Chapter One: Russet, Dying Day
The car breaks squealed as Hosea pressed the pedal. He turned the wheel and felt the front right tire scrape against the curb. His foot pushed harder. The vehicle gave a slight jerk before it settled.
“You seem nervous,” She said.
He nodded. He stared out the windshield. It was a calm night. The end of the summer. The moon was full. Everything was crisp. It all had the air of harvest, the orange tinge of abundance.
The cars lights blinked out. Dark shadow stood stark black against that russet, dying day.
Hosea felt the key beneath three fingers. He felt the engine rumble through the delicate bones of his hand. He turned the thin piece of metal. The vehicle coughed as it died. He looked to her. Gentle wings of hair framed her face which was all orange and black in the setting sun. The rest of her hair was up and pinned back for the occasion. The dress she wore made every line of her body even more graceful, if that was even possible. He let his eyes linger on her full, red lips a moment, and then he looked up to her eyes that were darkened by shadow.
“I have a good reason to be nervous,” He answered her. “It’s always made me nervous.”
She gave him a small, sympathetic smile.
“I preferred France, Evie. I felt new. Things weren’t outlined for me. You know how parents outline you? I don’t want to be the picture they’re painting.”
Her soft hand touched his shoulder. It felt like the deepest place of her soul was moving out from her fingers to touch him. He felt comfort in it.
“They care. You know they care. From everything I have heard, I know that they would do anything for you and your brothers.”
Hosea nodded. “Such a noble sacrifice.” He turned his face to the windshield. He peered up at the orange moon. He let his mind drift a brief moment. He let himself feel her tender touch, her delicate fingers on her delicate hand, the same hand that had the ring, a small ring a ring that was only recognizable as representing one thing.
When would the wedding be? He did not want to think of it. It was a problem for tomorrow, or next week, or next year.
“They mean well,” He said. “They want what’s best for me, but they have a certain picture of what that looks like.”
He felt her hand pull away from his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he saw her look down at her hand. She turned it over and admired the ring. Through some trick of optics, it always sparkled more in the low-light, as if God had woven metaphor into the facets of the gemstone.
“You want me to take it off?” He voice was gentle. And loving, so loving.
He nodded without looking at her. He sighed. He felt cold. He felt deflated. A little stale. He licked his dry lips, and he watched out of the corner of his eye as she brought her other hand up. She wiggled the ring off. She held it out to him in a flattened palm. “I don’t have any pockets,” She said.
His head turned. He looked into her eyes. He looked at the ring. He reached out to grab it, and he felt her soft hand and that same soul-connection as before.
“I don’t deserve you,” He said.
She smiled. “Don’t lose it,” She answered.
He did not respond. His door clicked. It swung open. The cool air of the night blew in. “Are you ready?” He asked.
Her door clicked open as if in response. “I am ready whenever you are ready to let your parents know that I exist.”
Hosea laughed as he pulled himself up out the of car.
Hosea was unsure whether today was the best day to introduce Evie to his parents, but he did not know a better time. He had run through different situations: he and Evie alone with his parents, his parents and brothers all around, just him and his parents. He knew only one thing after these imaginings: he wanted to tell them, and then he wanted them to move on. He did not want them to linger long over the fact. The less time they were focused on him, the better. Let them nod, congratulate both Evie and himself, and let them move along to another topic. He wanted to be left alone. That was it. That was all. If they were not distracted by something else, they would quickly tell him the dozens of opinions they had about him, about Evie, and about him and Evie. He wanted them to be quiet, to wait and watch and let him live.
He hoped that this night, the night of their thirtieth anniversary, would be enough of a distraction, but he was still nervous. He still awaited unpleasant opinion.
He heard the party from the small house before they entered it, and, when he walked through the door, he wondered how the party had been contained within those walls. It was all chatter. It as all conversation. Not a note of music, only person facing person, all yelling above the din to be heard. It was every family member in the city. It was friends and co-workers and acquaintances and the children of friends and co-workers and acquaintances.
He and Evie were late. He thought being late would provide more of a distraction for his parents, but he wondered if the intentional tardiness had been a miscalculation. He worried he would not be able to get in a word with either of his parents at all.
“Hosea,” Evie whispered. Her hand went around his arm. He felt the warmth and closeness from her once again. “I’m glad I’m here,” She said. “With you.”
He pulled her closer with his arm and looked around the room for his parents. He hoped he would find them quickly. He wanted to get this business of introductions over with, but he was relieved when he did not see them. Though he knew it was an unfulfillable wish, part of him hoped he would not find them at all.
