Joey Defalco’s father had prepared the love portion for him to use on Clark Bent by the next weekend, as promised. The portion was in the same type of bottle genies come out of in fantasy movies. It was a blood colored liquid and the Houngan told Joey Defalco to put it in Clark Bent’s drink. Joey Defalco made plans to go camping with Clark Bent that same weekend and he felt anxious in anticipating the moment he would cast the love spell on him.
He remembered when he became sick when he was just seven years old, that his mother—who believed that he fell ill because he was under some evil spell of the local Houngan—who had been a friend of his family—for making fun of him. You see, the Houngan had these weird lips, his upper lip was much shorter than the lower and looked like as if it was turned inside out; causing his front teeth to be permanently exposed. One day while he was running by, then 8 year old Joey Defalco—who was sitting on his front porch with cohorts he wanted to impress—called out, “Hey, it’s the man with the weird lips!” And all the kids cried out “Oooooohhhh…” and fell into a hush out of fear and shock that Joey Defalco would dare insult the most feared man in the neighborhood. The Houngan looked over at Joey Defalco and said “Oke Ti pi tit mwouin,” which is creole for “O.k. my son.” Feeling consumed by fear and regret, Joey Defalco confided in his dad about what the Houngan said and to his horror, his dad told him that when the Houngan used the words “My son” that meant quite literally that he now posessed Joey Defalco’s soul. And so later that day, his dad went to the Houngan and asked for a pardon for his son and to his relief, the pardon was granted.
Clark Bent picked up Joey Defalco for the camping trip on a Sunday afternoon at sun set. Some storm clouds were gathering in the mostly blue skies and the birds were scurrying around and chirping very loudly. Once Clark Bent reached the highway and with his eyes still on the road, he reached over for Joey Defalco’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze before letting go and putting his hand back on the wheel. Joey Defalco felt a rush of guilt and pleasure; the guilt due to his pending sorcerer like trick on Clark Bent. Fearing that his eyes would give him away, he looked away from Clark Bent to stare out the window and out into the open fields of deep green trees. His thoughts were flashing by as fast as the trees themselves. He started thinking about how he would execute his plan. In order to mask the potion, he brought the ingredients to make “sex on the beach,” a drink that is already reddish in color.
Later, that evening, they sat by the fire roasting marshmallows and Joey Defalco decided to break the silence and engage Clark Bent in conversation.
“So…how does it feel to be married?” He asked with his eyes transfixed on the flickering of the yellowish orange fire, which had an occasional tinge of blue and created shadows that danced around their mysterious surroundings.
“It’s alright, I guess. It’s a little different than what I expected,” said Clark Bent as he too stared into the fire.
“Well what did you expect?” Joey Defalco looked over at Clark Bent with furrowed brows.
“I suppose I thought that the honeymoon stage would last at least five years or so. But as it turned out, it’s more like five months. Maybe we shoulda waited on having the kid and all.”
They were surrounded by night, shadows, and the sounds of crickets chirping, which combined to accentuate nature’s presence. He looked up to see the moon hovering seemingly directly over Clark Bent’s head creating the illusion of a halo. He opened his mouth to say something to Clark Bent but then changed his mind, not wanting to spoil the moment by making some silly nelly emotional confession. He then began to take furtive glances at Clark Bent until he could no longer help himself and just surrendered to completely ogling him. Clark Bent still staring at the fire began to say “I…I…” but could not complete his sentence. Joey Defalco was starting to feel antsy as he began to think about how he was going to taint Clark Bent’s drink. He almost changed his mind when he looked over and saw how angelic Clark Bent looked as the firelight gleamed off his face, almost making him look like a glowing half smiling Halloween pumpkin. But then he thought, “I’ve come this far, I might as well go through with it.”
“Would you care to have a drink with me before we go to bed?”
“Sure, I don’t see why not.” And so Joey Defalco began to pour the drinks with his back to Clark Bent. He pulled the portion in a stealthy fashion and quickly poured it in Clark Bent’s drink. He then turned around with a smile on his face and said, “There you are. Just what the doctor ordered.” He poured his drink and joined Clark Bent in a toast. “To a long friendship and a long life,” said Joey Defalco as Clark Bent nodded “Dido.” Except for Clark Bent, his life would soon come to a gruesome end.
That night, they laid together in complete silence, both pretending to sleep by keeping their eyes closed, but their thoughts were running amuck. What Clark Bent wasn’t saying to Joey Defalco was: “I don’t know nor do I understand what’s going on here. I have these feelings for you, but yet I’m not gay. Even though we’re going through a rough time right now, I love my wife and I’m not about to leave her for an uncertain future with you as some type of gay couple. But yet, I’ve fallen in love you. So what am I gonna do? This whole thing is so fucking confusing!”
What Joey Defalco was not saying to Clark Bent was: “I love you with all my heart and I’m convinced you love me too. I know you think you’re straight, but you’re not. I can tell by the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking, by the way you touch me and run your finger gently over my face, lips and down to my belly button, which you just love to play with. I know we have not gone all the way, but it’s just a matter of time before you come to your senses.”
About a week after that night, Clark Bent began to show signs that the portion was working. He began to spend every day with Joey Defalco and hardly ever went home to his wife after work. Delfina located Joey Defalco’s phone number in Clark Bent’s cell phone and began calling him and demanding that he tell Clark Bent to come home to her. But Joey Defalco would just roll his eyes, mutter “Crazy Bitch” and just hang up on her.
Clark Bent even began to go all the way with Joey Defalco, sometimes four to five times a day. Clark Bent just couldn’t seem to keep his hands off Joey Defalco. Sometimes, he would be cooking dinner, and Clark Bent would sneak up on him from behind, while the next door neighbors would start banging on the walls. Little did he knew, that Clark Bent’s excessive attention would eventually drive him to commit murder.
To Be Continued…
Jacques Fleury is a Poet, Author and Columnist; his book “Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir” about life in Haiti & America was featured in the Boston Globe. Sample or buy the book at: www.lulu.com. 20% of proceeds will go to Haiti charity Partners in Health. For personal appearances or comments contact Jacques at: haitianfirefly@gmail.com.
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