I’ll sue you for assault and battery.
You’ve lost your mind. You and your entire family are lunatics. You
should all be locked up.”
That was all I could take. There was no way I
was going to stand in my own shop and have the man insult me and my
family. I grabbed his arm harder this time and started walking him
toward the front door. He tried to struggle, but I forced him
outside. I hated that my class saw my behavior, and no doubt some
of them would drop out because of it, but I wasn’t in the mood to
worry about the ramifications of my actions at that particular
moment.
Once I had him outside, I nearly shoved him
off the porch. “Go home, Andrew.”
When he was fifteen feet away, he said, “I’ve
got witnesses You’ll be sorry you did that.” As he rubbed his arm,
he said, “When I get back to town on Monday, I’m swearing out a
warrant on you.”
“ Why wait?” I said. “Let’s
go downtown right now.” The adrenaline was starting to wear off,
but I still wasn’t sorry for what I’d done.
He shook his head. “I’m late right now for an
appointment in Raleigh. Monday will be soon enough for you to go to
jail.”
He scampered back toward Joy land, and I had
to fight the urge to follow him, just to see what he’d do.
Mom walked out onto the porch, and before she
could say anything, I admitted, “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have
thrown him out like that, but he had it coming.”
To my surprise, my mother just smiled at me.
“I came out here to tell you how proud I am of you. No one should
be allowed to insult your family, Benjamin.”
I wasn’t sure if I was happy with the praise
or not. As for the threat of arrest, that didn’t bother me too much
either. I’d worry about it when and if the time came later.
The last thing I wanted to do was to go back
inside the soap shop, but I didn’t have much choice. I wasn’t sure
what the reaction would be, but I never expected applause. When I
walked through the door, my brothers and sisters were lined up near
the register clapping.
Bob said, “Way to go, man. We heard you
yelling from the production line.”
Jeff added, “You really let him have it.”
Louisa looked at me and said, “Don’t let him
get to you, Ben. He always was a little weasel.”
“ Guys,” I said, “I hate to
ruin the party, but there’s a very good chance that I may have just
made things worse.”
Mom said loudly, “Enough. We have these
wonderful customers still to wait on, and gentlemen, you have a
specialty production run to finish. Now back to work,
everyone.”
I wanted to hide in my office, but Diana
caught me before I could get upstairs. “I’m sorry to hear about
your troubles.”
“ We’ll work it out,” I said.
“I’m the one who should apologize. I let him get to me.”
She touched my arm lightly. “Ben, there’s
nothing wrong with defending your family. I think you did exactly
what you should have done.”
“ Thanks,” I said, then I
noticed that Kate and Cindy were watching us. “Well, I’ve got a
mound of paperwork waiting for me upstairs. If you’ll excuse
me.”
She took the hint instantly. “Absolutely. I
need to get back to the bookstore. It’s hard to tell what Rufus has
done in my absence. I’ll see you Monday, Ben.”
“ See you then,” I
said.
I retreated up the stairs to my office,
hoping to get away from the world for a while. There was a knock on
my door not ten seconds after I’d closed it.
“ Go away,” I
said.
The door opened and I saw Louisa standing
there. “Now is that any way to talk to your favorite sister?”
I grinned at her. “Who said you were my
favorite?”
“ Why wouldn’t I be?” she
asked with a smile of her own. “Now why don’t you take me to lunch?
You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
I looked at the clock and realized that I’d
missed another meal. Sometimes my schedule was so busy I literally
forgot to eat. It was probably a good thing, though. With the baked
goods Mom kept on
You’ve lost your mind. You and your entire family are lunatics. You
should all be locked up.”
That was all I could take. There was no way I
was going to stand in my own shop and have the man insult me and my
family. I grabbed his arm harder this time and started walking him
toward the front door. He tried to struggle, but I forced him
outside. I hated that my class saw my behavior, and no doubt some
of them would drop out because of it, but I wasn’t in the mood to
worry about the ramifications of my actions at that particular
moment.
Once I had him outside, I nearly shoved him
off the porch. “Go home, Andrew.”
When he was fifteen feet away, he said, “I’ve
got witnesses You’ll be sorry you did that.” As he rubbed his arm,
he said, “When I get back to town on Monday, I’m swearing out a
warrant on you.”
“ Why wait?” I said. “Let’s
go downtown right now.” The adrenaline was starting to wear off,
but I still wasn’t sorry for what I’d done.
He shook his head. “I’m late right now for an
appointment in Raleigh. Monday will be soon enough for you to go to
jail.”
He scampered back toward Joy land, and I had
to fight the urge to follow him, just to see what he’d do.
Mom walked out onto the porch, and before she
could say anything, I admitted, “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have
thrown him out like that, but he had it coming.”
To my surprise, my mother just smiled at me.
“I came out here to tell you how proud I am of you. No one should
be allowed to insult your family, Benjamin.”
I wasn’t sure if I was happy with the praise
or not. As for the threat of arrest, that didn’t bother me too much
either. I’d worry about it when and if the time came later.
The last thing I wanted to do was to go back
inside the soap shop, but I didn’t have much choice. I wasn’t sure
what the reaction would be, but I never expected applause. When I
walked through the door, my brothers and sisters were lined up near
the register clapping.
Bob said, “Way to go, man. We heard you
yelling from the production line.”
Jeff added, “You really let him have it.”
Louisa looked at me and said, “Don’t let him
get to you, Ben. He always was a little weasel.”
“ Guys,” I said, “I hate to
ruin the party, but there’s a very good chance that I may have just
made things worse.”
Mom said loudly, “Enough. We have these
wonderful customers still to wait on, and gentlemen, you have a
specialty production run to finish. Now back to work,
everyone.”
I wanted to hide in my office, but Diana
caught me before I could get upstairs. “I’m sorry to hear about
your troubles.”
“ We’ll work it out,” I said.
“I’m the one who should apologize. I let him get to me.”
She touched my arm lightly. “Ben, there’s
nothing wrong with defending your family. I think you did exactly
what you should have done.”
“ Thanks,” I said, then I
noticed that Kate and Cindy were watching us. “Well, I’ve got a
mound of paperwork waiting for me upstairs. If you’ll excuse
me.”
She took the hint instantly. “Absolutely. I
need to get back to the bookstore. It’s hard to tell what Rufus has
done in my absence. I’ll see you Monday, Ben.”
“ See you then,” I
said.
I retreated up the stairs to my office,
hoping to get away from the world for a while. There was a knock on
my door not ten seconds after I’d closed it.
“ Go away,” I
said.
The door opened and I saw Louisa standing
there. “Now is that any way to talk to your favorite sister?”
I grinned at her. “Who said you were my
favorite?”
“ Why wouldn’t I be?” she
asked with a smile of her own. “Now why don’t you take me to lunch?
You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
I looked at the clock and realized that I’d
missed another meal. Sometimes my schedule was so busy I literally
forgot to eat. It was probably a good thing, though. With the baked
goods Mom kept on
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