The Dead Parade Read Online Free Page A

tighter. And at that time, I wanted children. I wanted to be a father. But then something happened, something bad. I was sixteen, maybe seventeen. And there was this guy. Harold was his name. I guess Harold would have been eighteen or nineteen, maybe twenty.” James smiled unexpectedly, remembering his old friend. “Harold had these big, awful sideburns that ran down his neck. When he wasn’t around we made fun of him a great deal. Muttonchops, we called him. Of course, he didn’t know that. We didn’t think Harold would appreciate being called ‘Mutton-chop Harold’. But that’s who he was to us. Mutton-chop Harold, the youngest father we knew.”
    Johnny nodded.
    “ Harold wasn’t ready. He wasn’t prepared inside his mind, you know? And his girlfriend at the time–d thwho was a few years younger than Mutton-chop––she wasn’t much of a thinker, and she didn’t care about him. Didn’t care what he thought or what he wanted. You see… this girl wanted a baby, end of story. And if the kid grew up inside a broken home with fighting parents and nothing in the cupboard, well… so be it.”
    “ You know what we call girls like that, don’t you?” Johnny said.
    “ No, what?”
    “ White-trash bitches.”
    James smiled insincerely. “Well, I don’t know if the girl was a white-trash bitch or not, but she lied all the time and she always played the victim. She also smoked a pack a day throughout the pregnancy. At least, that’s what Harold said. If that’s a white-trash bitch, so be it.”
    “ I hear ya.”
    James noticed that his knees were shaking. He made an effort to keep them still. He made an effort to keep calm. He made an effort to keep talking. “The smoking drove Harold nuts,” he said nervously. “He complained all the time. But what could he do? You know the law. The mother’s right even when she’s not. Even if she’s a self-righteous idiot with a grade eight education.”
    “ That’s a bullshit law,” Johnny said.
    “ It’s a bullshit world,” James granted. “Anyways, trying to be a dad while dealing with this bitch was upsetting. I mean, from what Harold said, she got pregnant on purpose two weeks after they started dating. You clearly don’t give a shit about anything if you pull that move.”
    “ Some people aren’t very bright,” Johnny agreed. “They don’t think about the lives they fuck up.” As soon as he finished speaking he thought about shooting James. Shooting him right in the Goddamn face. He wanted to do it. Oh hell, he almost needed to do it. The thought of shooting James made him smile from ear to ear.
    “ Yeah,” James said. Then he smiled because Johnny was smiling.
    Maybe it was time to pull the gun from Johnny’s hand.
     
     
    10
     
    “ They broke up a couple months after the baby was born,” James said. “It was a boy, I think. Can’t remember the name. Whatever. Doesn’t matter. Point is… Harold couldn’t take the bitch any longer and they broke up. Then came the babysitting. He’d have the kid a day or two, and she’d have the kid a day or two. This went back and forth a while without any screw-ups. Then one day Harold makes a mistake. It was February and he was going… wherever. It doesn’t really matter and I don’t honestly know. For arguments sake let’s say he was going to the mall. So Harold gets the kid ready, he bundles the little feller up in his snow-pants and whatnot, and he takes him to the car. And the baby is strapped inside one of those baby seats… sleeping or whatever. Knowing Harold, the baby-seat is probably two sizes too small with three pounds of dried puke on it. Anyways, Harold sits the baby on the ground. He unlocks the car, opens the door, and gets inside. He puts on his seatbelt, turns up the radio… then he drives away, leaving the baby sitting at the side of the road.”
    “ Oh no.”
    “ Oh yeah. And it gets worse. Harold’s not thinking about the baby, see? ‘Cause deep down, he’s not ready