Please, Mama, his mind cried, please don't tell Daddy what I did.
There was a droning, indistinct murmur.
Dad burst, "He was doing what?"
More murmuring.
"I can't believe it. You really saw him?... I'll be damned."
Ronnie silently closed the bedroom door.
Why did you tell him, Mama? Why did you have to tell him?
"Ronnie!" Dad called.
Ronnie held his breath. His legs seemed as numb and nerveless as the stumps of dead trees.
"Ronnie! Come down here!"