Brian just stared at his father in shock. Jeff looked into his eyes. He couldn’t tell if he’d gotten through. He couldn’t tell anything anymore. He was a failure as a husband, now he was a failure as a father. He’d failed his kids, and Brian was slipping away, further and faster, and there was nothing he could do to catch him.
“Jeez, Dad, he just wants a book,” Davey grumbled.
Pity party interrupted, Jeff whirled around on his younger son.
“Davey, you be quiet – ”
For the first time, Jeff noticed that Davey was thumbing through his own copy of HOW TO DRAW books. Great – more monsters.
“What are you looking at?”
Davey held up the book: HOW TO DRAW NUDES. His eyes got big, and his smile grew even bigger, though his voice was almost religiously solemn. “Butt-nekkid people.”
“GIVE ME THAT!”
Jeff snatched the book away and looked inside. It was Jeff’s turn for his eyes to get big. The particular page Davey had it open to featured a very anatomically detailed drawing of a woman, whose ample chest and sensual pose seemed more appropriate for PLAYBOY than the HOW TO DRAW line of art books.
Brian looked over Jeff’s shoulder at the pictures, then reached for another copy of the same on the shelves.
“Okay, I’ll take that one.”
Jeff grabbed his hand. “NO, you can have the monsters.”
“But Dad,” Davey pointed out, “you said you can’t make a living drawing monsters.”
Jeff hurriedly reshelved the anatomy book. “I changed my mind.”
“But I think you can make a living drawing butt-nekkid people.”
“DAVEY, cut it out. Let’s go. Here.” Jeff plopped a copy of HOW TO DRAW MONSTERS in Brian’s arms.
“No, really, I think you can – there’s lots of butt-nekkid people on HBO.”
Jeff grabbed Brian’s hand and led him toward the register. When he realized Davey wasn’t following, he turned around just in time to see him picking up another copy of HOW TO DRAW NUDES.
“DAVEY!” Jeff lunged and spanked his hand, then drug Davey along with him.
“But Dad, I wanna earn a living!”
Jeff turned and ran smack into the chest of a beefy security guard. He was about to yell again…and then reconsidered. For the first time, Jeff realized that their family discussion on the commercial value of certain forms of art had drawn quite a crowd of customers and teenage clerks.
Jeff looked at the guard, and put on his ‘Concerned Parent’ face.
“Don’t worry, officer, I’m not about to let them get the nudies.”
The officer’s bulldog face wrinkled up into confusion. “What?”
“The nudie books. How to draw nudes –”
“Butt-nekkid people!” Davey chimed in helpfully.
“Fine.” The officer put up one hand to stop them both, and took on an expression like he was fighting a migraine. “Sir, did you pay for that?”
Jeff followed the officer’s gaze to the oversized Lego’s box still under his arm.
He felt his stomach suddenly turn inside out.
Oh crap.
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Copyright © 2008 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.
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