Clueless

 

She was talking to the business owner when the old man walked in.

The old man listened for a moment, then just started talking at them.

They both smiled, waiting for him to stop so she could continue.

But he didn’t.

Minutes passed, but the old man never even paused.

The business owner was clearly annoyed, but he knew the old man would (eventually) make a purchase, so he shrugged apologetically to her as she paid and left.

Getting into her car, she saw the old man’s wife sitting in their truck, a look of blessed relief on her face.

Progress

The small sleepy town had gone generations with everyone knowing everyone else. Truth was, everyone was related to everyone else.

They were proud of their gas station where all the old men met for coffee, post office, grocery store, video store, daycare, dentist (who was the brother of the banker), and of course, their churches. Three Baptist and a Methodist- something for everyone.

But then, the second gas station came in, with the Sonic attached, followed swiftly by the Dollar General. It was only a matter of time.

Pearls were clutched and vapors engaged when Cottonmouth Liquors opened its door. 

Star

 

She swore she saw him in the stars, a bright light moving hither and yon. It made her feel less lonely, and she went to sleep knowing he was there, watching over her.

And then, he wasn’t there anymore.

She tried not to take it personally, but she was hurt by this random abandonment, and one night, she fell asleep with tears in her eyes.

When she woke a few hours later, the sky was still empty.

She looked into the mirror on the wall, and instead of her reflection, there was an entire galaxy, swirling in front of her.

Air BnB

 

The Air BnB was a split concept, with bedrooms and a bath on either side.

On one side, they looked at each other and said, “Nope.” It was just…a feeling, so they put their stuff on the other side.

There was whispering in the kitchen. From the empty side of the house came the sound of the shower, the TV, and footsteps.

In the guest book, one of the first comments was, “You need to get an electrician- the lights keep flickering,” and many similar entries.

But they were tired, so they told the ghost to quit, and it did.

Fixer Upper

It was a “fixer-upper”.

The small projects had turned into a major renovations once they got started, and it just got worse from there.

Before long, drywall was being torn out, floors were being torn up, and framing was being replaced.

The house with “good bones” turned out to have osteoporosis.

There was mold. There was dry rot. There were termites.

In short order, it was uninhabitable, and its owners had to live elsewhere…temporarily.

The weeks turned into months and then years.

The final repair bill was sent to the estate of the now-deceased owners.

The house had outlived them. 

State Line

 

She took the smaller roads home, knowing there would be no huge sign designating where one state ended and another began.

Out here, food and drink spots were local places instead of the chain restaurants of the suburbs and larger towns.

Except the Dollar Generals. Those damn things are everywhere.

“I should be pretty near the state line” thinking to check her navigation app when she stopped.

At the next 4-way stop, she looked around. On the southwest corner was the Bear Bar and on the northeast corner was the Packer Inn.

She laughed out loud. “Found the state line.”

Loyalty

 

He was an attractive dog, as dogs go, with a short red coat and the sleek build of a greyhound.

The clerk said he’d been hanging around the gas station for a few weeks, but they’d been directed not to feed him anything.

People would see him as they gassed up their cars or trucks, and some would try to tempt him into their vehicles with gas station hot dogs and the promise of a life of luxury.

He ignored them all and waited patiently for that same clerk who surreptitiously snuck out the back door with food and water.

Thanksgiving

In the tiny bedroom, the mustiness of damp grownup coats and gloves mingled with the scent of roast turkey and pies.

Cousins and second cousins were hunkered down on the floor, by the heating vent, shushing each other.

None of them could remember how it had happened, only that now this was a Thanksgiving ritual here at Aunt Nora’s house.

Because this was where they could hear the adults talking around the big table set up in the basement, and it was a delicious thrill to know they were spying on them.

They also learned how damn boring adults are.

  

Morning Chores

 

He knew he was being observed, so he stayed very still, watching the hose fill the horses’ water tank. Beyond the fence, the forest stretched for miles without any interference from civilization.

Slowly he let his gaze wander up and into the trees, and there they were.

He couldn’t see anything but their eyes, and he was careful not to make eye contact with any of them. There were at least twenty; some on the ground and more in the branches.

He heard the jangle of his guard dog’s tags coming, and as one, all the eyes blinked and disappeared.

 

Sprayers

 

They drove up the driveway in a golf cart, and they smelled vaguely of some sort of chemical.

It was their job to notify landowners that they were spraying herbicide under the electrical lines.

She asked what plants it would kill, and they said, “Everything. That’s the point.” Then, she asked if it was safe for animals, and they said, “Oh, yeah. We’ve been doing this for three years and it gets all over us.” And they laughed.

She signed the “No Spray” form, and watched them leave, one with an extra arm, and the other with a snazzy tail.

Dream

 

She woke up from the strangest dream.

Looking around, all she could think of was, “We’re not in Kansas anymore” which was weird, because she hadn’t been in Kansas.

The big old house was sweetly familiar, yet vaguely different.

There were people in the house, but they walked right past her like she didn’t exist.

An old man entered the room and reached out his hand to her. “Can they see you?” she asked, and he smiled and shook his head. Then they went out to work in his garden, just like they had when she was a little girl.

Plane

 

They were flying in his small private plane, and they were arguing.

Well, she was arguing, and he was just glowering. And piloting the plane.

She was intolerable at best, and a monster at worst and he could not remember why he married her in the first place.

He glanced over at her hateful profile and asked, calmly, “Would you rather I was dead?”

She turned her head, and, looking deep into his eyes, whispered, “Yes.”

Staring at the now-empty pilot’s seat, the door flapping in the wind, she suddenly realized she did not know how to fly a plane.

Sandwich

 

He liked whole grain bread for toast and sandwiches. It added a nutty and robust flair to a meal.

Good deli meat and cheese, fresh greens and real mayonnaise- there was a sandwich to write home about.

On days when he was feeling especially daring, he had a handful of kettle chips alongside.

The only downside was that the crust of the bread tended towards bitterness, and it made him sad that it ruined an otherwise perfect lunch.

One day, he realized…he was 60 goddamn years old and did not have to eat the crust if he didn’t want to.