Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' Read Free Page B

two-
then three- then four balls fell into various pockets around the
table. Without so much as looking at Dan, he casually gestured to
the glass containing the cards. “May I-? It would just save us
time...”
    Dan snarled, “Screw you! You cocky little Ba-!” And
then he stopped, the expletive cut short by the presence of someone
filling the archway behind his detestable cousin. With almost
sickening ease, Dan’s demeanor abruptly changed as he addressed the
new arrival with nauseating sweetness, “Aunt Abigail, what a
surprise!”
    Framed in the archway like a glowing angel, Abigail
Matthews was truly a vision of loveliness, her beauty-queen
features undiminished by her age. As was befitting of the wife of a
wealthy shipping executive, Abigail wore her money well. A
perfectly tailored, champagne-colored and intricately beaded silk
dress with matching jacket and elbow-length gloves were merely the
foundation for the carefully chosen accessories- an elegant package
that when taken as a whole resulted in a delicious confection of
grace and beauty.
    A diamond-encrusted tennis bracelet adorned one
delicate wrist, a wealth of glittering jewels artfully displayed on
long, delicate fingers opposite it. A triple strand of exquisitely
matched pearls hung loosely around her neck, and a final, almost
incongruous touch of color was pinned to the lapel of her jacket-
it was an orchid corsage, bright magenta in color, the wispy
tendrils of a baby fern framing its singular beauty. In short,
Abigail Matthews was the perfect picture of wealth and
privilege.
    But despite her outward
appearance, Abigail’s demeanor was most definitely not that of someone with
the superficial affectation of those typically cloaked in the
trappings of luxury. Quite conversely, Abigail exuded an air of
quiet humility, a grounded earthiness that made her stand out among
her peers, a woman whom even with all of her decoration stripped of
her would still reflect a sense of warmth and charm that seemed to
radiate from her core.
    She timidly poked her head into the Billiards room
and smiled thinly at the gathering as she caught the attention of
her son, who had slowly turned and now smiled warmly to greet her.
“Hey, Mom- what’s up?”
    “ Honey, it's time to go... are you
almost done?”
    Chris turned back to Dan and stuck out his tongue in
a thoroughly puerile yet totally effective gesture of contempt, and
called over his shoulder as he leaned back over the table, “Almost.
This'll just take a second...”
    Dan mouthed a silent expletive to Chris in reply,
but Chris merely smiled in return. He had Dan right where he wanted
him.
    Abigail nodded and turned to leave, and then
hesitated, sensing the distinctly palpable tension in the room,
wanting to interject a cautionary note of motherly concern to her
son and nephew. The boys had a long history of fighting, and she
didn’t want this event sullied by another ridiculous display of
pugilistic posturing. She opened her mouth to intervene and then
suddenly stopped- deciding that it would make no difference if she
had, for the animosity these two shared would never heed her
admonishments at abatement. She sighed and hoped for the best, and
then slowly turned and walked away, a final worried glance cast
over her shoulder before she disappeared into the crowd. And as
silently as she had appeared, she was just as quietly gone.
    The music, which had somehow inexplicably paused at
the very moment of Abigail’s arrival, immediately took up again
where it had left off, the throbbing techno beat rattling off the
walls, and Chris and Dan now began to circle the table like
combatants in the ring.
    Chris leaned back down to the table and continued
his run, quickly sinking four more balls before missing a
particularly difficult shot, the cue ball drifting lazily to the
center of the table.
    Dan licked his lips in almost predatory fashion and
took his turn.
    The throbbing beat of the music sharply increased in
volume and