L Akers - Fight Like a Man

Puck happily dug in as though the last few minutes hadn’t happened. He sat with his legs spread wide, taking up nearly one entire side. He was a big man. Or man-child. He clumsily gobbled his first burger down in four bites, smearing ketchup and mustard around his mouth. The boy was starving. He swiped at his mouth with his arm and dug into the second burger on his plate.

“Use your napkin, Puck.” Grayson lifted his own napkin and wiped his already-clean mouth in example. “How old are you?”

Puck frowned and rapid blinked his eyes. “Um… ten and eight?” he said through a mouth full of food.

“You’re eighteen?”

Puck nodded and kept chewing.

“What have you been eating for the past few days while your mama’s been gone?”

“Pork ‘n beans, mostly. Mama Dee didn’t get the circle lids last month. I can’t open the others. If I bring them over here, can you open them for me, mister gray man?”

“Gray son . My name is Grayson. You don’t have to call me mister, either. What’s a circle lid?”

“The ones you pull the circle and the top comes off.”

“Oh, a pull-top. I guess you can’t open the others because the power’s off? Don’t you have a handheld can opener?”

“Mama Dee does. I don’t know how to work it. I’m the only one who can open the jars though. She said we could eat three jars while she was gone. I ate those the first day. And Jenny ate some, too.”

“What was in the jars?”

“Mama Dee’s veggie soup, and some slimy green leafy stuff—Jenny ate that—and apple sauce. Me and Jenny shared that one.”

So Mama Dee knew how to can food. The green stuff sounded like collard greens. Or spinach. Hopefully she had a full pantry to feed Puck and Jenny until she returned.

“I think until Mama Dee gets back it would be okay to eat whatever you need, Puck. Just don’t eat too much. Maybe stick to the canned food for now. I can show you how to open a can. Jenny doesn’t know how either?”

“No.”

Maybe Jenny was special too?

“So, you said Jenny’s not your sister?”

“No. We’re not really kin.” Puck saved the last bite of his burger for Ozzie, who gently took it from his fingers and then closed his eyes as Puck rubbed his head and ran his hand down his back. The kid was obsessed with the dog. He’d seen Grayson pass Ozzie his own burger that was swallowed in pretty much one bite, but still shared his own food with him. Now that he was over his fear, he couldn’t keep his hands off of the dog, petting him constantly. “But I love Jenny.”

Grayson raised his eyebrows. Love like a sister? Or more? Maybe that’s why she was sleeping in the barn instead of the house. “You mean you love her like you love Mama Dee?”

He shook his head. “No. More . Jenny is pretty. I like her hair.” Puck smiled innocently.

Grayson studied the boy. With his size, maybe Jenny was sleeping in the barn because she was afraid of him. Maybe she didn’t love Puck like Puck loved her…

“Listen, kid. While Mama Dee is gone, it might be best if you sleep in the barn and let Jenny sleep in the house. You’re the man there, right? It makes more sense for the men to sleep outside.”

Puck pursed his lips together. “I don’t know if Mama Dee would like that. She doesn’t let me sleep in the barn. I wish Jenny could just stay in the house with me. I’m scared.”

Could be Mama Dee was more worried about the boy than the girl. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and maybe he couldn’t be trusted to fend for himself outside. And if he was so scared in the house, he’d probably be terrified in the barn at night. It really wasn’t safe for either of them to be in the barn right now anyway, with those thugs having chased Puck up a tree. They might come back.

He’d never seen Puck’s home, but the neighbors had described it as a dilapidated shack in a clearing in the woods; run-down and crumbling. He probably needed to go over and check on these kids himself. But would Mama Dee be okay with that? People who live in squalor usually didn’t take kindly to strangers dropping by and maybe passing judgement.

“How many bedrooms is in your house, Puck?”

Puck held up first one finger, turned it around to look at it, and then another.

“Two? I’ll tell you what. You tell Jenny about those bad kids. Tell her until Mama Dee comes back you both need to stay in the house. There’s safety in numbers.”

“But if Mama Dee gets mad, can I tell her you said so?”

“Absolutely. Tell her I said so. But listen, you two need to sleep in separate rooms, okay? Maybe Jenny can sleep in Mama Dee’s bed.” He gave Puck a very serious fatherly stare. “No kissing or anything like that, is what I mean.”

Puck laughed—a loud honking noise that surprised both Grayson and Ozzie. “Jenny wouldn’t like that, Gray Man.” His angelic face turned solemn and wistful. With big eyes, he said, “Jenny lets me touch her hair sometimes. But then sometimes she gets mad and tries to kick me.”

This was sounding more and more creepy. Grayson was concerned about these two kids being alone, but apparently Jenny knew how to handle Puck if he got too handsy. He seemed almost afraid of her.

He’d give it another day or so and if the power didn’t come back on, he’d insist one or the other—or both—stay here until their mother returned.

If only he’d known how the woman of the house really felt about Jenny, and the danger she was in when Mama did return, he would have gone over and brought her home that day .

“IF I HAVE to watch you scratch your balls one more time…” Gabby threatened. It was sickening. The man—Larry—was sticking his hand directly down the front of his pants as though Gabby—or her sisters—weren’t in the car with him.

Disgusting pig.

He laughed and continued to scratch as they hit a congested spot, all leaned back with one hand slung over the steering wheel. They crept down the highway meandering around the cars and crowds of people, and feeling as though they were being suffocated by the waves of heat coming up off the road. More than a dozen people had tried to stop their car, stepping out to the point of almost getting hit.

So many people were desperate, and she felt almost guilty that her circumstances were better. Not guilty enough to get out and walk with them, but it hurt her heart to see this. And it terrified her. If they hadn’t run into Larry—regardless of what a jerk he was—they’d be walking too.

Gabby swallowed hard. It was making her sick. All of it. He was making her sick. Rude. Crude. No manners. Sweaty—and refusing to run the air because it might use too much gas—they were going stir crazy with him in the car. She could barely stand to look at him with his cul-de-sac of greasy hair fringing his shiny bald spot, cheap false teeth and sparkly gold chain.

He’d come on to each one of them in turn, especially Emma. He’d asked her to sit in the front before even starting the car. Gabby made sure she stepped up instead. She could handle assholes like this much better than Emma and Olivia; they were too nice.

She dug into her bag and came out with a container of Monkey Butt. It was powder that was used for chafing. She and her sisters—and their husbands—had used it for years, especially in the summer when they’d be exercising and sweating. She tossed it at Larry, who missed the catch, letting it roll down between his legs into the floor.

She grimaced. “You need to use that.”

“Get it.” He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.