Worse Than Being Alone Read Online Free PDF Page B

ready to check out
Billy’s new squeeze?”
    “ Yeah, I’m ready,” he
said.
    “ I was a little nervous about
leaving my new friend.”
    “ What new friend?” he
asked.
    “ I think you know. I named the cat
Harley. She’s preggers, did you realize that?”
    “ I don’t know what you’re talking
about,” he said.
    “ OK, we can play it like that. So,
are you one of those people who hates cats? Do you tie them on the
back of your truck?”
    “ You know,” he said. “You city
people drive down here with pets you don’t want and just let them
loose as if we’re going to find them on the porch and I’m gonna
say, ‘Look, Roni, it’s another cat. Isn’t that great. Let’s take it
in. We always have room for one more’.”
    “ I guess I never thought about it.
What do you do?”
    “ Everybody down here has a bone
yard,” he said. “We shoot them and bury them in the bone
yard.”
    “ That’s horrible.”
    “ It’s more humane than letting
them starve to death,” he said as Billy Diamond pulled up to the
house. “Showtime. Remember, careful scrutiny but don’t piss them
off.”
    “ Did you tell Billy to park under
the Bradford?” I asked.
    “ No, I reserve all my harmless
pranks for you, Kitty,” he said as he laughed.
    “ Payback is a bitch, Harley,” I
said.
    Roni must have heard the car because she joined us
on the porch. I sensed her tension, which seemed so out of
character for her. Billy seemed to be moving in slow motion as if
he might be imparting his final words of warning or encouragement
to his companion. Billy climbed out nimbly and walked around the
car, opened the passenger door, and extended a hand to help Marian
exit the vehicle.
    My first thought when I saw her could be summed up
as: way overdressed. We were, after all, in the middle of what I
always thought of as butt fuck. Even if you insisted on the cleaned
up version, the boonies, clearly it was impossible to reconcile her
attire with an area of the country where a loud boom made everyone
wonder whose meth lab just went up in flames. Marian was wearing a
black suit with a white frilly blouse visible underneath. She even
wore a black hat, which I hadn’t seen anyone wear since I was a
child.
    Every finger seemed to have a different colored ring
on it and a strand of white pearls adorned her neck. I glanced at
Harley, whose mouth seemed to have fallen open. I wasn’t sure if
the jewelry, the hat, or the cumulative effect of everything caused
his reaction. Billy and Marian stepped up on the porch, waiting for
someone to make a move. Roni surreptitiously stepped on Harley’s
foot, a signal for him to close his mouth.
    “ Dad, Marian, it’s good to see you
again,” Roni said as she stepped forward and hugged her father. She
stuck out her hand to Marian, who reacted by stepping forward and
grabbing Roni, hugging her with a furious intensity almost as if
she knew what was coming and was trying to ward it off.
    “ Marian, this is my husband
Harley,” Roni said as she stepped back and Harley stuck his hand
out, clearly hoping to avoid a hug. Marian smiled and shook
Harley’s hand.
    “ This is my best friend, Kitty
Talty,” Roni said. I duplicated Harley’s move and shook Marian’s
hand.
    “ Let’s go in and have a drink,”
Roni suggested as we all walked into the house.
    After several glasses of wine for courage, I was
ready to begin my interrogation. We were seated at the dinner
table, digging into Harley’s smoked ribs when I blurted out my
first question.
    “ So, Marian,” I said. “I noticed
you had a hint of an accent. Where were you born?”
    “ That’s my southern accent,”
Marian said. “I’m old school so this lady isn’t going to tell you
what year that was. So, are you also a nurse, Kitty?”
    “ Yeah, Roni and I have been best
friends since high school,” I said. “You know, I would have guessed
that accent was from Kentucky. I have relatives there.”
    “ Well, I left home when I was