Ugly Behavior Read Free

Mary. I wanted to see you.
I wanted to visit you. I care about you, Mary. Why don’t you understand that?”
    My alarm bells were going off, for all the good it did me now.
Before when my Tommy alarms went off all I knew to do was run. But out here I
didn’t have any place to run to. All that was left was to try to mollify him.
“It’s just that we’re pretty hard to find out here,” I said. “Even when you
know where you’re going. Daddy wanted it that way.”
    “Daddy.”   He laughed.
“I don’t hear a lot of grown women using that word, Mary. That’s a little
girl’s word. I know the old guy is a very smart man and all, a genius, right?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, I just got me some real good directions.
That’s all it takes, Mary, good directions. It’s not like this place is top
secret or anything. You know, it’s not even that special, whatever your dad may
say.”
    “You talked to my mother.” No question, there. It was the only way
I could think of that would have gotten him here.
    “I told her I was trying to make things right with you again. She
wanted to help out.”
    “You got her drunk, didn’t you?”
    “She’s a very friendly lady, not stuck up like the rest of the
family, who seem to think they’re better than everybody else on the planet.”
    “Jesus, Tommy, you didn’t sleep with her, did you? Tell me you didn’t
sleep with her!”
    Tommy kept walking around the room, looking at things, touching
things, as if he was doing inventory. He wasn’t looking at me, and he was doing
that thing with his mouth he always did, that thing that looked like a smile,
but he always said it wasn’t a smile, it was just an expression. “You know, I
don’t know what you want from me. You’ve never taken the time to really
understand me.”
    “Mary, you didn’t tell me we had company.” I felt myself go rigid,
holding back a wave of anxiety that threatened to overwhelm me. My father had
never met any of my bad choices before. It was as if the two halves of my life
were suddenly, dangerously colliding, and I was powerless to stop it.
    I thought that if I were just a healthy person, a strong and mature
woman, I could say, Dad, this is Tommy. He isn’t supposed to be here. He’s
followed me out here from New Jersey and if he stays in character he’s going to
cause us a lot of trouble, because that’s what he does. He’s dangerous—I
think you should call the local police immediately.
    That’s what I wanted to say, but knew I would not. In fact, just
the thought of saying those things made me tremble. I thought my trembling
might be noticeable, given the odd way my father was looking at me.
    Instead, I told him, “Dad, this is… my old friend Tommy. Tommy, my
dad.” I kept thinking about something my dad once said. Something like,
politeness doesn’t get us what we need, sweetheart. In fact, worst come to
worst, it might even get you killed.
    “Pleased to meet you, sir!” Tommy was half-way across the room,
offering my father a handshake. I saw my father hesitate, glancing at Tommy’s
narrow, long-fingered hand as if it were a scorpion. Then he took it, his wide
palm practically covering it, as if he were shielding me from it.
    Tommy looked at my father’s hand over his own, a glimmer of
surprise showing in his face. Obviously my old man wasn’t quite what he’d
expected. He pulled his fingers out of Dad’s grip. Then he grinned, forcing a
recovery. “Anyway, it’s a real honor. Mary’s told me so much about you, I
practically feel like I know you already.”
    Dad nodded. “I understand. It’s odd, though, that she’s never told
me anything about you.”
    “Why, Mary, I’m surprised,” Tommy said, exaggerating his
expression. “You’re not keeping us a secret are you?”
    I couldn’t believe this. Did he get away with this crap? Well, of
course he did. He used to get away with it all the time with me.
    My father gazed directly at me with that