Fly the Rain by Robert Burton Robinson Page A

well—considering,”
said Greg.
    “ He’s going to be in a lot
of pain for a few weeks,” said Cynthia.
    “ So, he won’t be able to
work for a while,” said Norma.
    “ Knowing Uncle Ed, this is
probably the only way he would ever take some time off,” said Greg.
“Too bad he can’t enjoy it.”
    “ What does he need time off
for?” said Ralph. “All he cares about is tinkering around with
those old cars. It’s his whole life.”
    Greg didn’t appreciate his dad’s attitude
toward Edsel. But he had a point. Edsel probably loved working on
cars as much as Greg enjoyed teaching music and directing
choirs.
    He thought about the
satisfaction of hearing a student finally play a piece with
accuracy and feeling. And how he could be moved to tears by a
beautiful choral performance. Maybe that was how Uncle Ed felt when
he got an engine tuned up just right. The purr of a well-tuned
engine might be the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to his ears.
    “ Uncle Ed’s a great guy,”
said Greg.
    “ Yeah, yeah, I
know—he’s wonderful ,” said
Ralph.
    “ Well, you’re a pretty good
guy yourself.” Greg didn’t know where that came from.
    Ralph looked surprised, then irritated.
“Yeah, right.”
    Cynthia gave Greg a look that said ‘keep
going—you’re on the right track.’
    “ No, I mean it,” said Greg.
“I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but you worked really hard to
provide for our family. I know you were disappointed when I quit my
job at the shipyard after only two weeks. I hated that place. But
then I thought about how you worked out there every day for over
thirty years. I don’t know how you did it.”
    “ It wasn’t that bad,” said
Ralph.
    “ Well, anyway, I just wanted
to thank you for that,” said Greg.
    After a few seconds of awkward silence,
Cynthia spoke up. “So, did everybody enjoy the party?”
    “ Oh, yes, definitely,” said
Norma. “Although, I had to help Ralph blow out the
candles.”
    “ I could have done it,”
growled Ralph. “You didn’t give me much of a chance.”
    “ I knew it was going to take
a lot of breath to do it,” she said.
    “ Honey, you’re always saying
I’m full of hot air,” said Ralph, “and then when I had the chance
to prove it, you wouldn’t let me. That’s just like you,
though—always butting in.”
    “ Well, sure,” said Norma,
“you probably could have done it yourself…but there were just so
many candles.”
    “ Alright, Miss
Smartie-pants.”
    “ I had to go to three
different stores to get all those candles.” Norma
snickered.
    “ I’m gonna get your candles,” said
Ralph grabbing for her arm, and barely missing it as she jumped
back.
    Greg couldn’t believe it.
Ralph had nearly smiled. He was glad to see that his dad was finally happy.
Maybe he’d been happy for a long time. Greg might know if he had
bothered to stay in touch.
    **********
    “ Angie?”
    She dropped her magazine on the floor and
jumped up from the chair. “Hi, Edsel. How do you feel?”
    “ Like a Cadillac fell on my
chest.”
    She laughed.
    Edsel started to laugh—then he felt a twinge
in his chest. He winced and grabbed his ribcage, which only served
to exacerbate the pain.
    “ That must really hurt,” she
said.
    “ You ain’t
trickin’.”
    Trick was Edsel’s standard curse
word substitute. She had not heard it in a while. “But the doctor
says you’re going to be fine. He said it would take a few weeks for
the pain to completely go away.”
    “ Thanks for saving my
life.”
    “ You’re welcome. I’m just
glad I happened to walk over to the shop when I did.”
    “ You must have gotten there
right after. You came over to make sure I was getting dressed for
the party, didn’t you?”
    “ Yeah.”
    “ Well, I’m sorry I made us
miss it. What about Greg? Did he and Cynthia go?”
    “ They tried to catch the end
of it. They were up here for quite a while.”
    “ So, I made them miss it
too. I really feel bad about that. I was hoping it