There Will Be Blood, Paul Sunday/Eli Sunday, none so different/growing up Sunday 1/2
1927, an afternoon party in a Hollywood orange grove. Golden sun. Golden oranges. The women wore dresses all the colors of flowers, yellow, pink and sky blue. All the men were in white linen suits except for the Reverend Eli Sunday who was all in black. There was a boy with Eli, tall and strong with dark hair and amazing cheekbones. Eli would tell anyone who would listen how his boy was going to do God’s work my becoming a great movie star. They wandered off together among the orange trees out of sight of all the rest. They lay down among the grass and wildflowers, though the boy risked staining his suit by doing so. Eli peeled an orange and fed segments to the young man. Taking out his handkerchief, he delicately wiped the juice that ran down his chin then just as delicately licked away the bead of juice that lingered on lip. The boy rolled on top of Eli, pressing him into the soft grass, kissing him. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Reverend.” The young man said between kisses. “Bringing he here, introducing me to all these people.” Little whore. Eli didn’t bother to answer him. His eyes were closed but the sun seemed to burn through their lids and for a moment he thought he could see shadows behind the beautiful fraud he was living. Where he was now was so different from where he came from, yet it wasn’t really so far from Hollywoodland to Little Boston. He could feel rocks through the grass and the man on top of him might have been Daniel Plainview or even his brother, Paul. Paul. Growing up Sunday meant going without.
Father Abel was a piss-poor provider. There was never enough to go around.
The goats fought each other for mouthfuls of dry scrub grass and water. Paul and Eli fought each other for portions at the table, for shoes and blankets. They fought each other to be given the chores that were less backbreaking and the punishments that were less severe. They scrambled for whatever scanty helping of love and acknowledgement their parents might dole out.
Growing up Sunday meant that if you ate, someone else went hungry. If someone else ate, you went hungry. They learned this early and they learned it well.