blue moon.
She said: “You’re doing it wrong.”
She said: “The top is over here.”
She said: “No, this way!”
She said: “Didn’t you listen to Mum at all? This is why you’re single.”
He said: “I’m single because I can’t fold a sheet?” She said: “You’re single because you’re a stubborn bastard.” He said: “Caitroina, we’re literally twins. I can’t be a bastard. That’d make us both bastards.” She said: “Hold your end steady! I can’t tie the corners right if you keep moving like that.” He said: “But he’s heavy, and there’s blood coming through up here.” She said: “It won’t matter soon enough. Don’t be so squeamish.” He said: “Are you sure this is a good idea?” She said: “What part, Kieran? Killing Dad, letting you walk first through a field, or not making sure the flashlight worked like I told you to? It’s a good thing the moon’s up. God, his feet stink. I wish Mum had let us just dump him in the river by the house. He’d wash away and we wouldn’t have to deal with getting our hands dirty.” He said: “What if the neighbors heard?” She said: “They didn’t hear. Hey! Keep moving, we have to be back before daylight. I want time to shower this dirt off before the insurance guys come by.” He said: “How are you sure they didn’t hear though? He yelled a whole lot louder than I thought he would…” She said: “Are you going to lift his head higher or do I have to do everything? He’ll never fit like that. Watch the shovel, idiot!” He said: “Do you think he really felt anything?” She said: “You’re worrying about that now? Move to the left. I can’t see the edge. You want me to fall in with him?” He said: “I didn’t mean to scare him first…I tried to just…you know? But then he turned around and I didn’t know what to do, if I should have said something, if I could really do it…” She said: “He deserved to be scared. I’m glad he saw you––I bet he was furious to see you holding that stupid bat of his after all the times he told us not to touch it. There, you can let go now. Kieran! Let go. There’s no point holding on now. Help me shovel.” He said: “Did you hear what he said? When he saw me, did you hear what he called me?” She said: “Uh, a feckin’ scut? A pansy-ass amadán? Come on Kier––I just want this done. And besides. He called you plenty of worse things before, I’m sure.” He said: “Is this really right? Should we really have…” She said: “If you’re gonna go guilty on me at least wait until he’s under the dirt. This was the only thing we could have done. The only right one. You did good. I’m not sure I could’ve swung hard enough to do the job. All that baseball you wanted to quit came in handy after all, I guess.” He said: “Yeah.” She said: “Yeah.”
She said: “Anyway.”
She said: “Okay, that’s that. Let’s go home. Tell Mum it’s done.”
She said: “Kier…what was it he called you?”
He said: “He called me son. I thought he called me son.”
