Chapter Two--Part One

The man had more power to his push than I had realized. We got the car pretty far down the block before I had to stop us cure my ailing throat with water. Sweat poured down my body collecting in small lakes on my lower back and brow. Hunched over, I tried to catch my breath but the most I could seem to find was my stomach telling me to lurch out the cheap beer and last of the sandwiches that had come from the small cooler in the back seat. I wouldn’t retch. Not in front of the old man. I pulled myself to my feet and told myself that no one saw the sway to gain my balance and the paling of my face.

 

“You alright there son. Look a little shaky on your feet.” His words were emphasized by the three forceful smacks on the back. A mocking yet hearty laugh pouring out of his lips. I grimaced and felt the world spin. I wouldn’t retch….I wouldn’t retch. After a few minutes I believed myself. I took my small step forward and retched all over the shoes of the man before me. I kept my head bowed in embarrassment. My face flushed with color and sweat. My mouth went dry and chalky as I examined the gravel of the road beneath my feet.

“Ya done. Or do I need to break out another pair or shoes for you to get sick all over?” he grabbed my shirt and pulled my shirt to raise me off the ground. “Come on kid start acting like a man.” And with that he started walking away. My eyes wide I stared after him. The fresh air of the open terrain around me filled my senses making it easier to breathe. The smell of fresh rain on the dessert sand, the sound of call birds echoing in the distance, the heat of the gravel underneath my feet, the world began to be solid. The ground beneath me stopped trembling and I found my feet again. I started to follow the man who had already gotten a few yards ahead of me. Picking up my pace I fell instep with the man who seemed to have the world written down in his head. A man who had already done his venture to find what it was to be in this world, and where his place was. A man in the truest sense of the word.