Aunty

5

"I dug a hole for a new outhouse,".

"Anything else,"?

"Nope. The gardener has a bad back, so can't dig, and Jasper was busy studying with his father. Numbers it seems,".

Zadie spoke, "His dad. Was he the one you spoke with at the door,"?

Horence nodded, "Yes. Long armed. Crooked smile,".

I raised my eyebrows at Zadie.

"Horence, that is not Jasper's father. That is our uncle Walt. The stew-maker I told you about," she said.

Horence mumbled, "Oh,".

I spoke, "Any other people besides Anna, Jasper, the father and the gardener? Maybe a grandpa? They could be hiding old John Washington somewhere,".

"Nope. They had me sleep in the barn. I didn't see nothing in the house, cuz I never went in,".

"Did anyone seem distraught,"?

"If you mean like they wasn't happy, ya. No one was smiling except for the father, er, uh, Walt. Jasper tried talking to me, asking me where I was from. I was telling him about Braintree and about the mine and the park. Walt broke it up. Smacked him on the side of the head and told him to get in the house,"

Zadie spoke, "And what of Anna,"?

Horence paused.

Zadie tilted her head, "Yes,"?

Horence gulped, "Last night when I was trying to sleep in the barn, I heard screaming from within the house. Female. It lasted for more than an hour. The animals didn't' seem fazed by it,".

"How was she this morning,"? Zadie asked.

"She was the same as before. Quiet,".

We all stood for a bit, thinking. Horence had worked until dark last night, and all day today. The latrine had been dug, and then he had been shooed off.

"And no hounds, correct,"?

Horence nodded.

Maybe I could sneak in and slice uncle's throat. Just like I had seen him do to the 'pig'.

Zadie spoke, "I think Anna's getting the worse of it. Rotten thing, that. No John Washington. Jasper's being turned into Walt's protégé. Uncle Walt's got himself in a right good position,".

"I'm thinking if we can reverse this fortune, maybe Jasper and Anna would be grateful with a reward," I said.

Zadie scowled, "I thought you were doing this out of the kindness of your heart,"?

I nodded, "Yeah. The kindness of my heart, which weighs approximately 2 ounces. You of all people should know that. But that's 2 ounces more'n Walt,"!

Zadie laughed, "All right you arsehole. Let's go get killed. What's your plan,"?

Shrugging I replied, "Kick the shit out of Walt seems the best course of action. There's three of us, and Horence equals two. I doubt Jasper and the gardener are gonna defend him. Let's just get some big sticks and whack us an uncle,".

Horence smiled, "I like that,".

I bet that's not all you like!

Zadie replied, "I'm not much with a stick. But I'm pretty good with a needle,".

She wrapped her hair in a knot, pulled out a long darning needle from her purse and stuck it the knot, snickering.

"Ok, we're all on board. Let's go in full tilt in the morning. Better if everyone can see what's going on,".

We all sat down next to the elm. The sun was getting low, and a swarm of midges spun a dance in the humid air. I flicked a rock and the midges moved slowly out of the way. Walt is like that. Flexible. Back on his feet with a smile. Better be careful ol' Rupert. Might end up with your other eye dead. I winced thinking of that pain. I had snuck back after gathering Zadie from Walt's 'pig' slaughter. The stew was brewing, and Walt had cleaned the 'pig' nearly to the bone. The hole in the dock under his stand provided an opportune disposal, and I watched as he whacked the head off, kicking it into the hole. Alas, at that juncture Walt must've caught my scent and looked up, catching my gaze. I quickly turned my head, pretending to look at Lulu's hard tack. He had nothing of it. He walked right over and punched me right in the eye. "Did I nay say begone with ya?". Crack. Why were his knuckles so hard? I fell to the ground, covering my face, but my strength was no match for those forearms hardened by years of filleting. He lifted my arm and cracked me again and again. My left eye went black, and my nose felt wrong. Finally, Lulu and her husband pulled Walt off of me. "What the fuck is wrong with you Walt?" she screamed. He pulled out his knife and smiled. The grey sky moved behind him like a blanket. My blood ran down his hand, over the iron ring on his middle finger. He turned saying nothing, walked back to his stand, planting the knife in his cutting board, and slid the ring into his pocket.

"What've you got to eat," Zadie asked Horence.

Horence reached into his satchel and pulled out dried bit of deer liver, handing to Zadie.

I had to suppress a wretch. I had run to the river to get a peek at my face. It felt awful, and Lulu's reaction gave me dear pause. There in the reflection, my eyeball hung out and I could see into the socket, it's color liver red. I grabbed the eye and jammed it back in. My nose was bashed to a pulp. Nothing to do about that. I stuck my face into the Nene, hoping she'd provide me some sort of healing, slowly swooshing back and forth. The cool water calmed me, and I walked straight out of town and didn't return until nightfall.

"Reminiscing Rupert,"? Zadie asked.

I flinched.

"Uh. Oh nothing,".

Did Zadie remember me with a normal face? She was only, what, five at the time?

Horence handed me a piece of liver, and I chewed on it. Every bite was a Crack and every swallow was a Swoosh. Sweat beaded on my upper lip. My stomach felt like an old rope.

Better not show your consternation Rupert. Your young chaps will feel your alarm.

"I'll take the first watch," I said. The words came out not as confident as I'd hoped.

Horence smiled, "Thanks Rup. Wake me when you're drowsy. I'm tired from digging,".

Zadie didn't look at me and only lay down next to him, closing her eyes with a small smile.

I stared into the trees, my eyes tired and wasthankful for the breeze.