There Was More To The Eye... Hiding In Plain View

There Was More To The Eye...Hiding In Plain View
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates

Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee

The young man spun around once again, kicking the woman in her stomach. She turned white, fell to the floor silently in a dead faint. The young man watched her for any sign of life...she seemed to be completely out. Die, you old b....h, he thought as he quickly turned around.

The older man stood there, unseeing. He appeared to be blind. The young man didn't sense any threat there. He spoke to the older man, telling him to move. The man turned his head slightly as if he heard a sound. The young man knew then, that the older man couldn't hear well.

He took the older man by the arm, pulled him to the chair close by, pushed him down into it. The older man sat there, never showing any resistance. He sat there as if he were pushed into a chair all the time.
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The young man forgot about the older man, and woman. They weren't a threat. He just wanted the money from the cash register sitting on the counter... where the older man had stood moments ago.

He walked to the cash register; tried to open it. He pressed keys, hoping to make the drawer open. He turned to look at the older man...older woman. The older man sat where he'd been pushed earlier. He sat there talking to himself... he had a slight smile on his face.

The young man looked to where the older woman still lay on the floor. He wondered briefly if he'd killed her ... he had kicked the s...t out of her. He wasn't going to get any help from them.

He ought to shoot both of them. They weren't any good to anybody. He became aware of the shop he was in. It smelled good in there. The younger man's stomach growled. Damn, if he wasn't hungry.

He walked over to the display case. There were doughnuts of every kind. All were arranged beautifully. He wanted to taste every one of them. He'd taste a few of them... then, get back to business. The young man became engrossed in the wonderful, sweet doughnuts. They had to be the most delicious doughnuts he'd ever eaten.

Everytime, he thought about getting back to business... the next piece of doughnut was better than the last. He saw one thing the old woman was good for. He ate on...tasting this, tasting that. He closed his eyes as he savored the sweetness... unaware he was being watched.

The woman began coming to... she began to move. She looked around as she struggled to sit up. Sharp, stabbing pain almost made her cry out. She heard noises... paper crinkling... she saw the young man with his back to her. To her amazement, he was totally engrossed in eating the doughnuts in front of him.

Her eyes moved to the cash register,to the shelf beneath it. She had a pistol under there... hidden beneath the white towel... in plain view. Her eyes noticed a slight movement... there in the chair sat her husband. He was 'hiding in plain view'.

She grinned at him... she knew what was coming. The young man had made a grave mistake... you never judge a book by its cover. She looked into her husband's eyes... they were communicating. They had planned this many years ago... this was the first time ever to put it into action.

No longer did her husband look like a feeble old man... nor she like an ordinary ... old woman. The transformation took place silently.  Her husband was a black belt in karate, he also, was in Special Forces in the military... no, that young guy didn't know who he messed with.  He, also.... wasn't blind... and could 'hear a gnat fart'.

The young man belched loudly... he was just before throwing up. The woman couldn't wait to give him some of his medicine back. Her stomach, body hurt as she stood up. She was going for the gun once her husband went into action.

He moved quickly toward the young man as she sprang forward to grab the pistol. The white towel fell to the floor as she grabbed the pistol, swung around with it. Her husband had grabbed the young man.

The young man didn't understand what was happening. He knew the old man couldn't see... he wasn't worried about him. He slung himself away from the older man... then, he walked toward the blind man. The young man had his gun ready... he was going to bust that old f.........'s head in.

As he got close to the old, blind man, he raised the gun high in the air. Just as he brought the gun down, something whipped out, grabbed his wrist... bending it until the young man began screaming. There was a loud pop... the older man let go, knowing the young guy wasn't any longer a threat to either of them.

The young guy fell to his knees screaming, "Oh God!  Oh God!"  The older woman walked over to him, stood looking at him.  The pain in her stomach, body hurt like hell.  She felt compassion for the young man... but, when a stabbing pain flashed through her stomach again, she felt 'pure, white, hot anger'.

Before she knew it, she had kicked the young man in his stomach.  The young man instantly began vomiting all the doughnuts up.  He tried to raise his hand to his face... it was obvious his wrist was broken.

