The Brandywine Prophet

12.1 The Silence and the Storm: A Parable

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE SILENCE AND THE STORM: A PARABLE

“Son of a bitch! Go around him!”

“I can’t. And watch your mouth around our daughter.”

“Sarah, I swear to God...”

“You swear to God, what?”

“If something happens to Chall...”

“I’m driving as fast as I can.”

Daddy’s face was red from the lights of the other cars. “I can’t believe we left her,” he said.

Janie used to hate storms, but not anymore. The slapping rain on the car’s window was more exciting than scary, and she pressed her hand to the glass to see if she could feel the drops. A crack of lightning scared it back between her legs.

It was her fault that Challo was stuck in that cage in the storm. If she didn’t have that stupid recital, they would be home right now to let the dog inside and Mom and Dad wouldn’t be fighting and saying things like “bitch” and “swear to God.”

Daddy rolled down his window and stuck his head out like Challo sometimes did. When Mom pulled him back in, his hair was wet.

“I’m going as fast as the cars will let me,” she said.

“Why did we go out tonight?”

“We didn’t know a storm was coming.”

“We should have left early.”

“She’s going to be okay, honey.”

“She’s blind, Sarah... I can’t even imagine...”

The wind made the rain sound louder while the lightning kept coming faster and scarier.

Challo was an “old girl” Daddy always said. And a “good pup.” Now he put his head against the window and closed his eyes and Mom put her hand on his leg. He put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it.

When they got out of the traffic and made it to their neighborhood, Mom made the whole car bounce over the speed bumps and Janie would have hit her head if she wasn’t buckled up. When they pulled in the driveway, Daddy didn’t wait for the car to stop, but jumped into the rain as fast as he could and ran through the dark front yard to Challo’s cage. Janie couldn’t see him way out there, but she heard him talking to his good pup, telling her that he was home and that the thunder wasn’t something to be afraid of.

The next day the storm was over but it left behind leaves and twigs all over the grass.

Challo was sleeping in. Dad said the storm made her tired. Now she was laying in the yard getting warm in the sun while Mom planted flowers by the porch and Daddy mowed the lawn on his big mower.

Janie make-believed she was a doctor. The thunder made Challo very sick and now she couldn’t sleep. Janie had just the thing. She found a green leaf, the kind that makes dogs feel better, and fed it to Chall. The old girl didn’t chew it, but let it sit in her mouth. Janie inspected her eyes next... still cloudy and sleepy. The special leaf wasn’t making it any better at all!

A thousand times Janie had pulled his tail. Sarah and William would joke about Challo’s tolerance, about her affection, about how she watched over their daughter despite the playful abuse. But William’s mower found a rock that morning and flung it into the wood siding of the house at the exact moment that Janie tugged the dog’s tail. Challo curled like a king cobra and snapped.