Inky

Just in case I don't get to talk to my dad for some reason, I figure it makes sense to completely fabricate the story of Inky Henderson. I realize that I could completely fabricate it with exactly what actually happened because my subconscious could give me hints.  Anyway, let's give it a go.

I'm going to go off of this. I'm including the first line from before even though I'm not sure it belongs. So recapping (there's that word again - for me - not you. I talked about it in a post already written but to be published at a later date), this story is derived from this drunken note:


fred didnt believe me wed have never gone back but fred thought I was lying.  car stuck

inky henderson.  started going under.  everybdy standed there looking.

house fire the next night.

This will be told in "dad story speak." I know it well.

So we was all out at Two Rivers. We was drinking some beers. There was about 8 of us there. There was this gal. Cute little thing. Inky Henderson. I don't even know what her real name was.  We called her Inky because she had dark hair and dark dark eyes. Inky was drunk.

Inky was Teeny's girl. Teeny's one true love.  Not that Teeny was a monk. He liked to fool around with other gals. Hell, we all did.

But Inky was terrible [sic] jealous of Teeny.
 
Teeny figured what Inky didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Unless it was how to swim.  That there, son. That's foreshadowing.  See we was all at Two Rivers. Water. Get it?

Anyway, there's this other gal. Her name was Marla, but we called her Georgia. She used to go out with Teeny before Inky.  Georgia and Teeny still fucked around occasionally. Georgia wasn't much to look at, but man alive! was she stacked.

Georgia's dad was a fire chief or something. Big mother fucker. Mean. Most of the guys were scared of him. He used to threaten us. If we touched his daughter and all that. He didn't scare me. I told him "I ain't touchin' your daughter, but only because she's so homely, not because I'm scared of your fat ass."

No shit. That's what I said to him. Ask your mother.  Anyway - he just laughed it off because even though I was just a kid, I had a reputation for being one tough son of a gun. He had nothing to gain either way.

But Georgia. She'd suck anybody off for a buck. Oh yeah. I just remembered. That's why we called her Georgia. For George Warshington. His face is on the dollar bill. Get it?

So we's all out at Two Rivers and Georgia and Teeny start flirting with each other. Remember. Inky's drunk.

Teeny - his real name was Tony. But we always called him Teeny cause that sonofabitch had the biggest dick you ever saw. We always said it was a good thing Georgia had such a big mouth.

Georgia would be going on about some shit and we'd say "It's a good thing you got such a big mouth Georgia, 'cause I heard Teeny's got a dollar."

"Ha, Ha. Very funny guys. Where is he?" Georgia was cool. We all knew she was a slut. But we didn't care. Au Contraire! That's French, son. It means, "Not even close." My uncle Jimmy. He learned all this french when he was over there in the war. He's a one taught me.

So anyway - we're all sitting around drinking some beers and it starts to rain a little bit.  It was a hot night, so the rain felt good.

Georgia was just wearing a white tank top so when it started raining, Teeny says, "So are you cold Georgia?" checking out her hi-beams.

Woah, you should have seen Inky.  She jumps up and starts yelling. "Give me your goddam keys you bastard!"

Inky was so small and so drunk that Teeny just about fell over laughing, "C'mon Ink, I'm just foolin ..."

"Keys Teeny! Now!"  She's staggering over to Teeny, her hands, tiny little balls of rage.

"Alright Alright," Teeny relented (By the way - I've kind of slipped out of dad speak here and there. Oh well), "Just don't hit me!"

That did it. Everybody lost it on that one.  So we're all cracking up and Inky starts slapping at Teeny. It looked kind of like ... well have you ever seen that King Kong movie when he's on top of the Empire State Building?"  Inky was like the planes pestering him.

So Inky gets the keys and stomps/trips over to Teeny's car.

We kept on having a good time and forgot about Inky until a few minutes later when we hear Teeny's old car starting up.  Now it was backed up to the water because they had the trunk open earlier when they were all swimming over there. There were a few things Inky was not good at. Driving and swimming were 2 of them.

You can see where this is going.

So Inky puts the car in gear and stomps on the gas to peel out. Now I don't know if it was because she was a shit driver or because she was so drunk, but she had the car in reverse.

She peels out alright. Right down the bank and into the river.  We all just sat there stunned. We couldn't believe what we was seeing. So then Teeny. He looks at me like he's all worried and stuff.  He says, "Oh shit Freddy. Now how am I gonna get home?"

We're laughing because we're all pretty stupid, when we hear Inky screaming.  Turns out she can't swim and she's stuck in that car. It's sinking fast. 

Nobody knows what to do, so I just start running over there to where the car is now completely under water.  I jump in and I can't see shit.  Then I feel bubbles coming up and so I swim down and feel around.  I feel the car and Inky has the window part way open. I can't get her through so I kick at the driver's window and nothing happens.  I just push off the window when I try to kick it. I'm in water, so I can't get anything behind my kick.  Now I'm feeling like I am going to have to go up for air, but I know that if I need it, Inky needs it more, so I grab the window and start pulling on it. There's metal around the glass, so that's what saved my hands when the window finally came free. I pulled Inky out and got her up on the shore.

Everybody was pretty happy Inky was still alive, because most of us wasn't supposed to be out at the Two Rivers.

So that's how I saved Inky Henderson from drowning.

Now son, I have a question for you. Would you rather drown or get burned alive? Before you answer, what if you got to live one more day experiencing the peace and joy that comes with being saved from drowning.

I don't know either.
 
True story.

Follow up:

Ok - I talked to my dad.  The main difference between fact (this) and fiction (above) is that they were at the Platte river. There was a spot they used to go to where the water was real deep. You can mostly wade across the Platte except in a few areas. Inky's nickname. I guessed it was because she had dark features, but when I asked dad why she was called Inky, he said (like it should be obvious) "Because she was so small. Just an Inky little thing."

Inky didn't know the water got deep there and she was walking around and fell into the hole.  She couldn't swim and just started screaming for help. Dad said everybody was just standing around not doing anything. He wasn't there to swim that day so he was wearing his jeans and shirt and everything. But he jumped in and pulled her out of the water.

Then Georgia sucked him off.  Just kidding. I made Georgia up.

Two days later Inky's whole family (except a brother, who was out) died in a house fire. Which sucks.