Twenty minutes was a very long time. He stood and took off his damp shirt and shorts, grabbed a dry towel and rubbed himself with it, tried to get some heat through friction. The ceiling sagging in here, long planks hanging low in the center, a single bare bulb for light. This room an addition, not the original cabin, so apparently the old-timers didn’t need baths. Maybe they just washed in the creek. They had all been tougher in the past. Though of course the past didn’t really exist. History another illusion. It meant only what we made of it now.

Galen checked the tap a few times, and finally it was hot enough to run the bath. He sat in the tub while it filled, the most delicious heat. It was possible, of course, that he was the only real person here, the only one with a spirit or soul. It could be that each soul lived in a mirror-land with no one else around.

Galen dozed in the tub, sleepy from the heat, but then Jennifer was banging at the door. I’m next, she said. Hurry up. I want a bath before dinner.

So Galen rose and dried, careful on his thighs, which were hot and red again, and walked out in a towel.

I can see your ribs, Jennifer said. Even in your back. That’s gross.

This is only a shell, Galen said. It doesn’t matter.

We’ll see, Jennifer said. She had her hair up and was already wrapped in a towel.

Galen went upstairs and wondered what that meant. His aunt and mother and grandmother all on the porch still. They hadn’t started dinner yet, so it would be a while. He slipped under the covers and grabbed the Hustler from his duffel. He had to be careful not to come, in case she was planning a visit.

In the Hustler, the man was dressed as a musketeer, with a long feather in his hat. He was taking a break from his duties, and he had met several women who were short on clothing. The photo shoot was like a bad school play, but it didn’t matter. Galen felt turned on anyway.

He was listening for anyone coming up the stairs, and finally that stressed him out too much, so he put the magazine away and waited.

Samsara, attachment to the world. Sexual desire was the worst of it. A need he could feel in his spine, all the way up his back and neck, connecting to his mouth. It was crazy, absolutely crazy, and it made time crawl. Only a eunuch could feel peace. Neutered. That was the fastest path to enlightenment.

He didn’t really believe Jennifer would visit, but she did. She came up the steps and he turned on the bedside lamp. She was holding a deck of cards, wearing a skirt and T-shirt. I told them we’re playing cards before dinner, she said.

She sat on his mother’s bed and dealt pinochle hands on the bedside table. Her skirt was short, and Galen couldn’t help trying to peek. He was embarrassed.

It’s okay, she said, spreading her knees. You can look.

She wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

We have a few rules, she said. One is that you can only do what I say. The other is that you can’t make any sound. And of course you can’t tell anyone.

Yes, he said.

She smiled. Look at you. You’re so desperate. Twenty-two, and you’ve never had any pussy.

Have you had sex?

Of course, she said. Everyone has. Except you. Now lie back, and scoot down a bit.

He pulled the covers aside.

No, she said. Keep the covers on. And if anyone comes up the stairs, sit up quick and grab your pinochle hand.

Okay, he said. But what are we doing?

She climbed onto the mattress with her knees on either side of his head, then spread her knees and lowered down just above his face.

Wow, he said. She looked better than the women in the magazine, younger. So perfect, he said. So beautiful.

Don’t make any sound.

Can I touch?

You can.

He felt the inside of her thigh with his cheek, with his nose. So soft and warm.

Use your whiskers, she said, so he ran the edge of his jaw along her thigh.

I like that, she said. Turn your face to the side and hold still.

He did as he was told, and felt her wet lips on his cheek.

Sandpaper, she said. I like that.

Galen felt a little annoyed, because he couldn’t see with his head turned to the side. She was humping his jaw, which was kind of like she was having sex without him. He turned his face toward her but she pushed him back down, a hand on his forehead, and kept humping his jaw. He didn’t like this at all. The whole side of his face was wet.

Okay, she said finally. She pulled his face upright and sat on it. You can lick.

Galen could hardly breathe. He moved his tongue around, but it didn’t seem to matter much what he did. She moved up higher so that his nose was inside her, and she humped his nose. It didn’t seem like his tongue was even on her pussy anymore. It was lower than that.

Lick my ass, she whispered, and he realized that was what he was doing.

I like that, she moaned. I like that. She sped up, bucking harder against his nose, which was locked into a kind of groove, and he just kept licking.

Galen couldn’t hear well, the way she was humping his head down into the pillow in heavy swings, and he worried about someone coming up the stairs. The bed was probably knocking against the wall by now.

He was breathing through his mouth, and having to swallow. He felt like he was drowning. His entire face and forehead a slick.

I like that, she kept saying. She grabbed the back of his head with a hand and pulled him in closer. Shake your head as you do it, she said. So he shook his head back and forth as he licked.

Ooh, she said. Yeah. Keep licking.

He realized he had slowed down a bit with his tongue. It was hard to do it all at once: breathing, licking, shaking his head back and forth, trying to keep his whiskers in play.

Her thighs tensed, and she pulled his face up harder and slowed down. He could feel her trembling. She pushed into him hard enough once more to break off his nose, and then she was jerking in place.

Aah, she was saying. Aah. She rose off of his face and had a few more jerks. The muscles in her thighs, the soft lines, the beautiful pink. He couldn’t believe he was seeing this. He’d lost his boner at first, but he had it back now, and he couldn’t wait to put it in.

She climbed off, and he turned to the side to wipe his face on the sheet. Even his hair was wet.

Wow, he said.

She had her skirt back down and sat on his mother’s bed. He pulled his sheet and blanket back, and she looked at his boner. Sorry, she said. I’m done.

What?

You can’t have everything at once.

But I didn’t get anything.

So entitled. My mother’s right about you. You got my pussy, which is more than you deserve. Do you know how many boys at school would kill just to see my pussy?

Can I just look at it while I jack off, then?

No. I’m done. Pick up your pinochle hand.

Fuck, Galen said.

Don’t be a baby.

Galen felt very angry suddenly. But he didn’t want to say the wrong thing. So he sat against the wall, propped on his pillow, and picked up his cards.

There you go, she said. And you might want to wash your face before dinner.

Chapter 10

Dinner was not chicken and dumplings. That would come later, when it could cook all day in the stew pot. Dinner tonight was a tuna casserole. A jar of mayonnaise, several large cans of tuna, a large bag of potato chips, and squares of American cheese on top.

You’ve really gone all out, Galen said.

Galen’s mother was just setting the casserole on a hot pad in the center of the small table. The kitchen was tiny, and they were all elbow to elbow.

You’ve used an entire bag of potato chips, Galen said. Do you have any idea how much salt that is?

He was already starting to sweat, the cast-iron stove emanating incredible heat. They had the windows and back door open, but that wasn’t enough.