The Drip, a novel by Michael Gullo
“Boy, why you home, ain’t at work?”
“Deddy, mind yer business.”
“It’s my business. You home. My house.”
“This my house, Deddy. I rent this house.”
Boy think Kerry King rent him a house ain’t got my name in the mix. Think this his place and I just tag along on account he kind. Must be nice write history up in your head new ever day ain’t no need facts of the past come up spoil today’s lie make it harder tell a new lie tomorrow. Boy’s whole life start in the morning, and maybe it change fore lunch, and tomorrow today all the way forgot, new lie make up the story.
“Deddy, you forgot once upon a time again.”
“Damn boy, you always sassin. Ain’t no call stay home we got no money come in. You ain’t leech off my check come tomorrow I work all my life get four-fifty, and finally it come back atter all these years.”
“Deddy, you ain’t get no check tomorrow. I looked it up how they schedule them checks, and they base that on what day you’s born, not on the first of the month. Your birthday’s on the twenty-third, and you ain’t get that money till March 27.”
“How’s that? How’s it you come up to that little detail?” Ain’t right nohow, but I like to know how he come to that in his know-it-all head.
“Deddy, it’s right there in them papers you got out on the counter. First they’s on the counter in the old house, and instead you move them in here and you put them in your room, you put them right there on the kitchen counter again peacock proud you about to get a check. It say so right there in them documents you ain’t get your check until the twenty-seventh every month.”
“Show what you know. Tomorrow the twenty-ninth. This a leap year, know it all.”
“Deddy, you the know it all. Sit here on this porch, and you see me, and you start right in why I ain’t at work. Well, Deddy, you so smart you tell me why.”
“You lazy, that’s why.” And now this smart mouth kid, he got me wedge in here on this porch, ain’t no room I even turn a chair face the other way, got this porch rail right in my face, can’t see out past these bars. He so smart pack up the whole family move us up the hill, and now we got no porch, got no place to sit and think, got no feel for how it feel to feel at one with nature like we had back home – now it’s Rusty’s house. He raise his family in my house, and this boy trap me in a corner, wood rot railing all I see ain’t two foot in front of my face all the while I’m try figure out next steps that Yankee, and he just stop best spot we ever had get that holler back. He just stop going. And we need that money, too.
“Deddy, you know clear well why I ain’t go up that holler work all day free they garnish my check.”
“That’s how they do, granish the wage, but you ain’t make all the way sense neither on account you ain’t just skip work for cash you ain’t out look for cash work.”
“I just got up.”
Nuther problem right there, boy sleep all day you let him. “Why ain’t you call up Emma and Mrs. Mernie Newell? Like I say, they was askin about you, they want you can help scrape and paint the community center, and next thing you know she got you a lead on day work get cash pay, and we buy us some groceries, got no food in this house.”
“Your fix I leave one place I work free and I go work another place free? That ain’t put up groceries. Besides, Meghan works tonight, and she bring all them leftovers.”
“I do like that.”
“Maybe she get a bag of them rolls like last week. They was good.”
“They sure was. She bring home that ground beef again, I’ma make meatloaf this time. You need to call Emma’s all I’m sayin’.”
“There you go again, cut down Mrs. King tree, scrape the community center, pick trash up side of the road, sound like that Betty Wiggins, say I work free build up that associate network. Ain’t no new face I’m gonna meet at that community center gets me cash for day work.”
Day work half day’s gone. Don’t make sense. “Why ain’t you just get back in that holler and run them machines and get paid Friday.”
“I do get paid Friday, Deddy. I get last week’s work this Friday. And if I stay out all week this week, that mess up the books, and I get cash next Friday on account of that Yankee all high and mighty, and a man get paid on Friday, no matter you gotta go pawn for the pay, man get paid.”
“I forgot that withholding-two, they’s a week back.”
“Your’n too, Pop. Them papers says your check come this March 27, that’s in arrears. Finally come time pay up the hold back money they hold it back one more month just for good measure.”
“Jed expect I’m’a pay on the book he give me for that truck. Maybe I go down that office and get the date adjusted.”
“It don’t work that way, Deddy.”
“What I’m gonna do? Jed be expectin’ that money on the first.”
“Well, Deddy, maybe you the one best get day work offa Emma’s community center clean up.”
Always sassin’. Show him I got a real trouble, and this boy he don’t care I give my word, spit paw and all, and how I gotta get that two-hundred up by the first, and he say I go down’a community center volunteer, and I make a connection gets me a day of work, he don’t think that clean up ain’t even happen till March second, and I owes on the first.
“People Ready, like you tell me all the time. Head down to People Ready.”
“It’s Labor Ready, Boy.”
“People Ready, Deddy. Change the name years ago.”
“Change a name don’t change no meaning. Means I drive all the way to Knoxville, get there before daybreak, and maybe I don’t get chose to do no work, and I drive all the way back some immigrant got my work.”
“Deddy, I tell you more than once, git the JobStack app on your phone, and you just log in and claim your shift, look here.”
Boy got a phone do his work for him, ain’t got no money, but he got a phone to work for him. I got a computer works for me. “Cody, you been up nights work my computer break them keys off? Just last night another one disappear – W. First it’s one and two, and then the Q come up missin’, and last night it’s the W gone, and I can’t get no website without I find that W.”