(5)
— Originally published in the Antietam Review (Spring, 1999)
Continued from page (4)
Twice, while Griffin was on duty, Kerney slipped into Griffin’s barracks
and stood looking at his bunk and footlocker, afraid to touch them, but
disappointed at how little they told him. The third time he found Griffin
asleep on his bunk. Kerney’s bowels tingled. Griffin’s arm dangled over the
side of the bunk. Large hand, larger than Kerney’s, a gold wedding band on
the fourth finger. Griffin’s lips were parted. His hair was matted, and the
beginnings of a beard softened the line of his chin. His face had no marks or
wrinkles. He’s just a kid.
Kerney couldn’t stop watching Griffin, but he never sat next to him in the
mess hall or worked beside him on detail. Up close Griffin suffocated
Kerney. Sometimes Kerney had to fight off a desire to reach out to him, to
look after him, to ward off things that might hurt him or corrupt him.
Sometimes Kerney wanted to hit him and make him bleed. On impulse,
Kerney told the girls at the San Diego to seduce Griffin, caress his crotch,
unbutton his pants, expose him. Griffin turned bright red, and his eyes filled
with angry tears. Kerney felt a shot of searing pleasure. For a moment, just
for a moment, Griffin was unmanned, and Kerney had made it happen.
After that, Griffin’s trips to the San Diego became less frequent. When he
did go, he sat at the bar talking to Rosie. Kerney never saw them slip
through the curtains at the back of the bar.
“Kind of odd, sir.”
Major Carver, tall and broad, RA-all-the-way in his starched fatigues and
polished brass, looked up from the desk and took off his glasses. His
question had been casual, to appear friendly, to pass the time while Kerney
cleaned the room. Kerney went on sweeping.
“Odd? In what way?”
Kerney shrugged. “Don’t know exactly. Guys feel funny around him.”
Carver frowned.
“Hard to explain, sir. Just something strange about him. Makes you feel
jumpy.” Kerney let that sink in. “Way he looks at you. It’s like . . . Don’t like
to take a shower when he’s watching.”
TOM'S TALES