The Big Front Yard and Other Stories Read Free

who’d heard it all before.
    Poor old Henry, he thought. What a life the man must lead. Up at that computer plant all day long, shooting off his face and bossing everyone, then coming home to a life of petty tyranny.
    â€œBeasly,” said Abbie, in her best drill-sergeant voice, “you get right up there and get that thing untied.”
    â€œYes’m,” Beasly said. He was a gangling, loose-jointed man who didn’t look too bright.
    â€œAnd see you be careful with it. I don’t want it all scratched up.”
    â€œYes’m,” said Beasly.
    â€œI’ll help,” Taine offered.
    The two climbed into the truck and began unlashing the old monstrosity.
    â€œIt’s heavy,” Abbie warned. “You two be careful of it.”
    â€œYes’m,” said Beasly.
    It was heavy and it was an awkward thing to boot, but Beasly and Taine horsed it around to the back of the house and up the stoop and through the back door and down the basement stairs, with Abbie following eagle-eyed behind them, alert to the slightest scratch.
    The basement was Taine’s combination workshop and display room for antiques. One end of it was filled with benches and with tools and machinery and boxes full of odds and ends and piles of just plain junk were scattered everywhere. The other end housed a collection of rickety chairs, sagging bedposts, ancient highboys, equally ancient lowboys, old coal scuttles painted gold, heavy iron fireplace screens and a lot or other stuff that he had collected from far and wide for as little as he could possibly pay for it.
    He and Beasly set the TV down carefully on the floor. Abbie watched them narrowly from the stairs.
    â€œWhy, Hiram,” she said, excited, “you put a ceiling in the basement. It looks a whole lot better.”
    â€œHuh?” asked Taine.
    â€œThe ceiling. I said you put in a ceiling.”
    Taine jerked his head up and what she said was true. There was a ceiling there, but he’d never put it in.
    He gulped a little and lowered his head, then jerked it quickly up and had another look. The ceiling still was there.
    â€œIt’s not that block stuff,” said Abbie with open admiration. “You can’t see any joints at all. How did you manage it?”
    Taine gulped again and got back his voice. “Something I thought up,” he told her weakly.
    â€œYou’ll have to come over and do it to our basement. Our basement is a sight. Beasly put the ceiling in the amusement room, but Beasly is all thumbs.”
    â€œYes’m,” Beasly said contritely.
    â€œWhen I get the time,” Taine promised, ready to promise anything to get them out of there.
    â€œYou’d have a lot more time,” Abbie told him acidly, “if you weren’t gadding around all over the country buying up that broken-down old furniture that you call antiques. Maybe you can fool the city folks when they come driving out here, but you can’t fool me.”
    â€œI make a lot of money out of some of it,” Taine told her calmly.
    â€œAnd lose your shirt on the rest of it,” she said.
    â€œI got some old china that is just the kind of stuff you are looking for,” said Taine. “Picked it up just a day or two ago. Made a good buy on it. I can let you have it cheap.”
    â€œI’m not interested,” she said and clamped her mouth tight shut.
    She turned around and went back up the stairs.
    â€œShe’s on the prod today,” Beasly said to Taine. “It will be a bad day. It always is when she starts early in the morning.”
    â€œDon’t pay attention to her,” Taine advised.
    â€œI try not to, but it ain’t possible. You sure you don’t need a man? I’d work for you cheap.”
    â€œSorry, Beasly. Tell you what – come over some night soon and we’ll play some checkers.”
    â€œI’ll do that, Hiram. You’re the only one who ever asks me over. All