Read Online Fly the Rain by Robert Burton Robinson - Free Book Online Page B

knuckles.”
    “ He did it a lot,” added Ed.
“Probably lost a half-pint of blood in this shop.”
    “ But only Uncle Ed is
allowed to call me that. You don’t need to tell anybody else about
it.”
    “ Oh, I don’t know,” said
Cynthia. “I think your choir members might get a kick out of
it.”
    Greg grimaced. But he knew
she was joking. At least he hoped so. “Everything going
okay, Uncle Ed?”
    “ Yep. I’ve got more work
than I can handle. One of these days I’m gonna have to turn
somebody away—send them to some other mechanic,” said
Edsel.
    “ Well, that’s great.” Greg
paused. “Have you had that talk with Angie yet?”
    Cynthia was surprised to see Edsel’s face
turn red.
    “ No. But I will.”
    “ Well, if you need my
help—“
    “— no, that’s okay. I’m gonna
do it.”
    “ You’ve got until we go home
tomorrow night,” said Greg. “Or I’m going to tell her
myself.”
    “ I’m gonna do
it.”
    “ Good. How about tomorrow
night, the four of us have dinner together? Are the Haystack Fiddlers still playing at Angie’s on Sunday nights?”
    “ Sure are.”
    “ Great. You’ll like them,”
said Greg to Cynthia. “They’re a local Country and Bluegrass
band.”
    “ Sounds like fun,” she
said.
    “ Well, I’d better get back
to work,” said Edsel. “I promised Mrs. Jennings her car would be
ready to go by 4:00.”
    “ Okay,” said Greg. “We’ll
see you tomorrow.”
    “ Bye,” said Cynthia. “It was
nice to meet you.”
    “ Me too,” said Edsel, as he
lay down on the creeper, and rolled under the Impala. “And don’t
forget, Greg.”
    “ What?” Greg was holding the
door open for Cynthia.
    “ Fly the rain!” said
Edsel.
    “ Fly the rain!” said
Greg.
    As they were walking to the car, Cynthia
said, “What does that mean?”
    “ To be honest, I’m not quite
sure.”
    “ Then why did you say
it?”
    “ It’s just something Uncle
Ed likes to say. I think it means ‘Have a great day,’ or ‘Go for
it,’ or something like that.”
    “ You never asked
him?”
    “ Well, at first I thought it
was something I was supposed to already know. Like when the doctor
says, ‘You know why you got that rash, right?’ You’d rather just
pretend like you knew. Anyway, after a while I was too embarrassed
to admit that I didn’t know what it meant. And I never heard him
say it to anyone else, so I couldn’t ask them either.”
    “ He only said it to you ?”
    “ Yeah. And for a while I was
afraid it meant something… sexual .”
    “ No wonder you were afraid
to ask.”
    “ Yeah. But then I realized I
was just being silly. He’s not like that.”
    “ Tell you what—tomorrow
night I’ll ask him.”
    “ No, that’s okay. I’ve gone
this many years without knowing. It’s no big deal.”
    **********
    “ Norma! Somebody’s knocking
on the front door. Can’t you hear?” Ralph Tenorly was sitting in
his favorite chair, a few feet from the door, watching a baseball
game on TV.
    “ I’m coming,” said Norma, in
a singsong voice. She walked in from the kitchen, through living
room, and opened the front door. “Greg! Come on in. And you must be
Cynthia. Oh, she’s beautiful, Greg. You’re a lucky man. A very
lucky man.”
    Ralph didn’t get up. He barely looked away
from the game as they walked in. “Hello.”
    “ Sweetie, this is my dad’s
new wife, Norma. And this is my dad, Ralph.”
    “ Hi, Norma.”
    Ralph forced himself to stand up and shake
Cynthia’s hand. “How are you?”
    “ Fine, Sir. I’m glad to
finally meet you,” said Cynthia.
    “ Norma’s right. You’re quite
a looker.”
    “ Thanks,” said Cynthia.
She’d heard it her entire life, although rarely in those exact
words. But she never let it go to her head. She was no more
responsible for her natural beauty than a tall person is for their
height. But a nice compliment was always appreciated. Maybe Greg
had exaggerated. Ralph didn’t seem so bad.
    “ So, how did you