death!' she guessed. 'Let me make you something quick to eat.'
Walter raised his hand in gentle protest.
'That won't be necessary, honestly. We don't plan on staying long. As soon as this weather eases, we will be out of your hair and make our way into town, we don't want to put you out any more than we already have.'
'Oh, nonsense. Honestly, it's no bother, I'll rustle something up for you both,' she insisted.
Without waiting for another speech declining her offer, she left for the kitchen.
TWENTY-FOUR
Thorny bushes and nettles dragged themselves across the sides of the Jeep like clawed fingers, as they sped down a narrow back lane that looked like nothing but a dead end. Elwood reduced his speed, avoiding raised concrete and the carcass of some poor, dead animal that got caught up in the storm.
'So, tell me some more about Jack,' Elwood requested, his voice raised above the noise of the storm and car engine. It was almost a shout.
Marilyn coughed away the salty stickiness from the base of her throat.
'He's always hungry, eats us out of house and home, forever scoffing.' She laughed with a smile, her eyes lit up. 'I swear he should be twenty stone. He's eight, coming up nine in October. I've been thinking that I'm going to take him back to the city, to the zoo for his birthday, plus that way he gets to see his friends, and that bastard of a father of his,' she finished, with a scowl.
'He loves the zoo, mainly the tigers and the lions, but he loves all animals. I've always expected him to grow up to be a vet or a zoo keeper. He'd be great at it, too. The last time we went, the year before last, he took over fifty photos of just the lions.' She laughed.
'That sounds like a good idea, taking him to the zoo for his birthday, I mean. Robert loved the zoo as a kid, too,' Elwood added, remembering the good times. 'We went every summer until he was fifteen, I don't know how the hell he didn't get bored.'
Marilyn cracked a smile.
'June loved taking Robert out to new places, every other week she would plan something new and exciting for us to do as a family. She really was one hell of a woman, beautiful, and the best mother and wife a father and son could ever wish for,' he declared with reverence, opening up about June for the first time.
'How long were you married?' Marilyn asked with curiosity.
'Thirty-two marvellous years, and I wouldn't change a single day of it.’
Marilyn paused to take a look at the road. 'Do you mind if I ask how she died?' she asked carefully.
'The big C. Ate her from the inside out, ruined her, took everything away from her, from the three of us,’ he spewed with contempt.
'I'm so sorry, Elwood. I really didn't mean to pry,' she murmured regretfully.
'Hey, come on, don't worry about it.' He smiled, rubbing at her knee. 'It's been a long time.'
'You and Robert were lucky to have a woman like June. I'm nothing like her. I'm really not the best mother, look at me!' She raised her arms with her palms facing the roof. 'Look at the situation we're in because of it, I mean, who falls asleep and lets some crazy kidnap their own child?' she snapped heatedly.
'You stop talking like that, you hear? I don't want to listen to you saying those things,' he voiced like a school teacher scolding a child.
'It's true, Elwood. I was a terrible mother and wife. I was never there for Jack when he wanted me. I missed countless birthday and countless Christmases because I was so fucking selfish, always working.'
'Come on now, Marilyn, don't talk like that, stop being so hard on yourself,' he answered back.
Elwood took a tight right turn off the back road. 'What was your job?'
'I was a nurse, always on call. I'd go to different hospitals in different cities, for sometimes weeks at a time. I never really got to do anything with Jack, with me being away. That's why I wanted to make a big fuss of his birthday this
Walter raised his hand in gentle protest.
'That won't be necessary, honestly. We don't plan on staying long. As soon as this weather eases, we will be out of your hair and make our way into town, we don't want to put you out any more than we already have.'
'Oh, nonsense. Honestly, it's no bother, I'll rustle something up for you both,' she insisted.
Without waiting for another speech declining her offer, she left for the kitchen.
TWENTY-FOUR
Thorny bushes and nettles dragged themselves across the sides of the Jeep like clawed fingers, as they sped down a narrow back lane that looked like nothing but a dead end. Elwood reduced his speed, avoiding raised concrete and the carcass of some poor, dead animal that got caught up in the storm.
'So, tell me some more about Jack,' Elwood requested, his voice raised above the noise of the storm and car engine. It was almost a shout.
Marilyn coughed away the salty stickiness from the base of her throat.
'He's always hungry, eats us out of house and home, forever scoffing.' She laughed with a smile, her eyes lit up. 'I swear he should be twenty stone. He's eight, coming up nine in October. I've been thinking that I'm going to take him back to the city, to the zoo for his birthday, plus that way he gets to see his friends, and that bastard of a father of his,' she finished, with a scowl.
'He loves the zoo, mainly the tigers and the lions, but he loves all animals. I've always expected him to grow up to be a vet or a zoo keeper. He'd be great at it, too. The last time we went, the year before last, he took over fifty photos of just the lions.' She laughed.
'That sounds like a good idea, taking him to the zoo for his birthday, I mean. Robert loved the zoo as a kid, too,' Elwood added, remembering the good times. 'We went every summer until he was fifteen, I don't know how the hell he didn't get bored.'
Marilyn cracked a smile.
'June loved taking Robert out to new places, every other week she would plan something new and exciting for us to do as a family. She really was one hell of a woman, beautiful, and the best mother and wife a father and son could ever wish for,' he declared with reverence, opening up about June for the first time.
'How long were you married?' Marilyn asked with curiosity.
'Thirty-two marvellous years, and I wouldn't change a single day of it.’
Marilyn paused to take a look at the road. 'Do you mind if I ask how she died?' she asked carefully.
'The big C. Ate her from the inside out, ruined her, took everything away from her, from the three of us,’ he spewed with contempt.
'I'm so sorry, Elwood. I really didn't mean to pry,' she murmured regretfully.
'Hey, come on, don't worry about it.' He smiled, rubbing at her knee. 'It's been a long time.'
'You and Robert were lucky to have a woman like June. I'm nothing like her. I'm really not the best mother, look at me!' She raised her arms with her palms facing the roof. 'Look at the situation we're in because of it, I mean, who falls asleep and lets some crazy kidnap their own child?' she snapped heatedly.
'You stop talking like that, you hear? I don't want to listen to you saying those things,' he voiced like a school teacher scolding a child.
'It's true, Elwood. I was a terrible mother and wife. I was never there for Jack when he wanted me. I missed countless birthday and countless Christmases because I was so fucking selfish, always working.'
'Come on now, Marilyn, don't talk like that, stop being so hard on yourself,' he answered back.
Elwood took a tight right turn off the back road. 'What was your job?'
'I was a nurse, always on call. I'd go to different hospitals in different cities, for sometimes weeks at a time. I never really got to do anything with Jack, with me being away. That's why I wanted to make a big fuss of his birthday this
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