Love, Lucy
The round knob on the backdoor turned and with a soft click, the door was pushed open, revealing a windswept Lucy. She was carrying a brown briefcase in one hand, her purse and school books in the other.
"Ruthie, could you get that?" Lucy asked as she stumbled over to the wooden table, setting the heavy items down.
Ruthie, who had just appeared from the stairway, nodded and made her way to the door that stood ajar.
"Why do you have Dad's briefcase?" Ruthie asked, curiously, after shutting the door.
Lucy ran a hand through her matted hair. "I was down at the church and Dad asked me to bring it home for him."
"Oh," Ruthie sighed. "Well, Dad's upstairs."
Lucy smiled. "Thanks," she replied before grabbing her purse and the briefcase, then heading upstairs.
Ruthie lingered around the table,
scanning Lucy's school books. There was nothing of interest to her. Ruthie
shrugged, grabbed her coat off of the back of a chair, and headed out the
door Lucy had just come through.
"Annie, it's just a game of pool," Eric argued with his wife, who was cleaning in their bedroom.
Annie walked into the bathroom, picked up a washcloth and towel, and brought them out into the room. She dropped them into a clothes basket before replying.
"I've told you before, Eric. I just don't trust the guy."
"Why not? Thomas Hunter is a nice guy!"
Annie was making the bed, now, but stopped to face her husband. "Fine. Go play pool with Thomas Hunter. But when something goes wrong, don't come cryin' to me!"
Annie exited the room, leaving the bed unmade.
Eric watched his wife storm out of the room. He smiled slightly, nervously. "There. That wasn't so hard."
Even though he spoke the words, Eric felt somewhat uneasy about Thomas Hunter.
Why didn't Annie like him? Why did she feel that he wasn't completely there? Thomas Hunter is a good guy. A good guy. Right?
"Uh...Dad?" Lucy called from the doorway.
"Yeah?" Eric's eyes focused upon his daughter.
"I have your briefcase," Lucy lifted the brown case to show her father.
Eric walked over to Lucy and accepted his briefcase.
"Thanks," he said, kissing her on the forehead.
"So, you're going to play pool?" Lucy asked. She had overheard her parents' conversation.
"Yeah, with a good friend of mine, Thomas Hunter," Eric explained.
"Thomas Hunter? You've never said anything about him before."
"Thomas Hunter is a good guy. A nice guy. Tell your mother that, will you?" Eric patted Lucy on the shoulder before walking past her.
"Uh-huh," Lucy muttered, leaving the room.
Thomas Hunter was seated at the bar, when Eric Camden came strolling in. Eric slipped off his coat, hung it on one of the hooks by the entrance, and headed over to Thomas.
Thomas was a man of forty years. His hair had already begun to thin in the back, so now he had a small bald spot. He was a tall man, just a few inches shorter than Eric. His body was a nice build, slender, buff. Thomas told him that he worked out when he was still young. Tom had a nice personality, too. A personality that was much like Eric's. But a personality can change.
"Hey, Tom," Eric greeted his friend, taking the empty stool beside him.
Thomas looked at his buddy, and grinned. "It's about time."
Eric was about to reply, but
the bartender spoke first.
"What'll it be, Reverend?"
Eric glanced at the bartender, Jerry, and flashed him his best minister smile. "Water'll be fine, thanks."
Jerry smiled, tossing the white towel that he held over his left shoulder. "Coming right up."
Eric Camden turned back to Thomas. "Sorry. I got caught with with Annie."
"Annie," Thomas pictured Eric's wife in his mind. "How is she?"
"Fine," Eric replied. He was about to add something else, but held himself back.
"And the rest of the clan?" Thomas took a sip of his beverage that sat before him.
"Everyone's doing good, actually."
Jerry was coming with Eric's water.
"Here you are, Rev," Jerry placed a napkin in front of Eric before setting the wet glass on it.
"Thanks, Jerry."
When Jerry walked away once more, Eric and Thomas started up their conversation again.
"Good? Well, that's a first. No one's in trouble?" Thomas had a grin on his face, which made Eric slightly uncomfortable.
Eric shook his head. "How 'bout a round of pool?" Eric gestured to a free table.
Thomas agreed and stepped down from his stool. Eric set his water down and followed.
Eric was racking up the balls
when Thomas asked another question that disturbed Eric.
"How's Lucy?"
Eric paused, a striped orange ball in his hand. He raised his eyes to meet Thomas's.
"Fine," Eric continued to rack the balls. Why would Thomas be asking about Lucy? Just Lucy.
"Her schoolwork coming okay?" Thomas had a pool stick clutched in his hands, knuckles white. His piercing blue eyes were set on Eric.
"She's doing great. Your shot," Eric had the balls set up and ready to go. He grabbed a nearby stick and waited for Thomas to start the game.
Thomas looked disappointed that Eric had cut the conversation short, but leaned over the table, stick between his fingers, ready to shoot.
Eric studied Thomas, caring much
less about the game. What was going on here?
A/N: Hey, guys. Thanks for all the great reviews. I'm really glad that you like this story. Hope this chapter has interested you even more. ;) Please REVIEW!! I hope to get the next chapter out soon. Thanks, again.
Au Revior,
Carrie