{"id":17194,"date":"2022-04-06T05:00:46","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T09:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/?p=17194"},"modified":"2022-08-03T13:09:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T17:09:43","slug":"boys-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/fiction\/boys-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Boys Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

The January 1955 Playboy<\/em> lays splayed open on the wonky display shelf. On Saturdays, the antique market opens early. The vendors claim the same patches of earth they have for the last decade. Thermoses full of black coffee, patrons begin to meander the market with mild, almost disinterested curiosity.<\/p>\n

The thing about Black Angus Flea Market is objects seldom move from their seats. Patrons come to expect the pleather arm chair in one corner and the worn fiberglass tiger stolen from some defunct mini golf course. They count on the rows of old coins in plastic Tupperware and the green army helmets from Vietnam lined up in rows. Thirteen-year-old Luke Hollis expects the pile of Playboy<\/em> magazines at the corner of Mr. Gallagher\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n

Luke and his mom pull up to the flea market in the rattling old blue jeep. She\u2019s exhausted and wishes her son wanted to sleep in on Saturdays instead of begging to be dropped off here. At least there aren\u2019t any drugs<\/em>, she thinks. Maybe he\u2019ll be a history professor<\/em>, she thinks before glancing at him. He\u2019s biting his fingernails down to the quick.<\/p>\n

October is still flirting summer this year. Her and Luke are dressed for two different seasons\u2014Luke in his jean shorts and wrinkled polo shirt and her in her leggings and knit shawl. She only put in one earring and could picture the other one where it waited at home on the sink. Sigh, it\u2019s not like anyone will see her here anyway.<\/p>\n

Luke is anxious to get going. He wants to check on all his magazines. They aren\u2019t really his he knows but he thinks of them as his. He\u2019s determined to save all his money from birthdays and holidays and very soon really truly make those babies his.<\/p>\n

You see, the old Playboys<\/em>, they don\u2019t just have sexy pictures. They were like classy. Ladies with doll-like skin and wavy cascading hair. Real pin-ups. Short stories and jokes and a poem or two.<\/p>\n

Luke loves the advertisements even in the old Playboys<\/em>. They aren\u2019t all big and flashy like ones in magazines you might find at a grocery store\u2014these ads are usually really artsy or just small little squares of text. He considers the ads as if he might purchase camel cigarettes or go to a variety hour in the village.<\/p>\n

He feels briefly above the other boys in his class who watch porn and then report back lists of titles to each other at lunch. Sometimes they\u2019ll tease Luke by asking him if he\u2019s seen Hot Lesbian Summertime<\/em> or Girls Takes the Biggest Dick<\/em>. He never knows what to say. If he says \u201chell yeah\u201d they\u2019ll laugh and if he says \u201cno\u201d they\u2019ll laugh. It\u2019s a trap either way.<\/p>\n

Luke imagines bringing one of these beautiful Playboys<\/em> to school and sitting reading it at the lunch table where he usually sits alone. Though sometimes, one boy, Kayden, will come and chat with Luke. Most days though Kayden sits with a bunch of girls. Kayden is probably gay, Luke thinks. Luke wishes he were gay. It might be easier. Then at least there would be some explanation. Maybe he is gay and just hasn\u2019t unlocked it yet.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Hollis tells Mr. Hollis \u201cI\u2019m worried about Luke\u201d often, which is her way of saying, \u201cI\u2019m startled by Luke\u2014I\u2019m afraid of Luke.\u201d She never wanted a son but she always knew she\u2019d have one. It seemed inevitable what with her husband. Was this her fault for liking manly men?<\/p>\n

Mr. Hollis was sweet though. A handyman of all trades employed now by a luxury apartment complex where he spent most of his afternoons screwing in lightbulbs for old ladies. Yes, as good a man as anyone could ask for. An anomaly. Nothing like Luke. Luke was so quiet you could never tell what he was thinking.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hollis always said, \u201cHe\u2019s just unique\u201d when Mrs. Hollis brought up her worries. Maybe she worried for nothing.<\/p>\n

