Giles Kirk, son of sharecroppers, rose to power and wealth through
greed, guile, and manipulation. But his skillfully fabricated
facade collapsed when Spoony Pitt stumbled back into his life. The
caller was Giles Kirk, the town's lawyer, dressed, as always, like
a Boston Banker. He wore paten leather boots in which were tucked
fashionable brown trousers, a charcoal vest over a white shirt, his
usual black string tie with silver tips, a dark blue vest and a
black cotton coat with four sky blue buttons. On his head sat a
broad brimmed leather hat, which he removed and handed to Joseph.
His chin seemed to jut more than usual that morning. That and his
furrowed brow suggested that he was in a bad mood. He was a forty
year-old man of average height, and in demeanor he seemed to be
sincere, honest, wealthy, powerful and happily married. But in
truth, he was a deeply unhappy man who pretended to be what he
wasn't, for he had weaknesses the opposite of what he projected --
dishonesty, miserliness, insecurity and sexual adventurousness.
Polly was in her early forties and still a handsome woman. She had
a short, lithe body topped with a nest of graying auburn hair. Her
eyes were light green and quite attractive. Her face was almost
circular and she had smooth, rounded cheeks, expressive lips and
even, white teeth. In the shallow part of Giles' mind, he thought
her face pretty, but not beautiful. But beneath his shallow
thoughts, in the hidden part his mind, the part kept secret from
his every-day thoughts, the part that never lied, the part that
guided him, Polly's face was powerfully alluring. Geography
dictated where he found himself, that bulbous bundle of pretense
and misery that called itself Spoony Pitt. The coast was not a
straight line between New Orleans and Acton. Ships and boats could
sail in a straight line across the sea, but a man afoot, unless he
could walk on water, would have to trace a near semicircle from New
Orleans to Acton. At the moment, Spoony was sitting at the end of a
wagon with his legs dangling down, sharing the wagon bed with
lowing, pooping cows, lurching from side to side and fantasizing
about his next meal. The soles of his shoes were holey, and the
tops were filthy with mud, wagon grease and offal. His face was
shaggy with a three day beard. The striped pants he wore, once of
finely tailored wool, had holes in their knees, and the thighs bore
stains of many foods and spices that never quite reached his
cavernous mouth. The top three buttons of his trousers were
unbuttoned, and a yards-long black belt held his pants to his
massive waistline. He wore a once-white shirt that was gray from
lack of washing, and streaked with stains of sauces too thin for a
fork, and dribbles of chewing tobacco from his lazy lips. The black
wool coat he wore had rumpled tails and was wildly unsuited for the
hot, humid climate in which he lived. But to Spoony, it was
'gentleman's apparel, ' the sort that an Englishman would wear, and
as Spoony fancied himself a gentleman, he dressed accordingly.
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
May 2013 |
First published: |
May 2013 |
Authors: |
Michael Crawford
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 14mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
262 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4849-9654-6 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
Promotions
|
LSN: |
1-4849-9654-2 |
Barcode: |
9781484996546 |
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