We’s walking for a while. Daddy is talking to pass the time and stumbling sometimes on wet logs, for he’s none too nimble in the woods. Since we’s headed straight to Uncle’s house instead of brawling with the brothers and the like, we’re making good time and pretty soon we come into the grass clearing I recognize and I see a path like a part in a head of hair we all made tromping through it yesterday.
“Them’s our prints right there, Daddy, they head on in a straight line to them trees. You see them trees over there?” Daddy squints his eyes and says he sees em’ ok. “The house should be right on over there past them trees.” I look for the black smoke like I seen yesterday from the tire fire, but it ain’t there so I guess Cole done finished his job and the world was now less a few tires.
Daddy says, “ain’t this somethin’. You turned into a tracker overnight and I sure as shit am proud of you, leadin’ us straight here and make no mistake. You's a born kid of the woods. And don’t tell your Momma I swore just now. That’s between us men.” He gives me a slap on the back, and I feel warm and I can't keep from smilin’, because Daddy is the best person in the world and he means what he says when he tells you a thing. I get a serious look on my face since now I’m the leader and I ain’t want this warm feeling to go away.
We keep walking, and I can tell we’re getting close to the house since I catch glimpses of the metal roof through the trees. I say, “Daddy, now is the time to sing and make it known we’s coming, since Uncle is nervous and has been in a war and don’t like to get startled upon.” Daddy looks at me quizzical. “Sing? Like sing a song?” And I say yes, “It don’t matter the song I guess, but you gotta sing it clear and loud so he can hear you coming.”
Daddy says that’s powerful strange and can't we just yelp a little so he hears us? I say I don’t know about no other sounds which is allowed, only that singing is the way them boys lead us here, so I expect that’s the best way to get it done. Daddy thinks for a while and says, “you have a song in mind? I can't rightly think of nothing on the spot. I ain’t really ever sung before. Only humming and whistling like this” and he tweets a little tune through the gap in his front teeth to make me laugh, and I say “I ain’t really know no tunes either. I think you can just make something up if you want to. It just needs to sound like a song I expect.” Daddy takes a deep breath and sings out:
“Boy I like corn! Shore as I’m born! Gimme some corn, and I won’t be forlorn!
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Fry it and drizzle it with syrup and salt! If I eat mine and yours, it ain’t really my fault!”
And he goes on singing about corn which I didn’t realize Daddy likes so much. We’s walking closer to the house and can see more of it now through the trees, and there’s the front door now only nobody is in sight. Daddy stops singing to look around, but I tell him he needs to keep at it until we see someone, and he belts out some more.
“Yes indeed corn! Fill up a horn! Play you a tune until early morn’! Bathe in the stuff ‘til you get clean enough, then fill 'er back up and...”
We hear a shout coming from the house and look up and it’s Cole in the topmost window. “What you all doing!? Keep down that racket!” I wave at him and he shakes his head and grumbles and disappears from sight. Daddy and I both look at each other and Daddy shrugs, “guess he don’t like my singing non too good, but I had something I was going to end with that would have made even a corn proud.”
Pretty soon, the front door is opening and Cole is standing there with arms crossed. “What y’all want?” Daddy says, “we was looking for your uncle, for I have a trade I want to discuss. What with guns and some corn. We also brought this here can of ashes for him since we heard he was feeling poorly and if you drink em it makes you feel less poorly. Heard tell.”
Daddy holds up the can and gives it a shake.
Cole says, “Uncle done left yesterday with Joe and Sam. I ain’t know what all they went for, but when Uncle leaves, it’s usually for a good long while and I think he’s takin’ care of some kind of business or other.” I’m relieved for I didn’t want to see Uncle again, but Daddy says to Cole, “how old are you, boy? You know how to deal?” Cole answers that he's 14 and can make any kind of deal he wants since Uncle is away and that makes him the one in charge. Daddy nods and says, “we all is looking to trade for a gun since we got too many animals over there on our property. We need to start eating them before they get the idea that that there is their property, rather than ours.”
Cole looks at me and I think we is friends after yesterday. but I still ain’t too sure. I nod at him and he stares at Daddy for a bit and says, “all right, you all come inside then.” He turns and disappears into the house. Daddy takes the lead and we both head on in. Cole is sitting there at the table when we get in and he gestures for us to sit down.
Daddy sits across from him and plunks down the can of ashes, and I sit next to Daddy. “What all you have in mind?” Cole asks, looking at his fingernails. “Well” Daddy starts, then clears his throat, “something I reckon that will blow the pants off of anything big enough to eat. Maybe something what can drop a bear and a moose at the same time if they was standing right next to each other.” Cole nods and says, “we got something like that. Uncle done stole it after he was dishonored in the military. Heard tell it can, and has, shot through an entire brick house and killed a person hiding behind it. But what you got to trade for it?”