EXCERPT FROM "Punk and Shorty"

Shorty stretched out on the grass beside his best friend Punk, enjoying a lazy afternoon in their own private glen up in the foothills. A cooling breeze played in the pine and fir tops and occasionally dipped down to brush his face and bring the pleasing odor of wildflowers. One day he’d learn to tell the plants by their aroma, but this wasn’t the time for it. He’d lost his daddy this past month, and the sting of it hadn’t let up much. That was why it was good bumming around with Punk. Older by half a year, Punk was there for support but never got nosy.

“He died in heaven,” Shorty blurted suddenly without meaning to. That was what his older brother had said to him when Shorty asked what took Daddy.

“What’s that?” Punk sounded half-asleep. Probably had been.

“That’s what my brother said. Daddy died in heaven.”

Punk sat up. “That don’t make sense. A fella dies to go to heaven.”

“I know, but that’s what Oren said.”

Punk didn’t answer, but he laid back down, and Shorty knew he was puzzling over the thing. Pretty soon, his friend grunted. “Oh!”

“Oh, what?”

“Oh, I see,” Punk said.

“See what?”

“What Oren meant.”

“You do? What did he mean?”

“Him and your mom was doing it when the angels came for him.”

“Doin’ it? You mean ...?”

“Yep. Screwin’.”

Shorty’s gorge rose. He scrambled to his knees. “You stop that. My mom doesn’t do things like that.”

Punk gave a howling laugh that scrambled the birds and sent the squirrels running for tree holes. “How do you think you and Owen got here?”

Shorty’s face turned red, but he settled down on the grass again. “Well ... I guess. Yeah. Back then.”

Punk craned his neck to the left and looked at him. Shorty always wondered how those eyes got to be so green. Like the grass they were lying on when it was wet. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

Shorty shrugged. “I guess it’s just something they do sometimes. You know, because it’s expected when a guy’s married.”

Punk didn’t let out a guffaw that time, but his grin got so big Shorty thought his lips would split.

“He died in heaven,” Punk said. That means he was getting a real bang out of it. A whooping and hollering big time.”

Shorty guessed he frowned because Punk shook his head. “You still don’t get it, do you? I can show you, if you want. Part of it, anyway.”

“Y-you can?”

“Sure. Nothing to it.”

“You can send me to heaven, and there’s nothing to it? Will I be dead like Daddy?”

That did get a hoot out of Punk, flushing more birds out of the trees and sending more squirrels running. “No, it ain’t gonna kill you. You wanna do it?”

“Will it hurt?”

“Does heaven sound like hurtin’?”

Shorty shook his head.”

“Well? Yup or nope?”

“I-I guess so. What do I have to do?”

“Nothin’. Not a thing.”

“O-okay. Show me.”

“I gotta touch you, so don’t get your back up, okay?”

“Yeah, sure ... I guess.”