Vibrations in the Field by Daniel Burke

Author:Daniel Burke [Burke, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Published: 2023-04-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Joe

Joe sat at a picnic table in a pleasant little area he discovered at the end of a walkway in the rear of the Opelika Best Western Hotel. It was early. The eastern sky glowed with the anticipation of an unbroken dawn. The nighttime cacophonic chirping of what had sounded like a million crickets had subsided to an occasional lone chirp accompanied by the soft cooing of a morning dove. Chirp, chirp, coo, coo.

It was warm. The still air was redolent with the smell of jasmine and hung heavy with moisture that condensed on every surface. He held his breviary above the tabletop to keep it dry and read its pages by the yellowish glow from a mercury lamp that shone above the walkway.

Joe gave thanks for the morning and the blessing of another day, and as he’d promised, he prayed for Charlie and his daughter. When he finished, the sky was orange and a brilliant sliver of sun appeared between the trees. Traffic noises replaced the chirping and cooing. He stood and stuffed the leather book in his back pocket then retrieved his phone from his front. It was 5:50 a.m. there in the central time zone, which meant it was ten before seven in Newark, New Jersey, and Caleb would have been up for hours.

“Good morning, Joseph.” The old man’s loud voice seemed even louder in the morning calm. “How are you doing, my son?”

“Very well, Doctor.”

“Ah, it’s Doctor this morning. Something tells me you have medical questions.”

Joe laughed. The old man saw right through him. “Maybe a few,” he admitted.

Greetings behind them, the old man got right to the point. “Before we get to your questions, Carlos tells me you’ve been having some adventures. He said there was some violence involved.” His voice softened. “How are you dealing with it?”

The concern in the old man’s voice was unmistakable, and so were the questions not asked. Are you having nightmares and, most importantly, are you drinking? Self-medicating was how Caleb usually referred to it.

“I am okay, blessed as always. I’m sleeping well.” That was a small lie, but the nightmares were nowhere near as bad as they once were and besides, as far as he knew, he’d slept through the night last night. “I’d be lying if I told you there weren’t times in the past couple days when I wanted a drink. The craving is always there, but this week I’ve felt more tempted than usual.”

“How have you resisted it?”

“God has made me strong,” he said, and thought to himself, I pray He makes me stronger.

“That’s good, son, but I am worried about you. Up until recently, your life has taken on a stable rhythm. Disrupting that rhythm could trigger some old memories and feelings that you’ve struggled with in the past. You need to be cautious and seek help if those things become a problem again. You know what I am talking about.”

“I do.”

The old man was right, of course. Joe had settled into a

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