CHAPTER 14
The following days were both extra normal and extremely usual. I did my chores, including helping Mama pull weeds from her garden, went swimming with Patrick and his younger brother Joe, tried to catch some fish but didn’t have any luck. And because you always miss stuff the first time, I usually try to see a movie twice, so on Thursday, I was going to see the Sherlock Holmes movie again. But because an uncomfortable feeling kept dogging me all week—a feeling I wasn’t used to, that something bad was going to happen—I decided that before the movie I’d stop by Daddy’s to see how things were working out for Meriwether.
Lucas was just coming out of the bathroom with the sign on the door that said Whites, drying his hands off on a rag. According to the clock, it was twenty minutes past his quitting time and Meriwether was due any minute.
Seemed to me Lucas was making a show of wiping his hands. “Gotta make sure I get all the black off,” he said with emphasis on the word black. He tossed the rag into the bin and held up his hands for me to see. “Now, that’s exactly how I like ’em, Gabriel—nice and white.”
I may only be twelve, but I understood what he was getting at, and I hoped he’d be gone before Meriwether showed up. But I hoped wrong, because right then, Meriwether strolled in.
Meriwether greeted us pleasantly. “Good afternoon.”
“Hi, Mr. Hunter,” I replied.
Lucas responded with a scowl. His usual wad of tobacco was tucked inside his cheek, and I wondered if he was going to spit at Meriwether’s feet again, but luckily, he didn’t.
Without a word, he walked out into the sun and didn’t look back. I stood in the doorway and watched Lucas until he was out of sight. Something was still eating at me inside and had me worried.
“How do you like workin’ here?” I asked Meriwether.
He slipped into his coveralls and said, “I like it just fine.”
“I would stay but the movie starts at four, and if I do, I’ll be late,” I explained.
He popped the hood on a car and stuck his head inside. “Wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”
“No. I always try to see a movie twice because that way I remember it better.”
“Even if you don’t like the movie?” he asked.
“The only ones I can’t stand are those lovey-dovey sappy ones. And I try never to see those even once.”
“Smart boy.”
“See ya,” I told him.
He raised his head and waved. “Bye now, Gabriel.”
And as I walked off, a part of me wanted to skip the movie and go back and talk some more with Meriwether Hunter. But Patrick was waiting on me, so I headed into town.
AFTER DINNER, I went to my room and stared at the bicycle I’d been forbidden to ride. Patrick was right. They may as well just crucify me, I thought.
I was still pitying myself when Meriwether dropped into my mind and lingered there. Some folks were always itching to start trouble, and Lucas was one of them. A kind man had saved my life and that man happened to be colored, and I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
Inside of me, questions and worries collided with each other, producing more and more, until I had too many. Finally, everything going on inside my skull quieted down and I had my answer.
I’d go to work at the shop. That way, not only could I spend time with Meriwether, who, even though I’d only known him for a short while, for some reason had already started to feel like my friend, but also, with the boss’s son nearby, Lucas wouldn’t likely start any mess—would he?