6. Mostly Joe

I didn’t ask.
Arthur tells me anyway.
About his family.
His parents.
His sisters.
His brother Joe.
The Baby.
Mostly Joe, though.
Joe who always rocked Baby to sleep.
Joe, who used to pull Pinkie’s and Noodle’s ponytails.
Joe, who always helped Mama and never talked back to Dada.
Not like Arthur, who was never home, hunting lizards and rabbits in the outback.
Gradually moving on to larger and larger prey.
Joe never talked back to Dada.
Not even when Dada smashed Pinkie’s head with a brick.
“Joe,” Arthur says, his eyes reflecting the fire he built. “My better half.”