WOOF!

Chapter Twelve Mans Best Friend


The vast majority of my sleeping hours can only be described as some of the best and most pleasurable of my life. Rarely, have I ever had fretful or troubled sleep. Although I don’t frequently remember my dreams or much about them, I often awake to find great quantities of evidence suggesting some very intense and erotic experiences. To put it another way, if a research team needed to find a guy for wet-dream research, well fuck, what can I say, ‘Here I am’.

Several times during this night, though, I abruptly awoke, sweating, frantic and greatly troubled. Natalie lay curled up at my side, sleeping heavily and peacefully. Each time, it was like I was having a panic attack or some such thing. Once, I even had to get out of bed and walk it off. The troubled imaginings I’d been having roused me so abruptly out of bed they were quickly lost to me. Trying my best to relax and get back to sleep was almost impossible. In each instance, though, as I tried to clear my mind, I had the unnerving sensation that Joe Bob had been present in some way or another each time I awoke.

When morning light and kitchen noise woke me up, I rolled out of bed feeling as tired as I was the night before. Trying to go back to sleep, needless to say, was not an option. It would have done absolutely no good. Clearly, I had a problem to work out. Something was bothering me terribly. I knew that something was Joe Bob.

Mother, Natalie and Tammy were sitting at the kitchen table when I awkwardly and dizzily walked to the coffee pot.

“You okay?” Natalie asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just need some coffee,” I replied.

“How late did you two stay up?” Mother asked.


Natalie chuckled, turning my way and playfully winking at me. “Not late at all, Mom. And I was completely worn out. I slept like a baby.”
“Your brother didn’t,” Mother quickly added, as such little details seldom escaped her notice.

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” I reiterated. “I guess I had too much on my mind.”

“Let me guess,” my mother retorted.

“You needn’t,” I replied. “But, yes, we have to get back to it. There’s much we have to work out.”

“Let me guess, then,” added Natalie. “Joe Bob!”

Tammy’s bottom actually bounced in the chair she was sitting in. The rest of us noticed the look on her face, too. It couldn’t be missed. I thought she actually might get up and run from the room.

“Settle down, Tammy. Things are going to work out. Mother and I talked a bit about him last night. We’re going to handle it,” I said to the girl, trying my best to mitigate her apprehension. She never did look up at me, though. Her eyes settled on her cup of coffee sitting on the kitchen table, which she slowly twisted back and forth. I also noticed Tammy’s hands shaking too much to have controlled the cup if she’d try to lift it to her lips.

Everyone remained quiet for some long moments. Realizing our staring at the girl might be increasing her uncomfortable state, we diverted our eyes to other things. As I again lifted my cup of coffee, my mother, Natalie and I exchanged knowing looks, which were soon followed by nods.

My mother was the first to speak up. “Jimmy and I have decided to make Joe Bob priority one, meaning things will not continue as they have until we settle the question of ‘Joe Bob’ once and for all. My suggestion, then, is to deny him from ever coming to our home again.”

“Do you think he’ll care what you think one way or the other, Mother?” Natalie quickly asked. “I don’t think so. He’s too damn used to having his own way. But, I agree. I’ve decided not to be with him ever again. I don’t care what he does.”

“Don’t say that, Natalie,” I replied. “The last thing we need you to do right now is change things yourself before we can all work out a plan together. If that bastard shows up today or tomorrow, you’re not to do anything any differently until we have a game plan. It’s too damn late for us to be making decisions all by ourselves. We have to talk with Riley, Jeannie and their mom first. And beyond that, Sarah, Ruthie and even Smitty will have to be aware of what we’re going to do.”

“I’m not letting that old bastard have his way with me ever again, Jimmy!” Natalie shouted out.

Mother reached out and lovingly attached her hand to Natalie’s forearm. “Hun,” she began. “Listen to your brother. He’s right. Don’t put us all in a precarious situation without first reasoning through everything with us. If you remember, my dear daughter, you are the one who kept insisting you just had to be his bitch.”

Natalie shut up, but we could tell she was really pissed. Although not nearly as bad as Joe Bob, my little sister had always had her way and didn’t like anyone, not even our mother, telling her what she should do.
“Mom’s right, Natalie,” I said, almost whispering, as the last thing we needed is to start a shouting match, which would end, of course, with my sister stomping off to her room in a tantrum. “We need you to help us figure out what we have to do.”

“He’s like my step-father,” Tammy added to the conversation, unexpectedly. “He’s just like him. The only thing different is my step-father is a drunk.”

Mother and I looked at each other. We now knew why Tammy was so distressed and panicked over the man. We both realized, too, that Tammy would be soon be gone if we didn’t end Joe Bob’s visits. She’d run on to find a world without a Joe Bob in it. I must say: I couldn’t really blame her.

