Chasing the Sky

Chapter 2- The Conversation

The Carters continued through supper, each taking turns talking. Mr. Carter talked about stock, Humphrey talked about a detective program he had listened to on the radio, Mable talked about how excited she was for school tomorrow, Joseph talked about a new pocketknife he was saving up for, and Emily- well, she didn't talk at all.

Once all their plates were empty and no one could eat any further, they each went about their day on their own.

Mr. Carter was leaning against the kitchen counter, discussing something to his wife in a low whisper. Humphrey piped up, "Mama, may I fly my new kite outside?"

"Yes, dear, that's nice." She responded as if she hadn't really heard what he had said at all. She seemed more interested in what her husband was telling her.

Humphrey ran along to his bedroom to get the kite. His bedroom was a pig sty; his bed was never made despite his mother's protests, the funnies were scattered on the floor, and two weeks' worth of socks were hidden in the oddest places.

It took a bit of rummaging around in his toy chest before he finally retrieved the kite, and by the time he left, his room was twice as messy as it was before. He was just about to turn into the kitchen when he heard the anxious whispers between his parents.

Suddenly, he had a better idea than kite flying. He remembered the detective program he had heard on the radio, and how the detective always learns the bad guys' secret plans by spying on their conversation. He became curious about what on earth his parents could be talking about. It seemed that all they did nowadays was whispering.

So he tip-toed to the corner of the hallway and peeked around at his parents. He quickly hid his head around the corner again so he would not be caught. "If they see me," Humphrey thought, "Papa will give me a whoopin' bigger than the one when I broke mama's favorite vase." He held his breath and listened.

"...are we gonna get through this? How am I gonna afford to feed 4 growing mouths plus ours? Just this Sunday supper was two days' worth of your income."

"I told you, I'll go into town tomorrow and see if there's any openings, but there's no doubt in my mind that they're firing faster than they're hiring."

"Oh, Richard, how is America going to fight through this?"

"I don't know, Cheryll, I just don't know. Tell you what, I'll go into town and try to sell some of my wood crafting pieces, how 'bout that?"

"Who has the money to buy them?"
There was a long lasting silence between them. Humphrey was confused at what was going on.

"What about displacement, huh? I know it'd be a big decision to make, but think about it okay?"

"D-displacement? How dare you consider sending our children away? That's so utterly selfish and I still can't get over the fact that the Johnsons did that to their own children." Mrs. Carter muttered harshly.

"Oh, c'mon. You got a mighty fine Aunt up there in Wales; she could take care of the children. She hasn't even met Humphrey yet and the last time she saw the others was as babies. It would be a great way to bond."

"I just don't know, Rich. I guess the only other option would be to sell the house and downsize. But I just don't know."

Humphrey had had enough. He couldn't bear to listen to another second of their conversation. He knew that for the rest of his days, he would bear the guilt of being just an extra burden on his parents. He had to make it up to them. He had to prevent them from making a huge mistake.