Family Thang (46 page)

“Ruth Ann,” Estafay called, “you’re down to five seconds!”

“Robert Earl, what are you going to do?” Leonard said.

“All right, already, I’m going. Somebody help me out of here.”

Leonard moved to assist him--and then a shot rang out.

“Wait a minute,” Robert Earl said.

Chapter 41

Eric, on his knees, Estafay’s fingernails pinching his neck, whispered what little he remembered of The Lord’s Prayer.

Estafay said, “I don’t think Shirley cares if you live or die, whore.”

“Shirley is nothing to play with. I wouldn’t hurt me if I were you. Shirley will beat the shit out of you, then beat you again for messing yourself. I were you I’d leave now.”

“If she’s so tough why hasn’t she brought her fat butt out here? She cares the same what happens to you as Ruth Ann. Diddlysquat!”

“Can you blame her? You got a gun. Put it down and she’ll come out. I know she will.”

Estafay squeezed his neck harder and he felt a warm trickle slide down his chest. “Do you feel me as stupid?”

“No, I don’t,” he grunted.
Insane, not stupid!
“Let me go and I’ll forget all about this. Swear to God! I don’t know nothing! Nothing!”

“Ruth Ann,” Estafay shouted, “you’re down to five seconds.”

“In prison, Mrs. Harris, them women lift weights all day and love to wrestle. Two or three of em hold you down and make you eat something real ugly and smelly. Let me go--no wrestling for you.”

“How would you know?”

“Believe me, I know. The smell worse than sardines. It’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth Listerine can’t touch. You need to think about the long-term consequences of what you’re doing.”

“Here’s something for you to think about.”

Kapooow!  The gunshot echoed through the woods. Eric’s left foot jerked and he felt a strange sensation…a burning pain…
She’s standing on my toes
…The pain increased…and increased…His foot felt on fire…
She’s burning my foot!
…

The heat flamed up his leg, burned in his groin, sizzled in his stomach, heated his chest and burst inside his head…
My God!
…
She shot me!
…He dropped to the ground on his side.

“You shot me! You shot me! You shot me!”

“Scream!”

“You shot me!”

“I said scream!” Estafay stepped on his injured foot and hopped up and down on it. 

“Aaauugggggghhhh!”

“Louder!”

“Aaaaauuggggggghhhhhhh!”

* * * * *

The door opened and slammed shut…opened and slammed shut. “No, Shirley!” Ida said. “We’re not letting you go out there!”

“She’s killing him!” Shirley cried. “Momma, she’s killing him. Please, Momma, let me out!”

The door opened and slammed shut, opened and slammed shut, opened and slammed shut…

“Help us, Ruth Ann!” Leonard said, breathing hard. “We can’t hold it!”

Ruth Ann didn’t budge, paralyzed by fear and guilt.
All this is my fault.

Shirley screamed…and the door opened and slammed shut again.

“Ruth Ann, would you please help us!”

She didn’t move. She’d caused Shirley this anguish; to get in her way now would be dangerous. Shirley loved Eric, more than she herself could ever love any man.

Shirley was more than willing to risk getting shot for Eric. Ruth Ann couldn’t think of anyone for whom she would risk her life.

Except…
Shirley!

“Ruth Ann, you better get out here!” Estafay shouted. “He’s going fast.”

Again Shirley screamed and this time the door opened and took longer to slam shut.

“I’m going out there,” Ruth Ann said.

“Ruth Ann, please,” Leonard said. “We’re doing all we can to keep Shirley in, you know we’re not letting you go out there. She has a gun!”

“Estafay!” Ida shouted. “Estafay, this is Ida. Listen to me. There’s no money, no money at all. It was a lie. Do you hear me? A lie. I made it all up. Stop this foolishness!”

No response from Estafay. Eric screamed again.

“Let him go, Estafay!” Shirley cried. “Please! Please, Estafay! I’m begging you! Oh God, please, Estafay! I’ll give you all I have…just let him go! Please! I’m begging…”

Her voice gave way to loud, gut-wrenching sobs and she collapsed onto the floor.

“Robert Earl!” Ida said. “Robert Earl, you take your butt out there and talk to your wife! You hear me! Go out there and talk to your wife!”

“Momma, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Robert Earl said. “She sounds awfully upset. What if she shoots me?”

“Get out there!” Ida shouted.

* * * * *

Just as Eric started slipping into unconsciousness, Estafay stepped off his foot. The heat reduced a few degrees, yet still burned like hell. He looked up at the stars, blinking in a strange pattern, one section sparkling and then other sections following suit.

