Washout by Bill Noel

Author:Bill Noel [Noel, Bill]
Format: epub
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2010-02-03T12:51:40+00:00

Chapter28

Thursday was one of the Dog’s busiest days of the week. The owners weren’t sure why, so they simply enjoyed the fruits of a busy restaurant.

A breakfast burrito and steaming coffee waited for me at my favorite table. A couple of tables away, the two city council members sat nose to nose, deep in conversation. They must have spent more time in the Dog than they did at city hall (and certainly more than they spent on city business). I could hear enough to know they were talking about the latest barrage of developers who were trying to sneak their development plans through the powers that be. The Civil War (or as it was referred in my adopted part of the country, the War of Northern Aggression) might be over, but the battle between developers and those who wanted Folly to remain unchanged will never end.

Mayor Eric Amato entered, walked over to his two legislators, and whispered something. From the way the three laughed, I doubted it was about the pros and cons of increasing taxes for improved trash pickup.

Dude was often at the Dog by now, so he was running late when he finally stopped by my table. “More blood?” he asked.

“Nope,” I replied.

“Good. How’s Lar?”

“Okay, considering.”

“Still surf holds angry sharks,” he said.

Where was my translator when I needed him? “Means what?” I asked.

“Two slashed bods. Deep hate for the Larster. Didn’t fester overnight,” he said. “Sharks and hate have been around since prehistoric times. Reason ain’t recent.” He shook his head and whispered, “Scary.” He walked away from the table, his shoulders slumped, his head bowed.

What was even scarier was that I understood all that.

Before he got to his table, Dude snapped his fingers and headed back.

“Forgot, nearly,” he said, “Your surfin’ lesson’s soon. Be ready.” He turned and was gone—again.

Along with a second cup of coffee, Amber brought me the news that Jason was still away at camp and wouldn’t be home until late Sunday. Without thinking, I asked if she wanted to go to supper off-island. Her smile and nod erased thoughts of sharks or surfing lessons. I think I’d made a date.

Charles was at the gallery when I arrived. I’d nearly been run over by a car when I was crossing Center Street. Between thoughts of a date with Amber and the movie Jaws, my attention was far from the traffic on Folly Beach.

“I don’t suppose you were the cause of that horn blowing?” Charles asked as I entered. Dressed in a blue and khaki College of the Atlantic long-sleeved T-shirt, he was standing by the front window where he had a direct view of the street.

I didn’t want to explain why my mind had been wandering, so I asked him about the college I’d never heard of.

“Chris, your ignorance continues to amaze me. Everyone knows about the ‘cleanest college in the world’ in Bar Harbor, Maine.”

“Everyone?” I rolled my eyes.

“Everyone but you. They only have one major, Human Ecology. Green’s the thing; remember that—green.”

The

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.