Playing with Fire by William E. Noland

Author:William E. Noland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: supernatural thriller, paranormal thriller suspense, urban fantasy, mythological creatures, paranormal adventure, urban paranormal, paranormal urban fantasy, horror
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
Published: 2022-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Eric drove over with his mom in the Civic, since she planned to take Grandma to get her hair done after lunch. He’d come home with his dad in the HMS Suburban.

When they arrived, he noticed that Grandma had displayed the vase the Schwarz’s had given her on the mantle in the TV room, over the fake electric fireplace. It held a place of honor, right next to the picture of Grandpa, whose somewhat dour smile evoked his signature no-nonsense attitude. He missed the old guy and wished he’d talked to him more about his time in Germany.

Over lunch he tried to impress Grandma with his language progress, and she was extremely pleased. They had some simple conversations, and she didn’t get all frustrated and critical when he stumbled. She seemed to sense he was really trying, and that appeared to be enough for now.

Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks. He had Lotte to thank for that, among so many other things.

Mom and Grandma had to leave for the beauty salon, so they cut the visit short. He helped shove the dishes from the relatively simple meal into the dishwasher, and soon he was sailing home with his dad in the land yacht. They cruised without speaking, his father listening to sports blab on the radio, which he shut off when the commercials came on.

Eric sensed an opportunity. “Hey, Dad?”

“What’s up, kiddo?” his father replied, seemingly as happy as Eric to have an early escape from Grandma’s.

He worked up his courage. “I need to tell you something. I don’t think I want to play clarinet anymore.”

His dad gave him a quick glance, then returned his eyes to the road.

“I want to drop Wind Ensemble at mid-year and try to get into that psychology elective they have. I doubt I’ll get in, ‘cause it’s a popular class, but if I tell them I’m interested now, I’ll probably have a better chance next year. There are other social studies electives I could do too. I don’t care that much. Anything seems better to me than clarinet. I’m just not a musician and really never will be. I want to explore subjects where I feel like I’m learning something new—something I’m interested in.”

His father drove in silence for a bit. Finally, he said, “I think that’s a good idea, kiddo. Run it up the flagpole, see if it flies. If your mom and I can do anything to help, let us know.”

“You’re not mad?” he asked, a bit surprised at how easily that had gone.

His dad heartily laughed. “Mad? Why would I be mad? They shoved a clarinet in your hands in what... the third grade? How the hell were you supposed to know if you wanted to play an instrument, let alone that one? Now it sounds like you’ve figured out something you want to do more—nothing to be mad about there.”

“You and Mom just go to all the concerts. I thought you might be disappointed.”

“Honestly, kiddo, I’ve never cared much for that thing or symphonic music.

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.