ARLINGTON ROAD: LORD HAVE MERCY
William Fenimore/Oliver Lang created by Ehren Kruger.
"Back beat
The word is on the street
That the fire in your heart is out."
--Oasis, "Wonderwall"
It was a quiet morning on the Fenimore farm. Edith Fenimore woke up and, not seeing her husband Peter beside her, assumed he had started his chores early. Good, Edith thought. One less breakfast to make.
Three of the children were already downstairs: Thomas, Victor, and William. They were waiting for Edith in a state of shock. Thomas was covering his eyes, Victor was plugging his ears, and William was trying very hard not to swallow his fist in the upcoming seizure.
They looked like monkeys.
"Sweeties," Edith said, concerned. "What's wrong? Is it Ashley?" Ashley was the newborn baby whose illness had been keeping all the Fenimores up at night.
Thomas shook his head.
"There's a note on the fridge, Ma," he said in his thick accent.
Edith went over to the refrigerator and read the note. It read:
Dear Edie--
I've fallen into debt. Please forgive me for what I have to do.
All my love,
Peter
P.S. The insurance money should be on its way promptly.
Edith dropped the note to the floor.
"Oh my God..."
She ran outside and followed Peter's tractor tracks. He had led the tractor into a deep ditch, jumped off the tractor, and hit rock bottom before hundreds of pounds of steel landed on him.
William Fenimore and the other children followed their mother outside, back to what they had seen just moments ago. Edith fell to her knees, hugging her children and sobbing.
"Oh Peter...Peter..."
William Fenimore stared at his father's deformed, mangled body.
*****
"Friends, family, neighbors. We have gathered here today to mourn the loss of Peter William Faraday, beloved husband, father, and friend..."
The funeral seemed to last forever. William had the patience of an A.D.D.-afflicted five-year-old.
The insurance monkey had indeed come, and payed quite well. Edith was able to pay off all the debt to the government, and save enough money for her eldest son, William, to go to college.
But that wouldn't be for a few more years.
William smiled. He knew then what he had to do to get back at the government. The fire in his mother's eyes, in her soul may have been extingushed, but there was renewed vigor in the life of young William Fenimore.
And besides, there was a Kansas City Star headline to make...
William Fenimore/Oliver Lang created by Ehren Kruger.
"Back beat
The word is on the street
That the fire in your heart is out."
--Oasis, "Wonderwall"
It was a quiet morning on the Fenimore farm. Edith Fenimore woke up and, not seeing her husband Peter beside her, assumed he had started his chores early. Good, Edith thought. One less breakfast to make.
Three of the children were already downstairs: Thomas, Victor, and William. They were waiting for Edith in a state of shock. Thomas was covering his eyes, Victor was plugging his ears, and William was trying very hard not to swallow his fist in the upcoming seizure.
They looked like monkeys.
"Sweeties," Edith said, concerned. "What's wrong? Is it Ashley?" Ashley was the newborn baby whose illness had been keeping all the Fenimores up at night.
Thomas shook his head.
"There's a note on the fridge, Ma," he said in his thick accent.
Edith went over to the refrigerator and read the note. It read:
Dear Edie--
I've fallen into debt. Please forgive me for what I have to do.
All my love,
Peter
P.S. The insurance money should be on its way promptly.
Edith dropped the note to the floor.
"Oh my God..."
She ran outside and followed Peter's tractor tracks. He had led the tractor into a deep ditch, jumped off the tractor, and hit rock bottom before hundreds of pounds of steel landed on him.
William Fenimore and the other children followed their mother outside, back to what they had seen just moments ago. Edith fell to her knees, hugging her children and sobbing.
"Oh Peter...Peter..."
William Fenimore stared at his father's deformed, mangled body.
*****
"Friends, family, neighbors. We have gathered here today to mourn the loss of Peter William Faraday, beloved husband, father, and friend..."
The funeral seemed to last forever. William had the patience of an A.D.D.-afflicted five-year-old.
The insurance monkey had indeed come, and payed quite well. Edith was able to pay off all the debt to the government, and save enough money for her eldest son, William, to go to college.
But that wouldn't be for a few more years.
William smiled. He knew then what he had to do to get back at the government. The fire in his mother's eyes, in her soul may have been extingushed, but there was renewed vigor in the life of young William Fenimore.
And besides, there was a Kansas City Star headline to make...
