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This writing was accepted for publication in the 84 page perfect-bound issue... Down in the Dirt magazine (v079) (the February 2010 Issue) This is also available from our printer as a a $7.47 paperback book (5.5" x 8.5") perfect-bound w/ b&w pages

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ROOK

Dustin Naughton

Rook1

It’s 2am, Shaun strides out of Stan’s pub
He’s sober, much to everyone surprise
Gets into his pick-up, swings the ignition
Contemplating Matilda’s call
‘I’m gonna be a daddy today!’

The pick-up idles for a while
Shaun gathers his thoughts
Even though no one can see it
He’s still smiling ear to ear
‘I sure hope it’s a girl’

Pulling out of the parking lot
Shaun lights up a smoke
He’s never felt this way before
The joy is over whelming
‘I’m gonna clean up my act’

Tears are welling in his eyes
So many years wasted
Working without a goal
Finally something to live for
‘I’ll never drink again’

Shaun turns on to the main rd
The street lights are out so it’s dark
He switches to high beams
Then turns on the radio
‘I wonder if she’ll look like me.’

The road to Vanderbijl is long
He’s too excited to dose
Thinking of all the good times
The two of them will have
‘She’d better look like me,
Or her mammas in trouble’

Shaun keeps to the speed limit
There isn’t a car in sight
He doesn’t feel alone though
Thoughts filled with her
‘I’m gonna give her everything,
Everything I never had’

Def leopard are on the radio
Shaun’s too occupied to notice
Thoughts of what to name her
Swimming through his head
One name springs to mind
‘Cheyenne is a beautiful name’

Red break light loom in the distance
Shaun slows the pick-up down
Too dark to judge the distance
Can’t even see what it is
‘I wonder if she’ll like fishing’

Suddenly it looms before him
Like a pitch black monolith
Ready to suck him in
Shaun slams on breaks
In time to miss the truck
‘That was a close one Cheyenne!’

The road is still quiet
Save for the beast in-front
Shaun peers down the side
To make sure it’s safe to pass
‘I just need to get to the hospital
In one piece my baby’

He drifts to the right
Begins to overtake
He is halfway past the truck
BANG!
Shaun’s van begins to shudder
Then veers toward the truck
‘I’m sorry Cheyenne....’

Rook 2

Its 3am, the phone is ringing
The nights a visceral black
I reach over the night stand
And answer, ‘yes... who is this?’
‘Its dad son....I have bad news’

Sitting up I light a cigarette
‘What is it dad?’
What could be that important,
That he should wake me up at this hour?
‘It’s Shaun son, there’s been an accident’

Not yet with it, I shake my head
‘Is he ok dad, what did the doc say?’
There is a long pause
And then
‘No son, he didn’t make it, he’s gone’

I can feel the wind knocked-
Out of my chest
My body begins to shake
First shock, then disbelief
‘When dad? How?

Michelle my wife moves next to me
Puts her arm around my waist
She hasn’t heard what father said
But she knows there’s something wrong
‘Dusty what’s the matter?
Who is it?’

I’m not ready to answer
I’ll begin to cry if I do
‘Just give me a moment love’
Father continues
‘He had a blow out son,
Pulled under the truck’

I can no longer hold my composure
Tears streaming from my eyes
The phone drops from my hand
I begin to truly cry
‘My Rook is gone’

Like an older brother
Shaun always cared for me
Extremely positive, full of fun
Never a dull moment
With my best friend Rook 1
‘Oh love I’m going to miss him’

It’s the morning of the funeral
We’re on our way to the church
Michelle is holding my hand
Comforting me
She squeezes my hand and smiles
‘Tell me why you call him Rook?’

Surprised by the question
I take a moment to think
The answer brings a smile
‘As children we loved to play chess,
He was Rook 1 and I was Rook 2’

We’re at the church yard now
I see Shaun’s wife Matilda
We’ve never even met
She’s cradling his new born baby
Gently in her arms
‘I wonder what she named her.’

I gather up my wits
As I walk up to her
‘Hi there, I’m Dustin, Shaun’s cousin’
‘Ah, Rook 2, he told me all about you’
It’s then that I look down
Into the most beautiful blue eyes
The spitting-image of Shaun
‘Oh Dustin, meet our darling Cheyenne’

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