of them—while I was gone. The conversation was as brain-numbing as those I had back in the joint.
Then I saw Shelby and her friend Taylor join Shane and River. The blonde was pretty enough. But, holy hell, the brunette made my dick hurt.
Then the woman climbed over the table, giving the entire bar a solid view of her heaven-sent ass. After years without access to a woman’s body, I instantly memorized her every curve. I didn’t know shit about her otherwise. I figured she was fucking River, Shane, or both of them. Took me a few days to get the story on how the Reapers roll.
I didn’t get too wound up that first day. Shit, I’d have fucked the ugliest, smelliest bitch after five years without pussy. Focusing on the prettiest belle of the ball wasn’t worth my time. Then weeks later, Shelby, Taylor, and a former sweet butt named Kelsi decided to crank up the karaoke machine and decimate one of those pop hits that make my fillings hurt. I couldn’t take my eyes off the bouncy brunette, which surprised me. I’m usually attracted to blondes. Shelby was too good looking not to put above others, though.
Today, my hog ends up taking me to a trailer park a few towns away from Shasta. My mom has called this place home for over a decade. I offered to get her set up somewhere better, but God said she shouldn’t take my dirty money.
Ursula Midkiff got her Jesus fix after going wild in her twenties and making her bastard son. Sometimes, I think I’m supposed to apologize for reminding her of all the whoring she did back in the day. I’m the product of a hookup with a married man in Tennessee. I long doubted she really knew who my father was. Then she claimed this particular man was a giant. She probably narrowed down the candidates based on my size as a kid.
These days, we don’t talk about him or much of anything. I visit her a few times a month, mostly because I worry that she’ll croak soon. She’s never been healthy, but she and her husband, Hal, only eat junk, never exercise, and smoke like chimneys. He suffered a heart attack while she’s had a few mini-strokes. They ain’t ever gonna change.
What also won’t change is her thinking I was a mistake. But I don’t come here for her. I visit for the man I’ll be in the future. I don’t want him feeling guilty when his mom’s dead and he thinks he didn’t do enough when she was alive. That fucking chump will run me ragged, so I give in to him now.
The Summit Mobile Home Park is a seniors-only setup, meaning my arrival scares the crap out of a lot of the residents. No matter how many times I show up, I get the evil eye from the old coots running around this place.
“There’s a time limit on guests,” claims the tightly wound broad who lives next door to Ursula.
“Nomp,” I say and knock on my mother’s door.
“What?” the woman asks.
I walk over to her and lean down until she’s pissing her adult diapers. “I said, ‘nomp.’”
“Stop harassing Tessie,” Ursula scolds when she opens her door to find me eyeballing her neighbor.
“Tell her to stop hassling me,” I mutter and walk to where my mother sits on the porch. “She always tells me that guest rule.”
“She’s old.”
“I don’t think that’s why she repeats herself. She likes throwing her weight around,” I say and stand near my mother.
“How come you want to see me? I always tell you the same things too.”
“Yomp, but if she dies, I ain’t gonna notice. If you do, I’m gonna notice.”
Shrugging, Ursula lights a cigarette. “You’re gonna die before me, Dean. Hal and I were just talking about that last night.”
“If I was gonna die, I’d have done it right after I got out. Now I’m gonna live a long life. That’s a fact. Hal won’t be around more than two years tops. Hope his will is in order.”
“Stop talking about me,” whines the old spunk-waste from inside the trailer.
“I’m defending you,” Ursula tells him.
“What?”
“I’m standing up for you.”
“I can’t hear you.”
My brain offers me an out from their dumb-shit banter by showing me what I came here to get out of my head. Shelby is probably at her fancy house, plotting her next move to mess with me. While my mother tells stories about a dozen people that I don’t give