Tag: family

Water in the Wilderness

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Excerpt

As the others tried to hide their smiles, Morley bit his lip to hold back the laughter. “No, we have to wait for Auntie Tyne.”
“Hymmph,” Bobby mumbled as he stopped chewing, his little cheeks puffed out like a squirrel.
This time no one could disguise their amusement.
The weekend passed too quickly, the late summer days perfect for long walks around the farm and picnicking at Emblem Lake. On Sunday morning Tyne went alone to the Catholic Church while Morley took their guests and the children to his church on the outskirts of Emblem. The night before, as she helped the young ones prepare for bed, Tyne had asked Rachael if her family attended Sunday morning service.
“Nope,” Rachael said briefly as she pulled her pajamas on.
“Then would you like to go to church with Uncle Morley and the Halls tomorrow?”
Rachael shrugged as if it didn’t make any difference to her one way or another. But Bobby jumped up and down and demanded to know where they were going and if they could get ice cream like they had at the lake that afternoon.
Tyne recruited Morley to explain it to the children, and left him sitting on Bobby’s little cot in the room the boy shared with his sister, in serious conversation with the two of them. As she returned to the porch to rejoin their guests, she felt sad that these revelations had to come from a virtual stranger rather than from the children’s own parents. But, at the same time, she felt thankful that she and Morley had the privilege of sharing these things with them even for this short time.
On Sunday afternoon the children were playing outside, and the men had gone to have a last walk around the farm before Moe and Ken had to leave for home. Tyne sat with her friend on the porch, looking out at the cosmos and snapdragons growing in profusion in the shade of a large maple in the front yard.
“It’s been wonderful, Tyne,” Moe said, “I hate to leave. And it’s been good for Ken to get away from the city. He takes work far too seriously and the bosses take advantage of him.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/192676319X

The Circle

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Excerpt

“How about a cup at the spot?”
“I’m having one right now. Want to shoot some pool?”
“Sure. Meet you there in about half an hour?”
“Yeah.”
He finishes his coffee quickly, eats his sandwich, and steps into the shower.
Today is Saturday, and the rest of his day is free. He puts on his jeans, a t-shirt,
and a light jacket. The days of September are getting cooler; a sign of fall
approaching.
In the elevator he meets the lady from 406, a middle-aged blonde who likes
him and always exchanges a few words with him. Today is no exception.
“Out again?” she asks, with a smile.
“Yeah, for a while.”
“Girls, girls, as always!”
She says nothing more as they reach the lobby and they go their separate
ways.
He walks to the parking lot, gets into his car, and drives to the pool hall. Talal
is already there and has ordered his coffee. Hakim buys a bottle of water and they
start their game.
“Anything on the job-front?” Hakim asks.
“Nothing yet, man.”
“Well, something will come together sooner or later.” He tries to encourage
his friend.
“I hope so, man; I’m getting frustrated.”
Hakim’s phone rings. It’s Jennifer.
“Hi, how are you?” he says.
“Hi, I’m okay. You remember, I promised to call you.”
“Yeah, I know, but—”
“What? You don’t want to go out with me? Is that it?” she interrupts him.
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m having a game of pool with Talal.”
She hesitates on the other end of the phone, so he tells her, “I’ll see you later,
okay?”
“You promise?”
“Yeah, I promise. I’ll call you and meet you later.”
He puts his phone away; it’s his turn to play.
“She really wants to know where you are all the time, eh?” asks Talal.
“No, that’s not it. She called earlier, and I told her to call me back.”
“Women, you know, they are all the same. That’s why my style is no
commitment, you know? Casual sex as often as possible, but none of this
nonsense!”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006PY87YQ

Water in the Wilderness

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Excerpt

Rachael bounced over the kitchen floor to watch Tyne take the roast out of the oven and place it on a platter for Morley to carve. “That sure smells good, and I’m real hungry.” The child sniffed the air. “Do we get gravy, too?”
“We sure do,” Tyne said, “and as soon as you’ve washed your hands we can start to eat.”
After they washed at the kitchen sink and settled in chairs at the table, Morley said, “Tell Auntie Tyne what you saw.”
“Piggies,” Bobby sang out.
Rachael cut in. “Chickens and cows and ….”
“Baby cows!”
“They’re not baby cows, silly,” Rachael said with authority, “they’re calves.”
Tyne laughed quietly as she filled plates and placed one in front of each of them. “And did you see the mommy hen with her little chicks?” she asked.
“Yep!” This from Rachael as she grabbed her fork and began to dig into her mashed potatoes.
Bobby followed his sister’s lead but Morley reached over and touched their hands. “Wait until Auntie Tyne sits down and we ask the blessing.”
Both children looked at him blankly. “What’s that mean?” Rachael demanded.
“It means,” Morley said gently, “that before we eat, we thank God for the food.”
“Oh yeah,” the girl said. “Mommy thanks God sometimes, but she calls it Grace. Why would she call it Grace? I know a girl at school who’s called Grace and she never says anything like that.”
Morley glanced at Tyne who noted with some satisfaction that her husband seemed momentarily at a loss. She bit her lip to hide her smile.
“Well,” Morley said as Tyne took her place at the table, “your mom is right in calling it Grace. You see, grace is a blessing …

