Since then–’tis Centuries–and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity–
“Look at the bream I caught in the pond, Uncle Hez!” Simon turned his phone around to face the Zoom screen on the laptop in Savannah’s office. He flipped through pictures of fish. “Pawpaw let me fillet my fish all by myself.” He extended his left index finger. “I only cut myself in one tiny place, and it only bled a minute.”
This was news to Savannah, who sat beside him, but she resisted the temptation to peel back the sticky bandage andexamine the wound. With Michael giving Simon adult chores, her nephew wouldn’t appreciate being made to feel like a little boy. Why did the man have to make things so hard?
Her face ached from the fake smile she kept pinned in place. Simon’s constant praise for everything Willard hurt her heart. How did she coax him back into the fold of this family? Michael had an insidious way of pulling the unwary into his orbit, and she would do anything to keep Simon from ending up like Little Joe.
Hez shot her a glance of commiseration but maintained his smile. “Nice catch. Did you fry it up too?” He appeared relaxed in shorts and a blue tee that brought out the color of his eyes. Mobile Bay was in the background from his spot on the back patio of their house.
“Mimi and Tammy did the cooking.” Simon puffed out his chest. “But Pawpaw said they were the best fish he’d ever eaten. I ate two plates full. Mimi’s homemade lemonade was even better than LuLu’s.”
That was saying a lot since Simon loved everything at LuLu’s. The restaurant was owned by Jimmy Buffett’s sister and was an icon in the Gulf Shores area.
Simon swiped his phone again. “And look at this, Uncle Hez—we found an old still behind one of the shacks me and my cousins have been using as a hideout.” He turned the phone around again proudly. “We’re going to build a raft and take it out on the pond.”
Savannah tensed. “How deep is the water?”
“I don’t know. I’m not going to swim in the pond, Aunt Savannah. I’ll just push a raft across it with a pole. I’ll be fine.”
He hadn’t been in the ocean since the near drowning. She pressed her lips together. “Did you get your homework done while you were there?”
The excitement left Simon’s expression “Uh, no. I didn’t have time.”
“Better get to it then. You’ve got three hours before bedtime. I know it’s very exciting to be with your cousins, but school is important.” A confrontation with Michael might be in her future.
“Fine.” He got up in a huff and stomped down the hall to his bedroom.
Savannah exhaled. “How do we combat Michael’s influence, Hez? I don’t know what to do. He needsyourinfluence, not that of the Willards. I hate that you can’t be with us. I miss you.”
“I miss you even more. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy by working on the house, but the minutes go by way too slowly.” His expression on the screen went somber. “I can’t go into details, babe, but the pressure on Michael is about to go way up. He’s already unpredictable, so be prepared for him to react poorly.”
React poorly?“What does that mean?”
“I can’t say more, but he could lash out. I want you to be careful.”
Unease rippled down her spine. She already felt like her neck was a swivel. Anytime a strange car drove past her cottage or she heard the squeal of tires, she tensed. “I wish you’d tell me what you know. Did you do something to him?”
The doorbell rang before Hez could answer. She started to get up, but Simon came out of his room and ran past the office door on his way to the entry. “I’ll get it,” he called.
“Wait, Simon!” She leaped up to try to intercept him, but he threw open the door and stepped onto the porch. She raced after him and found him holding a manila envelope.
No one else was on the porch and no cars were in the cottage’s driveway or parked on the street. She smelled freshly cut grass, not the odor of gasoline. Was someone hiding alongside the house in the bushes? She grabbed Simon’s shoulder and pushed him back inside.
“It’s addressed to you.” Simon handed it to her.
She took it gingerly. “Thanks, Simon. You can get back to your schoolwork now.”
He eyed the envelope with curiosity but retreated to his room.
Savannah locked the door and carried the envelope to her office. She held it up for Hez to see. “No one was out there. No cars, no pedestrians. Someone dropped it and ran.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” he said. “I should come get it.”
