Paul de Denus

First Thing In The Morning

Lieutenant asks if he wants a smoke but the man acts like he don’t understand or nothin’, him in a kinda daze and all. Lieutenant then puts two fingers together like a gun to his mustachioed lips and blows wildly into the air like he’s blowin’ out birthday candles and some of the boys snicker. The fella’ just stands there lookin’ over the Lieutenant’s shoulder, staring at us shivering in the cold, searching our faces as if he knows some of us but I guess he don’t. Christ, it’s cold as hell and all I want is to get back to my tent for some hot food and blankets. That fella’ don’t seem to be shivering at all though he should be; don’t know what he done but it must have been bad to deserve this. The sun’s on the ridge and I’m thinkin’, get that goddamn blindfold tied so we kin get on with it.

CP

Paul de Denus publishes excerpts from the novels he’s never written. That was one of them. He lives in Florida with his wife and son.