Angel Fall Read Free

vehicle.
    “Sure am, lady. Jerry’s all full up. Told me to come and get you. He’s got calls runnin’ out the nose. A lot of cars aren’t startin’ today. ’Course, I don’t have no trouble with ol’ Malleus here.”
    “Malleus?” Alex snickered.
    “Now, I know we aren’t what you was expectin’…” The man pulled out a set of keys and walked to the trunk. “But this here ol’ boat knows his way to the airport better’n anybody. That’s where this crew’s headin’, aren’t it?” With a metallic shriek, the trunk opened.
    Ellen gulped. “Uhh, yes, but…I was thinking…maybe I should drive them myself.”
    “Not the day to drive, ma’am. Take my word for it. I know we aren’t pretty, but we’re safe.”
    “So those dents must have come from hitting air pockets,” Alex said.
    “Half of ’em came from air pockets and the other half just flat-out old age. Sorta like metal wrinkles. That’s what happens when your odometer tops a million.”
    Alex glanced at his mother expecting to see her fall apart. But to his shock, she was smiling . So was Tori. Even Amanda’s eyes had a twinkle in them.
    “Yeah, ol’ Malleus an’ me got some miles on us, but these young people are gonna be safe, ma’am. You kin bet your stars on it. How about it? You want to ride in my ol’ junker?”
    “Yeah!” Tori’s tears were gone.
    Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She was gonna let them do it—ride with a bum in a car that would fall apart if it ever reached twenty miles an hour. Instantly his rage returned. There you go, just another example of how little she cared about them. Clear proof of how much she wanted them out of her life. Well, fine . The sooner they were gone the better.
    But in his rage he hadn’t noticed something. While he had been staring at the dents in the car, his mother had been looking into the old man’s eyes, and as she looked, all her fears had vanished. Somehow, beyond words, she knew that her children would be safe with him, safer than anywhere else in the world.
    But then Ellen looked at her son and her fear returned. “You…you do think it’s all right, don’t you? I mean…if you’d rather, I could take you myself.”
    “Hey, forget it. We’ll be fine.” Utterly disgusted, Alex picked up their luggage and stalked to the trunk. He saw the tears she fought back and didn’t care.
    But then the old man approached and spoke gently to Ellen. “Don’t you worry none about your boy, ma’am. You done the best you could, and that’s all that matters. Now, you listen to what I’m sayin’. When all’s said and done, he’s gonna be fine.” Such strange words from a cabby. But when he said them, they brought great comfort. Then the lines in his face crinkled into a smile. “Hey, will you look up at that sky? We got a touch o’ weather comin’. Now you take my advice. Go inside an’ shut your windows an’ doors. Then get a little rest. Nothin’ like sleepin’ with rain on a roof to wash the sorrows away.” The man picked up the remaining luggage and loaded it in the trunk. “All right, now…you lovely ladies climb in the back an’ this young gent can ride shotgun next to me. How’s that for a plan?”
    The last moment was the most painful of all as Ellen kissed and hugged each of her children, hugged them as though she might never see them again. When Alex’s turn came he stiffened, but she kissed him anyway. His coldness only deepened when she whispered, “I love you.”
    Their eyes didn’t meet because he wouldn’t let them.
    The girls climbed into the rear of the limousine, while Alex slid into the front. Then the engine started, and with a creak of loose gears, the old tub rattled out onto the street. Amanda and Tori waved out the back window until their home vanished behind them. Alex stared rigidly ahead. For him, his home had vanished a long time ago.
     
    W hen they were gone, Ellen Lancaster walked back into her house. As she entered her