Free Dead Dog in the Still of the Night by Archimede Fusillo

the back this morning.’ He slapped the steering wheel lightly. ‘So, where to, paesan ?’
    ‘The garden out front of the Home could do with a little nutrition,’ Primo answered. ‘Those roses are looking pretty ordinary.’
    ‘That is just so totally screwed, Prims,’ Tone roared with delight. ‘But why not, eh? Why not!’

    By the time Primo got home his father was asleep, his mother absorbed with cutting the pattern for a wedding dress she was sewing for a family friend’s daughter, and Adrian was nowhere to be seen.
    It suited Primo to have the house to himself. He was tired and felt grubby from his share of the digging.
    He was under the shower when the door opened.
    ‘Occupied!’ he called out. ‘Can’t you hear the water running?’
    ‘So, did you talk to Tone about my problem?’ Adrian came in and closed the door.
    ‘I’m taking a shower,’ Primo said. ‘Piss off.’
    ‘I’ve seen you naked before, dickhead,’ his brother answered and leant back against the basin. ‘I’m serious, Primo. I made a mistake is all. Doesn’t mean I have to lose my family over it, does it?’
    Under the hot water Primo shut his eyes and turned his face to the powerful stream.
    You’ve lived your life making mistakes, Primo thought. Getting married at twenty-one while still studying, with no real career prospects. Like, that was the move of a mental genius.
    ‘Go away, Ad,’ he said. ‘You need to go away somewhere and just get your head together.’
    Primo heard the sound of bottles being moved and Adrian whining on. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eye sockets and, as he had done so many times as a little kid when his parents had argued in front of him, he started to hum in an effort to drown out his brother’s voice.
    But it was no use. Adrian banged on the shower screen and waited until Primo opened his eyes and turned the water off.
    Primo felt simultaneously ridiculous and vulnerable as he reached for his towel.
    Adrian started juggling two aftershave bottles unsteadily.
    ‘It was all just a misunderstanding,’ he said. ‘I swore I’d never do what Dad did ...’ He stopped suddenly.
    Primo looked at his brother. Their eyes met momentarily.
    ‘Crystal’s going to ruin my life,’ Adrian whispered and slapped one of the bottles on the vanity. ‘Tell Tone that we all know his family knows people, Primo. You tell Tone he has to help out a mate. Tell him I just need someone to talk some sense into the bitch. She won’t listen to me, you know.’ He hesitated. ‘I’m not going to let it happen again. A woman screwing up my life. This needs to be taken care of, Prims.’
    The air between the two brothers was suddenly edged with threat.
    Primo swallowed. As he watched his brother replace the remaining bottle, Primo realised that something significant had shifted in their relationship. For the first time in their lives, Adrian needed him and not the other way around. Some vague notion fiddled at the back of his mind.
    ‘Yeah, I’ve spoken to Tone,’ he replied.
    ‘And?’
    Primo hesitated. ‘And ...’ The words picked their own course. ‘And he reckons for a grand they can set something up to warn her away.’
    ‘A thousand dollars? Are you sure?’
    Primo nodded and reached for a second towel. He didn’t meet his brother’s probing stare.
    ‘I don’t want any physical stuff,’ Adrian said effusively. ‘Just a warning. Tone’s clear on that, yeah? His old man has been known to get carried away.’
    Primo wrapped his head in the towel and nodded. What do you know, big brother? he thought. Nothing except what you’ve heard, and that’s mostly crap.
    ‘A grand?’ Adrian asked again.
    ‘Maybe a bit more,’ Primo added with conviction. ‘Two, tops.’
    Primo stopped talking. Waiting while the fish circled the bait.
    Finally Adrian punched Primo playfully on the chest. ‘You’re not a kid anymore, are you?’ he said almost admiringly. ‘You and Tone both, eh.’
    When his