Bent Road - Lori Roy [86]
“What’d you tell them?” Uncle Ray shouts.
The glass shatters into tiny pieces and rains down like the fuzzy-tipped seedlings Evie and Daniel blew off the tops of dandelions when they first moved to Kansas. Dangling from Daddy’s arms, Evie watches the feathery glass sprinkle down around her. Daddy holds her, crouched over, shielding her so she can’t see Uncle Ray or the door or Mama. Only the feathery glass. The house falls silent.
Because she can’t breathe very well, Evie twists and squirms until Daddy stands. He turns away from the window, and after taking a few steps toward Mama and Aunt Ruth, his body tensing each time he steps on a piece of glass, he hands Evie to Mama like a cup of hot soup, carefully so none of her spills over. Laying her head on Mama’s shoulder, Evie can see Daddy. He is staring at the broken window. Uncle Ray is there, his fists frozen where they hit the glass. He looks at Evie, or maybe he’s looking at Mama. Mama sets Evie down, gathers the top of her robe under her chin with one hand and waves at Evie to go back into the kitchen. Yes, he’s looking at Mama. He smiles.
Daddy stands still for a moment, watching Uncle Ray smile at Mama and then he lunges, leaping over the scattered glass. He grabs at Uncle Ray through the broken window, but Uncle Ray is gone, across the porch and down the steps. Daddy throws open the door.
“Arthur, no,” Mama shouts. “Leave it be.”
But Daddy doesn’t listen, and he runs after Uncle Ray.
Hearing the glass break, Daniel slips by Elaine, who has just hung up with Jonathon. She grabs for Daniel’s sleeve, but he is too quick. A few short steps and he is across the kitchen and standing at the top of the stairs that lead to the basement. He reaches for the gun cabinet but it’s locked, and the spot where Dad’s shotgun usually hangs is empty. But Daniel’s rifle is there, right where it should be. Aunt Ruth hears him, grabs his hand and shakes her head. He pulls away from her. This time, he’ll take a shot. He’ll have his own gun and the trigger won’t be too heavy. He could shoot Uncle Ray, kill him dead just fine with his .22. And he’d do it, too, in three perfect shots, if the cabinet weren’t locked. No time to fish for the key. He pushes between Aunt Ruth and Mama and follows Dad out the door.
Before Daniel crosses the porch, a light flips on. In the center of the gravel drive, near the garage, Dad catches up to Uncle Ray, whose legs can’t keep up with his top half. He is stumbling and falling from side to side until Dad grabs his collar. For a moment, Uncle Ray is steady on his feet until Dad yanks him backward, causing Uncle Ray’s boots to fly out from under him. Landing flat on his back, he lets out a groan. As Dad kicks Uncle Ray in the side, wincing and bouncing on one leg after he does it because he is barefooted, snowflakes begin to fall, sparkling in the porch light.
Making no noise, Dad drops down and drives one knee into Uncle Ray’s ribs. Something cracks. Sitting on Uncle Ray’s chest, Dad holds him square with his left hand and beats him in the face with his right. Uncle Ray’s shoulders bounce off the ground with each punch. He lets out muffled grunts, like Dad is beating all the air out of his lungs. The black tangled hairs on Dad’s chest sparkle with wet snowflakes. He pounds Uncle Ray’s face again and again until a set of oncoming headlights flash around the corner of the house. With one fist caught in midair, Dad stops. His sparkling chest lifts and lowers, and thick frost floats from his mouth, up and around his head and neck. Daniel turns and squints into the bright light. Stepping out of the truck and seeing Dad and Uncle Ray, Jonathon reaches back inside and flips off the headlights. He pulls on his hat and tugs the brim low over his forehead.
“How about I take it from here, Arthur?” Jonathon says.
Dad stands, his bare feet straddling Uncle Ray. He nods and says, “Good enough.”
Jonathon walks a few yards