https://www.amazon.com/dp/192676319X

Ken Kirkby, A Painter’s Quest for Canada

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Excerpt

Ken did as he was asked and came back to his grandfather’s side. He
rearranged the pillows and as he settled the old man back, he noticed that
his hands had become still.
“Come close,” Don Hymie said, wrapping his arms around his grandson
and holding him near. Then he gently pushed Ken back and held him
at arm’s length. “I want you to listen to your old grandpa,” he said. “And I
want you to listen very carefully.” His eyes, that only an hour before had
been hazy and clouded, were wide open and shining.
“Look at me,” he said. “I’m going to make a prediction for you and I
don’t ever want you to forget it. You have to keep it inside you – don’t
tell it to anyone. You’re going to have a very bright and beautiful life. It
won’t be an easy life but it will shine. The gods favour you. You are one of
destiny’s creatures.”
He gave Ken’s shoulders an almost imperceptible squeeze and lay back
against the pillows. Ken held his hand, wondering what his grandfather
had meant. Were these just the ramblings of a dying man? Did he have a
vision? He noticed that the old man smelled different. “Is this how you
smell when you’re dying?” he wondered. And then the old man’s hand
became limp and his face changed. Ken listened, but the sound of his
grandfather’s breathing was no longer present in the room.
He sat by the old man’s side while time stopped and his thoughts stilled.
Then he wrapped his arms around him and held him close and felt a large
weight lift – a shadow disappeared and peace settled on him.
When he left the room to join the others he told them that Don Hymie
had died. He left the house and walked aimlessly up and down the streets
of Miraflores for hours, feeling as though he was floating just above the
cobbles, his mind suspended in a place that thoughts could not penetrate.
When he returned he found his grandmother in the garden. She came to
meet him, put her arm through his and walked with him down the street.
“Did you have a good talk with grandpa?”
“I did.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“Why?”
“Grandpa knows things.”
Don Hymie’s body was taken to Valencia where the funeral took place.
An enormous throng of people crowded into the huge cathedral and lined
the steps and sidewalks. Everyone came: the powerful and the peasants –
and perhaps the peasants grieved more than the ruling elite. Seeing the
tears of love and loss and listening to the heartfelt tributes these people
paid to his grandfather, Ken thought how strange it was that this outpouring
came upon death. How sad it wasn’t done while he was still alive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073573

Savages and Beasts

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(Excerpt)

      The young man was listening carefully as he was working next to the old man.

The clothes seemed to be endless, the machines kept on humming their work, the room turned stuffy, and Anton started to feel his sweat crawling down his forehead to his eyebrows and nose from which it could drip onto anything below. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand making sure his sweat wouldn’t fall onto the clothes he was folding. Dylan saw his movement.

      “It gets stuffy in here, especially when all the driers are going and as you see we have very short narrow windows. However, let me crack one open so some fresh air gets in. He left the clothes and standing on a chair he opened half way two windows to the outside. Indeed fresh air started getting in and Anton felt its whiff on his face and arms. He smiled as he continued folding the clothes. Dylan stood next to him and kept up with the task in hand. They worked for a while when Dylan asked.

     “You live with your parents, I suppose?”

     “Yes, on the other side of the river on Columbia Street. My dad works for the trains, he’s a mechanic.”

      “Oh, very nice, and what’s your origin?”

      “Hungary. We emigrated soon after the war.”

      “I see. Your father didn’t like what would become of your country under the Russians. I don’t blame him, to be honest. I wouldn’t like to live under their communism.”

      “Yes, my dad preferred other ways…I do too.”

      “Good for you; here you live in a very rich country with so many opportunities for a young man like yourself…but what else do you have in mind? I don’t believe you plan to work here for the rest of your life…like I have done”

      “No, at some time I might go back to school which my dad wishes too. He’d love to have a lawyer son rather than a school employee.”

      “You father seems to be a very thoughtful man; I’d be proud of such a father.”

      “But I am, Dylan, truly I feel very proud for my father. Especially when I think of what difficulties and hard times he faced just to give me the chance for a better future.”

      “Yes, yes, I’m sure he faced numerous situations and issues, and of course the language problem. Did your dad speak some English when you emigrated here?”

      “He spoke a little but he took up English soon as we came here…and being an educated man it didn’t take him too long to manage his communicating. Then it was the everyday learning, of course, which helped him master the language and although he still speaks with an accent he’s on top of the heap on the subject.”

      “I’m sure, and I know the accent sometimes makes communicating difficult.”

      “Yes, his co-workers, mostly Anglos, always make fun of his accent.”

https://www.lulu.com/account/projects/m24q778 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763602