what was i made for, walker

018. global humiliation

"Y'all wanna see a magic trick?" August asks as the family prepares to eat.

"Yes." Stella answers.

"I can make this pen disappear." August says, holding up a pen in his left hand. His right arm is now in a sling after Cordell took him to the doctor.

Cordell and his daughters share a silent laugh as they set the table.

"Close your eyes for ten seconds." August says before throwing the pen over his shoulder.

"That was great. That was really great." Stella laughs.

"Thank you, thank you so much." August says.

"So do your classmates think you're funny?" Abilene asks.

"No." August laughs.

"You do crack me up. I don't know if you crack anyone else up, but you crack me up." Abilene says.

"Hey, that's what matters." August says. "I'll help you with this." He says, going to grab the bowl full of rolls.

"No, no, no, no, no. Not with your shoulder. Liam?" Abilene asks, giving the bowl of rolls to her oldest.

"Hey, behind you." Liam warns Cordell. The latter moves his arm back, knocking the bowl of rolls out of the blonde's hand, the dish breaking, preventing either sister from moving further.

"Oh, come on!" Cordell groans, glaring at Liam who sets the other dish he was holding down.

"I'll grab another plate." Stella says.

"No, no, no, no, he's a big boy. He can do it himself." Cordell says, pulling his eldest back by her arm.

"It's a bowl, Cordell." Liam says as Abilene starts cleaning the mess up, August helping.

"Yeah, it's a bowl. It was a bowl." Cordell says.

"We all know what the object was. Great. Question time now?" Janie asks.

"Yeah, y'all have been acting weird since the party at Sacred Heart." August says. "What's going on?"

"You don't have to. The kids don't need to know." Abilene says, walking back to the kitchen.

"No. You know what? It's fine." Liam says. "No secrets, mama."

"Great. Please." Cordell steps to the side. "Augie, get back here." He says to August who stands next to his sisters.

"Okay, now you're scaring me. Wh-what are you talking about?" Stella asks.

"When your father and I went up north last Friday, Dan Miller was there. While we were investigating a hijacking of a bunch of evidence, I thought that Dan might have been connected to that crime." Liam explains. "But we cleared him."

"That's a good thing, right?" August asks. The three look at Cordell who lets out a quiet scoff, still glaring at Liam, so the siblings turn back to their uncle.

"I wasn't convinced. I just-- I had a feeling." Liam says.

"A feeling." Cordell scoffs.

"Well, because I had those doubts, I filed a false police report, and Dan was pulled over and arrested." Liam says.

"That's not good." Stella says.

"Oh, that's just not good, Stel. Uh, that's a misdemeanor. Your uncle here could be disbarred." Cordell says.

"Thank you, Cordell. I know that." Liam says. "I just... um..." He walks away.

"Hey, hey, hey. Where are you going?" Abilene asks her retreating son, but he only leaves the house. "Well, okay. That's enough."