Come Home Safe by Brian G. Buckmire

Author:Brian G. Buckmire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blink
Published: 2022-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 2

The Highest Appreciation Is Not to Utter Words But to Live By Them

John F. Kennedy

Olive looks around to see if Mom and Reed are finished with their workouts. Most of Reed’s cones, and the ladder he brought for footwork practice, are packed up to one side, but he’s still juggling the ball by himself on the far side of the park. Olive’s mom and her workout group are taking a water break.

That turnover was great, but now I could go for a drink. She walks over to her mom to see if the class is almost done. “This is our last water break, love. We’ll be done in about twenty or thirty minutes,” Mom says.

“Is it okay if I grab a drink from that café over there?” Olive asks, pointing to a café across the street. “I used my last two dollars on a pastry, sorry.”

“No problem, but take your brother with you. Can you buy me a water too, please? And see if your brother wants something,” her mom says as the instructor calls them back from the water break.

Olive turns around to see Reed juggling his soccer ball with his headphones on, probably lost in his music and his thoughts. Olive jogs over to him.

“Reed!” Olive shouts. He doesn’t respond, but it’s no surprise. He’s in his own world as usual. Olive walks up to him and waves her arms above her head like she’s signaling a plane to land, trying to get his attention. “Hey, Reed, want something from the café?” she yells, using her hand to pantomime drinking. Reed takes his headphones out of his ears.

“My bad. What’s up?” Reed asks. “You getting something to drink?”

“Yeah. Mom gave me money to get something for all of us, but you’ve got to come too,” Olive says, waving a twenty-dollar bill.

“Cool. Yeah, I’ll come. Can you help me clean up first?” The siblings pick up the few cones on the ground and put them in his big bag, then drop off the bag next to where their mom is working out. The pair point out where they’re heading, and their mom waves in acknowledgment.

Reed presses the crosswalk button. It beeps as they wait for the light to change. A few feet away from the crosswalk, a homeless man is sitting up against a bus stop. He has a large bag and a sign that says, “Homeless VET. Please HELP.” Olive pulls out her phone.

“Whoa!” Reed shouts as he puts his hand over Olive’s phone. “What are you doing? You’re not calling the cops on him, are you? He isn’t hurting anyone. He’s just asking for help!”

“No!” Olive shouts back. “You know I wouldn’t do that!” Olive shows Reed her phone; it shows her search results for nearby shelters for vets. “I would never call the police on a person who just looks homeless, especially if they aren’t really doing anything wrong. You know Dad’s stories as well as I do. People getting caught up in the system.” Olive scrolls down her screen.

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