His cutting hand was moving faster than I‘d ever seen before. Chunks of pink intestines were flying into his beard and clothes. “Aren’t there any girls that could help you with math?” “No.” He pulled the guts out and let them hit the cement floor with a wet thud. “Have you even asked any?” “Demetrius helps me. He’s all I need.” He took his knife and slowly began to cut away the hides on the legs. With great strength that I never seen in him before, he jerked the left leg’s hide all the way off. It was like he’d just peeled off one side of a banana. He stopped what he was doing and took a deep breath. He walked to a corner in the garage and grabbed a snow shovel. “Do me a favor. Take this and clean up the floor so I can finish.” “Can’t I watch you?” He shook his head. “I need to concentrate.” He took out the flask and finished off its contents with one big gulp. My heart skipped a beat. He’d always allowed me to watch him.
“I promise.” He tucked the head under his arm and grabbed my hand. They were tough as always, but the blood made them sticky and hard to hold onto. My hand slipped out of his. I tried to grab a hold of it again, but the same thing happened. Father continued, walking to the house, never looking back. I looked at my hand, covered in the doe’s blood.
I took the guts to the dumpster behind our house. I stared at the organs as they slid off the shovel and down in between the trash bags that had gathered over the past week. Hungry flies began to feast upon them. My gut went cold, and before I knew it, my breakfast was now covering the organs too. Back inside the garage, Father had finished field dressing the doe. He’d taken the hides and hung them on hooks next to the flayed body, now headless. Father was sitting at his work bench starring at the decapitated head running his fingers through his beard again. “Are you okay, dad?” I asked. He turned around with a big grin on his face. “I feel like a million bucks, champ.” “I really wanted to be the butcher today.” “You will. You’re just not ready yet.” “I was doing it right.” “No, no you weren’t. Just trust me on this.” “I do, but I still don’t get it.” “That’s exactly why you’re not ready.” “Can I invite Demetrius to our next hunting trip?” He stood up, holding the doe’s head in his hands and walked over to me. He began to run his bloody fingers through my hair. Blood stuck to the top of my scalp. He smiled. “I gotta get cleaned up and so do you. I want you to wash really good behind those ears. You promise”
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