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End Of The Day
I was hacking weeds into darkness over at Rocheblave and wondering if that rich black soil was contaminated with Chlordane or something else evil that might effect future backyard vegetables when one of my new across-the-street neighbors--there's only two to choose from, all my other known neighbors front Bienville, and on my side of the street I am the only residence in the block--wandered into the vacant lot next to me and waved me over at which point I went to meet him. He said, "My girl" (that's slang, in this case meaning his mother), "would like to know if she can borrow six dollars." I just always say yes, until a time comes when there is an obvious problem with repayment of loans, and then I get rude, or moody, but she paid me back last week and so we'll carry on like this as long as we can be respectful to each other.
I crossed the street and sat down on the rough block of granite which sits in the sidewalk in front of her steps. She sat on the steps and told her son to get change for the ten I gave her. I said if Earnest Bunn's store was still open he could break the ten by getting me any available size of full strength budweiser (although I didn't really want the 24 0z can). He came back with a sixteen oz. can and a wad of change, from which I gave his mother six dollars. She then gave her son the six dollars and told him to go get her medicine. He went around the corner in the direction which has no pharmacy.
Me and his Ma talked awhile, and she told me about her recent long term hospital stay, and we talked meds and when I asked her what they gave her she said demerol and I said IV? and she nodded and tugged her house dress down to reveal on her upper right chest needle bruises. I said, "Oh man," with envy, and she nodded appreciatively, and told me that's why she didn't want to come home, and she went on to describe a menu fit for royalty, and cable tv too. "I could use about six months of that," I said, and she said, "I know."