He waited for her to kick him again.  She stood there looking at him... with a little, sweet smile on her face... and... a little glint in her eyes.  She never said a word.  The young man was afraid... very afraid.  This was no ordinary 'older' woman... he'd made a bad mistake.

They could hear her husband calling the sheriff's department... ask for an officer to come out, pick up the young man.  He hung up his cellphone, walked over to the young man.

"Have you ever robbed anybody else?  Have you ever hurt anyone else physically?"  The young man began to cry, saying he'd never hurt anyone in his life.  He'd never robbed anyone in his life.  He'd been with friends when some of them bragged about targeting 'old people' who ran businesses... robbing them to get money.

As he talked, tears streamed down his face.  His shoulders began shaking violently.  I'm so sorry!  I am so very sorry!  He looked at the older woman standing before him... his heart began breaking for hurting her.  She looked like she could be his grandmother.  Oh God, why did I do this?

The pain in his heart was greater than the pain in his wrist.  The woman's smile began to go away, if one looked .... they would have seen compassion come into her eyes.  She listened closely to the young man... he touched her heart.  Where it had been cold earlier... warmth had filled it.  She never said a word... she stood there looking down at him.

The young man grew quiet as he sat on the floor.  He held his wrist in his good hand.  He couldn't look up for the shame he felt.  He didn't know if he could ever look anyone in the eye, ever again.

He felt a hand gently touch his shoulder, looked up... into the older woman's face.  He saw tears in her eyes... tears mixed with kindness.  She said, "come on, son... let me help you up".  She was surprised at herself... she didn't know that she would do what she just did.  It was as if something was making decisions for her.

The young man slowly got to his feet.  She pulled him to her chest, hugged him tightly.  She told him, "everything is going to be alright".  He hugged her back, so thankful she didn't hate him.  He had made a stupid mistake.  He had listened to his friends, wanted to do something to impress them.  Instead, he had shamed himself.  He shook his head.  "Oh, God, I'm so sorry".

The door opened, and a bell rung letting them know someone had walked into the shop.  A tall, muscular sheriff's deputy walked in.  The woman's husband began to speak in a quiet voice... she walked over to him, placed her hand on his arm.

"This young man came into our shop... as he went to leave, the door closed on his hand.  We didn't know how to handle it, and wanted an officer present".  The officer walked over to the young man... the woman saw him begin shaking his head.  He was going to tell the officer what really happened.

The woman walked over to him, hugged the young man.  "I'm so sorry you hurt your hand.  We need to see that it gets fixed".  She looked into his eyes as he began to speak once more... she intensified her expression, communicated 'don't say another word'!

"Officer, thank-you for coming out.  We will take him to the emergency room to get his hand taken care of."  The deputy looked at her, trying to make sure everything was okay.  He looked at her husband... saw on his face that everything really was okay.  He told them if they needed him, to call.  He turned, left.

When the officer left, the young man broke down crying.  He told them he was so sorry, he would make it up to them.  The older woman stood looking at him... with a smile on her face... no glint in her eyes.  She began patting his shoulder, saying "everything is going to be alright".

The young man looked at both the older man, woman.  He knew they were special... he knew this was meant to be.  He knew somehow, he'd just become a positive part of their life... they, his.  He vowed to himself that he'd prove to them ... he wasn't a bad person.  He'd listened to the wrong crowd.  He was going to spend his life making up to them what he'd done.

He was thinking, also... how the older man had been in front of him... hiding his real self.  He was like a book... maybe a little 'old, worn' on the outside, not especially interesting.  The young man thought about how the man handled himself... who would have thought.

He was a strong older man... he could kick ass!  His wife... she could hold her own, too.  Yet... they both 'didn't look like it'.  They appeared just normal, everyday people... maybe like 'easy prey' if someone wanted to rob them...

Who would have thought 'there was more to the eye... sitting there... hiding in plain view'?


Note:  This story is from my imagination as I practiced writing.... the only thing true, not changed.... are the doughnuts.  :)))