 |
| (visual by Abel Briquet via this license) |
dispatch ten
Mule Factory
by Steve Goerger
debuted 15 August 2009 | kept 1143 times | click to keep
With Florian to welcome back and Shaito’s life to celebrate, Rudolpho feels the mule carnival is destiny’s creation. He takes Inez out of the office and puts her to work with Dan, grooming and preparing the animals. He and Florian erect the big top. Don keeps the office afloat, prepares shipping manifests; in his free moments he is to paint a portrait of Shaito, to be wreathed with flowers and hung near the cash register.
Rico has become proficient at the juggling of four, five, six eggs. Or apples, even oranges.
Inez cries day and night for her latest loss. She brushes her tears into the coats of the mules. Dan is revitalized by her sadness. At one point he gathers enough courage to wrap a tender arm around her. He works hard and puts on a happy face, sweating into the grain he feeds the animals. Tears and sweat; and spit, which everyone has always shot into their water. Years later Dan will marry a pretty little blonde from South Dakota. She will give him three children, the youngest of whom they'll name Inez. When she is twelve Inez will take fifteenth place in a local bowling tournament. She'll be her father’s favorite by far.
The scheduled first morning of the carnival comes; everything is silent, still, and ready. The six of them stand shoulder to shoulder, waiting. Rudolpho stands next to Don stands next to Inez stands next to Dan stands next to Rico stands next to Florian. Just behind them is Don’s portrait of Shaito–a childish yellow sun shining above a field of red, pink, and purple flowers which have the vague shape of question marks. They stand that way until late afternoon, when not yet has a soul approached to inspect the restless, fenced animals.
"I guess no one reads newspapers anymore," Rudolpho says. With that, he lets go of a few loose dreams.
That night they throw a party for themselves under the big top. Everyone gets intoxicated. Rudolpho offers Rico a full-time position. Rico tells Florian of his truest feelings for him, opening a wide, empty chasm between them. Inez cries; Dan grins crookedly under his low-pulled brim. Don walks off into the sunset, thinking maybe Italy...
They fall asleep outside, huddled together for warmth underneath the big top. In the early morning the mules’ voices wake Dan. "Ee-haa!" they say to each other. "Ee-haa!" they scream to the sky. Dan gets up and stumbles over to the pen. In the middle many of the animals are huddled; there seems to be some kind of commotion. Dan climbs up on the highest rung of the fence to look in. He wipes his brow, whistles low, tugs the brim of his hat. In the midst of the animals there is a small calf of some kind, some newborn. A small, light, white animal. To Dan’s eyes, it appears winged. Hopefully it is winged.
full page § « 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 »
 |
Steve Goerger holds an MFA from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He has worked as a writer, teacher, and librarian. He now makes his home in Salem, OR. His writing has recently appeared in the Ampersand Review, the South Dakota Review, and the Portland Review. |