Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again? (13 page)

Tammie looked into his eyes, and he saw love there. He saw sanity and eternity wrapped in a lover’s embrace. He could spend the rest of his life with this woman, this beauty with black hair that fell to her shoulders and eyes like Absinthe. He could leave the craziness of Sulfer, the terror of his destiny.

She would save him.

They lay on a blanket on the banks of the Ohio. Their bodies lingered against each other. Slowly, their muscles relaxed as their lovemaking came to an end.

“What are you thinking?” she said. Her voice was a whisper that carried promises so beautiful they almost hurt.

“Thinkin’ about you,” he answered. “About us.”

“And?”

“And I like thinkin’ that way.”

He climbed off of her sweat-slicked body and rested beside her. The old blanket felt too warm against his skin. It clung to him, dragged at him. The heat of July had spent the day punishing them both, and it wasn’t so quick to let go.

But the heat had begun to retreat as the sun dipped below the horizon. Cool air began to dance through the tall grass that covered the sloped bank. It found the lovers and kissed their flesh. Charlie watched goosebumps rise on Tammie’s arms and legs. He’d be ready again soon. He couldn’t resist her beauty, hadn’t been capable of such a feat since they’d met. If she wanted, he’d provide.

She smiled. “You are so full of shit, Charlie Crawford.”

“That what you think?”

“You bet your ass it is.”

“Now, why in hell—”

“Because you don’t like thinkin’.”

“What?”

“Your brain isn’t the sunniest place, Charlie. We both know that’s a fact. You got shadows up there, and you’ve always had ‘em. They’re always gonna be there. They’re a part of you.”

He nodded, but his eyes stayed locked on hers. “You ain’t lying. I won’t pretend for a second that you are. And you know what? Those shadows aren’t going away anytime soon.

“You light ‘em up a little, though. They’re thinner when I think about you, and sometimes I can even ignore them for awhile.”

She looked worried. “You shouldn’t—”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does, Charlie! You know how important you are. When it comes down, you’ll need to be there. You have to be ready. You’ve known that your entire life.”

“We all got parts to play, right. At least most of us do. I haven’t forgotten, and I can’t, not ever. Doesn’t matter how hard I try. It just feels farther away when you’re here. That’s all. I think about you, and sometimes I even wonder if everything’ll be okay in the end.”

She gave him a grin. “You don’t think it will?”

“How should I know? The end hasn’t shown up yet.”

He leaned in close and pressed his lips to hers. She breathed slow and sweet, her soft breeze teasing him. He felt her pull away, and every inch of him screamed in protest.

“Don’t be so eager,” she said. “You and me, we got all kinds of time.”

“That we do,” he answered. And he meant it. Something about Tammie calmed him even as it kicked his body into high gear. He could take his time with her, and he somehow knew it would all be okay. They had all the time in the world.

She pushed herself to her feet. Her pale skin caught the last of the day’s light and glowed like a cooling ember. Charlie found himself struck.

“Where you going?” he asked. “You thinkin’ about leaving me?”

“Not a bit.” She turned and stepped toward the river. “I’ll be back for you before you know it.”

He watched her go. He admired her smooth skin and the way it moved with each step, pulling tight over muscle. So beautiful.

He smiled as she took her first confident steps into the Ohio.

Judging by Jimmy’s screams, things had picked up nicely.

Charlie didn’t bother jumping awake this time. He kept his shit far too together for something like that. Instead he took his time, letting out a good yawn and giving his limbs a quality stretch as he stood up from the booth. He probably should have been stiff as a board after catching a nap on the uncomfortable seat, but he was used to sleeping in awkward places.

Jimmy kept going off like some hillbilly fire alarm. Pigs died without making so much goddamn noise.

Charlie only half-wondered what had set off Mills. Could be anything, the guy was such a high-strung piece of work, but he figured there was something particular inspiring Jimmy to sing so well.

He rolled his shoulders and rocked his head back and forth. Couldn’t be anything in the building setting Jimmy off—at least not so soon—so there had to be something in the street. Feeling good and ready to get a move on, he turned to the storefront and looked at the water flowing past the windows.

“Well, I’ll be,” he said. “Didn’t take you long at all, did it?” He stepped forward and touched his hands to the glass. He gazed out at the thing in the street, and a smile that was mostly awe appeared on his lips.

“The others will be here soon, won’t they? Not much time?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, but instead walked to the diner’s rear and started up the stairs. Might as well see how the bossman was doing. With any luck, the guy hadn’t crapped himself.

Jimmy had stopped screaming, at least. Instead, he stood at the open windows, clinging to the frame with one white-knuckled hand and pointing down at the street with the other. His face was slack and pale, and he sucked in breath after breath with a rasping, croaking sound that made Charlie want to piss himself with laughter. This asshole was supposed to be a magician?

“Beauty, ain’t she?”

“It’s--” He fell back into his breathing again.

“What’s the matter, Jimmy?” Charlie asked as he started across the floor. The second story of Jimmy’s building was a single loft with a high ceiling. A few boxes had been stacked near the back, but the rest was empty save a coat of chipped paint and a growing supply of dust and cobwebs. The wooden floor creaked under Charlie’s feet, but it was solid as a tank. Just about everything in town was, even the buildings that were falling apart.

When he reached his temporary employer, he slapped a hand against the man’s shoulder. Jimmy let out a scream and almost jumped out the window.

“You never see a catfish before, Jimmy?”

