Page 64 of Small Town Beast

While Saverin inspected the roof,Tanya was dreaming of an ocean. A wide, blue ocean with no beginning nor end. She had always wanted to see the ocean, which she imagined was bluer than the sky. In her dream, she stood at the very edge of the shore, water coming up to her knees. She held Amari’s hand.

Look, mommy.

What is it, baby?

Tanya looked down at her son, feeling a dull throb of sadness, though she didn’t know why. She lived only in this dream. Amari held up a seashell in his little hands. It was the size of an egg, a swirl of every color in the rainbow. The perfect spiral in the center mirrored the way Amari’s hair grew. He smiled up at her, his cheeks dimpling.

Do you want it, mommy?

No, baby, it’s yours.

Can we sit on the sand now?

Sure, Amari. Let’s stay here a while…

Balancingon the sides of his feet Saverin crossed the roof, noting how the crossbeams bowed under his tread. Not good.

It didn’t take him long to spot peeling, bloated shingles, some parts bald and revealing the rotted framing underneath, which was infested with mildew. Since he’d seen no sign of water damage in the living room and kitchen when he’d passed through the house days before, Saverin guessed the worst interior damage was where the old man slept. A question shouted down to Wilks Johnny confirmed this theory.

“Yeah, I keep a bucket in my room,” the old man called back. “Been leaking two years now.”

Before he walked back to the ladder, Saverin cast an eye down to his truck. Tanya was still sleeping soundly.

“You didn’t use a rope or nothing,” Wilks Johnny chided when Saverin’s boots hit the porch again. “You don’t value your life?” The old man reached for his little radio and turned down the scratchy noise of his evening news. Salt-and-pepper eyebrows rustled together. “Go on, give me the headline. I can tell from your face I won’t be jumpin’ for joy.”

Saverin smiled at the joke but the truth wasn’t so funny. “I don’t think you’ll like it,” he agreed.

“Won’t be the worst news I’ve ever had,” said Wilks Johnny philosophically.

Saverin didn’t mince it. “You need this whole thing scrapped and done over. The worst of it is on the east side. I’d say you got about twenty years of water damage right there.”

Wilks Johnny grunted, “Longer than that.”

“When was the last time you had it looked at?”

“Ninety three.”

“With the rains coming next month, now’s the perfect time to get her done. It’ll only get worse.”

“Guess I’ll go dig up that pot of gold under the fencepost,” said the old veteran dryly.

“No need for that.”

“Well, how much you figure this new roof will cost me?” The old man lifted his chin squarely, prepared for the sucker punch.

“It’ll cost you nothing.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“No charge,” Saverin repeated. “I’ll have some men come by next week and we can get her done. You can stay here the whole time, we’ll just lay a tarp down if we have to overnight it.”

Wilks Johnny scowled. “I can pay. I have some money set by.”

“No,” said Saverin.

Anger darkened the old man’s face. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Bawl all you want, but you know damn well I can’t take your money and that’s the end of it.”

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