Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I was excited for another opportunity to write a Thanksgiving story. However, this fall I worked on two fairly big projects that both culminated the same weekend in November. The second. One finished with a big event on Friday and the other on Monday. Sharing all that to explain I was pretty busy all of October and into the first part of November and did not spend as much time on my 5-part short story yet again. But I always say that, don’t I? So, let me just jump in and share the inspiration for this story.
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A New Chance – Chapter V
Home for Thanksgiving
The next morning, Chance sat on the edge of his bed. He had taken the sheets off and put them in a pile on the floor. His bag was packed and he was ready for Andy to take him to the Child Services.
To his great surprise, it wasn’t Andy that came down it was Marabeth. To add to his shock, she invited him to stay with them for a while. The Lucas-Simpsons would become his foster family if that was all right with him. He assured her it was all right with him. The rest of the day he felt like he was in some kind of alternate universe or something. This could not be happening to him. Especially after getting JJ in a fight last night. He didn’t take Marabeth or Andy to be the joking kind and if this was a joke it was cruel. But neither one said it was a joke. In fact, the next day, Marabeth took him to the school to register.
Even after he started school a week later, he waited for the other shoe to drop. One week became two which became a month. And that shoe never dropped. He exceled in all his courses except public speaking. That was his lowest grade with a steady B.
Continue readingA New Chance – Chapter IV
More Trouble
Marabeth didn’t exactly sleep well that night. She tossed and turned for most of it until her body overcome with exhaustion finally fell into a deep sleep. Andy, however, other than wakening slightly with his wife’s movements, slept annoyingly well. He was already out of bed when Marabeth woke up to the smell of bacon cooking. That seemed unusual for their household even on a Saturday so she made her way slowly to the kitchen. When she walked in, she saw Chance with a spatula in hand standing at the stove while Andy sat on a stool at the island talking to him.
She didn’t catch the whole conversation but she heard Chance say he didn’t want to find his mom before Andy saw her standing at the doorway. “Morning,” he said. “Chance is fixing us some breakfast this morning,” he stood up to get another plate.
Continue readingA New Chance – Chapter III
The Lawyer’s Family
Chance wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. This had to be a dream and any moment he was going to wake up cold and uncomfortable under the overpass. He expected to wake up when the guard came to get him out of his cell. Surely, he was about to wake up when he saw Andy waiting for him. Instead of waking up, he climbed into Andy’s Ford and they left the detention center together. He finally convinced himself he wasn’t dreaming and fully awake but he waited for the catch. If it was real, there was going to be a catch. This was not how things worked out for Chance Bell. Maybe Andy was taking him home to work? Maybe Chance was going to work out his debt in some form of labor? That made the most sense to him.
Continue readingA New Chance – Chapter II
The Lawyer
Chance walked into the visitors’ room in the jail and looked around. He was about to meet his court appointed lawyer. But he didn’t expect much. The tables were all full of inmates and their visitors. He saw one with a young man hunched over paperwork. But the man looked too young to be a lawyer. Chance looked around the room again.
The man at the table looked up and made eye contact with Chance. He stood up and extended his hand. “Chance Bell?”
Chance quickly sized the man up. The lawyer was a couple inches shorter than Chance and Chance was only 5’9”. He wore a tweed jacket over a plaid shirt and his tie looked like it might have been purchased from some kind of bargain store. Instead of nice slacks he wore jeans. “Figures,” Chance sighed under his breath.
Continue readingA New Chance – Chapter I
Trouble
Chance Bell knew he was in over his head. The situation had escalated so high though he didn’t think there was any way out. But that was life for him. Just a series of falling in at the wrong place or wrong time and being overcome with consequences. If there was a different way to live life he would love to live it. Every day seemed to bring him a new obstacle to figure out how to out maneuver. Why would tonight be any different?
The late August moon had risen and thankfully was full. That provided some light for him to make his way down the dark alley. He would have preferred a bit more light to see by. Of course there were no street lamps above. In this part of town, they had all been broken any time they were replaced. Eventually, they stopped being replaced.
Continue readingStory Behind the Post: The Drifting Tumbleweed
Last month was a 5-Saturday month which means it was a 5-part short story here at ck’s days. And since this is the first Saturday of a new month, I’ll now explain the origin of the story. If you are a regular reader to this little blog, this is all going to sound familiar.
Continue readingThe Drifting Tumbleweed
Chapter V: Tyee and Lawrence and Eddy and Gil
In all of his 61-years on the Earth, Tony Twomoons could probably count on one hand all the times he felt truly surprised by events. This was about to be one of those times.
He just witnessed that both Larry and Eddy were still alive and received what he felt as personal confirmation about both of their innocence. Not only that, he had just shifted his focus to his boss as a leading suspect. His mind couldn’t settle on which to think about first. But then the front door to the bar flew open and several law enforcement came forcefully into the bar. About a half-second latter, another intimidating group came in from the kitchen where they had made their entrance through the back door.
A tall man with slicked black hair and wore a jacket that said FBI flashed a badge quickly. “This place is now considered a crime scene,” his voice boomed even though the bar had grown quiet quickly at their presence. “Please vacate the premises immediately.”
Continue readingThe Drifting Tumbleweed
Chapter IV: Gil Sanderson
Tony arrived home after his shift to a dark house and his wife in bed. Which told him that yes, Sheila was still mad he chose to go into work every night instead of hiding out at home. He fixed himself a quick bite to eat while mulling over the events of the night.
As he reviewed what he knew, he felt pretty certain Larry or Eddy would be the next victim. Maybe both. While neither one seemed too drunk when they left the bar he couldn’t figure out why they would leave together. Why would a guy like Larry choose to hang out with Eddy – Eddy? That made no sense. No one in town willingly hung out with Eddy.
Continue readingThe Drifting Tumbleweed
Chapter III: Eddy Edwards
Tony was so focused on Larry that he wasn’t paying attention to Eddy’s incessant chatter. But that was fairly typical. Eddy liked to talk and while he seldom found an audience, in The Drifting Tumbleweed no one made him stop. They just tuned him out. One time on a slow winter night, Tony started closing up a little early. Eddy was the only customer in the bar and started telling a story about his military days which was his favorite topic. Tony went to the back and did his nightly closing routine of closing everything down. It took at least fifteen minutes. When he came back, Eddy was still engaged in his story. Tony didn’t think Eddy even noticed he wasn’t in the room for a good portion of the the story.
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ck's days 