Between Two Storms, Andrew C. Dooley [black male authors txt] 📗

to mate.
“Man, we gotta find a way to catch one. Imagine how neat that would be,” Jody said.
“How are we going to do that? The crab net’s too small,” Andrew said.
“It’s almost lunchtime,” Jake said. “We better go soon.”
“Yeah, we’ll eat quick so we can hurry back,” Jody said. They lingered a little in awe of the graceful rays, then stepped down from the seawall and walked through the grass to the crab bushel in the shade. Jody and Andrew each took a handle and carried it around to the driveway and set it down. Pop, their grandfather, was tinkering with a part of some appliance by the shed.
“We caught some crabs,” Jody said.
“Any big enough to eat?” asked Pop.
“Yeah, we caught a half a bushel of good sized crabs. We set them down on the side of the driveway,” he said.
“Alright, well I’ll rinse them off in a little while and put them in the steamer,” Pop said.
“We saw some skates too, a whole bunch of them,” Jody said. Jake turned the water on to rinse the sand off his feet.
“They come in this time every year to mate,” Pop said, and then he noticed Jake’s knee. “What happened there?” We all looked at Jake.
“He fell on the sand out front and scraped it,” Jody said. Andrew took the hose from Jake and rinsed his feet off.
“We have to get ready and go to the clubhouse for lunch. Thanks Pop,” Jody said.
“Thanks Pop,” Jake said.
“Thanks Pop,” Andrew said, and all three walked to the door being careful not to get their feet dirty again. They all slipped inside as quickly as possible to keep from letting bugs in.
“I can’t believe how many skates there were,” Andrew said.
“After lunch we’ll take out the orange boat and catch one,” Jody said. He pulled on his shirt; a topless mermaid sitting in the curve of a giant golden hook with the words ‘Catch of the Day’ above her.
“How are we going to catch one?” Jake was sitting on his bed waiting for Jody and Andrew.
“We’ll figure out a way,” Jody said. To Andrew and Jake it seemed nearly impossible, but they trusted Jody’s wisdom and imagination; it had gotten them into plenty of trouble before. Andrew was still looking for his flip flops while Jody and Jake waited outside.
“Your flip flops are right here on the steps,” Jody said. Andrew came out, slipped on his flip flops, noticed Jake was eating a cookie, and ran back inside to grab a couple.
“What are you doing? We have to go,” Jody said.
“I’m getting cookies. Want one?” Andrew was holding the door waiting for Jody’s response.
“Close the door,” Pop yelled. Andrew’s heart pounded in response.
“Come on now, you’re letting all the mosquitoes in. Act like you know what you’re doing,” Pop said.
“Yes sir,” Andrew said, as the door hissed closed behind him.
They turned right and walked along the footpath that cut through the tall marsh grasses. When the wind was blowing it would whistle through the tall blades and bend them. About midway along the path an old footbridge ran over a small stream connecting the swamp to the Bay. To the left of the path was a small swampy area. Snakes loved it here; they fed on the frogs, swam in the swampy water, slithered through the mud and came out to sun themselves on the warm, dry footpath where the sun came down straight and strong. The boys had heard somewhere that snakes can’t see or hear well, but can feel vibrations; every time they walked along the sandy footpath through the tall grass they stomped, hoping to scare off any snakes that might be sunning themselves. All three boys went stomping along the path until they reached the footbridge. Once they were over the footbridge, they went on stomping until they were through the tall grass on the other side where the path began to rise again. They turned right onto the next dirt road, shaded by interlacing branches of trees high above, and followed this straight ahead to the clubhouse.
When Sandy saw the boys she went to greet them and stopped.
“What happened to your knee?” she asked.
“I scraped it on the ground,” Jake said.
“You have a knot on your head. How did you get a knot on your head?” she asked. Jake looked down and Sandy looked at Andrew.
“How did this happen?” The air was suddenly tense and still. Andrew looked away.
“Tell me how this happened,” she said.
“They were fighting over the net and Jake fell and scraped his knee,” Jody said, hoping to avoid having to tell the full account.
“How did he hit his head?” she asked.
“I don’t know, he just hit it. But he’s alright,” Jody said.
