Travis seemed to love that old girl almost as much as Malachi did. The pantry was getting low so he gave Travis a list of a few grocery items to pick up while he was in town. Even though it was only mid-week, Malachi still had several visitors to the mill that day. He was exhausted and had just gotten around to closing up shop when Travis finally arrived home. “Hey, Travis. Where’ve you been?” Avoiding eye contact, he replied, “I got hung up at the grocery store.” He walked quickly to the kitchen, sat the bag of groceries on the table and then went to his room to change his clothes. Malachi closed up shop, tallied the moneybox and locked the door. He made his way to the kitchen and found Travis already there putting away the groceries. He grabbed a few cans and tried to help him. Travis was so quiet and distant. “Is everything okay, son?” Without missing a beat or looking at Malachi, he quipped, “Grand and dandy.”
