Where Sin Increased by Sue Baumgardner

Author:Sue Baumgardner [Baumgardner, Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781645990499
Publisher: Encircle Publications
Published: 2020-03-26T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

THE BROTHER

LITTLE JOHN HAD BEEN TOO young to remember when his brother was born thirteen months later. It seemed to him that David had always been in their lives. He remembered seeing his father spank, and sometimes thrash David. Johnny always felt guilty for not trying to help his brother. He hid under the bed, or he snuck away and crawled under the shed and lay there in the cool darkness until long after a silence fell upon the land. Eventually he just remained wherever he was when the world exploded around him and David.

For a long while, Johnny waited in fear for the day his father would beat him too. He was sure that his due was coming. But as the years went by, he gradually became comfortable with the knowledge that he might not be harmed. He was the golden boy. It couldn’t be because he looked most like his father or even acted more like him. No, his face was as handsome as his mother’s was beautiful, and he outweighed his fuller-figured mother by the time he was eleven years old. He still giggled like a girl, though he felt less and less inclined toward laughter as he hit puberty.

David looked like his father, JD, but he walked his own path. David was shy but not timid. After Papa had forbid him to join the band at school, he had stepped off the bus boldly carrying a tuba. Yes, his face was a tell-tale red blush. Nonetheless, Johnny had to admire his courage as he straightened his back and walked in a rather brisk trot from the bus to the house.

The boys entered the house with David in the lead. Johnny lagged behind, reluctant to witness the scene he knew was sure to follow. Their father’s mud-splattered pick-up was in the driveway. Both boys knew what this meant. How would David ever explain to Mr. Thompson, the Music Teacher, when he would surely have to return a dented, if not demolished, tuba?

“Oh David! Are you playing an instrument?”

“Grandma!” Both boys greeted her in unison. Grandma did not come to their house often. She lived with Great-Grandma and they had no car. Mom must have picked her up and brought her for a visit. Great timing, Johnny thought.

“Boys, you’re looking handsome as always. Johnny, are you going to play an instrument too?” Grandma asked this as she eyed David’s tuba.

“No he is not,” JD said as he strolled into the room. His face too, wore a tell-tale crimson color. His blush however was not one of shyness. A red-faced JD meant there was a rage boiling in him. No one knew if it would explode or if it would lose some of its steam and settle down.

“No, Grandma.” Johnny stepped back and said, “But David was chosen by Mr. Thompson to play the tuba because he has so much musical talent. He can sing and dance like no-one’s business and he’s never had a lesson. Mr. Thompson

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.