PIGGS - A Novel with Bonus Screenplay by Neal Barrett Jr Read Free Book Online Page B

fine.   I don't suppose you got a doughnut too?"
    "No," she said, "I don't suppose I do."
    "No problem," Cecil said, and anyone who knew him knew that wasn't so, knew he had doughnuts, coffee, scrambled eggs and bacon, every morning at nine.
    It was light enough to see him well now.   She looked to the side, didn't look him in the face.   It was awkward to keep doing that, worse if you didn't even try.   Cecil looked bad.   Cecil looked bad all the time.   He might, though, look a little worse, she decided, in the pale morning lavender light.
    "I don't mean to be blunt," she told him, "don't take what I'm saying like that.   What I'm saying is, I don't have company a lot, Mr. Dupr–Cecil.   Nothing personal, it's just the way I am. In the entertainment field you're with people all the time, I don't have to tell you that.   I don't get a lot of time to myself.   When I do, it is precious to me, and I don't care to share it with anyone else.   So how long you think this talking's going to take?"
    Cecil blinked.   "Hell, I don't know how long we're going to talk, I'm hoping to get it done quick."
    "I hope I don't misunderstand that."
    "I surely hope you don't, I can't imagine any reason that you would.   What I was thinking, we could have that coffee,   maybe you could be polite.   I'm sure you had manners one time, I'm sure your mother said treat people nice.   I think we could get to know one another, get to be friends, see what happens after tha—"
    Cecil stopped.   Gloria was gone.   She'd walked away and simply disappeared.   Cecil looked behind him, turned and looked ahead.   Stepped around a big live oak that was broad as he was tall.   Scrap wood rungs had been nailed to the trunk, like a little kid had put them there.   Stepping back then, squinting through the branches, through the half light, he saw her there, climbing straight up.
    "Oh Jesus," Cecil said.   He felt a little knot in his belly, felt a little something in his throat.   The tree seemed to lean, seemed to waver, seemed to sway.   Cecil wasn't scared of anything at all.   Cecil wasn't even scared of God.   He was scared to even think about climbing up a tree.   And, he thought, if anyone knew that, anyone at Piggs, Cat Eye or Grape or anyone at all...
    He took a deep breath.   Kept his eye steady on the trunk.   Didn't look up, didn't look down.   Slid one hand up the tree, clutched one rung and then the next.   Slid one leg and then another after that.   Hugged the tree hard, learned trees were big, learned trees were sound.   Learned, if you didn't let go, the tree would be your friend.
    Stopped once.   Wiped off the sweat with his sleeve, keeping both hands on the tree.   Risked a glance up, knew, at once, this was the wrong thing to do.   Saw where he was, saw the trees and the sky.   Knew he was high enough to die.   Knew he was—–
     
    "THIS IS YOUR JU 52 JUNKERS AIRPLANE, THE WORKHORSE OF THEGERMAN AIR FORCE..."
     
    The loudspeaker blared.   Fifty-two strings of Christmas tree lights started blinking overhead. Cecil nearly lost it, Cecil hugged the tree for dear life.
     
    "...WHAT MANY OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW IS AN EARLY VERSION OF THIS CELEBRATED CRAFT–Grrrrrrrk-hissssh!–TOOK WING IN1930.   AFTER THAT IT WENT THROUGH MANY ALTERATIONS INCLUDING PASSENGER AIRPLANE, TRANSPORT AND BOMBER,   BECOMING, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, ONE OF–Skkkkkrreeeek–THE MOST FAMOUS AIRCRAFT OF ALL TIME.   THE PLANE YOU SEE HERE WAS FIRST BUILT AT THE JUNKERS FLUGDZENG UND MOTERENWERKE AG.   RIGHT BEFORE THE WAR, THE g3e BOMBER TYPES WERE ROLLING OUT OF FACTORIES AT DESSAU AND BERNBERG.   POWERED BY–Shrrriiik—hrrrrrr!–THREE BMW 132T DASH TWO RADIAL ENGINES, THE PLANE ATTAINED A MAXIMUM SPEED OF THREE-OH-FIVE KILOMETRES PER HOUR, WITH A RANGE OF–Griiiiik-griiik!...
     
    "Sorry 'bout that," Gloria said, poking her head out an open port above.   "Can't ever get that tape to go anywhere but high. Shoot, I guess you