They had met the weekend Mr. Hollis got back from his deployment and from there everything had happened so fast. How did Luke get to be ten years old? She eyes the wedding ring loose on her hand. Her skin is aging.<\/p>\n

\u201cBye,\u201d Luke says, unbuckling his seat belt and slithering out of his seat and out the door, slamming it a little too hard behind him. He\u2019s mad because she was a little late getting ready today. Rough night. She is still trying to think of an explanation as to why it had been so rough. Lots of tossing and turning. They should have had a brother for Luke they really should have. That might have helped even him out.<\/p>\n

Usually, Mrs. Hollis drives off and does grocery shopping now while Luke runs rampant through the market. He stopped letting her tag along with him about a year ago. He just said, \u201cMom do you mind if I walk alone?\u201d and then she felt weird about trying to keep a distance from her son. Why had she just caved and let him do that? In her mind at first though she configured the story differently, she said, he\u2019s growing up and maybe it would be good for him to learn how to navigate a place alone\u2014especially such a mundane and safe space full of mostly old dudes who wanted nothing more than to chat about their old trinkets. They were always enthralled to see a young person interested in old junk.<\/p>\n

Junk, that\u2019s exactly what all of it is. She kind of misses shifting through the junk. Her son is out of sight now so what would it matter if today was the day that she took an amble for herself? She had earned some junk. She could look for a pair of wine glasses or a fruit bowl or anything really. She could get into collecting something maybe. Or crafting. Some of her friends have started crafting though she\u2019s not sure exactly what she would craft.<\/p>\n

Luke approaches Mr. Gallagher\u2019s stand like he always does\u2014first he pretends to be looking at the comics. Mr. Gallagher specializes in a few different genres of refuse. He has beanie babies and comic books and Pez dispensers and National Geographic and some miscellaneous local stuff, then, of course, the Playboys<\/em> (right next to the comics).<\/p>\n

Patiently, Luke waits for Mr. Gallagher to notice him. Mr. Gallagher is always wearing the same blue jean cap and thick round glasses. He has suspenders on with a little checker-board pin on one of the straps. He\u2019s chatting to another man, Mr. Jones who runs the vinyl record pile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s my boy,\u201d Mr. Gallagher says. \u201cSo nice to see you Luke! How\u2019s school?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell enough,\u201d Luke says. He stands next to the two men about two foot shorter than them. He keeps his shoulders rolled back and posture straight. Dad tells him that\u2019s how to look more grown up if he wants to.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting good grades, I hope?\u201d Mr. Gallagher asks. One of three things every time. \u201cGetting good grades?\u201d \u201cBeing kind to your mother?\u201d and \u201cStaying out of trouble?\u201d Luke likes \u201cStaying out of trouble?\u201d best because he can answer most honestly. He really is out of trouble. Grades, well they\u2019re okay. Mom? He could do without her always looming over him. He knew he wasn\u2019t interesting or popular. He preferred to not be reminded of that. She looked at him with this eagerness\u2014like one day he might bloom into something. He hated that.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Luke says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I know what you\u2019re here for,\u201d Mr. Gallagher says with a nod and turns back to Mr. Jones to say, \u201cThe kid\u2019s going to be a collector someday. He loves the Playboys<\/em>\u2014now don\u2019t get worried. These are the old ones. These are classy. I don\u2019t keep any nasty stuff around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s art,\u201d Luke says, nodding.<\/p>\n

Mr. Jones is encouraging like most of the vendors are to Luke. \u201cWell that\u2019s great. Glad some kids care about learning about culture still.\u201d<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t any women to ruin this end of the market. All the women sit on the other end of the market selling necklaces and tea cups. This end there\u2019s just a bunch of guys talking about history and beauty and Luke is practically one of them.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Hollis looks at some necklaces laid out on doilies. Moon pendants and little stars. They\u2019re clearly cheap form overseas. Half the vendors here don\u2019t sell antiques, they just sell weird little items. Picking one up in her hand she thinks that if she knew any little girls it might be still kind of cute for one of them. She tires to imagine what on earth Luke is perusing here. Does he have money? No allowance but maybe John gives him money. She\u2019ll have to ask him about that. Not that it would be a problem. It wouldn\u2019t hurt for him to be into something.<\/p>\n

