Making Their Way, The Best Way They Know How - Part 5
Nov 24, 2016 22:05:49 GMT -5
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Post by jamesradford on Nov 24, 2016 22:05:49 GMT -5
Radford Home
1024 Pine Valley Way, Jackson, Mississippi
11/24/2016
The cold Mississippi air nipped at his nose every time James inhaled, and he could see it materialize into a fog with every exhale. It was five-thirty in the morning, and he was sitting in a deer blind nestled on the northeast edge of woods on his family’s land. He had on the typical hunter’s getup; Camo jumpsuit with a hood, combat boots, and thermals underneath. His hands were gloved right now, but he left the zippers at the top undone so that he could discard them quickly at the first sight of a deer. His Remington Sendero hunting rifle sat propped up against the frame of the blind, within easy access just in case things got interesting.
He and his father had made trips like this all the time, but there was one day that was an annual event for the two men when his father had still been alive. Thanksgiving. Deer season was in full swing in Mississippi at this time of year, and he and his father would obtain permission from the neighbors to hunt the woods that made up the majority of their back yard.
James sniffed the brisk morning air, and sighed inwardly. He wished his father was still around to carry on the tradition.
A crunching sound could be heard just outside the blind, followed by a high pitched curse word being dropped here and there. James just shook his head in disbelief, rubbing his temples in anticipation of the headache that was forthcoming.
Just then Bobby burst into the blind, making all sorts of racket, shuffling about to get the blind zipped back up. The wiry man was shivering, and with every uncontrolled seizure the vinyl he was wearing to keep him dry crinkled annoyingly. When he got the zipper halfway up, he ran into a snag, and eventually abandoned it all together. Finally, he stepped over to the milk crate he brought to sit on and plopped down in a huff.
“I don’t see why we had to come out here so early, James. I mean, the damn deer don’t get up this early. That’s obvious. Haven’t seen one since we’ve been sitting out here.”
James’ jaw went hard, and he was about to turn and lay into the man when he saw the miserable expression on Bobby’s face, and decided better of it. From the minute they had left the house Bobby had bitched, whined, and complained. Their trek through the woods was so damn loud that James was pretty sure any animals in the vicinity, deer or otherwise, had already fled for more hospitable ground. That wasn’t the point, though. This was a tradition, one that he chose to keep alive even though his dad had passed on. He certainly hadn’t asked Bobby Benson to tag along!
That didn’t change the fact that his mouthy counterpart had insisted on doing what the Mississippian’s do, and claiming that he was just a good ole’ country boy at heart. James had been skeptical, but Bobby was adamant, and eventually it was a not-so-subtle look from his mother that reminded him of his manners and closed the debate. He knew that Mama would be getting up in another hour or so to prepare today’s feast, and Bobby would get the chance to meet James’ brother and sister who were driving up from Biloxi.
Another shiver drew James’ attention back to Bobby, and he found himself gritting his teeth as he reached back and zipped the blind the rest of the way closed.
“Mr. Benson, you could have stayed back at the house. This is just something I’ve always done on Thanksgiving morning.”
Bobby was already shaking his head ‘no’ when James returned to his spot. “No, no. I go where you go, Big Cat, and if this is where you want to be, then it’s where I’ll be.” He looked through the opening in the blind, and shivered again. “Not that I completely understand all this. I mean, this is what the grocery store is for, right?”
James chuckled in disregard to the man’s question. “Mr. Benson, you aren’t going to get anything like what we could catch out here at the grocery store. Why, have you ever had a venison steak? Good lord, it’s so good you’d want to slap your mama!”
Bobby regarded the man with a sidelong glance, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. “So you said last night, but I’m no stranger to good eating. After all, I’m just over the barrel there in Tennessee. Cat Eye biscuits with some peppercorn gravy, a side of eggs, and liver mush. Now just think about that, James. We could be frying some of that up right now instead of sitting out here in the cold chasin’ deer.”
The mention of food started a rumbling in James’ stomach, and he suddenly felt a gnawing at the back of his spine. He was getting pretty hungry, and they had been at this since two this morning. There was a light pink glow ringing the trees across the field, meaning that the sun would be up soon. Besides, it wasn’t like they were going to bag anything out here this morning anyways.
James shrugged, and started packing up his gear. “I guess we can go and see if Mama’s got some fresh coffee on the stove.”
