Weathers: Returns, Part I
Chapter 9
Grace Weathers topped off another round across the bar. She turned up the volume on the TV behind her at the request of a burly, unshaven man.
Cassandra came from the back room and told Grace that she could go home. Grace glanced at her watch. It was just past 2 A.M. But she didn’t want to go home. There was nothing there. It was so empty and cold.
Grace stood outside the bar facing the highway. She watched the cars pass by for a few minutes before pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. She lit one and took a deep breath.
She thought about her life. She was doing that a lot these days. It’s why she didn’t want to go home. Her house only reminded her of her family.
Whenever they would visit, her father would raid the refrigerator and reprogram her TiVo to record the Ravens game, then never come back to watch it. Her mother would nervously and unknowingly pick at the fabric of Grace’s favorite chair with her fingernails. Later visits would always bring complaints about how Grace needed new furniture.
Then there was Jake. Born with autism, he was unable to live on his own. He was a burden to his aging parents but the didn’t love him any less. For the last five years, he had a cocker spaniel to keep him company. He named him after the president’s dog.
When Jake was old enough to understand, Richard Nixon was President, and from that point on he referred to every president as Nixon. It was one of his many quirks.
Grace had been taking care of Checkers for the last six months, though at the moment all he had was some cheap dog food and old copies of the Baltimore Sun. She had had the dog since her family died in a plane crash over the Atlantic en route to London to see a doctor for Jake. After it happened, Grace became depressed and lost her faith.
She left the church where she had spent 15 years of her life and resisted pleas from her friends to return. She decided she needed to find herself. Instead she found the back of a bar, serving drinks until the late hours of the night.
Grace tossed her cigarette to the ground and pressed it out with her toe. Then she went back inside to get her tips from Cassandra. She walked out to her car and caught a glimpse of someone following her. It was the burly man who had asked her to change the channel earlier. He was a regular at the bar as of late and usually did not leave until closing time.
Grace got in her car and started the engine. The man was walking toward her car now. It was a dark and thunder warned of a coming storm. The windows were slightly tinted so the man could not see Grace looking at him. He slid a knife out of his coat and flipped it open and kept walking toward her.
To be continued…
Grace Weathers topped off another round across the bar. She turned up the volume on the TV behind her at the request of a burly, unshaven man.
Cassandra came from the back room and told Grace that she could go home. Grace glanced at her watch. It was just past 2 A.M. But she didn’t want to go home. There was nothing there. It was so empty and cold.
Grace stood outside the bar facing the highway. She watched the cars pass by for a few minutes before pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. She lit one and took a deep breath.
She thought about her life. She was doing that a lot these days. It’s why she didn’t want to go home. Her house only reminded her of her family.
Whenever they would visit, her father would raid the refrigerator and reprogram her TiVo to record the Ravens game, then never come back to watch it. Her mother would nervously and unknowingly pick at the fabric of Grace’s favorite chair with her fingernails. Later visits would always bring complaints about how Grace needed new furniture.
Then there was Jake. Born with autism, he was unable to live on his own. He was a burden to his aging parents but the didn’t love him any less. For the last five years, he had a cocker spaniel to keep him company. He named him after the president’s dog.
When Jake was old enough to understand, Richard Nixon was President, and from that point on he referred to every president as Nixon. It was one of his many quirks.
Grace had been taking care of Checkers for the last six months, though at the moment all he had was some cheap dog food and old copies of the Baltimore Sun. She had had the dog since her family died in a plane crash over the Atlantic en route to London to see a doctor for Jake. After it happened, Grace became depressed and lost her faith.
She left the church where she had spent 15 years of her life and resisted pleas from her friends to return. She decided she needed to find herself. Instead she found the back of a bar, serving drinks until the late hours of the night.
Grace tossed her cigarette to the ground and pressed it out with her toe. Then she went back inside to get her tips from Cassandra. She walked out to her car and caught a glimpse of someone following her. It was the burly man who had asked her to change the channel earlier. He was a regular at the bar as of late and usually did not leave until closing time.
Grace got in her car and started the engine. The man was walking toward her car now. It was a dark and thunder warned of a coming storm. The windows were slightly tinted so the man could not see Grace looking at him. He slid a knife out of his coat and flipped it open and kept walking toward her.
To be continued…
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