“You should start with Riley,” Mother said. “Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, but you need to talk with Sarah for us. I’m not sure I’d be able to get my point across as well as you,” I said to my mother.

After we finished our breakfast, with no further mention of Joe Bob, I was the first to make for the phone. Riley, as usual, wasn’t doing anything and agreed to come right over. When I finished, my mother phoned Sarah. After a short call, my mother told the girls to go up and get dressed, as they were going to drive over to Smitty’s and have a sit down with Sarah and Ruthie.

When Riley drove up into our driveway, the girls were just getting into my mother’s SUV. Riley waved and made for the porch.

“Hey, fucker,” he said, with a crooked smile only Riley could give. “Where they headed?”

“They’ve got something to do this morning. Come on, let’s get some beer, go out back and I’ll tell you about it,” I said.

Our backyard was actually several acres in size, with huge oak trees growing thick enough to shade almost every square inch of it. This had been my dad’s favorite part of our farm. He’d spent a great deal of time and effort building tables, benches, swings and all sorts of such things making it a most pleasing place to be. Not twenty feet out our back door was a large fountain, a lotus fountain it was called, which was a large three-tiered arrangement with a little girl sitting at its top holding a large seashell in her lap. Water cascaded from the shell, pouring and bubbling over each tier. It had been one of my dad’s favorite acquisitions.

Riley and I sat down at a large table not ten feet from the fountain and opened our first beers. We began by Riley catching me up on a few things, not much other than small talk concerning a few mutual relations. As Riley generally does, though, his conversation soon turned to pussy, tits and ass, which quickly brought him around to his most burning question: ‘When was Natalie going to be back?’

I couldn’t help but laugh at the horny bastard.

“I guess you know by now my dad’s really taken with her,” Riley related. “Two of his favorite topics of conversation is how great a fuck she and your mother is - - - that is until last night and this morning.”

I didn’t offer to smile at that remark, and I don’t think he would have noticed anyway. Something was greatly troubling the boy.

“Yeah,” he continued. “But what he really wants to do is to break Tammy. I’m worried, Jimmy. He’s talking about some pretty violent shit he’s gonna do to that girl. He’s even talking about tying her up and whipping her. Says she deserves it or something like that. Damn, Jimmy, I don’t like it. I heard him talking on the phone to a guy over in Decatur this morning that makes those things you strap on a girls head to hold her mouth open, so you can throat fuck her. He’s all excited about buying one of the damn things. I don’t like it at all, Jimmy. Not at all.”

“That shit ain’t gonna happen, Riley. First of all, it ain’t right. And besides that, nobody ever deserved that sort of treatment.”

“You and I know that but he don’t. Hell, he could give a shit less what we think. He’s made up his fuckin’ mind,” Riley said, looking down at the beer in his hand and shaking his head.

“Well, he’ll just have to unmake it then, cause it ain’t gonna happen, Riley,” I exclaimed. “It ain’t gonna fuckin’ happen!”

“And what the fuck are you gonna do about it. Hell, buddy, the fuckin’ cat’s out of the fuckin’ bag. And you’re the one who done it. Hell, it was you who invited him over to sample your offerings. You and your fuckin’ plan. Damn, Jimmy, I fuckin’ warned you,” Riley shouted back.

“Natalie’s already backed out,” I confessed. “She told me this morning she ain’t gonna be with him no more. And you don’t know Natalie like I do. When she says something the way she said it this morning, she means it. So I better tell you what we talked about. We’re gonna need your help figuring this shit out. And yes, I’m the one who fucked up in the first place but now I’m asking you to put that behind us for right now. You gotta help us decide how the fuck to get out of this predicament.”

I then told Riley all that had been discussed the night before between my mother and me and around the kitchen table earlier in the morning. I related what Tammy had said, and made it plain she’d be hitting the road if we didn’t end it with his dad. And I repeated Natalie’s declaration. I then went on to explain they’d left to go over and speak with Sarah and Ruthie to see where they stood.

“Talking is one thing, Jimmy,” Riley said when I finished. “Doing is another.”

“Well, fuck me running, Riley,” I said. “The fuckin’ doing is what I’m wanting you to help us figure out.”

“You’d better talk to my mother, then,” Riley said.

“I wouldn’t want your dad to get pissed - - - or worse - - - at her,” I said. “It doesn’t appear your mom or Jeannie has any control over him.”

“They don’t. We don’t. But she’s lived with him a long time and understands how to talk and act when he goes crazy and shit,” Riley related.

