Chapter Thirty Six
It was later that night, as Scooter and James sat out on the porch. James leaned back against the railing, sitting on the steps, while Scooter sat across from him. It was relatively quiet out there.
James pulled out a cigarette, and he lit it up, looking out into the night sky. He sighed, nodding to himself. Scooter heard crying, then the footsteps of someone walking around from inside of the house. The soft crying faded away in a few moments.
"What is it James?" Scooter finally asked him.
"Well...son....I'm dying." He said quite plainly, taking another drag on his cigarette. He held out the pack to Scooter who waved it away.
"You called me son." Scooter stated, smiling.
"That's what'cha are. You're my son-in-law. Although...you're some muppety thing...." He paused for a moment, then he patted Scooter's shoulder softly, nodding. "....that dunna make you no less my son."
Scooter didn't say anything, but he nodded as well, just watching the night sky with James. He saw a shooting star streak across the sky, and he smiled.
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The next morning came and went rather uneventually. Sara was in the bathroom, changing the bandage for the wound she had, she looked at it closely.
"Ugh...that's nasty." She saw it was a deep wound, she could literally stick her thumb into the hole that the gunwound had caused. She just then flushed it out, and put another gauze on it. "At least it's healing, that's good."
Sadie rushed up the stairs, holding Renee in her arms. "Sara!! Sara!!!!"
She poked her head out of the bathroom quickly, the yelling also got Scooter attention down in the living room, as he saw her running from the kitchen to the upstairs bathroom. "What is it Sadie? What's wrong?"
"She won't stop crying, and I've tried everything I could...and James was a little rough with her as well..." She handed Renee off to Sara, who cooed a little bit, rocking her too and fro, as she walked down the stairs. Renee instantly calmed down, yawning.
"Yeah, Momma just has that magic touch dosn't she?" She asked Renee, who just yawned again, curling in tighter to Sara's chest. Sara kissed her head softly, and then went and sat down on the couch. Renee started fussing again. "Alright then, let's try this."
She laid down flat on the couch, and placed Renee on her stomach, right between her chest. Renee went instantly to sleep.
"Okay...I think I'll just go ahead and take a nap myself." She got a pillow, and put it under her head, getting ready to take a nap. "I'll just be here sweetheart. I guess she loves being here.." She replied over to Scooter, who was smiling watching them both.
Scooter watched from one of the chairs down there, and he smiled. He noticed someone was out on the porch, singing. He was a little curious so he walked outside, and stood out for a moment, listening.
"As the fields and plains call me, o'er lands I go, the spirits they gall me, as far as they tow.
My land is back home o'er emerald isles, but neray a day passes by.
When I long for her face, like sweet champange, it sparkles and glistens o'er cloudless skies!
I'll meet ya here, when ya ready, for here I come too, not far behind..." James was singing, while sitting on the porch, just watching the skies.
Scooter went and sat down beside him, as he had done last night. He watched as the man, he had come to know as 'Dad', finished up his little song. He smiled, and looked at him. He looked really badly off, but it could be perhaps that he and his wife were nearly 80 years old now. But, well, his wife was gone, she had been dead for nearly 10 years now.
"You miss her, huh?" He said, smiling over at him.
"Ya, I miss her. How would you feel is ya lost your dear Sara?" He asked, leaning against the railing.
"....I think I'd die." Scooter told him. That earned him a slap across the face from James.
"Are ya daft?? Ya never give up so easily, boy! You live on, an' keep chugging! Just cause ya love left, it dunna mean you just give up as well!!" He glared at Scooter, then he frowned and spat over the railing. He had chewing tabacco in his mouth apperently.
Scooter nodded, and put a hand to his face, he could feel it was burning red now. He frowned a little bit at James. "I understand. I just..keep going?"
"Aye. It would be painful, like ya heart was being ripped out, and stomped upon by millions of men with metal boots...but ya keep going on. Now, I ask ye that, to ask ya this: What would you do, if Sara died now?" He watched Scooter's face for an answer.
"You mean...if she died...like right now?" He asked back, curious to what James meant exactly.
"Yes, yes son. What would you do if she just up and died right here in this house, today."
"I would...of course take care of all the funeral things, and...uh...." He was thinking hard, and James reached over and put both hands on his shoulders.
"Think about it, Scooter. Don't just rattle off some answer, really, really think about it."
"I'd like to know, do you know something that I don't about Sara?"
"Oh I dunna know a thing, Scooter. My boy, I just asked a question, if it takes ya sometime to answer it, that's fine. As long as you think about it." With that, James stood up, and walked over to his old beat up car, and he drove off. Leaving Scooter sitting on the porch alone.
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