03/15/01

Still no knock at the door from the police yet. Probably just a matter of time.

There’s a story in today’s paper questioning Porch Rot’s possible role in my trailer fire and his disappearance afterwards. The story raises the same questions I’ve been dealing with regarding whether Porch Rot really did himself in or just faked his death. I guess you have to wonder the same thing about Clean Phil now too. I still keep having the thought that the woman buried in the well is that anorexic girl who used to be Phil’s girlfriend--- the poet girl who kept coming around the place looking for him who then went missing. Maybe Porch Rot took her interest coming around to mean something it wasn‘t, tried to make a pass at her, something happened, and then he panicked. Or maybe she found Clean Phil out in the world, something happened that she died in his company, and then he arrived back home with her body to bury her. Porch Rot assisted in the deed, and then advised Phil to remain in hiding. Well, who the hell knows?

Phebe had the day off and insisted on going up to the prison to see Rocky with the baby. I thought I’d be OK, but I always get all kinds of anxiety going into that place. I think if I ever got sentenced to a place like that I’d probably drop dead in minutes. Rocky was pretty happy to see everyone. He said Cornelius had visited him last week. That was surprising. I guess he told Rocky despite everything that’s happened with him breaking it off with Maddy that he still thinks of Rocky as his brother-in-law. Rocky told me he thinks Cornelius made up his mind to forgo becoming a woman. He came into the prison without the Cornelia garb at least. I guess Cornelius told Rocky he wasn’t too happy slum-lording for Dr. Hardik. He said it was hard to feel like a lady dragging poor folks belongings out to the curb in drag. He said it was always easier to get rent money in burly Texan male-mode anyhow. He asked Rocky if he thought there was any room on the farm for him to return, maybe try to start up things again. Rocky told him to come see us.

Rocky said he had heard about the trailer fire and before I could even get a word out of my mouth, Phebe says, your father thinks me and Stash Skimington are having an affair, and that Stash tried to kill him to take over everything. He’s a lunatic! Rocky looked pretty astonished.

Your mother and I are going to work real hard to provide a home for your son, I manage to say. Don’t worry any troubles we might be having. We‘ll get through. We’re family.

Rocky still looked pretty astonished. Phebe looked pretty astonished at that point too.

And just then Mookie shit his diaper really loudly. It was perfect.

03/14/01

So I don’t know what Stash is up to. Maybe he’s pissed off that I’m back home with Phebe and he’s looking to make some trouble. I have to wonder whether the way Phebe responded to him for calling here late at night set him off or something. I think he must have reported the secret I knew from Porch Rot about the burial in the old well. I drove by Porch Rot’s farm yesterday and saw a bunch of police cars there. Later I drove by again and saw them excavating near the old well. In today’s paper they reported the police received an anonymous tip and the body of a woman was taken out of the ground from the old well. That’s certainly different than what Porch Rot said about Phil being put there after being found hanging in the barn. I wonder if the woman is Phil’s old girlfriend who went missing after she came around the farm asking about Phil. In any case, I guess what all this means is that mystery of what happened to Phil is still unsolved. And I thought I finally had that all settled. That Porch Rot was one crazy fucker. Or maybe I should say he is one crazy fucker. I’m not sure which to say at this point. He might be on the lam at this point. I guess that’s another mystery that still needs to be figured out. Anyway, I’ve been hanging around home taking care of Mookie for most of two days now without any knock on the door like I anticipated. I figured Stash was going to make sure I was put on the hot seat for knowing the secret about this, but so far no one has bothered me. It weird. It’s like I almost wish they’d arrive so I could get it over with. But no, the door remains silent. Everything is very, very silent. That is, until Mookie starts crying again. I told him today he shits more than a Holstein, but then I felt bad for saying that because it could be taken as racially insensitive.

03/12/01

So when Phebe got off work Saturday I called Percy and asked him to pick me up, but Phebe had a fit.

You need to go with me Monday morning to court to file for custody of Mookie. I told you before, you need to make a good show of it. You’re staying here with me from now on.

So I’ve spent two nights at home. Actually slept in the same bed as Phebe. Thought I was finally over my fear of her clubbing me to death with a lamp in the middle of the night when she gets this call at like 12:30am last night. It’s been bothering me.

Phebe says to the caller plenty annoyed, yeah, I know I left a note to call me. I didn’t mean in the middle of the night! I can’t talk now.

So we went over to the court to file for custody this morning, made a good show of it--- acted like model grandparents and everything. After we were done there Phebe took me out shopping for new stuff. Then we went to Percy’s to get my bag with this disk in it.

So now I have to get used to living somewhere new all over again.