Percival Everett - Erasure

“Cracka cain’t be firin me,” I say.

“Cracka done did it,” Freddie say.

“I’m gone talk to him,” I say and start into the buildin.

“Suit yo’self,” he say.

“Just cause I be late,” I say.

Freddie laugh loud. “Three fuckin days late, nigger.”

I go on into the buildin and that fuckin radio be playin that country-ass shit. Reynolds be standin over by a forklift talkin to that great big nigger who always be kissin his ass. Reynolds always be callin him. “Big Jim, come here. Big Jim, do that. Big Jim, suck my dick.” Reynolds look up and see me comin.

“Freddie say you done fired me,” I say.

“Freddie told you right,” he say.

“But why?”

“Because I ain’t seen you in three days, that’s fucking why,” he say.

“I been busy,” I say.

“Well, you ain’t busy no more,” he say. “Not around here anyway.”

I looks at him and I really want to hit him but that big nigger climb off that forklift and stands beside him. I look at Big Jim and say, “What you got to do with this, House Nigger?”

Big Jim make like he want to hit me, but Reynolds stop him. “Don’t hurt the boy now, Big Jim.” Then he say to me, “Now, you take your skinny ass away from here before I let Big Jim have his way with you.”

I looks at Big Jim’s giant hands all balled up into fists like that and I don’t say nuffin else. I just turns and walks away from the sorry muthafuckas.

So, I makes my way over to the address what Mama done give me, to that man’s house, the one who have the job. I figger I can work fo’ a coupla days, get some money so I can buy my gun, then score real big. Maybe go down to Mexico and get some of that senorita pussy.

The house be on a hill and got one of them circlin driveways. I mean, man, it be huge and there is a coupla fancy cars parked in front. One of them is this fine red BMW convertible with a white roof. It’s like it ain’t got a speck of dust on the fucker. The license plate say COOL. I walk on up to the front door but before I can find the bell to ring it, the door opens and there’s this brother in a pink shirt and khakis.

“May I help you,” he say.

“Yeah, I’m lookin fo’ Mr. Dalton,” I say.

“I’m Mr. Dalton,” he say.

I’m kinda shocked, you know. I been expectin this muthafucka to be white and here he is darker than me. I don’t know what to say.

“What can I do for you son?” he ax.

“I’m here about a job,” I says.

Then this kinda fat woman come up behind him. She black too, but she dressed like a maid in them movies. “You be Sadie Jenkins’ boy?” she ax.

“Yessum,” I say.

“Mr. Dalton,” she say, “this here is the son of my friend Sadie. I told you bout him. You said I could hire somebody to clean up the pool area and trim the grass when Felipe don’t come.”

“I remember, Lois,” he say. He look at me and reach out to shake my hand. He give it a squeeze and say, “Lois, will take care of you. I’ve got to go. I’ll be back late, Lois, so don’t wait dinner.”

“Yessir, Mr. Dalton,” Lois say.

Lois and I watch as Dalton drive off in his fine Mercedes. Then Lois turn to me, her face all changed into sumpin’ hard. “Sadie told me bout you,” she say. “Now, you got a chance here, boy. Mr. Dalton can help you. Yo mama is my friend. That’s why you got this chance. You understand?”

I still be stunned by the house and the fact that Dalton be black.

“You hear me, boy? Yo name Van, right?”

“They calls me Go,” I say.

“Come on in the house, Van.” She let me inside and close the door. “Fuck up once and you out the door, boy,” she say.

“Why we gots to start out like this?” I say.

She stop and nod her head. “Okay,” she say. “Yo mama my friend. You want this job?”

“I don’t know what it is,” I say.

“Sweepin, cuttin bushes and grass and washin cars,” she say. “Can you do that?”

I looks around the house at the fine-ass furniture and the paintins and the vases and I think about the gun I’m gone buy with the money I make. Then I can come back and steal this shit. “I can do it,” I say.

“Don’t you be sayin you gone work when you ain’t,” she say. “I ain’t gone take no mess. You mess up once and you gone. You study on that fo’ awhile.”

“Don’t sweat it, old girl,” I say, tryin to flirt with her.

“And don’t think I got this old by bein stupid,” she say. “You show me some respect or you can slap them dogs on down that hill.”

“Okay,” I say.

“Now you gots to bathe fo’ you come to work,” she say, turnin her head away from me.

“I’m just gone get sweaty and funky while I’m workin,” I tells her.

“But you shows up clean,” she say. “Got it?”

I nod. “Want me to go home and wash up?”

“Don’t get funny,” she say. “Now c’mon with me out back and I’ll show what you can do first.”

We walks through that fine house and I just cain’t believe it. We pass on through this party kinda room with a bar and I’m thinkin I’m gone be sneakin back in there. We go on out these glass doors to outside. The pool is giant, man. And the bottom is all painted up in a design and the water look so clean and blue. There be benches and chairs everywhere and it look like a fancy park.

Lois hand me a broom. “Sweep everythin that ain’t ground,” she say. “And pick it with that dustpan over there and put in a plastic bag. The bags be in that shed.”

“You want me to put dirt from outside in a bag?” I ax.

She just look at me.

“That’s stupid,” I say. “I can just sweep it over on the ground.”

“Do what I say, boy,” she say.

“Okay.”

I sweeps everthin. Then I rakes part of the big yard. Then the bitch got me moppin the floor of the pool house. Man, if I wasn’t funky befo’, I’m sho ‘nuff funky now. Lois look at what I done and nods, but she don’t smile. She just tell me she see me tomorrow and then walk on back in the house with her big fat ass.

I decide I’m gone go on down to the pool hall and check out Tito and Yellow, see what they be doin, get Tito to buy me a taco or sumpin’. When I gets there Yellow and Tito already be in the middle of a game.

“Where you been, nigger?” Tito ax.

“I been workin, man.”

“Naw, you ain’t been workin,” Tito say.

Yellow laugh.

Tito take a shot and stand up straight. “I know you ain’t been workin cause I went lookin fo’ yo ass over to the warehouse and they told me yo ass been fired.”

“Yeah, but I been workin anyway,” I say.

“Where?” Yellow ax.

“Over in West Holly,” I say. I pick up a stick from the rack and walk round the table. I takes a shot.

“Hey, we was in the middle of a game,” Yellow say.

“You was going to lose anyway,” I tell him.

“What you doin way the fuck over there?” Tito ax.

“Don’t even ax,” I say.

“Nigger shamed of what he do,” Yellow laughs.

“I workin at this rich dude’s house, okay,” I say.

“Doin what?” Tito ax.

“Sweepin,” I says under my breath.

“Say what?” Tito say.

“Sweepin,” I say and both of them bust out laughin. “Fuck botha y’all.”

“Sweepin what?” Yellow want to know.

“Round the pool area,” I say. “Happy now?”

“What, you some whitey’s houseboy now?” Tito ax. He puts a cigarette between his lips.

Fatman yell over, “No smokin in here!”

“Is the muthafucka lit?” Tito yell back.

“Make sho it stay that way,” Fatman say. Then more to himself, “I don’t give a shit what you do outside, but I be damned you gone smoke in my ‘tablishment.”