“Let me talk to my mother first,” I said. “She probably needs to talk to her anyway. She would be better than me.”

Riley smiled. “Looks live you’ve lost control of your harem. I thought you were going to tell your bitches what they were to do.”

I looked Riley dead in the eyes, making sure there was no doubt how I felt. “I was wrong about all that crap, Riley. No more of that pimp, bitch and such shit for me. I came damn close to turning out as bad or worse than your ol’ man. Fuck that shit. I ain’t impressed. It’s one thing to play games but this shit is real life.”

“I’m damn glad to hear you say that, old buddy,” Riley said. “I’m damn, fuckin’ glad to hear it.”

Riley then went on to tell me much he, his mother and sister had experienced over the years living with Joe Bob. I never realized family life could be that bad. Although, as I thought about it, I remembered how Jeannie acted in public, and how she had been a much-reserved girl at school. She really had no friend other than Natalie. And that might have been because Natalie didn’t interact much with the other girls, either. My dad had always refused any extracurricular activities for her. And forget even thinking about staying over at a girlfriend’s house. In that respect, my own dad was much like Joe Bob. He’d been a control freak, too. But, in every other respect, my dad had been a friendly, and pretty much, easygoing guy.

Riley and I continued our deliberations for some time. The bottom line seemed to be how the hell I could back out of my agreement with his dad without having him go postal on everyone. We had just about been ready to give up altogether when Natalie came crashing out of the back door.

“Jimmy, Riley!” she screamed. “Mother needs you!”

I jumped up and ran for the house, passing my sister who’d collapsed on the back porch in tears. As I entered the house, I saw my mother sitting at the kitchen table. Dried blood was on her blouse, face and arms. Riley ran up to the table with me.

“Riley, go home now,” she said. “Your mother needs you. Please hurry.”

“What happened?” Riley shouted out.

“Just go, Riley! Now!” she repeated.

Riley ran towards the front door. I turned back to my mother and sat down beside her. “What happened?” I asked, trembling and shaking all over. “Are you hurt, Mom?”

I jumped out of the chair and ran to the kitchen sink. I returned with a wet washcloth to clean her and look for open wounds. “Where did all this blood come from?”

“Leave it, Jimmy!” my mother shouted. “Sit down!”

I collapsed back in my chair, continuing to examine her as best I could. She was a total mess.

“Tell me what happened, Mom. Were you in an accident?”

She turned to me, looking at me through bloodshot eyes. “It was terrible, son,” she began. “Terrible.”

“What the hell was terrible, Mom?”

“When we got to Smitty’s house, Joe Bob was dead,” she said, bringing her two hands up to her face and crying.

“What the hell was Joe Bob doing at Smitty’s house? He was supposed to be working today. What the hell do you mean, ‘He was dead’?

“He wasn’t working, Jimmy. He’d gone to Decatur this morning and picked up this thing to use on Tammy, is all we can figure. But he went to Smitty’s house with it before going home. Smitty wasn’t home; he was at work. Joe Bob decided he would use the thing on Ruthie to try it out. Sarah told the police after he’d come into the house he made for Ruthie. Sarah tried to stop him, as he was scaring hell of little Ruthie. Joe Bob hit her across the head and knocked her out for a few minutes. When she came to, Joe Bob had already tied Ruthie up and had put the thing on her head. He was just putting his dick into her mouth when Sarah ran at him, screaming for him to stop. Joe Bob slapped her again, knocking her to the floor. As she came to her feet again, she heard Max crashing into the back door. Max had heard everything, and he was going crazy. When Sarah opened the back door, Max ran into the living room, jumped on Joe Bob and clamped down on his neck. When Joe Bob swung to get him off, Max tore open his throat. Blood flew everywhere. The arteries in his neck sprayed the last of his lifeblood out of him almost immediately. We got there not even a minute after it happened. I called the police and went to work untying Ruthie and settling her down. The girl was hysterical and so was Sarah. That’s where all this blood came from. It was all over Ruthie,” my mother laid her head down on the table, atop her crossed arms.

I reached over and rubbed her back. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Mom. Where’s Tammy?” It had just occurred to me that Tammy wasn’t here.

“She must be out in the car. Go check on her, Jimmy. Bring her inside, please. I’ve got to take a bath. And get Natalie in the house, too,” she requested.

“Yeah. Go on. Go up and take a shower. I’ll come up and check on you in a few minutes,” I said.

She came to her feet and made for the staircase, turning once to look back at me, making as if to say something else, but she again turned and slowly headed upstairs. I hurried out to mother’s SUV and found Tammy in the backseat. She looked shell-shocked. As I reached in to take her arm, she swatted at me and pulled away. Then she focused on me and understood what I was asking her to do. A few minutes later, I walked her into the house and upstairs to Natalie’s bedroom. She collapsed across the bed.

