with the family. When Buck was around I could usually tear him away from his books for a short time at least and go fishin’ or walkin’, but I didn’t even have that when he left. It was nothin’ but work, sleep, work.

It warn’t much a surprise then that I got real excited when Buck’s old folks told me he’d be comin’ into town for the summer. They said his “skullership” didn’t cover the costs of livin’ in Birmingham over the summer, and they’d be hot-damned if they was gonna pay for him to stay in the expensive big city. I nearly jumped out of my skin whenever I thought ‘bout Buck comin’ back home. I kept thinkin’ ‘bout what he’d tell me the big city was like, ‘cause I’d never been before. I’d barely even left the farm. We didn’t have but one truck that was my diddy’s, but he forbid takin’ it out any more than it needed to be, meanin’ that it rarely left the farm. My diddy didn’t go to Birmingham but once in his life, and he talked ‘bout how evil those people was. He called it a lake of fire full of sinners.

I was right certain that Buck was no sinner, though. He was a straight shooter his whole life. Most he ever done was swear and feel up a girl once. “Maybe the big city has changed him,” I thought to myself. I know I sure hoped he didn’t wanna keep his nose in a book all gosh-derned summer!

It was ‘bout a week after I talked to Buck’s folks that he showed up in the flesh. I was working on the transmission in my diddy’s Chevy Fleetside when I heard him a-hootin’ and a-hollerin’ like a hyena. I turned around and he was runnin’ right at me, waving his arms in the air and skippin’ on the ground. He was going purty fast when he crashed into me, and we both fell down into the grass, him on top of me.

“Well I’ll be got-dernt if it ain’t Rusty!” Buck said to me, nearly out of breath. “I’ve been missin’ you boy, missin’ you a lot.”

“I missed you to, college boy,” I told him with a laugh. He was still on top of me, but I warn’t gonna be particular ‘bout it, so I just let him be. I hadn’t seen him so down-right amicable since we was young’uns.

“I missed you so dern much I could give you a kiss, Rusty! Wontcha gimme a kiss?” He puckered up his lips real playful like and landed a wet one on my forehead, slobberin’ all over me.

“Eww, you funny or somethin’!” I said pushin’ him away, but wishin’ I could wrap my arms around him and return the kiss. I didn’t want him to think that I liked it or nothin’, in case he was just playin’ around like he liked to do sometimes. “What they teach you at that college, how to kiss boys?”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, grinnin’. I wished he warn’t just playin’ around.

He got up off me and stood up,