Mrs. Kenneth James Stevens Wants A Baby by Leanne Dyck (Ch 14)

 Chapter thirteen: Aster is trying to live through the aftermath of her actions but isn't doing a very good job. A worried Bunny finds Aster still asleep in the middle of the day. Bunny offers friendship but Aster rejects her. Needing to get away, Aster decides to go shopping but everything she finds in the mall only reinforces how she feels about herself. And so she...

photo by ldyck

Chapter fourteen

Aster pulled open the fridge and stared at the food. She removed sliced ham, mayonnaise, lettuce, bread. The lettuce was crisp, the ham lean, the bread moist. Halfway to the table, she threw the sandwich in the garbage can. It joined her half-eaten breakfast.

Without being fully aware of how she’d arrived there, Aster found herself in her bedroom, standing in front of her mirrored closet doors, staring at her reflection. Oh, how she hated the person she saw in that glass. She jerked open the closet door. Among the clothes hanging there, Aster found one of Kenneth James’ shirts. She pulled it off the hanger, placed one sleeve on her shoulder and the other around her waist. Imagining herself in his arms, she swayed back and forth—dancing to music that existed only in her head. She needed to hear his voice.

She dialed his number but the person who answered wasn’t Kenneth James. It was a woman’s voice.

“Kenneth James, who was that?”

“She was um, ah... She was... Just one of my research assistants.”

“I had to phone you. I had to because... because... Something horrible has happened.”

“What?”

How to explain? How to confess? The words just won’t come.

“Aster, are you still there?”

“Yes, I—.”

“Listen, I’m very busy. Phone b—.”

“I’ve been forced to take early retirement,” she whispered.

“You’ve been what?”

“I’ve been fired. Okay? I’ve been fired.” The words exploded from her mouth. “Oh, please, don’t make me elaborate further on the phone.”

“No, of course not.”

“This entire mess wasn’t my fault. I had to act to save my student. Without education, without discipline, he’ll fall through the cracks. And then who knows what could happen. He’s headed for a life of crime. I had to provide guidance. No one else is. But instead of praise...they...they. Just didn’t understand. And now every time I step out of our house there they all are judging me. I simply can’t stay here one second longer.”

“You could join me on Mayne Island but I’m sure you won’t. You made that clear so many times. What is it you said, it’ll be a cold day in—.”

“Oh, I was hoping you’d say that,” Aster sang into the phone.

Stomp!

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing. A spider hit the floor,” Kenneth James explained.

“Spiders are that—?”

“Big. About the size of my hand. But they’re small compared to slugs. I saw one yesterday that was as long as my arm. But they just leave a slimy trail. They’re not vicious.”

“Well, that’s g—.”

“Now raccoons, they’re nasty. But you’ll soon learn not to go out at night. And you’ll get used to the isolation, the boredom, and the—.”

“But the ferry.”

“If there's enough staff. If there are no mechanical problems.”

“Will take me to the island this coming Monday. I wish I could leave sooner but I need time to—.”

“I’ll be there to pick you up.”

“See you soon. I love you.”

“Ah, yeah. Bye.”

photo by ldyck

Mrs. Kenneth James Stevens Wants A Baby

Chapter fifteen

Desperate to escape from her old life, Aster decides to join her husband on Mayne Island.

Is the Reverend Dead? Ch 14 (a mystery inspired by remote island life) by Leanne Dyck

 chapter thirteen: Conner, Mrs. Hazelton's grandson, seems very upset to discover that Reverend Paulson is dead.

photo by ldyck

Is the Reverend Dead?

Chapter fourteen

“How was I supposed to know that he would die? I just wanted to make sure it worked.” A girl’s voice is coming from the spare room. “It’s not my fault that he’s dead.”

Conner is a good boy. He wouldn’t be alone with a girl in his room. It must be the radio. Yes, it’s the radio or his computer or...something.

“But he’s dead, and it’s because of what you made.” Conner is so starved for company that he’s talking to...it.

“What we made. It’s your fault too.” It’s talking back...or?

I push the door open. A blonde floozy is sitting on my grandson’s bed. Her leg is touching his. Arthur must have let her in.

“Granny, this is Paisley and we’re in—.”

“No, don’t tell her,” the floozy says.

“A lot of trouble.”

It takes him a while to tell me the whole story, but eventually, the truth comes out. “It’s hard to go to high school on the big island. They think we’re freaks just because we live on Plumper. They think we’re stupid just because our island is so small. We had to prove them wrong. We had to come up with something big for the Science Fair. And when Paisley said she had a killer idea, I didn’t think she meant murder.”

“Hey, don’t shove this all on me. I didn’t want to kill anyone. I wanted to show them the risk. I wanted to show them what bad people could do. I wanted to show them that they needed to do something about the problem. And...and...besides you helped make it too.”

