Read Gone Fishin' for Free Online Page B

didn’t know
what for.
    ‘You
had some time las’ night.’
    There was
nothing to say to that so I concentrated on the buttons of my shirt.
    ‘Why’ont
you come back t’say bye?’
    ‘Okay,’
I lied to keep her quiet, but she looked down at Ernestine and then
back at me.
    ‘You
shouldn’t be mad ‘bout us girls gettin’ together,
Easy. She just excited an’ you an’ Clifton was out. Girls
need t’talk ‘bout they men.’ She smiled and looked
coy.
    I wanted
to tear off my skin.
    ‘I
don’t care bout them. I gotta go an’ I’ll come say
bye fo’ we get back down.’
    I moved to
go to the door, but she touched my arm.
    ‘Come
back, Easy,’ she said, and I felt something.
    ‘I
cain’t, Jo. This ain’t right, an’, an’ you
don’t even know me.’
    She looked
at me for long time. While she did she seemed to get older and older;
her eyes were tired and there were folds in her face. It was like she
was aging to death and I was killing her. The lantern was fluttering,
maybe it had been the whole time, but right then I thought that if
the light went out she’d die.
    ‘Okay,’
I said. ‘But just to say bye.’
    When she
kissed me I felt sick but excited too; I wanted to scream.
    When I got
to the door she said, ‘You watch out fo’Raymond, honey.’
    ‘Mouse
don’t need me t’help him.’
    ‘I
mean you make sure you don’t get hurt. Raymond hate this place
an’ he don’t have no good reason t’ be down here.’
    ‘I
be okay, Jo.’
    She put
her hand on my throat like she was going to choke me, but softly.
Then I left.
     
     
Chapter Five
     
    The sky
was black and crowded with stars. The land was like a heaven too;
everywhere there were dusters of fireflies, glowing white with glints
of green and yellow and blue. They covered the ground in a shimmering
net of light. In the middle of that light was the dark form of a man
holding a yellow lantern.
    ‘Hey,
Easy! She let you go, huh?’
    ‘Where’d
you go?’ I asked Mouse. ‘How come you left me there?’
    ‘I
had t’go see my friend, Easy. I figgered you could take care’a
yo’self.’ Mouse snickered. ‘Who gonna figger you
for runnin’ after witch pussy?’
    I took two
steps toward him with my fists clenched.
    ‘Hole’it,
man.’ He was laughing and holding the lantern out as a play
shield. ‘If Momma go after somebody, then what can they do? We
just people, Easy, and she is more’n that.’
    ‘What
you go’n leave me for?’
    ‘I
had t’see somebody. I din’t know what’s on that
crazy woman’s mind.’
    ‘Shit!’
    Mouse was
laughing so hard that he had trouble holding the lantern steady; his
whole body shook.
    ‘Easy,
you shoulda been born rich,’ he said, letting out a long sigh
of pleasure. ‘I mean up on the hill with servants and tea.’
    ‘What
you talkin’ ‘bout?’
    ‘Look
at you. Here you go wantin’ t’pick’n choose like
you too good fo’Jo. But you don’t un’erstan’
that’s Momma Jo in there. If she like you then you halfway got
it made. She feed you and fix you up if you get cut. Shit! An’
I bet she fuck you bettah than all them chippies you be chasin’
in Houston. I tell ya. You got a woman wanna take you home you better
not be turnin’ up yo’ nose…’
    ‘Shut
up, shut up!’
    ‘All
right.’ He hunched his shoulders. ‘All I gotta say is…’
    ‘Just
shut up, all right?’
    And he
did. He turned and walked away without another word. I followed him,
my head about to come open with all that had happened.
    With those
stars and lightning bugs I barely made out the path we walked on from
the heavens. It was like walking in the black skies of night; my
whole sense of up and down was gone. The only thing that kept me from
getting dizzy was keeping my eye on Mouse’s black silhouette,
rushing on up ahead. We walked for quite a while until we came into a
stand of cypress trees.
    ‘This it,’ he said.
    ‘This is what?’
    “This is where we gonna meet’im.’
    ‘Meet