Between Father and Son by Eric V. Copage

Author:Eric V. Copage [Copage, Eric V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-06-204783-0
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2011-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

“Whatcha readin', brotha?” asked Snackman the next day. “I heard that you were a hero last night.” Snackman raised his hand to give Jordan five. It was late Saturday morning, and Snackman had been sweeping the sidewalk in front of his store when he saw Jordan and J.B. walk by. The two were so involved in conversation that Snackman had taken them by surprise. They both fidgeted with obvious discomfort—Jordan, because he knew that not only was he not a hero, but that he was almost the cause of his brother’s and sister’s deaths; J.B., because he hated having to listen to “that crazy jerk” Snackman.

Jordan unenthusiastically extended his hand, face up, to receive Snackman’s five and responded that he was not really a hero. “Everyone in the family was just lucky last night.”

“Well, your grandmother dropped by to buy a paper earlier, and she told me she thought it was more than good luck,” Snackman said, giving Jordan a congratulatory smile. Jordan remembered the conversation with Grandma the night before, how she had come home to find Jordan with the twins safely outside, the ambulance and fire truck already there. Jordan remembered how relieved his grandmother was that everybody was alive and safe. (It turned out that Kenny had been cold, and, after calling for Jordan many times, plugged in the old electric blanket even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to. Jordan told his grandmother that he was in the basement, not out of the house, and that was why he hadn’t heard Kenny calling for an extra blanket.)

Now Snackman’s smile dimmed, and he turned his head a bit and peered quizzically at Jordan from the corners of his eyes. He held that look for a quiet moment. Jordan found Snackman’s gaze unsettling. But what was more unsettling was the sensation of something moving inside his belly. It was a ticklish feeling, as if a feather were fluttering around in there. “Anyway,” Snackman said at last, “it’s a good thing you were there and woke them up in time.” Then he invited the boys into his store for a free juice or soda.

“Come on, it’ll be on me. Think of it as a reward,” Snackman said.

J.B., his defenses down after seeing that Snackman was not going to pick up where their last conversation left off, explained that they had to catch a bus to The City, where they were going to check out sound equipment for the music group they were planning to form. The twins had spent the night in the hospital, just for observation. Jordan’s grandmother would take a day off now to make sure they rested at home. So Jordan was free to join J.B. for the whole day.

“Well, come on inside, grab a drink, and take it with you,” Snackman insisted. “About when will the bus arrive?”

“In about twenty-five minutes,” Jordan said.

“Well then, you have plenty of time. It’s only a five-minute walk to the bus stop. Come on in,” said Snackman, leading the way.

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.