RIPPLES by Evan Williams

Author:Evan Williams [Williams, Evan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SFK Press
Published: 2019-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

Mama’s absence kept the loss of James raw and itching. She became a series of blurred snapshots, darting from her bedroom sanctum, shutting the bathroom door behind her. A few times, when Ben would have normally been outside, his presence indoors startled her.

A jumped rabbit, she would wordlessly rush for cover.

Suppers waited in pots on the stove without the cook in sight—family mealtime dissolved.

“Daddy, I’m tired of eating by myself. Why can’t I eat supper at Granny’s?”

“Because you live here, and your mother has food fixed for you. Do you want to upset her by not eating her food?”

“You always work late in the orchard. I’m by myself. The food is cold.”

“What do you mean by yourself? Your mother’s always here.”

“She never comes out of the bedroom.”

Ben awaited Daddy’s wrath.

“Look Ben, I’m not going to say that things are alright around here. It will get better with time.”

Seconds before Ben could blurt out the questions he burned to let fly—Why don’t I count, Daddy? James is gone, but I’m still here. What’s wrong with me? Doesn’t Mama love me?—Daddy walked away, leaving the shadowed boy behind the screen door shaking at the thought of hearing the answers to his unspoken questions.

Returning to his bedroom, little knees pressed the hard floor. He prayed through folded hands, “God, please make me brave, like Daniel Boone.”

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