Boys in Gilded Cages by Jarod Powell Read Free Book Online Page B

morning, the boys stood at their
usual spot to catch the bus. Jack looks across the field, and sees
Nathan bending over, picking dandelions, as the boys talk in the
background. He sees Jack and shoots up abruptly, waving
over-enthusiastically; almost like he’s doing it sarcastically.
     
    “ Hey, big brother!” Nathan
says.
     
    Meanwhile, the boys recognize Jack’s trance.
“Uh-oh, he’s at it again,” Petor says. He snaps his fingers.
“One…two…three!” Jack comes back to the present. The boys
laugh.
    

    Jack slept alone that night. He was woken by
the phone ringing. The answering machine picks up. It was Thelma,
calling from where ever she may have fled.
     
    “ Jack...I love you...I’m
with Frank, we took a little getaway. Don’t know when I’ll be back.
Keep the house clean, and there’s cash in the top dresser drawer.
Bye!”
     
    In the fog of sleep, Jack recognized his
mother’s voice, and walked over the answering machine. He tried to
play back the message, but there wasn’t one. It was either erased,
or part of a dream.
    During Jack’s morning shower, he sang. He
sang whatever came to mind: A hymn, a Taylor Swift song, whatever
was in his head. He sang pitch-perfect; flawlessly. He heard a
rustling. He peeked his head out of the shower curtain. Nathan sat
across from him, on the closed toilet, smoking a cigarette. He lets
were crossed. His foot twitched, and he looked indignant.
     
    “ You’re faking it. Why do
you do it?” Nathan asked.
     
    Jack shut the curtain. “Do you mind?”
     
    “ You know all the words,
Hypno. Maybe you should sing everything you say.”
     
    “ Don’t call me that,
Nathan.”
     
    Jack finishes his shower. When he leaves the
shower to towel off, Nathan is no longer there. There’s a knock on
the door.
     
    Jack wraps a towel around his waist, and
answers the door. It’s Officer Luptas. “Heard you singing. You were
always the best little singer, back in your church days.”
     
    “ Thank you,” Jack said.
“Juice?”
     
    “ That’d be real nice,
thank you, Buddy.”
     
    Jack pours a glass of juice and slides it to
Luptas.
     
    “ Jack, the reason I’m here
is because the tavern called the station. Your mother hasn’t shown
up to work for a few days.” Luptas waited on Jack to show
emotion.
     
    “ Yeah, she’s out of town
with, uh…”
     
    “ Frank,” Luptas said. Jack
nodded.
    
“ You talked to her last
night?” Luptas asked.

“No. She left a…the answering machine,” Jack
said.
    “ What time did she call?”
Luptas asked.
    
“ Dunno,” Jack said. “It
was late.”
     
    “ How’d she
sound?”
    
“ Drunk,” Jack answered.
Luptas laughed.
     
    “ Probably having a good
time, huh?” Luptas asked. Jack shrugged.
    
“ Do you mind if I listen
to the message?” Luptas asked.
    
“ It’s not there anymore.”


“You deleted it?” Luptas became more intensely
inquisitive.
     
    “ No.”
     
    Luptas pondered for a moment. “Machine do
it?”
     
    “ I guess so.”
     
    Luptas pursed his lips for a moment. Then he
went back into character and let out a chuckle. “What kind of
machine you got?” He asked, chipper. “Ours messes up a lot too. The
wife got it at the Goodwill. Looks brand new, but I guess the
previous owner donated it for a reason.”
     
    Jack simply nodded. There’s a pause.
     
    Finally, Jack said, “I don’t know. Came with
the phone.”
     
    “ She didn’t sound
distressed or anything?” Luptas asked. “Nothing funny, was
there?”
     
    “ No.”
     
    “ Okay. Do you have a
relative or someone you can stay with?”
     
    “ No.”
     
    “ Where does your brother’s
daddy live?” Luptas asked.
     
    “ He lives in Pittsburgh,
but he was supposed to visit Springfield on his way to Kansas
City.”
     
    “ When?”
     
    “ Was supposed to come last
week.”
    
“ He never came?” Luptas
asked.
     
    “ No.”
     
    Jack looked uncomfortable. “He might be
there now. It