Sowing Season by Brian Patrick Edwards

Author:Brian Patrick Edwards [Edwards, Brian Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780578675138
Publisher: Rogus Ardens
Published: 2020-04-20T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Saturday, the day Stone and Cole planned to meet, arrived quickly. The family in Irondale were busy readying themselves, but Michael finished first and was already waiting for the others in the family room. He sat anxiously on the traditional roll-arm English sofa, which stretched almost across the entire length of the wall. Second to finish, Cole sat stiffly on the other end.

Like all the others, Michael was eager to see Stone again, yet he felt extremely nervous. He wanted to smooth things over, but had yet to work out the best way to approach his rebellious cousin. On the one hand, he truly wanted to avoid anything that might reopen the wound caused by that dramatic fight; on the other hand, he didn’t want his efforts to re-establish their relationship to somehow imply he supported Stone’s bad decisions.

For weeks after Stone took off, Amelia and Maria berated Michael for his part in the drama. The two women teamed up to remind him, daily, that he was absolutely not to mention anything at all about Stone’s poor choices during the meeting at Ruffner Mountain. During the short time they’d have with Stone, they hoped to convince him to leave Birmingham and flee south with the family, God willing. If their best efforts failed, they would say their goodbyes and move on. What else could they do?

“You good?” Cole asked his cousin, who sat still as a statue, staring into space, absentmindedly chewing his lower lip.

“Hmm?” Michael answered, his autopilot response giving a clear indication that Cole’s question hadn’t really registered with him. He was still thinking about the meeting and how best to handle his interaction with Stone.

“Michael, you hear me? Hey, dinkis!”

"No, what?" Michael finally looked in his young cousin’s direction. He had been deep in thought. The sudden break from his reverie made him feel like a fish, rudely ripped from its cool watery home.

“Are you okay?” Cole laughed at him and noted, “You look tense as hell.”

“Yeah, I’m good, buddy.” Michael smiled. “Just thinking about today’s plans.”

“I think you’ll be okay. Just good vibes, Mikey. We gotta show him we still care about him.” Cole picked his nose.

“Better find a Kleenex. If I find another booger around here, I’ll be showing you some of my ‘good vibes,’” Michael then cracked his knuckles for effect.

“Michael!” one of the women called from upstairs. It was a softer voice, clearly not his sister’s.

“Lord have mercy. What’s this woman need now?” Michael stood from the couch and quickly made his way up the stairs, moving sideways as he passed John making his way down. “Yes, honey?” Michael asked at the summit of the staircase, waiting for his wife’s response to reveal her location.

“Come here.” Her voice, oddly, gave him no clue as to her whereabouts. The words she spoke seemed to come from thirty different directions, further agitating him.

“Where’s here?”

“I’m on our bedroom floor.”

He walked towards their room -- the last one on the right and opposite to John and Maria’s.

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