THE GLASS TOP COFFIN (standard:drama, 1547 words) [10/12] show all parts
Author: Stephen-Carver Byrd	Added: Jan 05 2003	Views/Reads: 2765/1956	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
***Part 11*** The Orate

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

prospered. She branched out, opening several more in neighboring 
cities. Within ten years, Madelyn Taylor owned one of the largest 
floral enterprises in the Southeast. After her death, Jordan sold the 
entire venture to a Chicago based corporation. At the height of his 
writing career, the last thing he wanted were the headaches of a huge 
business. 

Then his mind drifted to Kyle, his and Kate's only child. Kyle was the
renegade boy of the Taylor clan and simply had too much of his 
grandfather in him. The boy had dropped out of high school and was 
living with two girls who were deeply into drugs. Jordan and Kate tried 
desperately to get him help but he flatly refused. Kyle would not work 
and constantly begged Jordan for money, that is, when he wasn't 
spending time in jail. His marriage at twenty-years old was a disaster. 
Jordan thought of the night, while in a drunken rage, he had almost 
beaten his pageant wife, Jennifer, to death. The doctor had said it was 
a miracle that both mother and baby survived. On October 7th, 2005, 
Kyle finally threw his life away. While outside a bar, he pulled a gun 
on a man who had challenged him to a fight. Kyle spat out two rapid 
shots at the unarmed man. One of the shots hit the abdominal area and 
the other shot struck the upper sternum, ripping apart a massive area 
of vertebra. The man was dead before even hitting the pavement. Kyle 
was charged with first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison 
with no possibility of parole. 

Their son is fifty-seven now and there's never a Saturday morning that
goes by that Jordan and Kate fail to visit him. With each call, Jordan 
brings cigarettes and a small amount of cash. It's always a very 
special and close time for the three. Jordan only wished their 
relationship could have been this close thirty years earlier. 

After Kyle's sentence, Jennifer was all alone with a small baby boy.
Jordan set the two of them up with a nice place to stay and Jennifer 
soon returned to college. After received her degree in criminal 
justice. A sort time later she landed a professional job with the 
County Sheriff's office. Jordan and the boy (Tim) grew very close and 
remained that way all of their lives. Tim attended Duke University 
later in life, earning his medical degree. That's where he met Heather, 
during their residencies at Duke. Heather now works in the crazy 
confines of Emergency while Tim, the more easy-going of the two, opened 
a rural practice in Falls Hills. 

As Jordan relaxed, his mind drifted into a different direction. It was
as if it were listening to something. A voice? A warning like a dark 
omen. He jerked up in his chair and spun around looking fervently. Then 
like a jackhammer pounding across his forehead, it all came back. 
“Thank God for the rejuvenation effect of the Orate” he thought as he 
dashed up the stairs like a twenty-year old. As he rushed into the 
bathroom his heart stopped for a brief moment. He held a breath then 
peered into the tub. Meagan was splashing and totally under water. He 
quickly reached into the thick suds and pulled the little girl to a 
sitting position then grabbed for a towel to wipe the soapy water from 
her face. His hand froze when he saw the towel that was hanging on the 
rack. It was bright red with a swimming yellow merman in the middle, 
the exact same towel he had seen in his bottle dreaming vision, years 
ago. Jordan jerked it swiftly from the rack and wiped the soap and 
water away from the child's face. Meagan looked dazed and then grew a 
large frown as if she was going to erupt into hysterical, loud tears. 
Jordan snatched a floating toy out of the water and waved it in front 
of her face. Meagan's large glower turned to a happy smile. She coughed 
a few times then took the toy and began splashing it in the bath water. 
Kate returned and saw Jordan on his knees rubbing the girl's thick 
blond hair. 

“Excuse me sir, don't you realize that you are in the ladies room?”
Jordan chuckled then slowly got to his feet, his knees just now feeling 
the effects of the upstairs 50-meter dash. As he walked toward the 
door, Kate gave him a sharp slap directly on the butt. ”Dirty old man,” 
she teased. 

Continued - Please see the final part 12 


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