Orion and the Clockwork (The Carmsborough Vigilantes #2)

Chapter 7

The rest of the wheat section was dealt with of in relative silence. Rami couldn't find it in him to take care of cutting the rest of it, so that was left to the Clockwork, who finished the job in less than a minute. The last portion of the job, hauling it back and forth between the field and the silo, took five or six trips, but by then it was hardly ten in the morning.

"I guess we're on to the cows and horses," Rami said, his voice still a little shaky. He led the way to the cow pen, where six cows stood waiting to be handled.

"I don't think I've ever seen a cow in real life," Orion said, walking up to one.

"They're sort of like big dogs. At least, that's what I'm told. We've never had a dog."

He pet its nose, which it didn't seem to mind.

"They're cool."

"Yeah, not super exciting. Here, I'll show you how to feed them. Watch this."

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With the chores done and the sun getting lower in the sky, Rami grew more anxious about his parents returning home with Max. The two sat on the front porch together, waiting for the green truck to make its reappearance on the horizon.

"Has something like this ever happened before?" Orion asked, breaking a silence that had lasted nearly an hour.

"Nothing this serious. We've broken some bones before, but it's almost always arms. And never during the busy season."

"I'd ask if you're worried, but the answer's pretty obvious."

"Yeah, I am. That was a bad break. They've been gone all day. What if it's gotten worse?"

"I remember days like this."

Orion paused, and Rami looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"My mom. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was really young. Something about the factory she was working in and some sort of powder that had destroyed her lungs. There were lots of late days waiting for my mom and dad to get home from the hospital."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's no worries. The news was almost always hopeful when they came back that day. Sam, my younger sister, would be asleep on my shoulder, and we'd both be sitting on the front step of the apartment complex, kind of like what we're doing right now. Then, Mom and Dad would be back, and they'd tell us all the good things the doctor said, and send us to bed."

"That's really sweet."

"Yeah. I think what I'm trying to say is that it'll be okay. I don't know your sister all that much, but if she's anything like mine, she's a fighter."

There was a quiet moment between them again, this time with more calm energy, before Rami asked, "What happened to your mom?"

Orion sat for a while. "She, uh... the cancer got her. Mom and Dad never told us the actual severity of it. Actually, just straight up lied to us about it. Not the best way to handle it for two kids who were about to lose their mother in one of the most drastic ways possible."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"You're fine, Rami. I don't have any problem talking about it. This was years ago."