Nobody's Fool

the Miles Anderson house. They all turned to look then, just as Peter and another man came out the front door and stood on the porch talking. When they shook hands, Sully frowned and said, “Who’s that with Peter, Rub? And don’t tell me it’s Miles Anderson either, because he said he wasn’t coming up till the first of the year.”
    Rub started to open his mouth, then shut it again.
    â€œWho is it, Rub?”
    â€œIt’s Miles Fuckin’ Anderson, just like you said. And don’t blame me.”
    â€œShit,” Sully said. The person he blamed was Carl Roebuck for taking him off the big job to do a little one which would probably cost him the big one. Then again, maybe not. They heard laughter coming from up the block, and Peter and Miles Anderson sauntered down the steps together amiably enough. And when Anderson got into his little car, Peter leaned down and waved in the window. When Anderson did a U-turn and headed back up Main toward the village, Peter watched him go for a second, then crossed the street and started toward them.
    Will darted down the steps and up the street toward his father, while Sully took a seat on the porch steps next to Rub, who continued morose. “I wouldn’t sit here too long,” Sully advised. “The tip of your dick’ll freeze to the step.”
    Rub glanced down to see if this were possible.
    â€œI forgot,” Sully said. “Yours doesn’t hang down quite that far, does it.”
    â€œYours don’t either,” Rub said, grinning sheepishly now, too happy to have his friend back to hold a grudge much longer.
    â€œThat’s true,” Sully said, nudging Rub hard. “I fold it so it won’t.” Rub slid away, out of easy nudging range.
    â€œYou want to know how many times I have to fold it?” Sully said, nudging Rub again, since he hadn’t moved quite far enough to be out of nudging range completely.
    â€œIt would hurt if you folded it,” Rub said, imagining.
    â€œNot mine,” Sully assured him. “You know what I like best?”
    Rub blushed, wondered if it had to do with ole Toby Roebuck.
    â€œCarnation Milk,” Sully said. “You know why?”
    Rub was frowning, trying to recall why. He felt like he knew the answer to this question, though it wouldn’t come.
    â€œNo tits to pull, no shit to haul,” Sully explained. “You get any work done in there?”
    â€œAlmost all of it. Are we going to stop for lunch?”
    â€œStop work or stop sitting here freezing our dicks?”
    â€œWork.”
    â€œI suppose.”
    â€œGood,” Rub said. Together they sat and listened to the barking dog.
    Will had joined up with his father and they were slowly making their way up the street toward where Sully and Rub were sitting. The boy was talking excitedly, showing his father the money he’d won, the stopwatch Sully had given him. Even a block away, Peter looked less than thrilled.
    â€œWhere the hell’s that damn dog I’m hearing?” Sully wondered. “He sounds like he’s inside the house.”
    â€œHe’s in the kitchen,” Rub said.
    â€œWho?”
    â€œThe dog,” Rub said. He could have sworn they’d been discussing the dog.
    â€œWhat dog?”
    â€œThe one that’s barking. Carl’s,” Rub explained. That had been the second thing he’d been trying to tell Sully when he’d gone out to the car and been sent away for his trouble. There’d been a third thing too, but now Rub couldn’t remember what it was.
    Sully opened the front door and stepped inside. From the doorway he could see Rasputin slumped against the kitchen cabinet Carl Roebuck had chained him to. The reason the dog’s bark had a strangling quality to it was that the dog was apparently strangling. Carl had run the animal’s chain through one of the upper kitchen cabinets, which was fine as long as the dog was standing up, because the chain was just long enough. But either the dog had lost his balance and slumped against the cabinets or had tried to lie down of his own volition, only to discover that the chain did not allow this. Spying Sully and Rub in the doorway, the dog tried valiantly to get to its feet, but the linoleum floor did not provide much traction and the stroke-deadened side of its body did not work in concert with the good side, and so the dog quickly gave up and slumped against the