13
14 C
That night I dreamed that there were agents of some 15
malevolent power prowling around on my porch. I woke 16
up at 3:00 a.m. wondering if I had really heard some-17
thing. I found an envelope lying just outside the front 18
door.
19
“She was here about five minutes ago,” a voice said.
20
I yelped and jumped like a frightened eight-year-old.
21
Irene Littleneck was standing at the foot of the stairs, 22
grinning at my little-girl shriek.
23
“I came over to see if she did something, but it was 24
just a letter so I was going back. Then you come blunderin’
25
down.”
26
“It was a woman?”
27 S
“The one that came and moved all that stuff outta your 28 R
house with that Puerto Rican boy.”
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ManInMyBasemnt_HCtext3P.qxd 10/24/03 8:16 PM Page 177
The Man in My Basement
“You were sitting outside?” I asked. It felt nice to have 1
words with a neighbor even if it was 3:00 in the morning 2
and I was running a private prison in my home.
3
“Havin’ a cigarette,” she said. “You know Chastity’s too 4
sick for me to smoke in the house. Doctor said that her 5
lungs are too weak.”
6
Irene had always been old. When I was five, she was in 7
her fifties. She and her sister, Chastity, used to come over 8
and visit with my mother and Brent. I think Irene was 9
sweet on my sour uncle.
10
“Oh,” I said. “How is your sister, Miss Littleneck?”
11
“Not so good, Charles. She’s been in that bed for al-12
most a year now. I make her walk around the room twice 13
a day, but it’s getting harder and harder to get her up.”
14
The sadness in Irene’s voice was pitiful. She and 15
Chastity had lived together their entire lives. But the only 16
time I ever saw Chastity in the previous five years was 17
