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pulled away. Then, instead of going inside, he cut into the backyard. His parents were home, because both cars were in the garage. Though light from inside cast an amber glow, the backyard was a black hole to ordinary eyes. |
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But Matty's eyes were more than ordinary. He could make out features of objects as if the sun were at seven o'clockthe lawn furniture, the logs lying crisscross on the woodpile, his red striped trampoline, the half-dying flowers in the pots around the pool, night bugs, the large male raccoon cowering under a bush. They all stood out in an infrared-like clarity. |
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He drifted across the lawn toward the pool. It was still not filled to the top. Memorial Day weekend, his father said. (Except now they were threatening to move. Not if he could help it.) He could smell the water. He could smell lots of things. He could smell the raccoon's fear. He thought he could hear its heart as it bolted into the black. |
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He could hear insects, and not just the crickets. Tiny things in the ground and in the tree bark and under rockschittering like static electricity. Nothing he had ever experienced before. |
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The wind seemed to shift by the time he reached the edge of the woods. The sky was cloudy and there was a pale moon. |
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He looked back. The stained-glass lamp in the study window was on. He could make out the glow of the computer screen. His father was working on his book. He was always working on his book. Something about a bullfighting story. Through the lace curtains of the nearby window of the master bathroom, he could see his mother. It was her shower time. He could see a flash of her pink nakedness. |
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For several minutes Matty watched her, experiencing a funny sensation within his belly. Not unpleasant. He had seen his mother naked beforegetting out of showers, changing her clothes. He never really thought much about it, nor did he stare. But somehow this was different. He felt no embarrassment. Instead, his heart pounded as he watched her shave her legs over the sink. She was pink and white. Then she stepped into the shower and was gone from view. |
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Matty laid down his glove and bottle and took off his clothes. He |
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