I’m losing it! I’m going to die out here.

A footstep sounded on the porch. “Hey, honey. It’s me! Robert Earl. Don’t shoot!”

“Robert Earl, help me! She shot me!” Estafay kicked his foot. “Ohhhhhh!”

“Shut up!” To Robert Earl: “What you doing out here? I thought you went to Greenville to look at a snake.”

“I went there and saw a good one. Didn’t have enough money to buy it. Honey, you didn’t bring my Smith and Wesson out here, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. It’s the Colt, the rusty one.”

Crazy bitch shot me and he’s worried which gun she used!

Robert Earl stepped closer. “You didn’t neuter Eric, did you?”

“No. Such a small target I never would’ve hit it.”

“What?”

“My aim was low.”

“Honey, what’s this about?”

“Are you still with me, Robert?”

“What are you talking about? You know I am. You’re my wife.”

Eric’s heart sank.

“Good,” Estafay said. “I knew you would be. Who else is inside?”

“Shirley, Ruth Ann, Momma and Leonard.”

“Leonard? What’s he doing in there? Not a problem. Robert, we need to burn the cabin down.”

“I’ll go tell Momma them to come out and we’ll burn it down. All this time you just wanted to burn the cabin down. I told Shirley there was a simple explanation for this.”

“Robert, we need to burn it down with them inside it.”

“Do what? What did you say?”

Eric salvaged a sliver of hope.

“Robert, we can’t let them go. They’ll go straight to the police and we’ll go to jail for a long time.” Pause. “And we won’t get a dime of the money.”

“Estafay, there’s no money. Momma told a bald-faced lie to get us visiting her and Daddy.”

“If she’ll lie about one thing, she’ll lie about everything! Go set the cabin afire and I’ll take care of him.”

A long silence. A cricket fiddled near the porch. A mosquito stung Eric just below the right eye; he didn’t feel it.

“Fuck!” Robert Earl said. “Estafay, honey, this ain’t right! I can’t do it!”

“Why the potty mouth?”

“Sorry, honey. They’re my people. I’m related to every one of em. I can’t burn em up. Imagine the nightmares I’d have.”

“I’ll do it! Like I have to do everything else. Can you shoot him, or is it asking too much?”

Robert Earl sighed, as if she’d asked him the fifth time to empty the trash. “He’s not related to me. If he dies Shirley will be highly PO’ed. You should’ve heard her in there a while ago. We’ll have to live the rest of our life watching out for her. We might have to leave the country.”

Eric heard Estafay breathing hard through her nose.

“Plus,” Robert Earl continued, “Sheriff Bledsoe gave me a heckuva pass on something I did a long time ago, before I met you. He told me the next time I got into any trouble would be the last time. I burn somebody I’ll be looking at the electric chair. Besides, Estafay, it just ain’t right! Did God tell you to do this?”

“Was it right your family treated me the way they did? They didn’t know me, didn’t know me from Eve. When decent people meet someone the first time they just say hello, or they don’t say anything at all. Your daddy called me a name to my face, Robert. Ruth Ann fell on her knees laughing. Were they right to treat me the way they did?”

“No, they weren’t right. I hate it happened just as much as you do.”

“Enough talk, let’s get this over with so I can go home and cook supper.”

“Estafay, I…I can’t do it!”

“Go home then!” Estafay shouted at him. “Go home! I’ll handle this myself. Take the roast out the freezer when you get there.”

Wekeee! Wekeeee!

Eric looked and thought he saw something move near the side of the cabin.

“What was that?” Robert Earl said.

“A bat,” Estafay said. “Go home. I got work to do.”

“Aw shucks, Estafay. Why don’t we both go home together and forget about this?”

“Robert, I’m going to explain it to you one last time. I shot this whore here. Everyone in there knows I shot him. They’ll tell the police and we--you and I!--will go to jail.”

“Eric,” Robert Earl said, “you wouldn’t sic the police on Estafay, would you?”

They’re both crazy!
“Of course not!”

“He’s lying,” Estafay said.

“Eric, you promise?”

“Cross my heart, on my momma’s honor!”

“See, Estafay, he’s not going to the police.”

“Go home!” Estafay said. Kapoooow!

“Ohhhhh!” Eric shouted, and then realized she hadn’t shot him again. He looked toward Robert Earl’s shadowy form…gone. He heard footsteps fading in the distance.