Chapter 70

It was the best day of his life. The idea came suddenly, and once he thought of it, he acted immediately.

His father had come home the night before. He was a day early. His mother was drunk. In all of the things she shouted at him and he shouted at her, the one that stuck with him was, “I don’t need you. You’re never here anyway. I wish you were dead so I could live off that insurance policy you’re so proud of.”

They were both hung over the next morning, and he knew they would sleep until at least nine. He was up early, very early.

It was easy to light the cigarette and drop it on the bed. He was a little surprised to see how close together they slept, but that left him plenty of room to get the fire started. He and Buster once played with his mother’s hair spray and a match, so he expected the flames to spread quickly once they neared her hair. And they did.

It was the best day of his life when he went to live with Uncle Morris and Aunt Eunice. And the insurance money made them all very, very rich.

Rich enough for him to work or not. When his aunt and uncle died, he was rich enough to buy this resort. He couldn’t believe it when he saw the ad. A family resort was for sale. He couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect scenario for his life’s work.