“What did you make?” I ask.

“It’s just a device for opening garage doors.” His voice falls to a whisper. “That, unfortunately, shuts off pacemakers. I didn’t think it would work, if I had I wouldn’t have tested it.”

“Or made it,” I say.

“Yeah, that too,” he agrees. “But we did test it at the church. We figured there’d be lots of old people with pacemakers there. And that the signal would be too weak to do any real damage. I mean, it was coming through a thick wall. Nobody would get hurt. They’d just feel a little faint or something like that. We never thought there’d be any danger. But the Reverend d… We didn’t mean to. Please, you have to believe me.”

All I can see is my kind, thoughtful, loving, lovable grandson. It wasn’t his fault. It was… It was… Science is evil. “Where is the...thing?” I ask.

“I threw it away,” Conner tells me.

“No, you didn’t.” Paisley drags her backpack out from under the bed. She pulls out a black metal box about the size of a paperback. Really, the thing looks as dangerous as a TV remote controller.

photo by ldyck

Chapter Fifteen

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The Other Side (short fiction) Ch. 14 by Leanne Dyck

 Ch. 13 Becky and Tom--with their dog Rusty--visit Mara and Owen in their new home. Becky and Tom realize that they know the house--it was the grow op where they bought their drugs from a woman named Windy.

photobyldyck

The Other Side

Chapter fourteen

How did Windy end up on the other side of the wall? That's exactly what I asked her the next time we meet. "You lived in my house."

She was usually mellow, but she wasn't mellow then. "What? No, I didn't."

"But... But..." I sputtered.

She put her finger to her lips, silencing me, and ushered me into her cabin. It was a sunny, warm day--as always, on that side of the wall. Still, Windy closed the door and the window shutters. Light leaked in through the gaps. She set a tray of two handle-less mugs and a small teapot with a matching sunflower print on the chrome table. "What do you know?"  She paced over the purple and pink poke-a-dot floor.

"Becky and Tom told me that you are from our side of the wall, but now you live here. How? Why? What h--?"

She froze. "Tom? Becky? They know where I am?"

"No, I don't think so. I didn't tell them."

She relaxed into a chair and poured us both a cup of tea. "Good call."

"But I want to know how you got here."

"That's not important."

"It's important to me."

"You don't need to know."

"The truth is the price of my silence."

She took a sip of tea. "Everyone is born on one side of the wall or the other. They may be happy on their side. They may feel that everything is groovy or they may feel like something is missing--like a match without a flame. Crossing over to the other side may lead them to contentment, but they don't know that. They don't even know that the other side exists." She took another sip. "Until it's too late."

"What do you mean too late? If no one can cross over between worlds, how did you get here?"

"Are you sure you're ready? It's really heavy."

"I've seen, heard, been through a lot of strange things--especially lately. I can handle it."

"Yeah, you can, but you might not know you can. It might be learning you can that flips you out."

"You're talking in riddles. I don't want to play games. All I want is the truth."

"Did Becky and Tom tell you what I did for a living?"

"Yeah, they said you grew um... Mary-do-you-want-ta."

"The sweetest Mary Jane you've ever had." She sounded so proud. "Everyone wanted to taste my babies. Everyone wanted to know how I grew them. Everyone wanted to learn my secret. Some wanted it too much, especially him. Hunger for the secret drove him to my door. I was downstairs when he came."

"In the laundry room."

"In the laundry room. Taking care of my babies--watering, pruning. There was this knocking--like gunshots. I thought it was the cops. He burst in, with a knife. He was coming for...for... Them. I couldn't let him have them. I couldn't let him kill them for his greed. I needed to keep them safe. He was a lot bigger, a lot stronger. He stabbed me again and again and again." She winced at the memory. "He left me for dead. I thought I was dead. I thought this was heaven." She smiled. "And it is. Dig?"

This side of the wall was...heaven. That was like... Wow! "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you, but that's only half of it. That's only my half."

"What do you mean, your half."

"Like I said, this is heaven, but you're not dead. So..."

"How am I here?"

"The first time you came... Remember the first time? The bunny knew your name. We were waiting for you. We were so excited that you'd finally come."

"Finally...?" I gulped. 

Then she dropped the other shoe and it sounded like a nuclear bomb going off. She spoke softly but split my eardrums. "Most people are stuck on one side or the other. Most people are, but you, Mara. You can go anywhere. You belong to both sides. You, and only you, are truly free."

I studied the floor for the longest time. It was a lot to take in, especially all at once. Looking up, I asked, "But...but why me? What's so special about me?"

The End

Thank you for your interest in this short story. 

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Book Review:  Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins

An old favourite of mine