The Slow Moon Read Online Free PDF Page B

in morning air. Wind chimes in the yard drowsed in a mild breeze. She stood on the porch steps and let the sun seep into her, tilting her head to get more, her eyes closed. She had knocked on Bobby’s door to wake him, but he didn’t answer. She had thought he wanted to go fishing this morning.
    Aurelia loved the sun in Tennessee, knowing it was different here than other places—as were the river, trees, and broad wings of hawks. When she saw these things in other settings, they seemed like pale imitations of what she had already seen here. On a map the town of South Pittsburg might not be noticed; even driving through on Main Street, a visitor might not stop, or comment. But Aurelia’s bones were full of the dust of oak, woven with red clay. She knew this, believed it, without mentioning it to anyone.
    When she opened her eyes, she felt polished, shiny for the day. A light sweat formed on her forehead and lips, between her breasts. She missed having a man in her life, though she never mentioned this to anyone either.
    She clipped her hair back and went to Bobby’s room to try again to wake him. She opened the door. A pile of dirty clothes blocked her path, and she lifted them into the hall. An old Labrador beside the bed gazed up, uninterested, and curtains swung easily across the desk. Clothes and shoes lay strewn everywhere. Bobby slept with his Atlanta Braves cap turned sideways on his head. He often slept in his cap.
    Aurelia stood a moment watching Bobby breathe. His feet hung off the end of the bed. She decided to let him sleep late. She couldn’t remember when he had grown so long.
    The dog raised himself with a sigh and a shake and followed her to the kitchen, where she filled two stainless steel bowls with water and food. “I’ll tell you what I think, Dog,” she said. Years ago they had named the dog Dog. “I think maybe it’s a good thing that I’m still alone. What man could stand my long hours? My not-cooking? That’s what I think.”
    Dog turned away, embarrassed by her lies. He ate voraciously, then scratched on the kitchen door to go out. Aurelia watched him do his business and made a mental note to remind Bobby to clean up the yard. Dog ambled back in and returned to Bobby’s room.
    Sometimes Aurelia missed Robert. After all these years she still felt shame over her abandonment of him; though at the time nothing had seemed harsh enough. The evening she had left with Bobby in her arms was now a strange memory; and as she dressed and showered she thought how much easier it would have been if Robert had just had an affair, just cheated on her in some regular way.
    She sipped her second cup of coffee, letting the Sunday morning grow wide before she left to put in a few extra hours of work at the courthouse. A blue Buick pulled into the driveway, and she knew the car belonged to Roland Dunphy, the postmaster.
    “Brought some mail for you, Judge. You hadn’t checked your box in a while.”
    “Roland, I could’ve gotten that tomorrow. You didn’t have to come by on Sunday.” Aurelia took the pack of letters from him. The car was full of kids, one a classmate of Bobby’s. “Hello, Lester,” she said, nodding to him in the backseat.
    “Hey, Judge Bailey.” Lester sounded friendly, but he didn’t look at her; his friendliness seemed false. He did not ask about Bobby.
    Years ago, Lester played catcher on the Little League baseball team, and he often came to the house with Bobby and Crow. Often Aurelia would walk in to find Lester and Crow leaning into her refrigerator.
    “Can’t find anything to eat,” they’d say, without embarrassment.
    “Look in the pantry.” Aurelia usually bought extra food for them, but as they grew into teenagers and switched their focus from baseball to rock music, she couldn’t keep enough on hand. They could finish off a family-sized bag of Doritos in minutes. She loved their gangly bodies pushing at each other.
    “I’m on my way to church anyway.” Roland