Fire Shut Up in My Bones

During the brutally hot and bug-infested summers, the Blow household hosts frequent visits from extended family. One summer, his cousin Chester—the son of his Uncle Henry who is imprisoned in Fort Leavenworth for crimes committed during his military service—comes for a visit. Henry is a charming rascal, drifting in and out of relationships like a character in a blues song. Chester takes after his father with an “impish smile full of subtlety and mischief […] that made people believe things they shouldn’t” (64). A few years older than Blow, Chester expresses particular interest in his seven-year-old cousin, spending time with him and even sharing a bed.

One day, Chester convinces Blow to steal candy from a local store. He agrees, not realizing that Chester is priming him to break rules and keep secrets. He commits the crime but later, overcome with guilt, returns the candy and apologizes. The proprietress of the store, Mrs. Bertha, reports him to his mother. That night, Blow wakes up to find Chester sexually assaulting him. Afraid and confused, he lies rigid, paralyzed. Throughout, Chester whispers in his ear, “Relax, it’s just a game” (66). Chester never enters Blow, the contact always external, but “to me, in that moment, that seemed a distinction without a difference” (66).