“Hosea,”
Hosea was surprised to hear his name from behind him. The voice came from near the door. He turned to see a boy, his twelve-year-old brother, Jeremiah. Hosea smiled at him. “Jeremiah,” He answered back. He relaxed. His youngest brother’s excited face was a distracting relief from the worries about his parents. “How are you?” He asked the boy. Hosea’s voice was warm. “How is school?”
Jeremiah smiled big. He laughed. “School starts in a week.”
Hosea gave him a sarcastic frown. He rolled his eyes.
Jeremiah laughed again.
“When I was your age, we had school from August first to July thirty first,” Hosea said.
Now Jeremiah frowned and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right,” He said. “Did you wander the desert for forty years too?” Jeremiah’s words were sharp.
Hosea laughed. “Do you want to talk to great aunt Mabel?” His face was warm with a smile.
The sarcastic smile faded from Jeremiah’s face. “Please,” He shook his head. “Please, don’t. I just got done talking to her. She cornered me for an hour.”
Hosea threw back his head and burst into laughter. He took a deep breath. He collected himself. “When I was your age, she was worse. You’d be lucky if you could get away from her at all.”
“Did she repeat what she was saying six times when she talked to you?” Jeremiah asked.
Hosea gave a sympathetic grimace. “Well, I’m sure that will count as some sort of penance for you. It’ll be a little less time in purgatory, a couple millennia or so.”
Jeremiah’s mouth curled into an upturned frown. His head shook. “It isn’t worth it.”
Hosea shrugged. Silence sat between them before he spoke. “Do you know where mom and dad are?” He asked.
“They are in the dining room,” Jeremiah answered confidently. “Are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?” he asked the final question quickly.
Evie, who had been waiting in silence until now, burst into laughter. Her laughter ended with a sigh, and she held out her hand. “My name is Evie.” Her voice was gracious and just as warm as ever.
“Jeremiah Simeon Fleet.” The young boy took her hand and shook it vigorously.
“Okay,” Hosea said when the handshake ended. “We’re going to find mother and father. Stay away from old female relatives.”
Jeremiah laughed and then gave Hosea a frown as the two walked away.
“He’s nice,” Evie said as they walked into the dining room.
Hosea nodded. He scanned the room. He did not see either of his parents. “Jeremiah is a schmoozer. And he likes girls. He likes girls a lot.”
“So, he isn’t as nice with everyone else?” She asked.
Hosea smiled. “He’s nice to everyone, just not as nice.”
Evie laughed. The warmth of her laugh flowed into him. He remembered that he had to introduce her to his parents once again. Once again, he felt worry, but her laugh gave him some courage. He touched his watch pocket. He felt the small ring of metal through the fabric. Why was this so hard? He had been to war. He had run into gunfire. Facing death had almost become mundane but facing the expectations of his parents created a burr that burrowed into his mind and that he could not get out.
“Jeremiah is nice kid,” He said to Evie as he continued to scan the room. “But he gave us bad directions.”
“Hmmm?” Evie asked.
“My parents,” He gestured to the crowd. “They’re not in here.” He gave an expression of annoyance, but he once again felt relief that they were nowhere in sight. Evie pulled him closer. He knew that she was trying to tell him to relax and slow down, but he ignored her subtle suggestion and continued to scan the room. On this second scan, he saw Daniel. His brother Daniel, three years younger than himself, had a phone pinned to one ear and a finger plugging the other. Hosea noticed that Evie opened her mouth as if to speak, but before she could, he pulled her toward his brother.
Daniel was distracted by the phone call and did not notice the two until they stood directly in front of him. When he did notice them, he pursed his lips, gave them a half-hearted wave, and continued his phone call.
He talked to his assistant. Agitation flowed out of him, and Hosea knew he was holding himself back from yelling. Hosea did not know whether the discretion was for the people in the room or the person on the phone.
“What I need you to do,” He nodded as he listened to the person on the other line. “I know. I know.” He ran his hand through his thick black hair. His young face looked old as he spoke on the phone. He nodded his head again.
“We are,” He paused again. “Stop. Stop. Okay. I want you to go home, Relax.” He nodded again. “And we’ll—mmhmm—we’ll take care of everything tomorrow. Okay. Yes. You too.” He pulled the phone from his ear and dropped it onto the receiver. His hand ran through his thick hair again.
He nodded to both Evie and Hosea. “Hello,” he said. The word was dry and tired. “Hosea. Evie,” He added.
“I thought you weren’t going to be here,” Hosea responded.
Daniel looked at his brother. His eyes widened. Half of his mouth curled up into a fake smile. His eyebrows rose.
“Mother?” Hosea asked.
