Soul Searcher by D.M. Richardson (novel24 .TXT) 📕

“Tennis?” Rob asked just as everyone else asked their own questions.

“Etiquette?” Zeke intoned in mild disgust.

“Equestrian?” Sara asked in awe.

“I can’t see you in a pageant.” Koner said shaking his head. I had to laugh.

“Yeah I didn’t place.”

“Why not?” Zeke asked in surprise. I shrugged grinning.

“I was disqualified for refusing to wear a dress. I did just fine in the talent and question parts though.” It was Zeke’s turn to laugh.

“So they made you learn proper etiquette? That kind of explains a lot.” Sara added.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well you have impeccable manners, and perfect posture.” I looked down to see that she was right. I was sitting with my back straight. My left arm was resting lightly on my lap, while my right was hovering over the table never touching it. I looked at every one else and noticed for the first time how they slouched slightly and rested their elbows on the table. I couldn’t count how many times I had been smacked with a spoon when I put my elbows on the table.

“Could you teach me some of it?” Sara asked.

“What do you want to learn?”

“Just some of the stuff you learn for formal parties and stuff like that.” I shrugged. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

“Sure”

“Maybe you could teach Zeke some of that too. He could do with some manners.” Rob said in a teasing tone aimed at his son. Zeke rolled his eyes but smiled all the same.

About twenty minutes later the meal was finished but they all lingered in the dining room to talk. I made the excuse of having to use the rest room. When I left the bathroom I snuck out the front door to get some air. I hated it when I was pressured into talking about the homes I had been in before. Everyone was either really impressed or horrified. Either way not one of those other homes had a happy ending.

I took a deep breathe of the cool night air and relaxed slightly. I jumped when I heard someone close by. I looked to my left to see Zeke standing there on the other side of the porch. I hadn’t noticed him when I came out.

“You needed a break too huh?” he asked quietly coming closer to lean up against the house next to me.

“Yeah”

“You really don’t like talking about those other homes do you?”

“No”

“Why not?”

“Why would I?”

“Fair enough”

“I’m sorry” he said softly. I looked over at him. He was looking out at the street.

“For what?”

“Asking so many questions. I didn’t realize it bothered you so much.” I shrugged.

“It’s not your fault. You’re not the first one that has asked me a lot of questions. I just prefer not to look back.”

“Why not? Sorry I did it again.” I chuckled softly.

“No it’s a fair question. I don’t like to look back because there’s nothing to see. Not for me.”

“But you know so much. You’ve done so much.” I barked a laugh.

“And you know that from what? One story?”

“Yes. You’ve told me one story, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg that is you. It’s what makes you so intriguing.” I looked at him from the corner of my eye.

“You think I’m intriguing?”

“Yep”

“Okay”

We stood there for a few more minutes and then decided we had better get back in. We hung back for another hour before everyone decided to call it a night. We walked back to the house and Sara put Kristi to bed. I went up to my room and changed out of my clothes into something a lot more comfortable.

On Monday after work we had decided to have dinner at the park in the form of a picnic. Kristi loved it. She was able to eat and sit with us and then run around and play on the equipment. They all home but I headed back to the shop to get my car. I had ridden with Koner since the park was only a few blocks from the shop.

I was walking in front of a jeweler’s store when a man stepped out and ran into me. I stepped back to apologize, but it froze on my tongue. I knew him, but he looked through me. He mumbled his apology but continued to his car. He never looked back, but I watched him until he was out of site.

I had just literally bumped into my father after eleven years. And he didn’t recognize me. There was no sign of recognition in his eyes or posture. I might as have well have been a faceless nobody. And to him that’s exactly what I was. Not even worth a second look. I turned on my heel and headed in the opposite direction.

Zeke

Me and the guys were playing poker on the living room floor when I my dad’s phone rang on the coffee table. I called for him and he ran in to answer it. It was his night to be on call so he was fully dressed and ready to run out the door.

He relaxed when after he answered it and then tensed again.

“Hold on I’ll ask the boys if they know anything.” he said on his end then looked to us.

“Have you guys heard from Rayne in the last couple of hours?” my dad asked with a sense of urgency that had me on my feet.

“No why?” he turned back to speak into the phone.

