New Title 1 (40 page)

“No, boy. Use Maw’s money. It’s what she’d want. Meantime me’n Dumar’ll be in the
Home Depot.
”

“Shore, Unc.”

The boy disembarked. Helton’s concerned face hovered over Veronica.

“Veronnerka? Hon? You’se all right?”

Mouth opened, Veronica nodded.

“I’se sorry I showed ya that ugly movie but, like I said, I needed ya ta
understand
why we’se doin’ this…”

Veronica nodded.

“We’se’ll be right back. Whine you just try ta take yerself a nap?”

Veronica nodded.

Helton sighed, then eventually left the truck with his son.

McDonald’s
, she thought diffusely.
Home Depot…

Something tiny seemed to crackle in her brain.

Best Buy…

She stood up—at least as much as she could given the handcuff—though she didn’t know why. She tried to peer out the windshield, but crooked over like that she could only see an edge of the semi-full parking lot. Daylight raged. Straining her neck…she detected movement…

A figure in a blue shirt—a
familiar
blue shirt—walked briskly through the rows of parked cars. It never occurred to her, though, that this person’s blue shirt was identical to her own. The figure was a slender man with spiked-up hair; more familiarity seemed to whisper around in her head. He was sticking sheets of paper beneath the windshield wipers of each car, and in an action so coincidental as to be completely
unbelievable,
a gust of wind picked up, detached one of the sheets from a windshield and blew it
directly against the windshield of the black truck!

Veronica read the sheet, obviously a sale-flyer: OPEN ‘TIL MIDNIGHT XMAS EVE! BLOWOUT HOLIDAY SALE ONLY AT BEST BUY!

Then the sheet fluttered, and blew away.

Best Buy,
Veronica thought. She watched the spike-haired man weaving between parked cars, and for some reason unbeknownst to her, she thought,
Archie…

Veronica sat back down, somehow contentedly confused, if such a state of mind could even exist. Had she remained standing for less than a minute more, the man in the blue shirt—Archie—would’ve been able to
see her
when he placed a flyer beneath the truck’s wiper.

She looked dully up when Micky-Mack returned. He set down an armful of white bags that smelled of fast food.

“Well, hey there, Veronnerka! Feelin’ better?”

Veronica stared at him.

“Got’cha some viddles, yes sir! Probably more what yer used to—
citified
food, I guess this is. Smells good, huh?”

Veronica nodded.

Micky-Mack sat in the fold-down chair, but before he did so, Veronica’s retinas registered scarlet streaks along the chair’s back. It did not occur to her that this was dried blood.

Micky-Mack rubbed his crotch for no apparent reason. “Don’t’cha worry none, Veronnerka. You’se’ll get ta go home soon, just like Unc Helton promised.” He cast her a discerning glance. “Say, Veronnerka? Them tits’a yers are, like,
dandy
tits. You wouldn’t mind showin’ to me again, would’ja?”

Veronica shook her head and raised her top.

Micky-Mack’s cheeks billowed. “Dang, girl! They’se get better ever time! Them there’s what we call Jiminee
Christmas
tits!” He rubbed his crotch more concertedly. “Say, you ain’t seemed ta mind none tweakin’ our peckers. How’s about tweakin’ mine right now?”

Veronica nodded.

“Dang, you are such a
nice
gal!” and Micky-Mack stood up in a flash, extracted his malodorous penis, and slipped it unhesitantly into Veronica’s mouth.

“Yeah, back’n forth, just like that, just like we up’n taught ya…”

Rhythmic sucking sounds clicked. The penis hardened immediately, and not once did she wince when each stroke slid well past her tonsils.

Micky-Mack’s breath raced. “Dang-dang-dang! That’s just, I say that’s just shorely the
best
dick suckin’ I’se ever had…” His groin was tensing. “You know, it’s damn
refreshin’
ta have my dick tended to
natural-
like. All these headers we’se havin’? Shit, they’se feel
great,
but still… Just somethin’
unnatural
’bout fuckin’
heads,
” but then his words stalled. “Aw, shit! I weren’t supposed ta say that! Unc Helton, he’d whup my ass good if’n he knowed I just said that so’s…Veronnerka? How’s ’bout that’ll be our secret, okay? Don’t tell Unc Helton I’se mentioned nuthin ’bout headers. Okay?”

Mouth stuffed, Veronica nodded.

Now Micky-Mack was breathing between his teeth. “And ya know, as good as yer blowjobs is now…I’se just
gots
ta git me my nut. Can that be our secret too, Veronnerka? I’se cum in yer mouth but you don’t tell Unc Helton? That okay?”

Veronica nodded, sucking with mechanical precision.

“Aw-aw-aw,” he grunted, tensing all the more. “I gots ta warn ya, though. Me? I’se belt out a
lot
of peckjuice, enough ta likely fill yer whole mouth up. And if’n ya spit it out, Unc Helton’ll see’n, well, you know. So’s how’s ’bout
swallerin’
all my nut. Okay?”

Veronica nodded.

“Git ready now, hon. I’se just about ta, just about ta—” but the sound of rough voices made Micky-Mack glance terrified over his shoulder. Helton and Dumar were opening the back doors!

