Planet Purgatory Read Online Free

could grow things like pumpkins and squashes, at least consistently. I had an apple orchard as well. For most folks outside Harkness, the closest they got to dessert was some jam on toast, and maybe some marmalade. Out here, a piece of pumpkin pie was gold.
    The Scavenger had just picked up his fork when Rosie appeared, looking first at his slice of pie before staring menacingly into his face.
    “She wants your pie,” I explained.
    Rosie had a sweet tooth, the likes of which I’d never encountered in a dog before. She loved any kind of dessert, but there was something about pumpkin pie that brought the animal out in her. More than once she’d forced her way into my parents’ trailer, breaking not only the door, but dishes and cups as well, all to get to my mother’s latest sugary creation.
    The Scavenger tried to laugh it off, but there reached a point when her staring became too much. “Go on! Get out of here!” he barked.
    But Rosie would not be deterred, staring into his face while he picked up a broken branch from the ground, brandishing it like he meant to strike her. “I’m serious! Call off your dog!”
    “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I said, half-smiling.
    “David, quit being a jackass and get her out of here!” scolded my dad, kicking her with his boot.
    Part of me was hoping he would hit her with the branch. Instead I took a swig of chikka, and patted my thigh. “Come, on, Rosie. Leave the poor man alone.”
    Giving the Scavenger one final, pointed stare, Rosie-dog came and sat beside me, whereupon I threw her a piece of my own pumpkin pie.
    The Scavenger returned to his seat, regarding the both of us with red-cheeked irritation.
    “That’s one badly trained animal,” he muttered.
    I threw Rosie another piece of my pie.
    “ You should be eating that, not the dog,” said my mother, crossly. “Look how skinny you are. It’s not healthy.” To emphasize her point, she cut me another piece of pie, placing it in front me with a firmness I’d learned not to defy.
    It was then that I sensed someone behind me. Laurie Crawford. She stood there, wrapped in a green felt blanket, raven hair spilling over her shoulders.
    “Hello, David,” she said.
    I nodded, and proceeded to cut myself another forkful of pumpkin pie. I knew why she was there, and after a few more for mouthfuls of pie, I disappeared into my parents’ trailer, returning with an unopened bottle of cider.
    “Is it all right if I pay you half now, and the other half later?” she asked.
    “Don’t worry about it,” I said, returning to my seat. She was older than me, by several years, but she had the most beautiful eyes, and I’d taken to avoiding looking at them in case I started to stare.
    “Would you like some pumpkin pie, Laurie, dear?” my mother asked.
    I could feel Laurie watching me, and after several moments of silence she quietly announced she had something to attend to at her own campfire.
    The Scavenger practically exploded with surprise. “My God, man! Didn’t you notice how she was looking at you? Why didn’t you ask her to sit down?”
    I shrugged, and lit myself a cigarette, preparing for the inevitable pile-on from my mother.
    “I know! Every day I ask him, ‘Davey, why don’t you talk to her?’ It’s obvious she likes you. Yet you ignore her. It’s so rude!”
    “I know I wouldn’t be passing that up,” said the Scavenger.
    “I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” my mother continued. “I’m not going to be around forever. And then who will look after you, hmm?”
    “Yeah, another woman in my life. That’s the last thing I need …”
    “You’re wrong, Davey! Look at you! You’re falling apart. You need someone to love you.”
    “I’ve been married twice, Mummy. It doesn’t work. Not with the farm. You know that better than anyone.”
    While my mother muttered to herself cleaning away the bowls and plates, the Scavenger took a silver lighter out of his breast pocket and lit