8601 ~ 10,400

If you haven't read my Rules and Disclaimer or my previous three posts, please do so. What you are reading is an excerpt from my Novella project. Starting here could ruin the suspense and short change the story.


~

“I had the strangest dream last night,” Sam could hear her mother saying. Oh, Christ. Allison must be here, Sam thought. Regardless, the smell of coffee was enough to get Sam out of bed.

She moved through the small living room and into the kitchen as Jean continued, “It was actually quite disturbing. A little friend of Mallory’s went missing. Everyone in town was looking for her. Dredging the lakes, dogs searching the state park, Amber Alerts all over the TV. Sam, you were in the dream, too.”

“That is strange, Mom. Scary, too,” Allison said. “Things like that do happen all the time. It’s terrifying, really. Thankfully it was just a dream.”

“Did they find her?”, Sam chimed in. She loved a good mystery and was always looking for her next story idea.

“As a matter of fact, they did. Well, actually, Samantha, you did”.

“Me?!?” Sam exclaimed.

“Well, that’s even stranger, Mom.” Typical bitchy Allison, thought Sam.

“Yes, you did. It was quite miraculous. You were down in the Cities and saw her. Then you brought her home. You were the hero.”

Sam and her mother laughed. Allison rolled her eyes.

Go ahead and roll your eyes, Allison, thought Sam. Super Woman doesn’t always get to win.

About then they heard a commotion in the hall. Suddenly the door burst open and Max and Matilda, Sam’s six year old nephew and niece, raucously entered the room. They were dressed for church and each carried a small bag.

“Mommy, Grammy, we got donuts!” exclaimed Max as he and his sister ran to the dining room table. They knew better than to eat anywhere else at Grammy’s house.

Jeff came through the door a moment later carrying a large white box. He knew his sister-in-law and donuts. Next to Chinese food, donuts were Sam’s favorite food. She couldn’t resist. He hoped she’d eat one too many and be a step slow on the court that morning. Sam was the only person he knew who still worked on her tennis game. All of his friends were content to rest on the laurels of their junior and college victories, but not Sam. She approached her game like she was still in high school and desperately trying to make the varsity.

“Really, Jeff? Donuts? Are you crazy? They’ll never sit still in church.” said Allison.

“I couldn’t not get them one. Besides theirs are small and sugar-free. Sam’s are the sugar packed, fattening kind,” Jeff laughed.

Allison was not amused. Scowling, she remembered her oldest daughter. “Where’s Mallory?”

“You’re going to have to take that up with her. It’s hard for me to argue the importance of church attendance when I play tennis every Sunday morning. Church is your gig, Honey. She said she didn’t want to go and I can’t blame her.”

“So, you left her at home?!?”, exclaimed Allison.

“She’s twelve. She’ll be fine for a few hours. You, Jean, and the twins can pick her up for lunch after the service. Speaking of, shouldn’t you get going?”

Sam loved Jeff. He was a survivor. She’d have killed her sister if she had to be married to her. Luckily, Jeff was made of sterner stuff.

Jeff turned to Sam. “You’re going to play in those?”, he asked pointing to her pajama pants.

“Asshole.”

“Samantha. Language.”, Allison spat out glancing over at the twins.

“Shit, Ali, I know they’ve heard worse than that. Hey, Mom…” Sam attempted to change the subject. “Did you give any thought to what we talked about last night?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. We can talk about that later,” Jean said cutting her eyes in Allison’s direction.

~

 

“She wants what?”, Malin exclaimed incredulously. “Not a trip to London or the Great Wall of China?”

 

“Apparently not.” Sam, Malin, and Jackie were sitting at the bar at Al’s. The bar was closed but it still provided a great meeting place.

They heard a knock on the door and heard Jeff’s voice, “Hey, let me in.”

Sam had texted him a 911 - ‘Vet Emerg at Al’s’. It only took him ten minutes to get there. Veterinary emergencies were nothing to take lightly, especially when they involved beer and his sister-in-law.

“What’s going on?” Jeff looked at the three women expectantly. “Meeting of the Chisago Lakes Lesbian Recruitment Committee? Not gonna work on me. You’re too late. I already like girls.”

“You so funny”, Malin replied as she popped the top on a Shiner Bock and handed it across the bar to him. Al’s was the only bar in Chisago County that served the Texas brew. Thanks to Sam, many of her regulars, Jeff included, were hooked on the stuff.

Jeff settled into a barstool as Sam got him up to speed. She explained the Bucket List Wish and how she wanted to do something nice for her parents since coming into a little bit of money. Sam had assumed most people would want to travel or skydive.

“Yeah,” Jeff interjected, “I want to see the Galapagos Islands. And drive a Formula 1 race car.”

“Seriously? Formula 1? Why not NASCAR? You too high class for redneck racing?”, Jackie laughed.

“Anyway… My mom has never been normal. I don’t know why I expected her to choose something easy or even remotely do-able.”

