A Room in the House of the Ancestors Books One and Two
Page 28
“Well,” Tad said, “technically, it’s regifting, isn’t it? Anyway, he’s been hanging around here for awhile now. Now, that we’ve dispensed with all the sentiment, there is still the matter of my gift to Dad.”
“No, there isn’t,” James replied.
“Thank you, James, for the effort,” Thomas said, drying his eyes. He laughed a little while pulling himself together with some considerable effort. “Very well, let us get Tad’s silly gag gift over with for another year. What’s it to be, Thaddeus? Fake vomit? Exploding chewing gum? Bleeding soap?”
Tad removed his smart phone from his pocket while presenting his father with the fake canister of candy. “Here, Daddy. Happy Birthday.”
“You’ve done this one before, you know. Repeating yourself is the sign of a dilettante.” Thomas smirked at the canister, shook it and dutifully opened the cap.
Nothing shot out.
“Bad news, son,” Thomas said, “it appears your leaping snakes are dead on arrival. Perhaps the lack of oxygen?”
“Take a closer look inside,” Tad said, his thumb hovering over his smart phone.
James covered his face and shook his head as Thomas peered into the can. He shook his head. “Sorry, still nothing.”
“Well, try it again!” Tad said, as he squinted at his screen, punching a thumb several more times. “Wait just a damned minute, what’s happened to my bloody screen? It’s blank!”
“What happened?” Edward asked, looking over at Tad’s phone.
“My smart screen is blank. It doesn’t show any data.”
Edward shook his head with a commiserating murmur. “Well, will you look at that, you’d think someone had hacked your password and deleted all the apps.”
Tad’s eyes slowly focused, his eyebrows folding together. “Why, you cunning linguist.”
Eddie smiled. “Takes one to know one.”
Tad shook his head, finally storing the phone away in his jacket pocket. He reached an arm around the other side of Edward’s neck. “Father, it’s official. I’ve changed me mind. I wouldn’t rather have a goldfish after all.”
The End
Other titles by Melody Clark (available at Amazon):
A Room in the House of the Ancestors, Book One
Shamus Bead and the Clockwork Resurrection Man
Shamus Bead and the Cure for What Kills You
Shamus Bead and the White City (coming soon)
A Revolutionary Romance
Defining Moments
Melodyclark.net