We got to try it. We don’t have any choice. It’s late.
They put the horse forward again and turned up the old track. She had sweated and dried and sweated again and they let her take her time moving back toward the house where it was all dark except for that single yardlight, shining from a high lightpole. When they rode into the drive the old dog came barking out of the garage, standing on stiff legs in the gravel. They dismounted and tied Easter to one of the hogfencing posts, and as they did this the dog came up and sniffed at them and seemed to recognize them and licked their hands, and then they went in through the wire gate up to the house and climbed the steps to the porch and stood knocking. After a while a light came on in the kitchen. Then somebody was at the door: a girl in her nightgown. They didn’t know who she was. They thought they must in some way have come to the wrong house. The girl looked heavy and misshapen, like there was something wrong with her; she was holding herself under the front, the soft material of her gown pulled tight over her enormous stomach. They realized that they had seen her before in town, but had no idea what her name might be, and they were about to turn and leave without saying anything at all to her, when the McPheron brothers appeared behind her in the door.
Well, what in the goddamn? Harold said. What’s this?
What have we got here? Raymond said. Guthrie boys?
The two old men were wearing their flannel striped pajamas, their short stiff hair standing up like wire brushes. They had already been asleep.
Yes sir, Ike said.
Well goddamn, boys, Harold said, come in, come in. What are you doing? Is that your horse out there?
Yes sir.
You rode out here?
Yes sir.
Who else you got with you? Is your dad with you?
Nobody. Just us.
Well damn, boys, that’s a pretty good ride. Are you boys lost?
No sir.
You just decided to take yourself a horseback ride of a Sunday evening. Is that it?
We thought we’d come out here to see you, Bobby said.
You did? he said. Well. He looked at them, studying their quiet serious faces. But is there something in particular you had in mind you wanted to see us about?
No.
Nothing in particular. Is that so? Well then. That’ll have to do, I reckon. I guess you better come on in, what do you think?
Is our horse going to be all right out there? Ike said.
Is she tied up pretty good, so she won’t run off?
Yes sir.
She’ll be all right then, I expect. We’ll look at her in a little bit.
She got sweaty coming on the highway and again on the road.
I see that. We’ll wipe her down after a while. You come on in here now.
So they entered and immediately the kitchen seemed very warm and brightly lighted after being out in the dark. They stood beside the table, not knowing what to do now that they had arrived.
Now for the first time the girl said something. Would you like to sit down? she said. Her voice sounded kindly. They looked at her, and in the light they could see that she was a high school girl, not so much older than themselves, but she was so big in front. They knew enough to know that she was carrying a baby, though it made them uncomfortable to look at her. Wordlessly they pulled out two chairs and sat down.
You must be tired, she said. Have you eaten anything? I bet you’re hungry, aren’t you.
We had something to eat a while ago, Ike said.
When was that?
A while earlier, he said. We had something at lunch.