The 'Cousins'

Part Twenty Seven: The Reluctant Electrician!

‘Excuse me Martha, could I just have a mug of hot water please. I’ve a touch of dyspepsia I’m afraid.’ He rubbed his stomach for visual effect.

‘Oh sure, do you want a pill or something.’ She was all concern. Greg held up his hands and pleaded ‘The water will be fine thanks, it’s not bad and I try not to take pills for it. They say they give you kidney stones.’

Martha held the heavy kettle in both hands and expertly poured the hot water into a mug and raised her eyes to ask, ‘How about you Jess?’

‘I’ll have some hot water too please Mrs Ali. With one sugar if that’s OK?’

Jess had understood Greg’s real and unspoken reason to refuse the coffee and was warmed by the man’s concern and selflessness; he felt himself drawn closer to this strange Englishman.

‘Tell me Mr. Mitchell, what exactly is it that you want my husband to do?’ 

Martha sat on the bench opposite to Greg across the table holding her own mug of hot water in both hands and blowing on to its surface.  Greg glanced over at Ali who still stood sulking, with his arms crossed, at some distance from the table where they sat, but close enough to hear what was going on.

Greg repeated his plans to do trades and build a fund to replace Colonel Stuart’s contribution to Jess’s schooling.

‘I think that’s wonderful Mr. Mitchell,’ Martha said politely and took a long draught of water from her mug so she didn’t have to say any more.  Her sense of politeness required that the question on her lips remained unspoken. But Ali wasn’t so bashful. He strode forward and stood over Greg to demand.

‘And what’s in it for you? Why you doing this for him. You don’t know him or his folks. This don’t smell right to me.’

‘Augustus!’ Martha reprimanded him sharply, but Ali ignored her and stood glaring malevolently at Greg.

Greg pressed his upper teeth hard onto his bottom lip. He so badly wanted to tear into Ali verbally, but forced himself to remain calm. Greg turned to look him in the eye, his face set and determined.

‘Let me put it this way. I abhor unfairness however it appears, it makes me mad and I want to strike it down. Now it seems to me you know a thing or two about unfairness around here … ’?  He paused and looked around.  Martha and Ali both lowered their eyes, but said nothing. Greg continued.  ‘ … I’ve had my own share of unfairness. A loose living wife and her family tricked me out of the business I had built up while they rode horses and drank sherry at parties. The damned law supported them, for God’s sake, so don’t talk to me about justice!’ Greg slammed the flat of his hand on the table venting his present frustrations by giving away a little of his background. 

‘…Now when I drove into this town I knocked down this young man on his way to get a job. I cost him the job that was to help him fund his way through school. I owe him a job, otherwise I don’t know what unspeakable things he might have to endure to pay his way.’ Greg paused again and looked at Jess who dropped his gaze and held the mug over his reddened face to hide his embarrassment. Nobody spoke, their eyes were on Greg, waiting to hear the remainder of his exposition.

‘…Then I found there’re all sorts of people in this town who care only about themselves and don’t give a damn about others or their predicaments and that’s plainly unfair. And that makes me angry and I have to do something about it. Because I can!’ Greg slapped the table again and found he was panting and hot under the collar. He looked up to see Martha’s eyes smiling at him. She put her hand over his and said quietly.

‘Pardon me for saying so Mr. Mitchell but you are a strange man. You may be very different from us here on the outside, but you ain’t that much different to us on the insides. Is he Augustus?’