Bobby excitedly gave a ‘yip’ of victory, which James just shook his head at as they gathered up their stuff. He would leave the blind up for his neighbors to the north to use in the days that followed, knowing that they would make sure it found its way back into the barn.
After about a half mile trek back through the woods the two men dumped out into a well-manicured yard with an old time farm house just off in the distance. It seemed as soon as they made into the clearing that they could taste the smells of home grown southern cooking wafting into the air from the big chimney that jutted up the side of the house.
When they reached the front porch, James had to grab Bobby from just blustering into the house, and he pointed down at his feet as he began to undo the laces on his boots. Bobby got the idea, and started doing the same. When both men were just in their socks, they trudged on into the house, leaving their boots on the back porch.
James’ mom was already hard at work in the kitchen, pots and pans clanking all over the place. A large gutted Turkey sat out on the island in the center, but at the kitchen table there were two plates with much of what Bobby Benson had described sitting on either end. Bobby immediately made a B-Line after offering James’ mom a smile, while Radford leaned against the kitchen counter with a questioning glance at the lady that raised him.
“How’d you know?”
His mother just laughed a little bit, and cast him a sympathetic grin before nodding her head in Bobby’s direction. “Something told me you two fellas wouldn’t get very far. Now, get in there and have something to eat, and stay out of my kitchen for the next four hours. Scoot.” She said the last with a swooshing motion of her apron.
James gave the woman a smile, and tipped an imaginary hat. “Yes, Ma’am.” He said before sliding into his chair at the table.
Bobby had already devoured half of his food before James had even sat down, and Radford wasn’t really sure where the little guy put it all. After their meal, James took their plates into the kitchen and washed them, putting them away before he could get in his mother’s way. The woman hadn’t been joking, all previous good nature having fled her. Now she wore her game face, and there were some potatoes in the corner that were about to get murdered.
James led Bobby to the living room which was quaintly decorated in half modern, half antique dressings. Bobby sat in one of the recliners, and laced his hands before resting them on his stomach. He looked over at James who took the seat off to the right of him, and his mouth twitched.
“So, James,” He began, tearing the young man’s attention from the morning news on the television over in the corner. “About this Alpha Cup Tournament…. well, we really need to win this.”
James smirked a bit at the obvious statement, and then nodded his agreement. “I’ll do my best.”
Bobby Benson’s expression was as serious as a heart attack. “No, James, I’m afraid you don’t understand. We ‘REALLY’ need to win this. Look, up to this point, you’ve done great. A lot better than a lot of people would have ever given you credit for. First a fatal four way, then a triple threat with the likes of Caroline O’Hara Burchill. Putting The Red Queen’s shoulders to the mat solidifies you as a real contender here. It shut up any of the naysayers who might have tried to contribute the first win as luck. She’s a real player in the world of wrestling, and you put her down cold. Now’s the true test. This tournament’s not going to be for the weak of heart, nor the ‘pretty’ good. There are some real champions in this thing, and they are going to come out hard and strong, and guys like you are going to be what they consider easy targets. We can’t let that come to pass, James. We just can’t.”
James sat back in his chair with a less cavalier attitude, and stared over at Bobby in anxiety. “Then what are we going to do?”
Bobby flashed a confident smile to try and assure his ward. “We’re going to train, James. We’re going to get to know these jokers inside and out, and then we’re going to test your talents against some local competition. The next time you step into that AWE ring, I want you in tip top shape, confident that you can put on the performance of a lifetime.”
Bobby paused, nodding into the kitchen.
“The holidays are a great time of the year, but they are distracting. You get so caught up in family and dinners and presents that it’s really easy to forget your priorities. I mean, if you were already a champion, or if you had already done something like this in your career, then it would be different. You’d already have all the tools in the shed so to speak, so it wouldn’t be that hard to put them down and pick them back up again. But you aren’t there yet as a competitor, and what we’re going to be facing over the next few weeks is going to test you on every level. I know this might not be what you want to hear, but that’s why you pay me to keep you on the straight and narrow towards success.”
Bobby took a moment to assess how well his client was taking this. After all, he had just won two in a row, and had probably expected for things to get easier.
James just sat there for a moment, not really certain what to say in response. Several feelings came to him all at once, but it was obvious that he was desperate to succeed.
“Then I'll do whatever I have to do Mr. Benson.”
Bobby grinned again, the television light glaring off his teeth like some sort of demon. “Son, that's all I needed to hear.”