Sparkle: The Queerest Book You'll Ever Love (44 page)

“Bad timing that he was robbing you or that you caught him?” I asked.

“Yes and yes, but mostly that I had just happened in when the gun was in his hand. He was obviously strung out on something and he wasn’t thinking clearly, I would guess. I surprised him and he pointed the gun straight at me. He was shaking as he did it. That made me even more nervous, because I keep my gun loaded. And, before you say anything, hindsight is twenty/twenty, as you so often say. Besides, I never expected for that gun to be in anybody else’s hands but my own.”

“And that’s when he shot you?” I asked, anxiously.

“Man, pay attention. Your cousin didn’t actually shoot me. Per se. I guess,” he answered, vaguely.

“Well, you were shot, you know.” I was getting a bit tired of this game by then, as I’m sure you are too. (Fret not, friend, it’s almost over.)

“Duh. Let me finish. Anyway, as I stood there, with that gun pointing straight at me and with Sam sweating and shaking, I did what seemed like the logical thing to do. I pulled that old TV trick, the one where you slowly walk up to the person with the gun and calmly say, ‘You know you don’t want to do that. Just put the gun down slowly and place it on the dresser.’ I said this as I approached him, but he just stood there, frozen. Then I grabbed my gun and tried to wrench it from his hand. Still, he wouldn’t give it up. I’m not even sure he heard me talking to him. I can’t even begin to imagine what he was on. Truth be told, he looked completely zonked out. And that’s what really scared me, that I couldn’t rationalize with him.

“And then, the gun went off. I’m not sure if he pulled the trigger, or I, in my attempt to get the gun out of his hand, pushed his finger myself. I do know that everything after that went in slow motion. At least the gunshot had one good result, though; it woke Sam up from his stupor. As soon as realized what he’d done, he dropped the gun. Too little, too late, of course. With the blood pouring out of my chest and with Sam growing hysterical, I slowly and painfully dialed 911 and reported that I’d been shot. Then I told Sam to put everything back where he had found it and to get the hell out, fast. He complied, mechanically, and then ran out the door. Next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

“I’m sorry,” I sobbed, grabbing for his hand.

“Why? You didn’t shoot me.”

“But he’s my cousin, and… and…”

“And nothing. We blame Sam and no one else. Least, just between us, we admit that it was your cousin,” Sparkle said, looking me in the eyes so I knew he meant it.

“How come?” I asked, sitting back down. I was ready to call the cops right there and then, I mean. Cousin or not, he was a menace and should’ve been behind bars. At least that’s what I thought. Sparkle, suffice it to say, had a different take on it.

“Look,” he reasoned, “what good would it do? Fine, they arrest Sam. Then what? He goes to jail, where he becomes a hardened criminal? And you know your entire family will blame themselves. Not to mention, so will Peter. So why bother? I just don’t see what good can come from it. It was, for the most part, an accident. Sam never meant to shoot me. The best we can hope for is that this whole mess will make him realize that he needs help. At least, that’s what I would like to see happen. Do you think we can do that? Please?”

I had to think about it for a second, but I already knew that it would be useless to argue. If Sparkle didn’t want to press it, why should I? And so, that’s how we left it. Sparkle told the police that he answered the door, the robber pushed his way in, held a gun on him, and then robbed him. When the robber wasn’t paying attention, Sparkle made a rush for the gun, and the robber shot him. He gave the police a very nondescript description, and that was the end of it. The police, for their part, seemed like they couldn’t care less and, after a few weeks, we stopped hearing from them. Case over.

And with case over, my dear friend, so is this story. Sad? Gonna miss me? I think you will. Check back from time to time. Who knows what mischief will follow once Sparkle is fully recuperated? I do know this much, though: no more lies. Least not from me. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. Cross my heart and hope to… well, let’s not go that far. One near fatal death is all I can endure. Until then… oh, just forget what I said. We all know it will never work out that way. Just pray for me, okay? For us, I mean. Me and my whole crazy family, every last one of them.

.

If you enjoyed
Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love
, please check out my other novels:

Divas Las Vegas

Hot Lava

And my erotica collection:
Good & Hot

And feel free to visit my website for more on me, my work, and my life: www.therobrosen.com

Or drop me an email at: [email protected]

Much Love,

Rob

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