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Show -27- Peppermint Monday and heaven were three things ma harped on most. Her uncle had been a pastor when she was a kid. She'd grown up thinking God looked out for us and he had a place, heavenly and beautiful for those who followed his teachings. I don't think Jason or me producing a whiskey bottle would have turned her more against Jake than what Russ had just told her. I smiled inside, the large knot had disappeared. "Then you'll just have to help him believe," ma didn't sound upset, but I knew the news must have jolted through her. After a night to think about it, she'd forbid Russ to'Jake again. She wouldn't want a unbeliever with her youngest child, a sick child at that. Nobody said anything for almost a minute, but I could hear the bed creak a little, and the blankets being turned back. I knew what came next, and I wanted to sneak away before they knew I'd been listening. It was bad enough eavesdropping on someone's conversation, but to listen to their prayers, that seemed like blasphemy. It was too late, he'd already started, so I just crouched deeper in the shadow's of the hallway and listened. "Watch over pa, ma, Carly, Jas, and me. And please God, help Jake understand you, and heaven. Amen." I crept a few steps away from the door, then scurried into the bathroom. Ma was sure to settle this Jake matter soon enough. She had a real reason now. And it still wasn't too late. Russ had blessed his family before old Jake. |
