OW – A LITTLE TOO LATE (double drabble)

Ezra grimaced as he shuffled his cards one-handed, only to have several fly out of the deck and land on the bedspread as a knock distracted him.

“Come in.”

Josiah stuck his head inside. “Can we talk?”

Feeling disinclined towards courtesy, Ezra returned, “It’s a little too late to reprimand me.”

“Reprimand? No, Ezra, I came to apologize.”

“Excuse me?”

“I gave you that money because I didn’t want the temptation. I struck out at you for giving voice to my own weakness. You didn’t deserve that and I’m so sorry you got hurt because of it.”

Ezra touched his injured side. “Mr. Jackson says this will heal quickly.”

Josiah came closer, taking a seat on the bed and absently straightening the cards Ezra had lost. “Will the wounds I inflicted mend as easily?”

“Lack of faith; lack of trust; a lowering of my own meager self-respect. No, Mr. Sanchez, such wounds do not mend easily.” Ezra paused, studying Josiah’s regretful expression. “However . . . it is said that what does not kill us makes us stronger.”

Josiah looked up, hope in his eyes, and found Ezra’s hand held out to him. He shook it firmly; a silent promise for the future.

ATF – BRING IT ON HOME

They were one away from victory. Team Four had won the annual ATF softball tournament four years running, and Team Seven was determined that the streak would end here.

“Come on, kid, bring it on home!” Buck shouted from the dugout.

JD gripped the bat tightly, jaw tight with determination. Vin and Josiah were already on base, both shouting encouragement. All he had to do was hit a grounder to drive Vin in.

The pitch came and the ball flew right.

“Go fair, go fair,” JD begged. Finally, only an inch from the foul pole, the ball obeyed. Home Run!

LB – BUILDING BRIDGES

“Don’t neglect to build up your supports,” Josiah advised, handing Vin another set of connected Lego blocks.

“What for?” JD demanded. “Looks okay to me.”

Sitting cross-legged on the floor between the boys, Josiah pointed to the top of the structure. “When building bridges against heavy HotWheels traffic, it’s best to be cautious.”

Vin nodded and carefully placed the new piece, but JD had other ideas. Jumping up, he let go a roar and smacked the top of the bridge, which swayed but did not fall.

“JD! What are you doing?” Vin demanded.

“Godzilla’s attacking,” he explained.

Vin grinned. “Cool.”

ATF – CALL ME CRAZY

“Call me crazy,” Nathan said, “but I think he looks better this way.”

Buck nodded, “Yeah, the bohemian thing works.”

“Who’d have guessed?” Josiah chimed in. “He could bring communes back into style.”

“Headband’s a nice touch,” Vin said, “but I think the beard makes it work.”

JD grinned. “Personally, I like the platform shoes.”

“The tie-dye, bellbottom ensemble gets my vote,” Ezra decided.

Chris Larabee groaned. How the hell had he lost a bet with Ezra, forcing him to go undercover in a liquor smuggling racket as a hippie?

“Say cheese!” Buck ordered, grinning as the flash went off.

OW – LIFE AIN’T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL

“Twenty years today since my ma passed,” Vin said suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Just thought of that.”

Josiah revealed, “It’s fifteen years next week since mine died.”

The two men exchanged respectful nods.

“A year and two months for me,” JD added.

“Month shy of twelve years,” Chris grunted.

Nathan murmured, “Y’all were at my father’s trial, so you know.”

“Eighteen years for my father,” Ezra said quietly.

“Eight for my ma,” Buck said.

They each raised a glass as Vin said, “Well, here’s to all of ‘em. Life ain’t always beautiful, but it’s a damned site better for having had them in it.”

OW – ME AND MY GANG

“You’re alone, Larabee! You ain’t no match for me and my gang! Better say your prayers.”

“Better say your own!” Josiah shouted, dropping the man as he fired his first shot.

“Vin, left!” Ezra shouted, killing another outlaw who had taken aim at Chris’ unprotected back.

Seeing that the sharpshooter had responded to Ezra’s call, Chris ducked low, killing the last of the gang with a bullet to the heart.

As the confrontation ended, the lawmen stood over the robbers. Chris addressed the body of the now dead speaker. “Seems your gang couldn’t count any better than they could shoot.”