The Last Seat(pg.5)

     We ate together at Bradley's table and it was always customary for the guest to say grace or a few warm words, and Mr. Bradley asked me, "Tim, care to say grace before we eat?" 
     "I'd be delighted, sir," and remembered a text from the Bible, Lamentations 4:5, and spouted these words, "Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets; those reared in purple embrace ash pits...and God bless this food."  And why I thought best to say that quote still never registered with me. But, Mr. and Mrs. Bradley out of kindness said in unison, "Thank you, Tim!' 
     Now, I thought it was odd, but the Bradleys never said one word at the table while eating, not one word, so I ate and got up from the table sated as a king and retired to the couch slowly nodding off. Later, Mrs. Bradley told me to go upstairs and sleep in the boy's bedroom. So I stumbled and languidly trotted up the steps and flopped on the first bed I saw, no sooner as I was sleeping here comes Rusty in the room loud as a roaring lion I watched him out of the corner of my eye though as he hid that book under some other books in the closet. He never knew I saw him place it there too. 
     The next morning we arose, headed downstairs and tended to the farm animals, I loved it there, for my family had no cattle or any animal other than a dog and cat, so the experience of feeding animals was something to behold. Rusty looked at me when we were alone in the barn, as he was feeding a young calf and said, " whatever you do, never mention our trip to that cave or my book I stole to my parents, okay?" 
     "Why would I?" I blurted out.
     "Promise me!" Rusty said with authority. 
     " Okay, okay I won't!" I  said again. 
     "We're cool, but my dad would beat me senseless if he knew I brought something as evil as that old book filled with ancient words and odd inscriptions back home." 
     "Man, I understand, my parents would kill me too." 
     Months passed and spring came in slowly-springtime in Kentucky moves like an old maid- for winter's breath still hasn't healed and many times in late April nature would dump a foot of snow out of nowhere. 
     I slowly saw Rusty changing, he always recited ridiculous stuff now, I could not follow a word of it, and my Latin was strong too, for we had to say the entire mass in Latin as altar boys, but what on earth was he saying? This gibberish he was saying was unheard of from my perspective, so my curiosity got the best of me one day, and I wanted to know what's going on with my best friend. I cornered him one day outside alone, and said, "hey, Rusty, let's take a walk." 
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