'Father,' the baby said in a voice like thunder. 'Son.'
Dion awoke feeling strange. He sat up. The bottom half of his body seemed different, unfamiliar, as though it belonged to someone else. He closed his eyes for a moment, opened them again. He found that he was afraid to move his legs, afraid they might not work, afraid they might work in ways to which he was not accustomed.
He turned his head to look out the window. Outside it was still dark.
From this vantage point he could see the rounded silhouette of the hill, backlit by the moon.
He looked immediately away, frightened.
What the hell was happening to him?
He didn't know, and it was a long time before he fell back asleep.
Kevin and Dion walked past the school bus on their way to the parking lot. It had rained earlier in the day and the ground was wet, the sidewalk's ostensible flatness belied by a series of off-center puddles.
'You know,' Kevin said, 'ever since you two got together, you don't do shit with me anymore. Not that I miss having to drag your sorry ass around, but--'
A paper cup filled with ice was thrown from one of the bus windows and landed on the sidewalk to Kevin's right. 'Pussy!' a boy's voice called out.
'Don't tell me your problems!' Kevin shot back. He reached down, picked up the smashed cup, and threw it at the side of the bus. It hit with a wet splat.
Dion laughed.
'So what are you plans for tonight?'
Dion shrugged. 'I don't have any.'
'You're not doing anything with Penelope?'
'I don't know.'
'So take a night off. We're going to pay a visit to Father Ralph again.
Paul's been grounded for the past week, so this time he's really going to get back at his old man. It should be great.'
'I'm not--'
'Come on, don't be a flit.'
Dion grinned. 'Flit?'
Kevin nodded. 'Flit.'
'Okay.' Dion laughed. 'You talked me into it.'
They met again at Burgertime. A guy Dion didn't know had brought his van, so all six of mem could fit into it. This time there was a bottle in the car, and Paul lit up a joint. Dion frowned. Was it his imagination or did all of them seem a little wilder than usual, a little more on edge? The joint was offered to him, and he shook his head firmly.
'Candy ass,' Paul sneered.
Dion ignored him.
As before, they parked a little way up from Father Ralph's house and crept through the bushes and the mud until they reached the backyard.
This time all of the lights were out. Only the pulsing blue glow of a television shone from one of the windows.
Paul crept up to the window, peeked in. He crouched immediately back down, giggling. 'Check it out!' he whispered. 'He's in there boffing some babe!'
The rest of them moved closer and peered into the bedroom.
Dion's stomach dropped. One of Penelope's mothers, Mother Margaret, was on all fours on the floor next to the bed, the preacher kneeling behind her, grasping his hardened organ, positioning himself. Dress and underwear, pants and panties, were strewn across the rug. An empty bottle of wine lay tipped over on the nightstand next to the bed.
Penelope's mother cried out, and her large breasts jiggled as the preacher entered her from behind. 'Yes!' she moaned. 'Yes! Yes!'
Dion turned away, sickened, slumping against the wall of the house.
'Get ready to run,' Paul said. He stood, held up the camera he'd brought, and began snapping pictures. Dion could see in his mind the shifting tableaux as the dark was illuminated by a series of quick flashes. He saw the preacher's shock and rage and fear, saw Mother Margaret's confusion as she became aware of the crowd at the window.
'Run!' Paul screamed.
And then Dion was following the rest of them through the brush, crashing through branches, slipping in mud, tripping over roots until they reached the van.
They took off, laughing excitedly, 'Who was that?' someone asked.
Kevin shook his head. 'I don't know.'
'Nice titties, though.' Paul grinned. 'No wonder my old man coveted her ass.'
Dion closed his eyes as the other boys laughed, and they sped through the night toward the burger stand.
He avoided Penelope the next morning at school, afraid to face her, feeling guilty, almost as though her mother's actions were his fault, as though he was the one who had done something wrong.
He met Kevin next to the lockers before class, but the usual joking insults were nowhere in evidence. His friend's face was grim, his manner subdued. 'You heard the news, didn't you?'
Dion shook his head.
'Father Ralph's dead.'
Dion stared at his friend, not knowing what to say.
'Heart attack, they think. Paul's really taking it hard.'
'What about the woman? Did they--'
'Haven't heard anything about her. I bet she split after it happened.'
'Maybe it happened after she left.'
'I don't think so. I think she probably brought it on.'
Dion closed his locker. 'Does--does Penelope know?'
'I have no idea.' Kevin frowned. 'Why?'
'Nothing,' Dion said. 'No reason.'
Kevin looked at him suspiciously. 'No reason?'
'No reason.' He swallowed, looked away. 'Come on. It's getting late.'
Kevin nodded slowly. 'Yeah. All right.'
The two of them walked together to class.
He talked to Penelope on the phone that night.
She called him, worried, wondering why he had avoided her all day, and he wanted to tell her what he'd seen, what had happened, but instead he lied, told her that Kevin was having some family problems and that he'd felt obligated to be there for his friend, to give him some moral support.
Penelope was silent for a moment. 'I thought maybe it was because you'd changed your mind.'
'Changed my mind?'
'About us.'
Now Dion was silent. His heart was pounding, and his hand holding the receiver was shaking. He swallowed, forced himself to speak. 'I
haven't,' he said.
Penelope, when she spoke, sounded as nervous as he felt. 'How do you feel about me?' she asked.
He knew what she wanted him to say, but he wasn't sure if he could say it. Or if he should say it.
He said it anyway: 'I love you.'
And it was true. He didn't know if he'd felt that way before, if he'd felt it all along, but he felt it now, and his pulse raced as he heard her say softly, 'I love you too.'
A painful erection was pressing against his jeans. He was in his bedroom, with the door closed, and he unbuttoned his pants with his left hand, releasing his hardened penis. He touched himself gently, and he pretended that she was the one who was touching him.
