When Crickets Cry: a Novel of the Heart

Reese thinks back to Emma’s parents and their desperate attempts to save her. They took her to a revival in search of miraculous healing, where the reverend’s helper told Emma’s dad the reverend’s “fee is a thousand dollars, but feel free to give whatever you can. Two thousand is fine too” (102). On the night of the revival, Reese snuck into Emma’s room and prayed that God would take his heart to give to Emma. She woke up and said, “You already gave it to me” (103).

Back in the present day, Reese and Charlie, who make extra money by restoring old boats, have been hired by a townsperson named Mike Hammermill to fix up a Greavette. Along with fixing other people’s boats, they have their own pet project: a Hacker-Craft named Podnah. Reese says that the “restoration process is simple, really. That is, the process is simple, not the workmanship. Workmanship is acquired, and Charlie has a good bit more than I do” (105).

Reese and Charlie take the boat out for a test drive. When they dock it for gas, Reese approaches Termite and realizes that Termite is looking at a pornographic magazine.