The Potter's Daughter (Literary Series) Read Online Free

Mitch and
then walked to where Caroline was standing.
    The loud revving truck engine could
be heard shifting gears and there was a clinking of glass bottles falling on
top of each other.   Abby looked out
the window and her teeth slowly started to grind.   She saw a 1961 blue Chevy pickup that,
because so many guests had already parked, had tried to park on the snow
covered edge of the driveway and had ended up on top of the recycling bins,
already half full of containers from the party.   The driver was making a loud awkward
unsuccessful attempt to correct his mistake.
    Abby knew the pickup was a 1961
Chevy not because she was any type of auto aficionado.   Abby knew the owner of the truck and
what condition he was in behind the wheel.
    “I’ll go get him,” said Abby.
    Caroline was by Abby’s side as Abby
stepped out the door of the atrium.   The two women looked down the driveway from the elevated porch to the
truck.   The truck did not appear to
be stuck in the deep snow.   The
driver was relentlessly trying to find a parking space to his satisfaction and
was revving the engine to power through the snow.   The pickup was going two feet back and
then two feet forward and then two feet back again.   The recycling bins and landscaping
beneath the snow had fallen prey to the parking maneuvers.
    “Will Bellen!” yelled Abby.
    The truck was revving loudly.
    “Will Bellen, get out of that
truck!”
    The revving stopped.
    “Will!   Turn off the key!”
    The truck was now in a position
where the driver’s door was blocked by the pine trees that skirted the yard.
    There was a pause and then the
engine of the truck stopped running.   The silence was peaceful.   Abby and Caroline gazed at the sleeping blue pickup sitting in the snow and
waited.   Against the snow in the
shadow of the pines, the truck took on a cerulean hue.   With a heavy creak the passenger door
opened.   Out into the snow climbed
Will Bellen.   He thrust himself
forward to make a couple of spry steps then teetered.   Will put one leg forward, unsatisfied he
thrust the same leg a little farther out into the snow then fell back on the
other leg finally coming to rest with a gentle sway.   Having achieved the great feat of
standing up Will flashed his crystal blue eyes at the girls and showed all of
his teeth in a grin.
     
    * * *
* *
     
     

Chapter 6
    “Sorry I’m late,” said Will.
    “You’re drunk!” said Abby.
    Will’s eyebrows raised and his jaw
dropped open.   Abby’s jaw clenched
tighter.
    “Are you Ok Uncle Will?” asked
Caroline.
    “Couldn’t be finer.”
    Will reached into the truck, pulled
out a bottle of wine, and then held the bottle into the air.
    “I had two of these,” said Will,
“one seemed to dry up.”
    “Your intolerable Will Bellen!”
snapped Abby.
    Will was unfettered by Abby’s
reaction to his entrance.
    “Well if you are not going to
invite me in, I’m coming in from the cold,” said Will and proceeded to the
atrium choosing to tromp directly through the deep snow covered yard rather
than by way of the driveway where the snow was clear.
    Abby wanted to go back into the
party and let Caroline deal with her father.   There would be no speaking to Will
rationally.   Abby’s clenched jaw,
ironically a trait from her father, made speaking tough.
    When Will got to the steps of the
porch he took them two at a time, though Caroline and Abby were not sure that
was his plan.   He stumbled, almost
dropping the wine, before setting the bottle on the top of the porch in front
of him.
    “Whoa,” said Will.
    The women reached out their hands
for Will then each grabbed an arm.   They pulled him to the top of the porch where he stood on his own
balance.   The odor of smoked camels
filled the porch and the women could see the purplish hue of Shiraz on Will’s
lips.
    Will bent over, picked up and then
presented the bottle of wine to Caroline.   “So how are you this evening my dear