The man’s eyes widened in a way about as close to comical as you could get and still be pathetic.

“Catfish?”

“Sure. What did you think it was?”

“That’s a catfish?”

“You didn’t listen to that last sentence at all, did ya?”

Jimmy thrust his finger down at the water. “That fuckin’ thing down there’s a goddamn monster, Charlie! It ain’t no catfish!”

Charlie looked down at the creature. Just over ten feet long and probably a good five feet wide. Dull gray with muddy brown splotches. Its whiskers drifted back four feet or more on either side, and the thing’s tail looked like it could gut a man like Jimmy. The fish wasn’t trying to get anywhere. The journey onto Second Street had probably tuckered out the poor bastard enough. Still, its tail swished back and forth lazily. Its gills pumped in and out like bellows, marking time since well before the founding of Sulfer.

What a beautiful fucking thing.

“That, my friend, is one helluva catfish. Bottom dweller. They found a whole ton of ‘em down past Rising Sun when they were building Markland Dam. You hardly ever see ‘em up from the mud and such, but these are special times, Jimmy. Special times, indeed. Now, don’t be such a little girl.”

“They found a ton of ‘em?”

Jimmy’s mouth wasn’t closing, like it was broke or something. Charlie fought the urge to stick his finger in the gaping hole.

“Well, that one down there might be a ton for all I know. Heard there’s some even bigger, and I don’t doubt it for a second. The Ohio’s got some real fucked up shit in her.” He fought hard to keep the shadows from his expression as he spoke.

“But there was more than one?” True to form, the man’s jaw remained slack.

“Dozens, at least. Look, Jimmy. You’ve spent most of your life in Sulfer, so you’re supposed to not get freaked out by this sort of thing. Something spooking ya?”

Mills shook his head a little too fast. “Naw, Charlie. Fuck you; there ain’t nothin’.”

“Good to hear. The important thing, though, is you gotta get your shit together, and I mean fast. That big bitch down there is just the beginning of what this flood’s gonna bring up from the mud and muck. Now, I’ve got a few of my tricks up, and they should keep us plenty safe, but there’s some shit I can’t prepare for. Some stuff you just gotta deal with as it comes. I’ll need your help, because you’re not some fly by night trickster, man. You been at magic for awhile, too, and you can help me out.”

Jimmy’s face had turned from white to a color resembling old cheese. Or maybe old Cheetos.

“What’s coming?”

“Let me ask you something, Jimmy. What’s the weirdest shit you’ve ever seen?”

The man answered without thinking. “The time Deena Simms gave birth to a cat. That was pretty fucked up.”

“Well, she was five at the time. That’s the strangest thing, though?”

“Yeah.”

Charlie looked down at the water-filled street. The giant catfish had started moving again, its tail swinging back and forth like a club. Water moved out of its way as if it were scared of the big fish. The cat charged away with surprising speed, its body disappearing beneath the muck after only a second or two.

“Gotta tell ya, Jimmy . . . ”

“What?”

“We could be in for a rough couple of days.”

She moved with the grace of a goddess, knifing clean and crisp through the water. The rippling sounds of her body in the Ohio filled the valley. Even the summer crickets fell silent to listen to her symphony.

Charlie leaned back on his elbows and watched her through the swaying grass. The moon had risen into the sky, and its light cast silver daggers over the water. Tammie’s skin became a gliding ray of light, beautiful and awe-inspiring.

He chuckled. He wasn’t used to such thoughts, and they struck him as more than a little ridiculous. They were true, though. Every idea that floated through his mind did so honestly. There was no irony, none of his usual sarcasm. There was just pure love and desire for a woman who made him feel good about a world gone sour.

“You laughing at me?” she called from the river. Her words carried a smile.

Charlie climbed to his feet. She had stopped swimming. Instead, she waded about thirty feet out, her head bobbing up and down on top of the river.

He grinned as he called out to her. “Far from it!”

“My ass!”

That did kick a guffaw out of him.

“I knew it!” Her voice remained playful.

“You know no such thing! Can’t you tell when a man’s laughin’ at himself?”

Her own giggles cut through the air. “Not when I’m busy laughing at him!”

“Oh, that’s just mean! You’re gonna get yours when you come outta that river!”

“Charlie Crawford! You gonna make me wait?”

He stepped forward, and grass scraped across his naked thighs. “You don’t want me coming in there after ya!”

“Why’s that? You such a bad swimmer you don’t want me saving ya?”

“Oh, that is it!” He started down the bank faster. He heard Tammie laugh good and loud. The sound echoed along the river. He picked up speed and broke through the clinging grass, ignored the rocks and bottle caps that cut at his feet. All he cared about was Tammie. Nothing else mattered but the woman in the river.

“Hope you’re ready!” he said as water splashed over his feet. “This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it hurts me!”

He expected a taunt in reply. Instead, Tammie screamed.

Charlie sat at the lunch counter again, screwing a Marlboro into his lips and offering one to Jimmy. Mills took one with shaking fingers and failed to light the fucker on the first four tries.

Charlie shook his head and blew a plume at the ceiling.

“What do you know about the big flood, Jimmy?”

“You mean like the biblical one?”

“No. I mean like the one in 1913. The one that happened here.”

“I think I’ve heard of it.”

“And what did you hear?”

“Water. Lots of it.”

“Shit, that barely scratches the surface. Everything was covered up to Fourth Street. I don’t mean just a little bit of water, either. I mean a full story, at least. Not as bad as this, though.”