Daniel nodded with his eyes still wide. He looked like he would have liked to fall into his bed rather than be at this party and among these people.
Hosea watched as Daniel’s eyes relaxed. Those eyes moved to Evie and followed her arm down to her hand, down to a single finger. Then his eyes ran up and locked with Hosea’s.
“Where’s the ring?” He asked. “You said that you were going to this week.”
Hosea turned to Evie. She smiled. He turned back to Daniel.
“We aren’t telling mom and dad,” Hosea whispered.
Daniel’s eyes widened again. A smile crept onto his face. He leaned against the wall next to the phone. He nodded to Hosea. Then he looked over to Evie. “You should keep that a secret as long as you can,” He said to her. “If I were you, I would get married and tell them once you get pregnant. Or even after you have the kid.”
Hosea chuckled. “Okay, Daniel. We’ll take that into consideration. Do you know where they are?”
Daniel shrugged. He sighed, a tired sigh. “Ezekiel seems to be running things. I’m sure he would know. I think I saw him in the kitchen. Now, if you don’t mind, I am going to find a drink and a place to sit where I won’t run into dad. I am sure the old man would appreciate that.”
“And we’ll find Ezekiel,” Hosea answered.
Daniel only gave them a wave and moved into the crowd.
“Time to find Ezekiel? I suppose I am going to meet your whole family tonight,” Evie said.
“Yep,” Hosea answered. He grabbed Evie around the waist, and he pulled her back into the crowd playfully. As they made their way over to the kitchen, Hosea felt a strong force against his back. He staggered forward and hunched over to keep his balance. When he had recovered from the shock of nearly falling, he looked up. He saw another one of his brothers, Isaiah. Isaiah’s eyes wandered across the room lazily. His jaw hung slack as if he were too tired to keep it shut. A drink was in one hand, a cigarette almost falling out of the other.
“Isaiah,” Hosea muttered, but his brother gave no signal that he heard his name. Instead, his eyes continued to wander drunkenly. They drifted across the others in the room. They looked over to the doorway. They looked at Evie. It looked as if they were about to move on past Evie, but they seemed to jerk to a stop, as if Isaiah had suddenly recognized her or had come to some realization. A sharpness came to his eyes, and surprisingly quick steps brought him to her side.
“Isaiah,” Hosea muttered again. Isaiah made no signal that he heard. His eyes no longer drifted. He saw only Evie, and a big smile spread across his face.
“You are probably the most beautiful girl I’ve seen in a month.” He brought his drink up to his month and took a long slurp.
Evie smiled politely. “Thank you,” she nodded to Isaiah and caught Hosea’s eyes.
Hosea sighed.
“I could make your night special,” Isaiah continued. He leaned into Evie’s face, and she pulled back. A sour look washed over her face, but Isaiah did not seem to notice.
“Isaiah,” Hosea said the word louder. His brother still did not hear.
Isaiah only squinted his eyes. He reached in his pocket and pulled out something small. “Have you ever seen a medal of honor?” He asked her. He held the medal out to show her.
She glanced at Hosea for help. Hosea nodded. He had a smile on his face as if he were ready to laugh.
“A real war hero,” Isaiah continued.
Then Hosea burst out laughing.
“Isaiah!” He yelled to his brother. Finally, the teenager looked over and saw him. His eyes ran across Hosea. They ran down Hosea’s arm and locked onto Hosea’s hand which held Evie’s, and his eyes went wide.
“It isn’t a medal of honor.” Hosea spoke to Evie. “It is a medal for veterans of foreign wars.”
“Hi, Hosea,” Isaiah said loudly, as if he thought the more volume would cover his faux pas.
“Put your medal away,” Hosea answered.
Isaiah dropped the medal back into his pocket.
“Isaiah, this is Evie. Evie, Isaiah,” Hosea continued.
Evie nodded to Isaiah. Isaiah nodded back through his drunken daze.
“Have you seen Ezekiel or mom or dad?” Hosea asked his brother. Isaiah did not answer. His eyes drifted from them to the rest of the room. “Isaiah,” Hosea said, but the young man’s eyes continued to drift. Hosea stared at his brother. The young man’s eyes became sharp again. Hosea awaited his response, but he moved past them both and into the crowd with a few quick strides. Hosea’s eyes followed him, and he watched his brother walk up to another girl, plunge his hand into his pocket, and retrieve the medal once again.
“Have you ever seen a medal of honor?” Isaiah said. “You know, you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve seen all month.”
Hosea sighed.
“Sorry about him,” Hosea said without looking over to Evie. “Well, you’ve met almost everyone, and if my parents and Ezekiel aren’t in the kitchen, I don’t think we’ll ever find them.
