The Disillusionists cont'd...

May and her father burst into the room, giggling. "Stop it dad!"

"What's the matter? I too old for ya?" he said and they both laughed so hard they nearly peed their pants. I stood up and offered my hand like a dope. When May's dad stopped laughing he looked at my up and down and said, "Where'd ya find this guy?"

"Daddy." Admonished May.

"Buck, this is Gunther." said Gracie.

"Gunther. You some kinda Nazzi son-of-a-bitch?" he said, clamping a paw on mine and shaking it like he was gonna tear it off - smiling all the time though.

"Uh, hell no Sir... I'm sorry did you say Buck?"

"Yessir. You can call me Buck-head if you wany, I don't care."

"That's what his friends call him." Said Gracie.

The three of them formed a wall of eyes until I agreed, "Well, okay. Buck-head."

"Ah-ha-ha-haa!" they all laughed. It seemed to be some kind of welcoming ritual that had evolved in the house and I had walked right into it.

"Gets 'em every time!" laughed Buck, clapping me on the back.

"I'm sorry Grunter," snorted May, "but you'd be surprised how often that works."

"Did you say Grunter?" asked Buck.

"Uh, yeah..." said May.

"Ah-hha-ha-haa..." Buck was laughing again, "Sit down there Grunter, let me get you a beer."

"Thanks."

Buck went over to the fridge, opened it and stuck his enormous back-side out while he rummaged around in the leftovers for a cold one, "Remember that one guy..." he stood up and passed a bottle to me and mimmed offering one to the ladies, who declined. He scratched his head with a massive, disfigured from work knuckle, "I don't know, Bill or something."

"Just about passed out," laughed Gracie. May looked apologetically at me, "We'd smoked a joint on the way out."

"Oh honey, you're not doing that anymore..."

"No Mom. Not any more."

"Shit." Said Buck, "I was hopin' you could hook me up." Everyone then resumed laughing their heads off. Until then, I didn't know that May's parents were white. It had never occurred to me that she might have been adopted but then, why should she have mentioned it? I didn't really know much about her at all.