The two kids hardly fit onto the bed. To give them more room, Joseph arranged the little boy with his head at the foot of the bed and the fat one lying in the opposite direction. He secured their hands to the bars of the brass frame while Samantha watched, making sure neither tried anything sneaky.
Since waking up, the little one hadn't said anything. He wouldn't even look at Samantha, instead turning his head away anytime she glanced at him. She felt bad for the kid, having his heart broken under the benches, but what did he expect? Did he really think she'd give up a strong, gorgeous man like Joseph for a shrimp like him?
The fat one had slept the entire way over, her snoring enough to drive Samantha crazy. She and Joseph spent the ride back to his father's house trying to find a good description for the snoring. "It's like a chainsaw," Joseph said. "A rusty chainsaw from about fifty years ago."
"It's like a waterfall. Maybe Niagara Falls," Samantha said. She couldn't remember having ever been to Niagara Falls, but she had the vague image of solid walls of water crashing down like an avalanche.
They settled on a pregnant sow with asthma. Now that the fat girl lay on the bed, Samantha could picture the fat girl with a snout and curly tail, a bunch of piglets sucking at her teats. Samantha giggled at this image and then reached over to push up the fat girl's nose and make oinking sounds. Joseph laughed at this while the little one spoke for the first time. "Samantha, she's your friend. How can you do that?"
"I'm just having some fun with her," Samantha said.
"What happened to you? I want the old Samantha back."
"You mean the ugly Samantha? The one with pimples and big ears and homemade clothes? She's never coming back. Never!"
"You're uglier now," the little one said.
Joseph slapped him across the face hard enough to make the little boy's nose bleed. "Watch your mouth," Joseph said.
Samantha let go of the fat one's nose to massage Joseph's shoulders. "Leave him alone. He's jealous because he's a sissy and you're my big strong man." She kissed him on the neck, the little one squirming at this. "Let's get out of here. We can get across the state line by morning."
"We're not going anywhere," Joseph said. "We can't leave them like this. They could escape."
"What are you going to do then? You aren't going to hurt them, are you?"
"No, of course not, baby," Joseph said. "I'm going to give them what I gave my dad. By the time they wake up, we'll be gone. Go downstairs and watch TV while I take care of this."