“I’m sorry, they don’t know anything. Sara calm down I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she just broke down.” he paused to listen for a minute. “Her phone could have died.”

“Dad what’s going on?” I asked raising my voice to get his attention. He turned to me.

“Rayne has disappeared. They had a picnic at the park and she walked back to the garage to get her car, but she never showed up at the house. They can’t get a hold of her she’s not answering her phone.”

“We’ll go look for her.” Frank said as he headed for the door with me and Will on his heels.

“I’ll call you when we find her.” I said as I walked out the door.

We drove around for about a half hour before we spotted her. She was walking down the street headed for Koner’s shop. She had something in her hand that she brought to her mouth every few steps. She was walking unsteadily but intent on where she was going.

She walked in the door just as we pulled into the parking lot. We parked and followed her in. The place was dark except for a lamp at the very end. We followed the light and found her laying down on the work table of her work station. She looked up at us bleary eyed and gave us a lazy smile.

“Well look who it is.” her words were slurred. She had a bottle wrapped in a paper bag dangling from her hand that was hanging over the table. I grabbed it and pulled the bottle out.

“Hey” she protested lazily when I grabbed it from her. It was a fifth of whiskey. There were only about two inches left in the bottle. I put the bottle back in her hand and she put it to her lips taking a large swallow. My throat burned just watching.

“What are you doing?” I asked incredulous. She seemed too straight laced and up tight to just drop everything to go get drunk.

“I would think that it was obvious.” she answered.

“Yeah but why?” Will asked gently. He seemed even more shocked than I felt. Frank hovered at her side looking concerned.

“Why not?”

“What kind of answer is that?” Jacob asked he was the only one that seemed to find any amusement in the situation.

“A general one that gives no details and no real explanation. That’s the only way I seem to be able to answer any questions these days.”

“Keep an eye on her I’m going to go call my dad.” I said quietly to Will and Frank. They nodded and I moved off so she couldn’t hear me. I dialed my dad and he picked up on the first ring.

“Zeke”

“Hey dad we found her. She’s at the shop we saw her walking in.”

“Thank god. Sara and Koner will be so relieved. Did she have an explanation?”

“That’s just it. She’s…well she’s drunk.” there was a moment of silence.

“What do you mean she’s drunk?”

“I mean she’s plastered. It looks like she’s killed a fifth of whiskey by herself.”

“Are you sure she wasn’t with anyone else?”

“No there isn’t anyone in this town that she would give the time of day to let alone drink with.” he sighed.

“Okay well I’m going to call Koner and we’ll all head over there to get her. I want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Dad wait a little while before you call them.”

“Zeke I can’t do that.”

“Dad please. Something happened to make her lose control like this. I want to find out what it is so she isn’t humiliated by this.” I could hear him thinking for a couple minutes.

“Fine you’ve got twenty minutes before I call. Then I’m betting you’ll be lucky to find five more.”

“Thanks” I hung up and walked back over to the group. They were all quiet and she had her eyes closed. Just as I wondered if she had passed out she looked up at me.

“So are they coming to get me?” she asked.

“No not right away we’ve got a little time.”

“My hero” she said with a slight chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” I asked as I found a stool near by. I sat down level with her head and looked at her.

“Everything if you drink enough.” she answered and waggled her eyebrows as she took another drink. “You know this is nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Will asked as he brought over a stool of his own.

“This bottle. It’s nothing. When I was ten I lived with a lawyer and his housewife. Both of them were closet alcoholics. The wife hosted parties and hid wine in her tea. He carried a flask in his briefcase. The funny thing was that they knew they were alcoholics. They just didn’t want to change it. Instead they decided to make sure the kids they took in didn’t turn out the same way. So they made us drink all the time. They made us drink and drink until we got sick everyday. By the end of it I was so sick of it I wanted to leave so I told the lawyer I knew about his blackmailing a judge in order to win all of his cases. I left the next day. After that they stopped taking kids. But I got to where I could drink a half gallon before I got sick.” Frank made a sound of disgust in his throat and tried to cover it with a small cough. She didn’t seem to notice.

“Why would you want to drink now?” Will asked gently. She shrugged.

“Drastic problems call for drastic measures. Or something like that.” she drained the rest of the bottle and plunked it