Excerpt:
Harry answered, “I don’t bowl with anyone who bowls over 200 and will not give me a handicap.”
Victor acted like he was going to poke Harry in the eyes. Harry quickly pushed Victor’s hands away and screamed, “What the hell?”
Victor said, “I was going to give you a handicap. I was going to make you blind.”
Novelette: Envy Is A Terrible Thing
By Charles Peters
Copyright 2019
All Rights Reserved
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This story is fiction.
Any resemblance to any real people or places or things is not intentional.
Chapter 7
Jack, Victor, Harry, Stewart, Judy, Elliot, and Ellen sat down at the large dining room table to eat fried chicken, butter beans, potato salad, and slices of tomato.
Ellen stared at Victor. She wasn’t sure what to say. Victor saw the look in her eyes. He wondered if his father had told her about Jossette’s death. Victor didn’t say anything.
Between shoving his mouth full of potato salad, Harry watched Stewart. He realized Stewart was darting glances at his father Elliot. He knew Stewart was angry that his father would not tell him what had happened to Victor in Atlanta two years ago. That is when Stewart pin pointed a change in Victor because of the overdose of pills, but Harry thought the change had happened a year earlier when Jossette and Roger had moved to Atlanta. At the ice cream shop Harry had not only heard the ‘top, bottom’ part of the conversation at Victor’s table but he had also heard Victor tell Judy, “Don’t ever hate Jossette. She will forever be the love of my life.” Harry knew that Stewart had also been hurt when Roger moved to Atlanta. “So Mr. Duddley, is there any truth to the rumor that Roger Ogleby may become the new quarterback of the Hearthville Hogs?”
Elliot considered Harry’s question. He saw the irritation the question had brought to Stewart’s expression. “Lawrence would like his son to come to Hearthville, but you know Roger is running a corporation.”
Stewart got up.
Victor shook his head as he watched Stewart leave the dining room. “Brilliant Harry. Brilliant.”
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Ellen yelled to Stewart, “Son, you get back in here and eat. Your leg will never properly heal if you starve yourself like some heroin addicted model.”
Elliot yelled, “We will probably keep the same sorry quarterback we have now who will continue to make you look like the greatest quarterback the Hogs ever had.”
Victor yelled, “Get your ass back here and eat with Harry. He is your friend; not mine. My friend would know not to throw Roger up in your face.”
Harry shook his head. “It was just a question.” Then Harry teased, “Victor, you know you love me.”
Victor smiled.
Stewart came back into the dining room. Without saying anything he looked around the table. He sat down and started back eating.
Victor said, “So Jack and I are going bowling later. Anyone want to join us?”
Harry answered, “I don’t bowl with anyone who bowls over 200 and will not give me a handicap.”
Victor acted like he was going to poke Harry in the eyes. Harry quickly pushed Victor’s hands away and screamed, “What the hell?”
Victor said, “I was going to give you a handicap. I was going to make you blind.”
Judy screamed, “Victor. Not funny.” She lectured, “Being blind is no joking matter. Poor Mr. Joe has to walk around with that cane and that dog Joe Jr. who farts all the time. And he has the most ugly wife on the face of the planet and he does not even know it. It is sad.”
Victor burst out laughing. Then Harry started laughing. Stewart rolled his eyes and then began to hold back his laughter.
Judy asked, “Why are you three laughing? It is sad.”
Elliot said, “Especially when his wife gets angry with him and dresses him weird. I sometimes chuckle at how sad that is.”
Judy giggled. “Yeah, the other day I saw him wearing a floral shirt with pink striped pants. I think Ms. Minnie just has bad taste though.”
Victor said, “I like blind Joe. He and I sometimes play checkers at Paps’ store. He is legally blind but he does have some vision. I am planning on going to his house Sunday and help him do some repairs on his roof and his porch. Jack, do you want to come with me.”
Jack said, “Sure. But isn’t Sunday an odd day to do that. You know you aren’t supposed to work on Sundays.”
Victor said, “I don’t go to church. Sunday is the day I set aside to help people in need to do work around their houses.”
Judy said, “I didn’t know you do that on Sunday’s.”
Victor said, “Well, I try to help someone at least one Sunday a month. Even if I were Catholic I am pretty sure the Pope would not try to make me a Saint for the miniscule stuff I do. I didn’t mean to sound pretentious.”
Judy considered that Joe might be a good subject for a paper she was writing for English class. “I don’t think you sounded pretentious. I would like to help also.”
“Sure.”
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Ellen remembered that Ms. Minnie was retired from the adoption agency her mother had used when she had given Ellen’s baby up for adoption. “Count me in also.”
“Absolutely.”
Harry said, “Don’t count me in. I like to sleep in on Sunday’s.”
Stewart said, “I would help but I go to church on the sabbath.”
Jack nodded. “I’ve seen the new preacher at your church. He is cute. And I am kind of guessing he has a little sugar in his step.”
Judy asked, “What does that mean?”
Victor answered, “Jack thinks Preacher Pat Piaolo might be gay.”
Ellen and Elliot peered at one another with an expression on their faces of shock. Elliot knew that Stewart had been spending more time enjoying church activities than he had been with the previous Preacher.
Stewart saw the expression on the faces of his parents. He cocked his head and considered the way Jack had told him that the Preacher was cute. He thought it was like one girl telling another girl that her boyfriend is cute. He wondered if Jack was trying to imply something. “I know some of the young women are acting all, whatever, over the preacher but I am not gay. Other than seeing their reaction I have not really sized him up.”
Victor shrugged. “I am not gay but I size other dudes up.”
Elliot agreed. “I do as well. I often wonder what Tom Brady has that I don’t have.”
Harry said, “Gisele Bundchen.”
Ellen frowned. “Well. I like that.”
Elliot said, “Harry is wrong. You are definitely my Gisele.”
“Dear. Thank you.” Ellen nodded to Victor. “Victor, yeah, I also compare other women to myself. I think it is normal, not that being gay is abnormal. I will shut up now.”
Jack laughed.
Stewart said, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to sound…”
“No problem.”
Ellen said, “If the preacher is gay there are going to be a lot of disappointed young women. They have been baking him cakes and such.”
Judy asked, “So Jack, do you cook?”
“Not really.”
Judy said, “Do you want me to cook a cake for you to take to Preacher Pat Piaolo?”
Victor took a bite of chicken. “Yes. Do that. Help Jack seduce the new preacher.”
Jack said, “I don’t know about seducing him but I would like to meet him.”
“Seriously.” Victor thought a second and said, “So Judy, I am sorry I made fun.”
Elliot said, “Stewart, invite Jack to go to church with you.”
“Okay. You are invited.”
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Jack said, “Are you sure? Do you really want to go to church with an openly gay man? You don’t have to do that for me. You have nothing to prove.”
Harry stared at Stewart. He didn’t say anything. He knew the ridicule Stewart would face from their football friends if he escorted Jack to church.
Judy said, “I don’t know Preacher Pialo as well as Stewart but I think it would be better if I took Jack to church with me.”
Jack said, “Cool. But this Sunday we are still working with Victor at Joe’s, right?”
Judy smiled, realizing how nervous Jack looked. “Right.”
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