Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 15:18:04 -0500 From: joseph green Subject: Snowflakes Ablaze 4 The Faits had smiled on Donny. When he arrived home his dad was sound asleep in his favorite chair. A smoldering cigarette lay in the pedestal ashtray with half the ashes still in place on the end of the cigarette. Donny sat the coffee on the TV tray and went to his room. He opened his top drawer and loosened the wood panel at the back. Out popped his seven most valuable stamps from his collection and over twenty dollars in change. A notebook of cut out boys modeling underwear and a blue latex condom. He stuffed in ten of the cigars he had brought home with him. He was out of room and had three more to hide. He had a great idea. He sat one on his bed side table out in the open for his dad to find. This would make him look good in the eyes of his dad. A son who is man enough to smoke. He ferreted through a shoe box on the closet shelf and pulled down a red folder with the title "Book Of Secrets" emblazoned on it. He pulled out a pen and began to write. But he though better of it. He returned to book to its shelf undisturbed. He then went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and gargle the taste of burning leaves out of his breath. Now he tied a note to one of the cigar that read, "to the greatest dad in the world". He then gently woke his dad. "Pop. Pop, You want to sleep more or do you want to get up?" His dad groaned a bit but eventually opened his eyes. Donny had planed to wait until he was completely awake but just could not hold out. This might be the reason for his dad to appreciate him for something. "What? What's going on? Why did you wake me boy?" "First dad, your coffee is getting cold. Second, Look what I found." and he presented him with the yellow plastic tube that read, White Owl Lemmon Cigar. The matted eyes examined the cylinder until it occurred to him that it was a cigar. It was a flavored cigar. This was new. "Who sold you this?" "No one. I found it in the ally next to a store. And something else pop." he produced a second cigar. "I found a few. Can I have the second one. Please? Can we smoke them together. You know like guys do after a big meal of like guys do during a football game. It could just be us guys doing guy stuff. Wouldn't that be cool?" His dad got the old familiar look like he was going to deny his son any pleasure in this life and go to his grave being a bitchy old man. Then in a gruff and whispered tone he leaned into Donny and said, "If our mother ever gets wind of this..." "Oh dad. No, she wont ever hear of it. Not from me. Oh, thank you dad. This will be great!" "Let me get my shoes on and we will smoke them on the back porch." Their they sat. Two identical twins separated by sixteen years. The adult hunched his shoulders over his knees and the melting snow flake sat back on his hands with the prize sticking out of his lips like a well hung black man. Donny wanted to soak all the bonding out of this time he could. He wanted to carry on a conversation but could think of nothing to say. Finally he offered, "You got new shoes for work?" "What of it?" "Nothing, just where?" "K-Mart" "You like `em" "Guess so." "Why?" "Are you writing a book? What's with all the gibber gabber? Donny's embers had gone out and he struck his lighter again. The cool wind was picking up and dad went inside for his coat. Without warning Donny felt an uneasiness in his bowels. It rose to his stomach and then to his thought. He had enough presents of mind to gently set the two smoldering phallic symbols on the edge of the porch and jump to the Holly bush. He yielded his breakfast to the shrub along with a few unrecognizable parts. Donny knew he could not bee seen as week to his father so he found the outside spigot and rinses his mouth. Then he staggered back to the hateful thing that had angered his body just a few seconds before. He had no such reaction in the ally and he had not noticed any unpleasantness until his father had shot back with "Are you writing a book" then it was all over but the spillage. He settled back on the step before his dad rturned. They finished their smoke but Donny was noticeably green and went up to his room to rest.