Back of the Yard by Meg Lelvis

Author:Meg Lelvis [Lelvis, Meg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: a4523028-5f85-4073-87d7-02dc5501ca94
Publisher: Black Rose Writing via Indie Author Project
Published: 2021-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

. . .

I shut my eyes and saw them. Three black, blurry forms lurking above me to my right. Like three cane-shaped leeches, the tallest one in the middle. I opened my eyes. Was it the wine? I closed my eyes again. The Shadows still hovered, black, against the night. How were they visible in the night? Dear God. I was afraid. Afraid. Of what, I didn’t know. Just afraid.

. . .

After a night of waking and dozing, with fragments of forgotten dreams, a muffled tapping came at the door. “Come in,” I called softly.

“Ready for coffee?” Phil peeked in.

I jiggled the cobwebs out of my head. “Yes, just a few minutes.”

Ten minutes later I met him in the entry, and we tiptoed out the door.

As we rode to the café, Phil slowed down at a corner. “I’d like to leave for Milton early, hon. I know we planned to stay three nights, but I have a lot of preparation for summer session, and I’d like an earlier start.”

“That’s okay.” I felt instant relief, then suspicion. “Is that the only reason?”

He drove slowly up a hilly street lined with trees. “Look, let’s be honest. I sense you’re not enjoying yourself, and I don’t want you to—”

“Phil, to tell the truth, your mother doesn’t like me—”

“Now wait a minute—” He stopped in front of a small café with ‘Lorna’s’ written across the front window.

“It’s okay. I understand why she’d rather have you with someone who—who—” I tried to stifle the catch in my throat. Damn, my eyes welled up.

“Come here, honey.” He reached for me across the seat and drew me close. “My mother has problems. Kind of like delusions of grandeur. I don’t know why, because Dad isn’t like that at all. So if you can see it as her flaw and not take it personally.” He paused. “Because no one could be a better person than you, honey. And I want you to remember that.”

We sat silently for a minute. “That’s good to hear. You must’ve told her I’m Catholic since she didn’t ask me about my religion.”

Phil cleared his throat. “Yes, she knows. It’s important to their generation, but not to me or Carole either.”

I shuddered. “My folks would’ve been horrified if Maureen had married a Protestant.”

“Maybe they’ll change their minds about me,” Phil said.

I rubbed his arm. “I’m ready for coffee.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.