Absalom's Daughters by Suzanne Feldman Read Free Book Online Page A

boy, who had been staring up at the night sky, put his hand on the dog’s back and got to his feet. There was a rope running from his wrist to the tree. Cassie thought it was a rope for the dog at first and that the dog had wound itself around the trunk, and that if she were to run away right now, it would take too long for them to unwind the dog to set it on her. She held still and held her breath, and the dog lay back down. The boy sat too, and that was when Cassie made out that it wasn’t the dog that was tied to the tree, but the boy.
    â€œWoof!” said the boy. “Woo, woo, woof!”
    â€œWoof!” echoed the dog.
    â€œShut the hell up !” shouted one of the Justice boys from underneath the car hood.
    The boy let out a whine and hunkered down. His dog licked his face.
    â€œ You’re listening to Radio WINS ,” said the radio. One of the Justice boys extricated himself from the engine, oily-black to his elbows, and slid into the driver’s seat. The radio stuttered as he worked the ignition, and to Cassie’s amazement, the engine turned over.
    Judith and the albino boy cheered. The other Justice boy slammed down the hood and jumped into the passenger seat. The brother behind the wheel gunned the engine, and the car wrenched loose from the dirt. It lurched around the clearing, on rims without tires. The boy who was driving swerved close to Judith and the albino boy and opened the door on his side to knock them off the crate. Judith screamed with laughter as her paper cup went flying.
    The car careened to a stop. “Get in, get in!” shouted the boys.
    â€œ … here’s Muddy ‘Mississippi’ Waters ,” said the radio.
    Judith and the albino boy got into the backseat and handed around the bottle of moonshine while the Justice boys searched for another radio station. There was static, then news, then static again, then music.
    The Justice boys gunned the car in a circle, kicking up twigs and clods of dirt until the engine backfired deafeningly and stalled. The radio went quiet. The albino boy handed them the bottle, and the boys swigged the stuff down and got out of the car.
    â€œDamn,” said the boy who’d been driving. He kicked the dirty metal rims. “Shoulda drove it into the fire.” He kicked at the edge of the fire. His brother, who was shorter, and who Cassie assumed was younger, gave the car a drunken shove, but it was rooted and didn’t budge.
    â€œLet’s go,” said the oldest Justice boy.
    â€œYou ain’t leavin’,” said Judith, still in the backseat. “You leavin’?”
    â€œI got some old tires,” said the oldest. “I’ll bring ’em down and put ’em on. We’ll fill it up with gas, and it’ll burn real nice.” He went over to the boy and the dog by the tree and untied the rope.
    â€œYou ever seen a car catch fire with tires on it?” said the younger Justice boy to the albino. “Like big torches.” He made motions with his hands, like fire reaching upward. “Then the gasoline goes, and then the whole damn thing, bang-o! ”
    â€œMy parents died in a car wreck,” said the albino boy. “They burned up just like that. You should apologize for making me think about it.”
    â€œDid you see it?” said the younger. “Did the tires catch fire?”
    The oldest Justice boy came over with the littlest boy and the dog in tow. “Ain’t no body apologizin’ to you,” he said. “’Cause you’re a fuckin’ freak.” He turned unsteadily to Judith. “Why you hangin’ round with this fuckin’ freak?”
    â€œShut up,” said Judith. “You got a brother thinks he’s dog.”
    â€œYou callin’ me a freak?” said the oldest boy.
    â€œI’m callin’ you a idjit ,” said Judith. “Go home if you leavin’.”
    â€œYou cain’t tell us