“Sounds like Jean. What does she want?” Jeff looked at Sam expectantly.

“Why couldn’t it have been the Swiss Alps or even a trip to the moon for Christ’s sake. A flight on the damn space shuttle would be easier,” Sam whined.

“Gee-zus, Sam. What does she want?” insisted Jeff. His curiosity was peaked.

Sam just shook her head.

Malin answered. “She wants Sam to find her best friend from junior high. A little girl named Ruth Ann Goldman.”

“What? Why?”

“Hell if I know. Mom says they were best buds before Mom’s family moved away from Cincinnati the summer before she started eighth grade. They exchanged letters for awhile, but then they just stopped coming.”

“That can’t be that hard, can it?”

“Christ, Jeff. They’re sixty-seven. I’m pretty sure they aren’t on Facebook or Twitter”, countered Sam. “We already Googled the name and came up with nothing. I mean, shit. She probably got married so her name hasn’t been Ruth Ann Goldman for decades. The only thing I know about her, the only thing Mom knows, is that she lived in Hamilton, Ohio outside Cincinnati in 1959.”

“Good lord. What made her think of this now?” Jeff asked.

“She says she’s been watching all the old movies you and Allison got her on DVD for Christmas. She and this girl used to go to the movies together all the time. Last night she watched the end of ‘Vertigo’ and it all came back to her, I guess.”

“Memories can be funny like that,” Jackie said. “You may not think of something for months or years, then something brings it all back.”

Sam glanced at Malin. In truth, she hadn’t thought much about her since New York. Being here, smelling her perfume, and feeling her arms around her brought it all back.

“In any case, I’m screwed. I promised Mom I’d grant her whatever she wished for, but I have no idea how I’m going to pull this one off. She already thinks I’m a horrible selfish failure,” Sam exclaimed. She continued, “I should be entering my credit card number on a travel website right now. Instead I’m sitting here getting drunk and wondering how I’m going to find an old lady in a haystack.”

“Your mom doesn’t have an old letter laying around somewhere?” Malin suggested. “At least that might give you a more definitive starting point.”

“What about your Aunt Jane? She’s something like three years older than your mom, right?” asked Jeff.

“Yeah, so?”

“Ok, it’s just an idea but you never know. If your mom and this Ruth lived close enough to go to the same junior high, it stands to reason that they would have gone to the same high school had your mom’s family not moved.”

“Go on.” Sam liked his logic.

“The same high school that Aunt Jane went to. If she was three years older, she would have been in high school when they moved. Boy, that had to suck”.

“And high schools keep alumni records,” Jackie chimed in.

“Right on. At least it’s a place to start, Sam,” said Malin.

“One problem. Aunt Jane has Alzheimer’s pretty bad.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re right. Allison said just last week that she still insists that two different men live at Chris’ house.” “Two men do live at Chris’ house. His boyfriend, Scott, moved in last year.” Chris was Aunt Jane’s oldest son and Sam’s favorite cousin. He had taught her to drive stick in his Trans Am when she was thirteen.

“Fuck, really? Chris. Your cousin, Chris, is gay? No way.”

“Way.”

“Well, then maybe Jane isn’t as bad off as we all think,” Jeff laughed.

“I wish. When I called her in January for her birthday, she said that she couldn’t talk because her phone was broken and she’d had it turned off. The more I insisted that it seemed to be working just fine the more she insisted that we couldn’t talk because it was turned off. I really don’t think calling her and asking her where she went to high school is going to work.”

There was resignation in Sam’s voice. It was a great idea. If she could just get a starting point, the leads would come. It’s just that the starting point was proving difficult.

“What if you went to Michigan and talked to her face to face?”. It was Malin.

“Dude, that’s like an eight hour drive. And I’d have to go through Chicago. It could take forever.”

“You have to ask yourself something, Sam. How bad do you want to do this?”

Fuck, Malin, and her dose of conscience. Sam wanted to get mad at her, but she knew Malin was right. How bad did she want to do this? Yes, swiping her credit card and sending her mom on a trip would have been a lot easier, however finding this Ruth Ann was what her mother wanted. She had to do more than give up before really beginning. At least if she gave up later, she could say she tried.

“Hey, you could take the ferry across Lake Michigan. Allison and I did that with the kids last year. Chris is gay? So that’s why his ‘buddy’, Scott, came to the family reunion last year.”

“Is that the newer high-speed ferry that goes from where is it? Milwaukee? And ends up right in Muskegon?” inquired Sam.

“Yep, that’s the one. It doesn’t save a whole lot of time, but it’s a lot easier than battling Chicago traffic. We’d have to check to be sure, but I think there’s one that leaves midday this time of year. It took us six hours to get to Milwaukee with the kids, but I’m sure you could do it faster. As long as you don’t need four potty breaks.”

Sam thought a moment. “Alright. Y’all have convinced me. I’m going to see Aunt Jane in Michigan tomorrow.”