Just a Couple of Days (45 page)

No sooner had he reasoned this out than the truck was rocked by an unseen collision. Diablo probably yelled “Jee-zus Christ!” in the ensuing melee of braking, screeching, and the window shattering, but such a synchronicity would border on the preposterous. After all, an eight-foot crucifix had just dropped out of the sky and into his flatbed, managing to shatter his rear window in the process. Once he had the truck pulled over, Diablo jumped out to investigate, still thinking he'd hit a deer or vice versa, and was for the third time that day dumbfounded, finding instead a bronzed, life-sized, crucified Christ gazing placidly up at him from the flatbed as if it were a loyal pet.

Growing accustomed to the profoundly improbable, Diablo set about arranging the crucifix securely. Most pickups are designed to hold the standard cut of plywood, a 4 × 8 sheet, in their bed, and so the crucifix, four feet wide and eight feet tall, was a perfectly snug fit. After regarding the curiosity, Diablo got back in the cab, pausing to inspect both of his hands. He would not have been surprised if his missing finger had mysteriously shifted to his right hand, or even, given recent events, if it had miraculously regenerated itself. The situation seemed stable, though, and the bleeding had even stopped. He sighed, and after accelerating back up to fifth gear, Diablo tucked his left hand under his thigh to soothe its throbbing, shook his head at the bizarre events of the day, and drove away from Normal, confident that God was with him.

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T
ONY
V
IGORITO
earned a Ph.D. at Ohio State University and taught social theory at Ohio University and Antioch College. He now splits his time between Athens, Ohio, and Austin, Texas.