In Parched Gardens: Book 1

Chapter 3: The Visions Here

"Hey, Dad," Fin answered his phone just as he was slipping on his shoes and stepping out of the front door.

"Fin," his father started, and in the background he could faintly hear the clicking of Fin's key in his front door's lock on the other end. "We haven't gotten to talk in a little while," he continued, then paused. "How's everything been? Moving in, work, town, everything?"

"It's all been pretty good, Dad," Fin answered, walking down the steps of his porch and starting down the small stone walkway toward the iron gate. He pushed away a few strands of dark green ivy that wrapped around the wrought iron of the gate and spilled out slightly over the latch. Fin continued out of his yard, quickly crossed the sidewalk, and continued walking down the street. He preferred to walk on the street instead of the sidewalk. Partially, that was because that was his preference growing up. Allbrook wasn't big or busy enough for that to be particularly dangerous. And in addition to that, when he had lived away from Allbrook, he couldn't really walk in the street anymore. There was too much traffic and bustle and impatience. Now that he was back, he'd been walking on the streets as much as could, which was just about always through this neighborhood.

"Well tell me a little about it," his father prodded. "What's been up?"

"Let's see," Fin started. "Work's going well. Isaac's been helping a lot, showing me what to do."

"I'll bet he has," his father answered, chuckling. "Isaac alway had to explain and demonstrate everything. You remember when you two were little and he had to 'teach' you and me how to fish about 15 different times?"

"Hard to forget after all that 'help'," Fin answered, smiling. "You'd think after we took him with us all those times he might've figured out a little sooner that we already knew what to do," Fin laughed.

"He was a smart kid," his father answered, still chuckling. "Probably's still pretty sharp. But he just about had the memory of a smoked salmon, that kid."

Fin laughed again. "Besides work, town's fine, like always," he said, reflecting. "You know, I'll never understand this, but I honestly feel like I have more to do here than in the city. That obviously isn't true, but it really does feel like it is."

"It's weird, but I know exactly what you mean," his father answered. "I feel the same way."

"Yeah, Isaac and I just got pizza last night..."

"Good as always?" his father interrupted to ask.

"Of course," Fin answered, and continued. "And just the other day we went to the Corner Stop. I even went and saw a movie not too long ago... I can't even remember the last time I did that."

"Corner Stop's still open then," his father said, "Good. It'd be a tragedy for that place to close."

"You like it there?" Fin asked surprised.

"Well you know I wasn't busy raising you two my whole life, right?" he answered, chuckling. "That place's been around a long time. I used to go there when I was kid, even a lot into my twenties. It might've even been cooler then than when you were a kid. They had arcade games on some of the walls. If I remember right, there was skee-ball, a pinball machine, and an air hockey table. I've probably told you this before, but the place was a little bigger back then because they added a small addition to the back. It burned down, probably around when you were a baby, but the rest of the place was fine, thankfully."

"That does sound pretty cool," Fin answered. "Anyway, what have you been up to?" he asked his father. Allbrook Cemetery was just about on his right now as he walked, cool wind whispering softly through rigid lattice beyond.