“But Billy was pestering you,” she said. “You said you’d …”
“Helen, you nag the boy too much,” Henry said. “He’s just a boy, and boys will be boys.” Henry winked at Billy. “Eh, son?” Henry reached over and mussed Billy’s hair.
Helen backed up, releasing Billy’s shoulder. She said, “But you … it looked like you went into the box!”
Henry looked at the box, then at Helen. He began to laugh. “Girl, it’s a good thing you got a man who loves you, because you are weird. You are really weird.” He stepped around Billy, took Helen gently by the arm. “C’mon, I’ll help you with dinner.”
She allowed herself to be guided toward the house, her attention fixed on Henry.
Billy heard him say, “Y’know, honey, I think Billy could use a brother or a sister. What do you say?”
“Henry!”
Henry’s laughter came rich and happy. He stopped, turned around to look at Billy, who stood in the woodshed doorway, holding the box.
“Stay where you can hear me call, Bill. Maybe we’ll go to a movie after dinner, eh?”
Billy nodded.
“Hey,” Henry called, “what’re y’ going to do with that funny box?”
Billy stared across the empty lot to the home of his friend Jimmy Carter. He took a deep breath, said, “Jimmy’s got a catcher’s mitt he’s been trying to trade me. Maybe he’d trade for the box.”
“Hey!” Henry said. “Maybe he would at that. But look out Jimmy’s old man doesn’t catch you at it. You know what a temper he has.”
“I sure do,” Billy said. “I sure do … Dad.”
Henry put his arm around Helen’s shoulder and headed once more for the house. “Hear that?” he asked. “Hear him call me Dad? Y’know, Helen, nothing makes a man happier than to have a boy call him Dad.”
If You Liked …
If you liked Unpublished Short Stories, you might also enjoy:
Man of Two Worlds
Brian Herbert & Frank Herbert
Four Unpublished Novels
by Frank Herbert
About the Author
Frank Herbert (1920–1986) created the most beloved novel in the annals of science fiction, Dune. He was a man of many facets, of countless passageways that ran through an intricate mind. His magnum opus is a reflection of this—a classic work that stands as one of the most complex, multilayered novels ever written in any genre. Today the novel is more popular than ever, with new readers continually discovering it and telling their friends to pick up a copy. It has been translated into dozens of languages and has sold almost twenty million copies.
His major novels included The Dragon in the Sea, Soul Catcher (his only non–science fiction novel), Destination: Void, The Santaroga Barrier, The Green Brain, Hellstrom’s Hive, Whipping Star, The Eyes of Heisenberg, The Godmakers, Direct Descent, and The Heaven Makers. He also collaborated with Bill Ransom to write The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor. Frank Herbert’s last published novel, Man of Two Worlds, was a collaboration with his son, Brian.
Other WordFire Press Titles by Frank Herbert
Destination: Void
Direct Descent
Four Unpublished Novels
A Game of Authors
The Godmakers
The Heaven Makers
Pandora Sequence 1: The Jesus Incident
Pandora Sequence 2: The Lazarus Effect
Pandora Sequence 3: The Ascension Factor
Frank Herbert & Brian Herbert
Man of Two Worlds
Frank Herbert & Bill Ransom
Soul Catcher
Our list of other WordFire Press authors and titles is always growing. To find out more and to see our selection of titles, visit us at:
wordfirepress.com
Frank Herbert Page 30