The Sight Ch. 4 (standard:mystery, 2248 words) [4/4] show all parts
Author: SoLikeCandy	Added: Mar 24 2001	Views/Reads: 2927/1914	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Guess who's coming to dinner? Will meets Ruth's parents--and Will warns the old man off

Earl Roosevelt Collins wasn’t a mean spirited man.  On the contrary:
Luella—or Lulu, as she was called--his wife, called him “Mr. Softie”. A 
life of working in construction gave Earl the look of someone who 
frequented a gym, though he hadn’t stepped foot into one since high 
school.  He was a slender, solid man with muscular arms, a flat 
stomach, powerful, sinewy legs and huge, callused hands.  And his 
reddish brown face, sprinkled with freckles, smooth and taut for a man 
of 52, was softly handsome, almost pretty. 

Sitting at the dinner table tonight with his wife, Ruth and his youngest
girl Kay, he looked like a man playing poker with the mob.  Lips pursed 
into a rigid line, his eyes blank, he stared at the tall blue eyed 
young man sitting across from him. 

“So, Ruth tells me you’re a literature major,” Earl said to Will in a
flat tone. 

“Uh...yes, sir.  I’d like to get my master’s, and eventually my Ph.D.,
and teach at the university level,” Will replied, smiling timidly. 

Ruth’s mother Lulu spoke up.  “That sounds wonderful, William,” she said
brightly.  “Schools of all types are always in need of good teachers.” 

Leave it to Mom to try and ease a tense situation, Ruth thought.  Her
eyes darted from Will’s eyes to her father’s, Will’s tinged with 
discomfort and a trace of fear, her father’s cool and unresponsive. She 
laughed inwardly at the little tug of war.  She’d brought boys home 
before, and her father had reacted the same way on each first meeting, 
playing the scary dad.  Ruth was used to it.  Of course, there was a 
new element here—she’d never brought a White guy home.  At first, she 
was worried that her father wouldn’t be too terribly responsive, but 
she sensed no discomfort in him.  Just the same old protective 
hostility. 

Will looked at her and his eyes softened a bit.  He even offered her a
smile.  She could almost hear his voice in her ear saying, “thanks, I 
feel better now.”  No reason to worry, Will, she thought, and watched 
as his tense posture relaxed. 

“Not much money in education,” Earl said dully. 

Ruth snuck a glance at Kay, who seemed unusually interested in her
plate, her eyes downcast.  Good thing you’re only 10, Ruth thought. 
Just wait ‘til you’re old enough to date. 

“Well, I’d do it for the sheer experience and the opportunity to help
people,” Will said, a little more confidently.  “If I wanted to get 
rich I’d go into the family business, but it just doesn’t interest me.” 


“Good for you, honey,” Lulu said.  “You do what you want to do and try
your best, that’s what matters.  Go with your calling in life.” 

Earl seemed unimpressed.  “I guess if that’s what you want to do, you’ll
do it,” he said, half agreeing with Lulu, half condescending.  Ruth 
could imagine her father’s voice: “The boy’s got a backbone, I’ll give 
him that much.”  Her father looked at her and smiled faintly.  She and 
her dad had always had a way of knowing what the other was thinking, 
and sometimes they didn’t even have to speak; they would just look at 
each other and the thoughts were evident.  It had always been that way. 
But when she was younger, Ruth could remember looking at other people 
and feeling as if she knew what they were thinking, too.  She sometimes 
answered a teacher’s question before it was asked, or knew if a friend 
was lying about a test grade or bragging about birthday presents he or 
she didn’t really receive.  As she got older, though, she put those 
things out of her mind, believing they were no more than fantasy. 

After the plates were clean and all the subjects of small talk had been
exhausted, Earl retired to his study to go over some prints for work 
while Will and Ruth excused themselves and Will offered Lulu thanks for 
the meal. 

“I’ve never had greens before,” he remarked.  “Very interesting, I like
them a lot.” 



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