“Did you hit him in the head with the net?” She looked at Andrew. When she was mad her eyes could be as cold and piercing as the eyes of a snake and her voice could be as subtle and threatening as a hiss.
“I don’t know.” Andrew said and looked away again.
“Yes you do. Did you hit him with the net?”
“I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. We were both holding…”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said. Speaking to all three boys she added, “Go on in the clubhouse and get something to eat.” She looked at Andrew, “You are not to leave until I’ve had a chance to speak with you.”
As they entered the small, dark clubhouse Andrew trailed with his head lowered the way a dog tucks its tail. The roof was low and there were no windows. The lights were on but if you looked at the doorway, a glaring rectangle of light, your eyes had to readjust to the darkness of the room. Andrew poked at his food and watched his Mom on the other side of the room fixing her plate. She smiled to everyone she spoke to, but Andrew watched her face in the intervals and saw the thunderclouds building. He waited, knowing she was getting closer and closer and that soon she would be sitting on the other side of the table where he could feel the full weight of her anger and disappointment.
Everyone knows better than to stand under a tree when it storms, but he was chained to it. None of the boys had said much since they got their food. Jody and Jake dreaded what was to come as well. When Sandy sat down all three were silent. Andrew kept his eyes on his mostly uneaten food, trying to look as pitiful and sorry as he could. He waited while she carefully chose her words and arranged her thoughts like pieces on a chess board. When she started speaking she already had him in check-mate.
“I want to know how you can hurt your brother?” she said. It wasn’t a question, she didn’t want an answer, she wanted his guilt to bloom, and open wide like the petals of a carnation.
“He’s your little brother. You’re supposed to look after him. Why do you do things like this?” She paused to let this sink in.
“You’re older and a lot stronger than he is,” she said.
“I know, but he does all these annoying things when you’re not around.” Andrew raised his eyes to meet hers for the first time.
“Then you come and tell me.” Her eyes flashed and her voice hardened. “You don’t hit him in the head with a crab net.” Andrew’s eyes dropped back to the food on his plate.
“Look at your brother,” she said. Jake was sitting directly across from him, but Andrew kept staring at his plate.
“Look at him,” she said in a sharper tone. “Look at the knot on his head.” Andrew raised his eyes. Jake looked pitiful, he wasn’t trying, it came from feeling bad that Andrew was getting in trouble. Andrew felt his stomach tighten, and had to look away.
“I’m just so disappointed in you. You should know better. What am I going to do with you? I can’t trust you to go off by yourself when you do things like this,” she said.
“It was an accident. He didn’t mean to hit him with the net,” Jody said. “They aren’t going to fight anymore. Are you?” Jody looked at Andrew.
“No.” Andrew shook his head and his eyes flicked up to his mom’s face. Her eyes were on Jody; she had a settled look like the thick stillness after a storm.
“Tell your brother you’re sorry,” she said.
“What? Why?” Andrew said in a loud voice.
“Because you hit him in the head. Tell him you’re sorry.”
“We already told you it was an accident. I was already holding the net and he grabbed the handle.”
“Apologize now.” Her voice had a cold edge to it. They sat still and tense staring at each other. Jody whispered to him to say he was sorry. Jake looked back and forth between them. He had seen the force of their wills clash before like the horns of two battling rams. Sandy took a deep steadied breath. It was either to calm herself or to prepare for an onslaught; Andrew recognized it as a sign of danger.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.
“I don’t think he heard you; a little louder please,” she said.
“He heard me, he’s right there.”
“Say it louder.”
Andrew took a breath.
“I said I’m sorry.” It came out as a heavy sigh.
“Thank you. Go ahead and eat. You haven’t eaten any of your lunch.”
“I’m not really hungry,” Andrew said.
“Ok, but you’ll be hungry later and you’re not getting any snacks before dinner.”
Andrew took a bite of his hot dog and chewed slowly while looking at the brightness pouring through the door. The light called to him and he knew Jody and Jake felt the same pull.
“What are you planning on doing after lunch?” Sandy asked.
“We’re going to go out in the orange boat,” Jody said.
“We saw skates in the water earlier,” added Jake. Jody looked at Jake wishing he hadn’t said anything in case she told them not