While telling herself \u201cI don\u2019t want to run into Luke\u201d she also wants to see her son just for confirmation that he\u2019s 1) actually hanging out at this market and 2) that he\u2019s not doing anything bad. She can\u2019t think of anything \u201cbad\u201d specific until she crafts a story where he\u2019s been hanging out with the WWII memorabilia guys and he\u2019s super into joining the military. Why does that scare her? After all, John was in the military. Yes, but he wasn\u2019t INTO it. He was just poor.<\/p>\n

After about thirty minutes of drifting from aisle to aisle, hands folded in front of her like an altar server, she hears a glimpse of his soft chimera boy-teenager voice. She freezes, scanning the aisles. She should have gone grocery shopping, she thinks. She has to go anyway. Who was she kidding? She wanted to spy on him\u2014she wanted to see what he was up to.<\/p>\n

Slowly, she peers around until she does see the top of his head. She slips down the aisle to move onto the next one where she has a clear albeit distant sight of Luke. A comic book stand? Well that\u2019s pretty sweet actually. Look at him just reading one. That calms her nerves a bit. She decides to just glimpse a minute or two longer.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hollis didn\u2019t hear but Luke is saying, \u201cI\u2019m going to buy this one soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre ya? You know that\u2019s a real treasure,\u201d Mr. Jones says half to Luke and half to Mr. Gallagher.<\/p>\n

Luke is sitting on the floor of the stand with the magazine sprawled out on his lap. He\u2019s read this before. He\u2019s read all twenty-six of the Playboys<\/em> Mr. Gallagher has. Mr. Gallagher shrugs, \u201cYou know I don\u2019t collective those for real\u2014I got them for free. My dad had em\u2019 in his house when he died and you know I just thought they were something to put out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Jones leans in so Luke can\u2019t hear, \u201cIf they were mine I\u2019d sell them online\u2014you could sell them instantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook. The kid likes them. I\u2019ll sell them to him when he gets close enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI should be a kid so I can get half price,\u201d Mr. Jones jokes.<\/p>\n

Mr. Gallagher says, \u201cLook. He probably won\u2019t even get them. Kids go through phases and I\u2019ve promised myself if someone comes by actually looking to buy them. I\u2019ll sell but you know, that hasn\u2019t happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke had the centerfold open. Bettie Page\u2019s thick cascading hair. The queen of pin-ups. Sometimes on the home computer Luke will Google more about her. He knows just about everything there is to know about the magazines and the girls in them. Luke knows he\u2019s too young for a whole woman like Bettie but he thinks maybe someday. Would he like to take pictures of her? Would that be weird? Is that creepy to think about asking a girl to pose for you\u2014telling her yes move your arm just like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWoah woah woah,\u201d A man in a polo shirt and grey sweat pants says from behind Luke. \u201cWoah sweet Jesus.\u201d He looks up to Mr. Gallagher. \u201cYou see this kid?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah that\u2019s Luke\u2014he\u2019s my guy. Can I help you?\u201d Mr. Gallagher says kindly.<\/p>\n

The man appears baffled. \u201cYou\u2019re letting this kid touch THAT. You know the value is going down every second he has his grubby hands on it. You know that\u2019s rare?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWoah woah\u2014it\u2019s just a magazine,\u201d Mr. Jones says.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Hollis now sees her son is holding a Playboy<\/em> magazine. She blinks. He comes here to look at that? How could he find something like that here? What was he looking at? She feels real life has twisted away from her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell listen, I can take it off your hands,\u201d the man says. \u201cIn cash, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a pause. Everyone is surveying each other. Luke folds the magazine closed. He feels desperate. He doesn\u2019t have the money yet so he doesn\u2019t even really have anything he can offer. He hates this guy. This guy is just like boys at school but grown up. All they want is to look at naked girls online. They don\u2019t care about taste at all and this guy just cares about money which is just as bad as only caring about naked girls. Luke feels like he\u2019s rescuing the magazine. This is HIS magazine.<\/p>\n

