. “I know what she wants. Same thing ever woman wants. Get married. I’ve done tried that and it don’t work. Does it? You tell me.”
    Virgil stood up and hitched up his pants. He walked a couple of steps and caught hold of the door. “It’s what most folks do. I didn’t blame Melba when she left you. You the cause of that, too. Only good thing about it was you didn’t have any kids. And I’m damn glad of it, too. Cause I don’t know what the hell they’da eat for the last three years.”
    Virgil stepped inside and went to the stove and got the coffeepot and took off the lid. He was shaking. There was some mold on the groundsinside. He took out the strainer and knocked it against the garbage can and refilled the pot with water from a gallon wine jug that was sitting on the kitchen table. The coffee was in a blue can beside the sink and he fixed it all and clapped the lid over it and set it on the burner and lit it with a match.
    â€œYou ever feed this dog anything besides a biscuit?”
    Virgil picked up a small bag of dog feed and pushed the screen door open. The puppy was walking around on the porch with his tongue hanging out. He poured some of the feed into a plate and the puppy started eating. They watched him. Occasionally he’d lift his head and crunch his breakfast loudly to let them know how it was going, look around, wag his