— Give their relationship time to strengthen a bit more. His mind answered instantly with a reprimand: Quit stalling! — it must be done and there isn’t much more time.
He asked the pivotal question softly, almost reverently. Everything was riding on how he handled this…
“You ever think about religion, Eli?”
Frank held his breath. Had he sounded relaxed? Did it just sound like more casual conversation? He’d know in a few seconds.
Eli nodded almost imperceptibly. “At my age it’s something to be considered.”
Whew! Not even a hitch or an odd look at the question . He was on his way!
“You Catholic?” Frank asked, more confident now.
Eli nodded.
“Yup.”
It was going beautifully! So much easier than he thought it would be. Frank forged ahead with a casual air.
“Think you’ll go to heaven?”
Eli swiveled in his chair and peered up at him with a quizzical smile. Uh oh.
“You writin’ a book or somethin’?”
Eli stared at him — hard .
Frank almost lost control of the wheelchair in his distraction. He corrected and avoided the high edge of a curb at the last instant. It had to be a rhetorical question! He couldn’t know that!
Eli finally looked away and nodded.
“Yeah, I think I’ll go to heaven.” His tone became wistful. “If anyone should, I think I should. What ‘bout you, Franklin? You gonna meet me there?”
Frank couldn’t look at him, still rattled. Was he out of danger now? Eli must’ve just been teasing. If he was, Frank knew the path of this conversation by heart, he’d practiced it in his head at least a hundred times. And it was all going exactly according to plan except for that one remark...
“Don’t know if there is such a place.” He replied quietly.
There; done for now! He’d sown the seed he needed to sow.
He expected the subject to end and was pleasantly surprised when Eli continued the topic.
“Well of course none of us knows.” Eli said. “You don’t know ‘til ya get there.”
Frank looked away, glanced at the old man out of the corner of his eye. My thoughts exactly, Eli . My thoughts exactly . Might as well hammer the subject home—make it easier to bring up next time.
“No, Eli, I guess you don’t… Do you?” He almost whispered.
Elated with his progress, Frank swiveled the chair around in a tight circle and headed back towards the hospital.
CHAPTER 8 – Day of Reckoning
By the third week at the hospital, Frank felt good about his progress towards his goal and it showed in everything he did. At home, he was sleeping better and there were no more nightmares (which meant Jackie was sleeping better as well). His disposition was decidedly upbeat and even Fernando had asked what was making him smile so much (of course with a reference to “getting some action” thrown in). It seemed that fortune had finally decided to turn their way — Jackie had also just gotten a new advertising account for a dishwashing detergent company and had gotten a small pay raise for her efforts. Life was looking up. The financial pressure wasn’t gone but at least it was backed off a bit. Frank hoped it would buy him enough time to complete his latest novel and set them on a new course.
The only impediment, and it was a nagging itch that returned at every free moment, was how to broach the Very Difficult Subject with Eli. He’d laid the groundwork — they now had an excellent rapport and he had planted the seeds of the topic so that it would be easier and more natural to return to it. The problem, however, was taking it to the next step in a way that would provoke the reaction he needed for the pivotal thematic scene of the book without completely alienating Eli. One misstep and all his time and groundwork would be wasted — and all hopes of making this book as real as possible would be dashed.
By the time Saturday rolled around, Frank was obsessing. The subject simply refused to leave his mind. Jackie had said she wanted a quiet day in their
He asked the pivotal question softly, almost reverently. Everything was riding on how he handled this…
“You ever think about religion, Eli?”
Frank held his breath. Had he sounded relaxed? Did it just sound like more casual conversation? He’d know in a few seconds.
Eli nodded almost imperceptibly. “At my age it’s something to be considered.”
Whew! Not even a hitch or an odd look at the question . He was on his way!
“You Catholic?” Frank asked, more confident now.
Eli nodded.
“Yup.”
It was going beautifully! So much easier than he thought it would be. Frank forged ahead with a casual air.
“Think you’ll go to heaven?”
Eli swiveled in his chair and peered up at him with a quizzical smile. Uh oh.
“You writin’ a book or somethin’?”
Eli stared at him — hard .
Frank almost lost control of the wheelchair in his distraction. He corrected and avoided the high edge of a curb at the last instant. It had to be a rhetorical question! He couldn’t know that!
Eli finally looked away and nodded.
“Yeah, I think I’ll go to heaven.” His tone became wistful. “If anyone should, I think I should. What ‘bout you, Franklin? You gonna meet me there?”
Frank couldn’t look at him, still rattled. Was he out of danger now? Eli must’ve just been teasing. If he was, Frank knew the path of this conversation by heart, he’d practiced it in his head at least a hundred times. And it was all going exactly according to plan except for that one remark...
“Don’t know if there is such a place.” He replied quietly.
There; done for now! He’d sown the seed he needed to sow.
He expected the subject to end and was pleasantly surprised when Eli continued the topic.
“Well of course none of us knows.” Eli said. “You don’t know ‘til ya get there.”
Frank looked away, glanced at the old man out of the corner of his eye. My thoughts exactly, Eli . My thoughts exactly . Might as well hammer the subject home—make it easier to bring up next time.
“No, Eli, I guess you don’t… Do you?” He almost whispered.
Elated with his progress, Frank swiveled the chair around in a tight circle and headed back towards the hospital.
CHAPTER 8 – Day of Reckoning
By the third week at the hospital, Frank felt good about his progress towards his goal and it showed in everything he did. At home, he was sleeping better and there were no more nightmares (which meant Jackie was sleeping better as well). His disposition was decidedly upbeat and even Fernando had asked what was making him smile so much (of course with a reference to “getting some action” thrown in). It seemed that fortune had finally decided to turn their way — Jackie had also just gotten a new advertising account for a dishwashing detergent company and had gotten a small pay raise for her efforts. Life was looking up. The financial pressure wasn’t gone but at least it was backed off a bit. Frank hoped it would buy him enough time to complete his latest novel and set them on a new course.
The only impediment, and it was a nagging itch that returned at every free moment, was how to broach the Very Difficult Subject with Eli. He’d laid the groundwork — they now had an excellent rapport and he had planted the seeds of the topic so that it would be easier and more natural to return to it. The problem, however, was taking it to the next step in a way that would provoke the reaction he needed for the pivotal thematic scene of the book without completely alienating Eli. One misstep and all his time and groundwork would be wasted — and all hopes of making this book as real as possible would be dashed.
By the time Saturday rolled around, Frank was obsessing. The subject simply refused to leave his mind. Jackie had said she wanted a quiet day in their
Similar Books