“What a fuckin’ kick in the ass!” he whispered fierce, and had no choice but to awkwardly pack his unspent erection back into his pants. He got back in the chair—legs crossed, of course—just as Helton came inside.

Helton stared. “Boy? What’s goin’ on here?”

“Why, nothin’, Unc Helton. I’se just come back from the Mack-Donald’s with the viddles ya told me ta fetch.”

Helton’s eyes narrowed. “Then how come Veronnerka’s
tits
are out?”

“Aw, hail, Unc. They’se so nice lookin’ I’se just asked her ta show me again, that’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Shore that’s all, Unc.” Micky-Mack looked to Veronica. “Ain’t that right, Veronnerka? That’s all?”

Veronica nodded.

“Oh,” Helton said. Then he sniffed. “Dang, sumpin’ shore smells good.”

“Citified food,” Dumar remarked with enthusiasm. He was still just outside the open doors, clattering with something.

“Let’s all get our breadbaskets filt so’s we’ll have plenty’a energy tonight,” but as Helton approached the fast-food bags, Micky-Mack had to ask, “So, Unc. What all you buy at the
Home Depot?
”

Dumar came inside, hefting the purchases: three heavy-duty shovels, of the sort that grave-diggers might use.

(II)

The big black truck had parked in yet another convenient and well-secluded clearing in the woods. From there, the men had slipped away into the cool night, their mysterious task still unrevealed. Were they still in Pulaski town limits?

Who could tell?

Not even two hours had expired before the men, shovels clattering, returned to the truck. This was precisely at the stroke of midnight, when December 23rd officially became Christmas Eve…

They entered through the rear doors, speaking little. Was it excitement that quelled conversation, or unease?

It was both.

Veronica, still foundering glassy-eyed in her semi-catatonic state, had been handcuffed to her usual place during the “headers”: the front passenger seat, facing the dense, nighted woods. A trail led beyond, the same trail that the men had just returned from. Had one of them been carrying a bundle or some sort?

Yes.

They closed the doors, then flicked on the lamp in back. Helton stuck his head forward. “We’se back, Veronnerka. Right now we’se got ta…get things ready, then we’se’ll be up fer a…well, you know… a quick tweakin’. All right?”

Veronica nodded, staring off.

“And untils then, I’ll just close this here curtain like always. Remember now, don’t’cha be lookin’ back here ’cos what ya’d see would likely…mess ya up in the head more’n ya already are. Okay?”

Veronica continued staring forward.

“Veronnerka? Hon? Ya ain’t gonna look back here, are ya?”

Veronica shook her head no.

Helton closed the curtain.

Clattering. Low, indiscernible talk. Then came the now-familiar whine of the hole-saw. It sounded once, paused, then sounded again. After a longer pause, someone said, “Dang. Are we really gonna
do
this?”

“Just ‘member what Paulie did ta yer son, and yer wife, and yer grandmaw…”

The curtain fluttered, then all three men crowded into the front, their limp penises out.

“Veronnerka? Can we’se git our tweakin’ now?”

Veronica nodded and with no reluctance nor complaint stuck her tongue out over her bottom teeth, pulled her upper lip over her top teeth, and began to fellate their foul-smelling members. In moments, all three were painfully erect and cringing just short of orgasm.

“Good girl,” Helton said. “We’se cain’t thank ya enough. See..this is rough work we got goin’ in back.” He put cotton balls in her ears, then repaired to the rear of the truck with the others. The curtain was re-closed.

Veronica continued to stare forward. If the question
What are they doing back there?
ever occurred to her, it was entirely subconscious. She still didn’t know where she was and she scarcely knew
who
she was. As her eyes acclimated, however, her vision began to identify aspects of her surroundings: the trees, mostly bereft of leaves; crisp moonlight glimmering through boughs’ and that trail just before her began to surrender details. It seemed to incline. Without forethought, she squinted, focusing…

Yes, that trail rose to a barely visible hill and a perimeter of iron fencework. Here the moon shimmered more brightly. Past the fencework she was able to make out…gravestones.

A…cemetery…

Veronica blinked. Then an interesting and highly unlikely thing happened:

One of those cotton balls…fell out of her ear.

She heard:

“So’s we gonna double-fuck this ‘un like we done Paulie’s Maw?”

“Nope. We’se gonna
triple-
fuck it.”

“A
triple?
But, Paw. How’se can we
triple-
fuck it if’n ya only drilt
two
holes?
”

“Hand me that hack-saw, son, and I’ll show ya.”

The grisliest sound ensued, very much that of a saw-blade cutting through meat.

“See, I got me this idea that headers is most effective if’n ya do it a little bit
different
ever time. I think the word is…
variety.
See, boys, to piss Paulie off the most we can, we gots ta have
variety
in how we fuck the heads of his kin. Cain’t
never
be the same old thing. So’s…here’s what we’se gonna do, and thank God Veronnerka recommended I buy this tripod along with the fancy movin’-picture camera. You boys ready? Good? Now, see, what I’se gonna do is I’se gonna stick my dick up its neck-hole first—ah, yeah, like that. It’s a little cold now, fellas, just so ya know—been in the ground since last summer.”