Evie swatted his arm with the back of her hand. “Don’t be so pessimistic,” She said.
“Have you met me?” He answered.
She laughed. “Shut up, and let’s go to the kitchen.”
“Jah, mein führer.” He straightened his back and saluted.
She swatted him again.
He made a mock face of pain.
Ezekiel was clearly the coordinator of the party. He stood at the center of the kitchen. He leaned back on the countertop, and every fifteen seconds or so someone would run up to him to either ask a question or convey some information.
He saw Hosea and immediately waved him over.
“Hosea, how are you?” He asked as they approached.
“Well, I’m here,” Hosea replied.
Ezekiel laughed at the answer. He reached across Hosea and held his hand out to Evie. “Ezekiel,” He said. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Evie took his hand, and he shook hers gently. “Evie,” She answered with a pleased look on her face.
“Do you know where mom and dad are?” Hosea asked.
Ezekiel leaned back on the counter. He pointed across the room to a short woman with her back turned to them. “Myrtle came. Can you believe it? Haven’t seen each other since mom and dad’s wedding. They’ve been talking almost all night.”
“So, we won’t be able to get a word in edgewise?” Hosea asked. He felt the wash of relief begin to pour over him. Maybe he would not be able to tell his parents about Evie at all.
Ezekiel shrugged and made a sour face. “She’ll make time, especially for you.” Ezekiel brought his hands up and cupped them around his mouth. “Mom!” He shouted. Their mother turned. Her eyes found Ezekiel. Ezekiel motioned with his head toward Hosea, and when she spied Hosea and then Evie with him, her face lit up. She turned to Myrtle, said a few words, and scurried across the kitchen as fast as her short, aging legs could carry her. She gave Evie a big hug without warning. She gave Hosea an even bigger hug, a hug that seemed to be even bigger than she was.
“Genevieve,” She introduced herself to Evie. “Genevieve Fleet.” The woman bounced in excitement.
“Evie.” Evie smiled down at the little woman.
“And what is your last name?” Hosea’s mother asked.
“Enmeier,” Evie answered.
The little woman nodded. “German?” She asked.
“I’m told Polish, Mrs. Fleet,” Evie replied.
“Dear,” The woman patted the top of Evie’s hand. “The name is Genevieve. And we Fleets are as Irish as God is God. Descended from the Dal Fiatach, descended from the legendary warrior Cuchulain.”
“Mother, she doesn’t want the family history,” Hosea interrupted.
The little woman waved off the criticism. “We’re from a long line of warriors, and kings, and warrior kings. And, one line even seems to indicate that we’re related to Saint Patrick. And another seems to suggest that we are related to James, the brother of Jesus. And that means we’re related to the mother of God herself.”
Evie smiled and nodded politely. Hosea sighed.
“Mother,” Hosea said. “Where’s dad?”
His mother ignored the question.
“He’s out back,” Ezekiel answered. “He said he was grabbing something.”
“What was he grabbing,” Hosea asked.
Ezekiel shrugged.
“Whatever,” Hosea answered. “I’m going to go get him, get this whole introduction thing over with.”
Ezekiel smiled, but his smile quickly faded as someone walked up to him and told him something had run out.
“Evie.” Hosea looked to her.
Evie looked up. His mother continued to talk.
“I’m grabbing my dad from the garage. I’ll be back in five minutes, probably less.”
Evie nodded. Her eyes returned to the chattering Genevieve Fleet.
It was dark outside. It was calm. Hosea was glad to leave the chaos of the house. He was glad to leave the noise. His mother and brothers all seemed to thrive on crowds, but he preferred time spent with one or two others and some cold beer. His father was the only other one in the family that seemed to appreciate solitude, and it made sense that he would step out to ‘grab something.’
Hosea took in a deep breath of the cool night. He scanned the yard. His parents had lived in this house since he was born. He and his brothers had spent countless hours playing on that patch of struggling grass. As he stared at the yard, he wondered how his parents had held onto the house through the depression. His mind lingered on the question a moment longer, then he looked to the garage. It was dark.
Hosea laughed quietly. If his father was out back, the garage light would have been on which meant that his brother had sent him in the wrong direction, which meant that his father had tricked his brother, so he could get away from the party.
Hosea laughed again. “Good for you, dad,” he whispered. “Good for you.”
He was about to go back into the house to tell Ezekiel of the error, but just before he began to turn, he heard a noise. He scanned the yard. He muttered to himself that he was hearing things, but as he stared into the darkness of the garage, he heard it again. It did not come from the garage. He knew that. It came from beyond the garage, a low groan, like a voice. But it was not the voice of his father, and that confused him. His father’s voice was deep, but his father’s voice was never forceful.
