Daddy comes out of the house. (ROBERT) “Where’s that other pretty red bastard?” (EUGENE) “Stop all this ‘high yellow this’ and ‘red that.’ And something else man, don’t ever put your hands on Alma like that again.” He looks at me grinning. He pours a shot and downs it. His eyes on mine. I pour a shot and down it looking back in his eyes. My eyes are glued to his–for the first time my eyes are glued to his eyes. (ROBERT) “What do you mean?” (EUGENE) His voice is so gentle, so smooth-like velvet. “I saw you touch Alma and I didn’t like it–don’t do it again.” (ROBERT) “You got a house an a lil’ land and a woman now and you think you can talk all kind of ways to me, boy?” (EUGENE) All of a sudden, he’s speaking in a Geechie accent. (ROBERT) “Man dat gal rules the roost–Alma is ga be the one rulin’ dat roost.” (EUGENE) “Do you really think so SIR?” (Pause) I feel the bourbon rushing through me. I’m hot/I’m cold–my eyes never leaving his. He looks at me and smiles. He looks at me–like he’s coming/like his dick is hard–like he’s COMING. (ROBERT) “Nigga jes cause I made ya, don mean I love ya–I don love ya and yeah, Ah had touch dat ass cause you ain’t no man–yeah Ah ha’ touch dat ass an Ah’ma touch it again.” (EUGENE) Bourbon–truth serum is coursing through our veins. I stand looking at his face and he stands up looking into mine. We are now the same height facing each other. My light face/his dark face. We smell the bourbon on/in each other. He goes to turn around and I grab him. I draw my right hand back and punch him in the jaw–there is some blood on my right hand. He runs, throwing me to the ground. (ROBERT) (Yelling/laughing) “Ole high yella nigga ga fight me–Come ON.” (EUGENE) He’s sitting on top of me. I feel his dick on my belly. He’s pounding the left side of my face. I push him off, roll over, and pick up a chair. (Screaming) “PITCH-BLACK/APE NIGGA–ANIMAL NIGGA!” He knocks me down and grabs the chair, raising it above his head–I trip him. He falls. I get on top of him, punching him in the face. (Screaming) “ANIMAL/GEECHIE NIGGA–BLACK/APE NIGGA/ANIMAL.” My hands are in his hair–his nappy nappy hair. I got my fingers in his skull. I beat his head against the pavement. One of my hands goes around his neck and the other hand hits his head against the pavement. He tries many times to get up–he can’t. I’m surprised how strong he is–how incredibly strong he is. I pummel him. He continues to yell, (ROBERT) “HIGH YELLA NIGGA!–I NEVA LOVED YOU.” (EUGENE) I bang his head harder–my groin on his chest–my dick in his chest. Momma runs out and jumps on top of me. She hits me and scratches my face. I keep pounding his head on the pavement until he no longer moves. There is blood on my shirt, face, and hands. Some of that blood is mine.