Bone Cage by Catherine Banks Read Free Book Online

the sod from Reg, okay?
    KEVIN
    What about Merv?
    CHICKY
    You don’t know that it was him.
    KEVIN
    You kidding? You tell her, Jamie.
    JAMIE
    Maybe it wasn’t.
    KEVIN
    Jamie, he did it, I know it, you know it.
    JAMIE
    I’ll meet you at the grave – make it look like nothing happened there for Betty tomorrow.
    KEVIN
    Let me, Jamie. I’ll fix it up right.
    Then I’m going to go get that son of a bitch.
    KEVIN leaves. CHICKY looks at KRISTA.
    CHICKY
    Are you going to do something?
    KRISTA
    What? Besides Merv… he started it, right?
    Kevin will be a mess in the wedding photos.
    CHICKY
    I don’t care about your
(fucking)
wedding pictures.
    KRISTA
    See, Jamie? Make her stop ruining our wedding.
    Well?
    I’m going home.
    KRISTA seems to expect JAMIE to go with her.
    I said I’m going home.
    KRISTA leaves clearly angry.
    CHICKY
    I don’t think even Merv would do something like that.
    JAMIE
    It don’t matter to Kevin who did it.
    He needs for it to be Merv.
    CHICKY
    Why?
    JAMIE
    Look, Chicky. Merv did something to Kev, Kev’s got to take Merv on.
    If he wants to live around here anyway.
    CHICKY
    What did he do to Kev to make him so crazy?
    JAMIE
    I don’t ask what Merv the perv does. You saw him. They got him good and drunk that’s for sure. Maybe they fed him some Viagra, made him look at someone’s dick and told him if his pecker got hard it meant he’s a queer. Anyway, you know they got his underwear off him one way or another.
    CHICKY
    He’s acting like he’s going to kill Merv.
    JAMIE
    If Kevin got laid, sis, he’d be all right.
    CHICKY
    You know he might be the same to me as you.
    JAMIE
    You’re putting a lot of faith in shit Mom told you.
    CHICKY
    You tell Kev, that’s enough.
    JAMIE
    I’ll tell, don’t mean he’ll listen.
    CHICKY
    When are you going to B.C.?
    JAMIE
    Soon enough.
    CHICKY
    Not soon enough.
    You’ve had that ad for months.
    Have you called?
    JAMIE
    That ain’t your business, but yes I did.
    CHICKY
    So you are going?
    JAMIE
    Soon as I get the money together.
    CHICKY
    You
quit
your job.
    JAMIE
    Danny’s renting the trailer ’til spring. We’ll have enough to move out there by then.
    CHICKY
    You might have the wedding paid off by then.
    Why are you marrying her? It’s not like you’re lovesick.
    JAMIE
    Now you sound like her
.
“Do you love me? Do you really really love me”? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccckkkkkkk.
    CHICKY
    She’ll stop you from going.
    JAMIE
    No she won’t. Krista’s going too.
    CHICKY
    You’d do better on your own.
    JAMIE
    I need one person with me who knows me.
    CHICKY
    You marry her, you’ll be stuck.
    She’ll get pregnant…
    JAMIE
    No, we ain’t having kids for a long time.
    CHICKY
    You’re being a stupid married man, and you’re not even married.
    JAMIE
    Yeah, I heard Carol’s preggers.
    CHICKY
    Yeah, well, so I know what I’m talking about.
    JAMIE
    You know, sis, old Reggie’s using you up, same as he’s using up the interval land. What are
you
sticking around for?
    CHICKY
    Haven’t you noticed I’ve been taking care of you?
    JAMIE
    So now you don’t have to. And don’t wait around here for some someday family reunion. Mom probably doesn’t know who your father is, for sure.
    CHICKY
    I can’t stand living with you sometimes.
    JAMIE
    I’m not saying anything against you. It’s her I’m talking about.
    CHICKY
    You used to have a heart. You used to have feelings.
    JAMIE
    Yeah?
    CHICKY
    You weren’t like this before.
    JAMIE
    Before when?
    CHICKY
    I don’t know. Before Travis died. Before you quit school.
    Before you started drinking every day.
    JAMIE
    You know what I feel these days?
    CHICKY
    What?
    JAMIE
    (pause)
Nothing.
    CHICKY
    No… tell me.
    JAMIE
    Nothing is what I feel after a twelve-hour night shift shaking inside that machine. Hearing everything outside it