Son of Perdition by William Harms

Author:William Harms [Harms, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leviathan Books
Published: 2018-10-23T22:00:00+00:00

2.

Kate and Jeremiah sat in the back of the church. The minister had just finished his sermon, and she wanted to wait for most of the congregation to file out before they got up. A few people smiled at her and mouthed a greeting, but most simply stared ahead, pretended they didn’t see her. Her husband had sacrificed so much for this town, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. She wanted to stand up and confront them, demand to know what level of pain and anguish their families had endured, demand to know what sacrifices they had made. But she knew better. There was no point to it. They believed what they believed and no amount of reasoning would ever change it.

As the last few stragglers left, Kate motioned to Jeremiah and the two of them rose and made for the exit. The minister stood at the door, shaking hands, and as Kate walked past he nodded to her and thanked her for coming to the service, that it was important to maintain faith in times such as these. Kate smiled and complimented him on the sermon. She thought it was a good message. She led Jeremiah outside.

On the far side of the road, sitting in his old wagon, was Emory. He was dressed in a button-down shirt and brown pants, his hair combed back. When he saw Kate and Jeremiah, he pressed down the brake and dropped off the wagon.

“What are you doing here?” Kate asked.

“Waiting for you two.” He smiled and clapped his hands. “Jeremiah, hop in back.”

Jeremiah looked at his mother and she nodded. He climbed into the back of the wagon and sat down on a small bench that was nailed to the floor.

“Where are we going?” Kate asked. Emory took her by the hand and led her to the far side of the wagon.

“To a cookout over at Ray and Deborah Mae’s place.”

“But I’m not bringing anything,” Kate said as she climbed up onto the seat. “We can’t show up empty-handed, it’s rude.”

Emory walked around the wagon and climbed up. He kicked off the brake and took the reins. “There’s going to be plenty of food. Besides, everyone will be happy to see the two of you. It’s been a while.” He slapped the horse with the reins and it started forward. “How was the service?”

“It was fine,” Kate said.

“I hate that preacher.”

“I know you do.”

“Everyone else around here is barely scratching out a living and he’s parading around like money’s no object.” Emory half-turned and looked back at Jeremiah. “How are you doing, Jeremiah? Helping out your momma?”

“Yes, sir,” Jeremiah said. He smiled at his uncle.

“That a boy.” The wagon continued down the road, the sun beating down on them. “Sorry I don’t have an umbrella. This heat is a bitch.”

“I’m used to working in it,” Kate said.

“Got enough to eat out there?”

“We’ll be fine.”

“You can come stay with me if you want. It wouldn’t be no trouble. I got a couple old hogs I could track down and slaughter.

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