Hosea’s eyes narrowed. Maybe he had only thought he heard a voice. Maybe it was only the sound of a vehicle that he had mistaken for a voice. He took a breath in. He held it. He reached into the darkness to hear the voice again.
It was not a car. It was certainly a voice, and the voice was certainly coming from the alley behind the garage. And it certainly was not his father. He had never heard the man raise his voice, and this sound, this voice came out in a threatening rumble.
Hosea focused his eyes beyond the garage as he moved silently through the yard. He focused his ears on the noise. He began to hear distinctions between words but not the words themselves. He moved closer. The voice was not just in the alley, it was just beyond the garage, and when he reached the garage, he noticed that a black vehicle was parked in the alley. Its engine and lights were off. Finally, when he was halfway to the far end of the garage, he heard the voice clearly. It was here that he stopped, held his breath, and strained his ears to listen to every little sound.
“Everyone knows how this works, Ebenezer.” The voice growled as it spoke his father’s name. “We’ve outlined a deal. You’ve accepted that deal, and that makes us partners.”
“But what if I no longer want the deal?” It was another voice, his father’s, and he spoke so quietly Hosea could barely hear him.
“The deal is the price. The partnership is the price. Unless you don’t want your business to survive. Do you want to step out from under that umbrella of protection?” The voice continued. Anger was in its words.
His father answered in words to quiet for Hosea to understand.
The other voice laughed.
“I don’t often meet a Mick with balls as big as yours, but you will kiss my boots and thank me for having the honor of pissing me on your head.” The voice laughed again. Hosea heard a small yelp from his father, then he heard the voice again, demonic and irate.
“I can destroy everything you love. Your wife will be mine. I’ll break your sons. They’ll beg me to kill them. You’ll watch as they kill themselves. Then I’ll set you in a cage, have your wife, and watch you whither away. You think your free. You think what I am offering is a burden. You’ll feel what it is like to have your whole world owned, entirely.
Hosea heard a sharp slap and winced. The man laughed again. There was crunching in the alley. The car door clicked open. Hosea heard the man spit. He heard the engine rev to life. The car door shut. The man laughed. Hosea could hear that laugh even through the closed window and over the sound of the engine. Then the car sped away.
Hosea heard his father pick himself up from the ground. He heard his father sigh. He watched as he turned the corner. Hosea wished he had never come out the door. He knew he would rather have had his fingernails pulled out one by one than see that realization in his father’s eyes, that realization that his son had heard him belittled and disgraced and threatened as if he were a little man.
“Hosea John,” He said. His voice was complete dignity.
“Dad,” Hosea could not help the word come out in anything but a sad, sympathetic drawl.
“Don’t feel sorry for me, son.” His eyes hardened. Hosea could even tell in the dark. “It is an honor for a man to suffer all manner of things for his family.”
“But he can’t talk to you like that,” Hosea answered.
His father sighed. “Of course he can, Hosea.” His father’s voice was tender as if he was the one giving comfort rather than the one who needed to receive it.
“The police—”
His father shook his head vigorously. “No Hosea. Don’t be stupid. No.”
Hosea took in a deep breath.
“But he can’t do that to you.” Hosea could barely keep his voice from breaking.
His father reached out and set his hand on Hosea’s shoulder. “He can. He did. Let’s go inside. Everyone is waiting.”
Hosea opened his mouth to respond, but his father was already moving past him. He was already to the front of the garage, and Hosea knew his father had made up his mind. His father was as granite man. He had fought for Britain during the first world war. He had seen country-side turned to lunar crater. He, who had moved on from that conflict and built himself and his family a life in America, saw no way beyond what that man had said. And if his father thought that way, it must be true.
Hosea sighed. He followed his father inside. He looked around the room through a haze. Ezekiel yelled to the house with a grin. Evie grabbed Hosea’s arm. Jeremiah stood next to him and glanced over in admiration. Even Daniel and Isaiah followed the crowd into the room, Daniel sat in an unassuming corner, Isaiah was propped up by a cousin. His mother smiled as Ezekiel announced his parents’ thirtieth anniversary. She grabbed her husbands arm and looked up at the tall man with dreamy eyes. Ebenezer Fleet had a big, careless grin on his face as Ezekiel finished his speech. Hosea felt like he was falling, falling backward. Falling backward but down. A chasm opened inside of him. His father, a giant in his eyes, had been shrunk down to the size of an ant, had been made small, and worse, insignificant. The man’s wife, his children, his whole world had been threatened. His father had bowed his head, and he, Hosea, could not do anything about it.