Mr. Jones looks at Mr. Gallagher who glances at Luke and then the man and sighs. He lets a beat pass and all the while Luke clamps down tighter on the magazine. He wants to believe Mr. Gallagher will back him up but he\u2019s not sure if he will.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have cash?\u201d Mr. Jones asks the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes\u2014right here. I have to look at the magazine\u2014inspect it first but I promise I\u2019ll give you cash if it is what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke stands up. Should he run? None of them would catch up to him but this was worth a lot of money. They\u2019d probably send cops for him. What else? What else? \u201cOkay well what about we\u2026\u201d his eyes dart around for an idea and he sees a penny on the floor of the market\u2026 \u201cWe can flip a coin to see who can get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Jones scowls at Mr. Gallagher who shrugs and says, \u201cI have to give him a chance. Come on, look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke doesn\u2019t remind Mr. Gallagher of any kid he\u2019s ever seen before. His own sons went through a phase or two of being into his junk but they\u2019d all (rightfully) grown up\u2014still none of them were invested like Luke was.<\/p>\n

Mr. Gallagher arbitrates. \u201cOkay now you can\u2019t just have the magazine. If you win the flip you can put it away on layaway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Jones adds, \u201cUsually layaway means paying something upfront.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke considers something else. He could destroy it\u2014if he ripped the magazine the value would probably deteriorate. He could refurbish it himself and sure Mr. Gallagher wouldn\u2019t trust him but at least this asshole wouldn\u2019t have it and just sell it away for it to float from collector to collector to collector\u2014never finding a resting place.<\/p>\n

All this time, Mrs. Hollis is waffling. Should she just go back to the car? Is this the kind of thing she should\u2014could talk to her son about?<\/p>\n

The man laughs and says, \u201cOkay yeah whatever a coin flip. I don\u2019t need the thing\u2014I could just sell it high. I\u2019ll take my chances and you sir,\u201d he said to Mr. Gallagher, \u201care absolutely insane for passing up CASH for this kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Gallagher thought of all the afternoons Luke would toss him questions about all the different items in his shop. That\u2019s all a man wants after all, isn\u2019t it? Someone to believe everything he owns is magnificent and valuable no matter how minuscule it is.<\/p>\n

Laying a quarter on the table, Mr. Jones says, \u201cWell go on and flip it,\u201d to Mr. Gallagher who regrets this whole situation. He shouldn\u2019t have lied to Luke\u2014he should have sold those a long time ago instead of stringing him along. A part of him really believed this kid would come up with the money\u2014that\u2019s how much he seemed to love these magazines.<\/p>\n

\u201cCall it in the air,\u201d Mr. Gallagher says to the man.<\/p>\n

Everyone holds their breath as the coin twirls up, the little Washington portrait back flipping up and then coming down.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeads,\u201d the man shouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cTails then,\u201d Luke breathes.<\/p>\n

The coin falls in front of Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Jones. Both men see it. Tails. Mr. Gallagher scoops the coin from the table and says, \u201cHeads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone is quiet.<\/p>\n

Now only standing at the next stall over, Mrs. Hollis wants to walk over and snap the magazine from her son\u2019s hands. Is this the kind of things men do together? Get her son\u2019s hopes up about a dirt magazine? This was the kind of thing she wasn\u2019t going to tell John. No, this was between them.<\/p>\n

In the centerfold Bettie Page poses. Arms behind her head\u2014breasts bold and forward. Whip in hand. The lacey domes of her bra. You can see the silky sheen of her panties. Her bold red lip. Her body severed in half in one decisive instant. Dismembered. Two halves of the magazine.<\/p>\n

Luke, hands quivering\u2014the carcass in his sweaty palms. He stands, unsure if he should run or cover his head, turning the other direction, there, his mom, a petrified look blasted across her face. Her flushed cheeks. She takes a half step back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She should have gone grocery shopping, she thinks. She has to go anyway. Who was she kidding? She wanted to spy on him\u2014she wanted to see what he was up to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":17198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2715],"class_list":["post-17194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","tag-playboy","writer-robin-gow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17200,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17194\/revisions\/17200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}