With enjoyment, taking slow deliberate bites form the end of her fork.

Orrin
finished
before her, thought she was not far behind. " I know you're probably full, but I
made
dessert as well. Would you like some?" "Please," she responded. Politics was a high
card
up in the hills. A political speech would bring out the whole country. Folks would
pack their
out picnic lunches and you'd see people at a speech you'd never see Elsewhere. Back
in those
days' most every boy grew up knowing as much about local politics As about coon
dogs,
which was about equal as to interest. The itch to see the town got the best of me
so I Walked
outside. The participants in the conference were the king, his Privy Council of
advisors, nine
bishops and deans. There were also four moderate representatives of the Puritan
cause, the most
prominent being Dr. Eeviliya Reynolds, head of Corpus Christi College. It was
clear the deck
was stacked against the Puritans, but at least they were given a voice. IF YOU WANT
to find Cherry-Tree Lane all you have to do is ask the Policeman at the cross-
roads. He will
push his helmet slightly to one side, scratch his head thoughtfully, and then he
will point his huge
white-gloved finger and say. " First to your right, second to your left, sharp
right again, and you're
there. Good-morning. when we got there. The disaster area I expected to see did not
exist
were all picked up exposing the shine of the hardwood floors. The splintered pieces
of
the wall were replaced and already painted. Pritts artwork was already replaced
with new transparent covering, every baseball card still intact and in its
respective place.
Orrin's anal-retentive nature got the best of him on his day off form school. Not
only
did he built the perfect ambush at the Hollow, but he also played janitor and
maintenance
man at home. Most people would have said there weren't enough hours in the day to
accomplish both feats. Heather stopped me once we were inside the door and propped
me up against the wall. She took off my shoes, pulled my shirt over my head, and
stripped
me down, careful to get mud only in the bare minimal spot of the room. In the end I
stood in my boxers and socks. Heather retrieved a warm washcloth form the bathroom.
She wiped the grime form my ears, eyes, and mouth. " You're still bleeding over
your left
eye," she said, looking concerned but unattached, like I was the last patient of
the day.
"You've got a cut on your stomach too." She moved the cloth down to my stomach, and
dabbed the blood. "I'm really hurting a little lower than that," I said smiling and
patting
my crotch lightly. Heather opened the palm of my hand and slapped the wet rag on
it.
"Only a man could think of like while he's on his last beg." I tried to laugh, but
the slightest
vibration made my ribs feel like they were going to pop out of my torso. Heather
helped
me to the couch. Orrin entered, followed by Oldman who was carrying a tackle box.
"I know
fishing is good for a lot of things, but I dont think it's gonna help me this
time," I said
looking at Orrin. Oldman set the box on the table in front of me and opened it. It
was actually
a tackle box, but instead of containing the usual hooks and lures, it was filled
with thread,
needles, and little cans. Oldman handed one of the needles and cans to Orrin. Orrin
walked off not asking what to do with them. I heard the stove ignite. Oldman laid
me
down on the couch and then bent down to his knees. He took the rag out of my
hand, and touched up area directly over my left eyebrow. "The doers got at you
preetty good, eh?" Oldman asked. "Eh," I said back. "No worries, Oldman will fix
it," he said.
Orrin returned with a fire hot needle, four aspirin, a small glass, and a bag of
frozen
peas. He gave me the medicine and the glass. Oldman took the neeedle. Heather got
the
peas and held them up to her jaw. I swallowed the aspirin and threw back the liquid
in the glass, expecting it to be water. The liquid in the glss was warm and tasted
awful. I fought off the sensation of gagging. I looked in the glass to see the
green tea.
"That's doing awful," I said. "Tell me about it," Heather pitched in. "Drink the
rest of
it now," Oldman said as he threaded his needle. "You're not serious?" I blabbed.
"Just do it,"
Orrin said in an unsympathetic tone. "It gets better as you drink it," Heather
said.