SONS OF THE FATHERS
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Prologue
Klackwich Bay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
October, 1980
He hesitated before turning the key, bracing himself for the flood of memories awaiting him inside. In the ribbed glass of the entrance he could make out his distorted reflection. The incessant drizzle had plastered his hair to his head. His dripping face looked sombre, his eyes deeply troubled.
With a sigh he opened the door and went in. It struck him that everything inside was somehow different than he remembered. The house always felt bigger when he was growing up. Now, after living elsewhere, it seemed cramped and confining.
He was born in this house. It was the only home he knew until he went away to college. His parents built it themselves and his father made most of the furniture. Eyes misting, he stroked the moulding with which his dad trimmed the archway to the front room. His fingers explored the smooth, hand-planed shapes that bore mute witness to his father’s remarkable craftsmanship. He moved into the living room. His sweeping gaze stopped at a faded black-and-white photograph on the shelf above the brick fireplace. Smiling at him from the picture was a pretty, dark-haired young woman with warm, gentle eyes. Cradled in her arm was a large bouquet of spring flowers. On her head was a white nursing cap with graduate’s stripes. Draped over her shoulders was a nurse’s cape. His heart ached as he remembered how it felt to be held like the bouquet in the picture. He could remember the fragrance of his mother’s perfume, the same scent as the tiny bell-shaped white flowers in the garden outside.
His eyes roamed the room, taking in the table, chairs, and bookcase his father made, and came to rest on a small magazine rack against the wall. He made it himself when he was ten. He could still hear his dad telling him to hold the saw straighter and not to use so much glue. His childhood work seemed amateurish beside the professional-looking furniture around it, but he remembered being proud of it when it was finished. His father had carried it to the living room for him and told him he was proud of it too.
His gaze drifted to the apartment-size piano. Some of his happiest moments were spent at that keyboard, playing duets with his dad. He would pick out the walking-hand bass while his father played wild jazz melodies. His face warmed as he thought, The two of us could really cook on that piano!
A carved plaque set into the fireplace mantle caught his eye.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Good fortune brings charismatic handyman Bryce Hendricks to a community in central Ontario. He starts a home renovation business, lands a part-time job as the youth activities coordinator at a local church, and begins building relationships with attractive retailer and divorced mother, Kathleen, and her troubled teenage son. But a rough patch lies ahead.
Kathleen is haunted by memories of her former husband's abuse, and her son blames her for breaking up his family. Hendricks eventually manages to win both her love and her son's acceptance. However, Hendricks' luck sours when he becomes the only police suspect in a violent assault on Cynthia Osterman, the church's student minister, whose militantly feminist style and sharp tongue has disturbed the parishioners. Hendricks is perplexed by the gossip circulating about him until he discovers that Roland McQueen, the wealthy and manipulative chair of the church board, is determined to oust him whether he is guilty of a crime or not.
As Hendricks struggles to restore his shattered reputation, his friends and even a detractor rally behind him. Will their support enable him to win over an entire community?
www.ronaldericdodge.comAbout the Author
Ronald Eric Dodge was the chair of communication arts at Toronto's Centennial College, a founder and executive director of Canada's first fulltime educational TV organization, a teacher, and a television producer. Now retired, he lives in Oakville, Ontario, Canada with his wife, Cathy.
www.ronaldericdodge.com