I walk slow and quiet out to the living room, for I ain’t sure how the game has changed on me. Daddy never done hit me before, and I ain’t never seen him hit on Momma. I ain’t want to think about what all I seen him to her out in the garden. Daddy and Momma is sitting on the couch when I come in. Her face is covered in bruises which she quick covers with a book. I look at Daddy, and he’s got his hand on her leg, and he’s beaming at me.

I turn to her. “Momma.” She pulls the book closer to her face and holds out a hush finger to me “this here is the good part! I done read this at least a few times, and I know it’s the good part. I don’t exactly remember what happens, but I sure am excited! I can't wait to find out!” I look back and forth at them. “Momma, Jacob done voided himself again and he need to eat some food for his bones is showing.” Daddy looks at me frowning “I done told you before. You wanted a dog, so that means you got to take care of it on your own. That’s the way I was raised, and that’s the way you is going to do it too. It’s your responsibility. We talked about this. You promised you were going to take care of it, and for us not to worry for you would do everything for it. Would teach it tricks, and feed it, and all what all else. Yo

u backing down on us now, even though we scrimped and saved for it? Now you just want to give up because you’re bored?” Daddy tisk tisk tisks, “surprised at you son, I thought we done raised you better than that.” Momma chimes in, haltingly and with a white face. “That’s right. Gabe, we told you that you were too young to care for a pet” Daddy interrupts her, “Dog” Momma says, “Dog. And now it looks like maybe we was wrong to get you one. You only had it for a little while now, and you want to be done with it already?” I get a feeling like I’m falling and the world rotates a little bit. Momma and Daddy don’t look quite real.

I’m talking and the words come out I think, but I don’t know what they are, and they sound buzzy. As soon as they is out of my lips, they is gone and absorbed into the walls and the couch. I see Momma and Daddy shaking their heads sadly, and I can't understand what they’re saying. Now I know what Jacob must have felt like when he was under the water, getting thrown around in the current until he didn’t know which way was the ground. “Good” Daddy says “then we understand each other.”

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He gives Momma a hard look “real good!” She says. Daddy goes on “it’s your dog, so you take care of it. Tell you what, if you do good enough, maybe we can get you something bigger to take care of. Like one of them... Fukkin’ things you ride upon” Momma says quietly “a horse” and Daddy looks at her suspicious “you makin’ fun of me? You want to take another walk in the garden? Would you like that?” Momma shakes her head hard “no, Ross” “no sir.” Daddy says. “No sir. I ain’t makin’ fun. I think they is called a horse. Ain’t they called a horse, Gabe?”

She looks at me pleadingly. I smile and nod numbly “good” Daddy says “we’ll see how you do with this here, and then we’ll talk about it some other time.” Daddy goes back to relaxin’ and rubbing Momma’s leg. Momma looks at me with wild eyes and talks fast “I know It's hard to care for something, but it’ll teach you good responsibility. I know you can do it, just keep at it and it’ll be easier the longer you have it for. And hey! Maybe you can teach it some surprise tricks what you can show us later once they’s all mastered!” Momma nods her head, smiling a stretched smile. Daddy smiles too.

I walk stiff legged to Jacob and lean over him. He ain’t no dog like they say. He’s a boy, and their son and I ain’t rightly know what’s going on. Maybe Momma and Daddy is playing a game, only I don’t like it and ain’t sure how it’s played. I look back out at them on the couch and they’s still sittin’ there, like we ain’t have no conversation where they called Jacob my dog. I don’t recall having a conversation anytime about wanting a dog neither. Or did we and I ain’t remember? Daddy and Momma sure remember it. Maybe I‘m just confused for I forget things sometimes, like clearing my dishes and not tracking no mud into the house. Maybe it was like that. I look at Jacob and I get overwhelmed. I ain’t know how I’m going to care for him on my own, but I know if I was the one on that mattress, Jacob would figure out something for me. He would figure it out.