I then ran down to the back porch and found Natalie still sitting as she had been. Her hands covered her face, sobbing like a baby.

“Are you gonna be okay, Sis?” I asked. Reaching down to pull a hand down from her face, she pulled herself in to me.

“It was terrible, Jimmy. Help me up to my room,” she asked.

“Yeah, come on. Stand up,” I said, lifting her to her feet. When we entered her bedroom, Tammy quickly came to her feet and ran to Natalie. They hugged each other and started crying again, as they made their way back to the bed.

I took my leave and went to check on my mother. She had opted for the shower instead of the bath, and I couldn’t blame her, as she’d have been bathing, in no time at all, in Joe Bob’s diluted blood. She had just reached for a towel when I entered the bathroom. I grabbed it out of her hand and went to drying her with it. I then led her out to her bed where she squirmed in under her bed sheets.

“Can I get you anything?” I asked.

“No. I just need to rest for a bit,” she said, reaching up for me to lean over her, which I did. She then pecked me on my cheek.

“Yeah, okay,” I said. “You get some rest. I’ll check on you in a little while.” I then turned toward her bedroom door to leave.

“Jimmy,” mother called out to me. “They took Max away.”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, Mom. Don’t worry about anything. Everything will work out,” I replied.

As I headed back down the stairs, I realized poor old Max, risking everything, his very own life, had done what he could do to protect his very best friend, Ruthie. And now, after all was said and done, somewhere, someplace, someone would shove a needle into him and put him down. That thought burned into my mind, and I felt sad, so damn sad about it all.

Joe Bob had been bad - - - bad to the bone, as they say. Max, on the other hand, was doing what dogs have done for thousands of years, protecting his master from harm. “Damn!” is all I could say. “Damn, damn, damn!”

It was late afternoon before any sounds came from upstairs. Mother was the first to come back down to the kitchen. I’d put together a light supper and had a fresh pot of coffee on the stove. We usually never drank coffee in the evening, but today there was reason for the exception. After pouring her a cup, I took it to the table where she was just pulling a chair out to sit down. She reached for me, and I wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me tightly to her.

“It’ll all be okay, Mom,” I said. “It’ll be okay.”

She nodded her head and sat down. I didn’t say anything else to her, as I thought it would be best for her to gather her thoughts before I began asking the thousands of questions going through my mind.
As I lifted my cup of coffee to my lips, she began. “We need to go over to Riley’s and see how the family is doing, Jimmy - - - see if there’s anything we can do for them.”

“Yeah, of course, Mom,” I said.

“Don’t call, though. It’s best not to. We’ll go over first thing in the morning. Just you and me,” she said.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Why don’t you call Smitty’s. See if you can speak with him or Sarah for me,” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ll do it right now,” I replied.

I tried calling several times but no one was at home or, I figured, they probably had unhooked the phones. Natalie and Tammy came down some minutes later. Actually, they both looked to be in much better shape than mother. Uncharacteristically, though, Natalie and Tammy both poured themselves coffee. As far as I knew, this was the first cup of coffee my sister had ever drank in her life.

“What did the police do when they showed up?” I asked.

“They talked to us just a few minutes. As we hadn’t been there when it happened, they just took Mom’s name and address, in case they needed to ask more questions later. It was evident what had happened though. Tammy and I were not even in the house except for a few seconds. Mother cried out for us not to come in. It was a little late but it didn’t take us long to go back outside. Jimmy, there was blood everywhere,” Natalie said.

“Did you talk to the police, Tammy?” I asked.

“No. I just said I never went inside,” she said.

“Did Jimmy’s mom or Jeannie go over?” I asked.

“No. Not by the time we’d left,” Tammy replied.

“How was Sarah and Ruthie when you guys left?”

“Joe Bob had beaten Ruthie pretty bad, Jimmy. Her eye was all swollen up and she had bunches of places on her that will be bad bruises by tomorrow. Same with Sarah, she had a swollen eye and cheek. Joe Bob hit her pretty hard,” Natalie replied. “The police brought them out of the house so the emergency medical guys to look them over. They actually thought it would be a good idea to take Ruthie to the hospital but she wouldn’t go. She clung to her mother the whole time.”

“Smitty never showed up?”

Natalie again replied. “Not by the time we’d left. The police had contacted him though.”

“Damn! From what you guys have said, I can’t put a bit of blame on Max. He was just protecting Ruthie. Joe Bob made his own bed,” I said.

Needless to say, we spent a very quite evening at home.