After Forever (20 page)

He put the bike down the cellar steps and
ran through the house. Locking his bike in, he hurriedly changed
and looked to see what chores he had to do. He didn’t see anything,
so he went down to his room and locked the door.

He heard his aunt and cousins upstairs.

“Ralphie?” his aunt screeched.

He waited for her second scream, then went
upstairs. Faking a yawn, he asked, “Who won?”

“We did,” Biff said.

“Were you here the whole time?” she squinted
at him.

“No,” he confessed. “I hung around outside
the back wall and watched until they sang Take Me out to the Ball
Game. Then I came home. I’m sorry. I had to watch some of the game.
Did you win anything?”

“No,” Jimmy slapped the table. “Wish we
did.”

Bottles shook his head. “Why?”

The boy sneered at him. “Because we’d have
something and you wouldn’t.”

Bottles shrugged. “Well, you don’t. I’m
going to bed.” He turned and left them standing in the kitchen.

Near noon the next day, Bernie Myers and Joe
Kiski paid Bottles a visit. The boy was on the porch. He waved and
stood to greet them.

“Bottles,” Mr. Myers began. “I have some bad
news. There was a theft.”

“Did someone rob your store?”

“No, son. Not exactly. Someone stole the
photos and the baseball yesterday. Where did you put the box?”

His eyes opened wide. “What? How? When? I
put the box in the back seat exactly like you said to.”

Joe asked, “Did you see anyone lurking
around?”

“No, sir. I went back inside the store to
see if there was anything else to carry. You know,” he addressed
Bernie, “like you asked me to. Who would steal baseball stuff?
Unless…”

Bottles stopped and looked towards the
house.

Myers caught the glance. “You don’t
think?”

Bottles shrugged.

In a louder voice, Myers said, “Bottles, I’m
afraid you’re going to have to talk to the police.” He held the
boy’s arm.

“Wha—what? I didn’t. I wouldn’t.”

“Sorry son. You have to come with us.” Joe
added.

Louise and the boys heard the noise and went
out on the porch.

“What’s going on here?”

“Aunt Louise—they think I stole a baseball
and some pictures.”

Jimmy nudged his brother. “So that’s where
these came from? He accused Bottles. “I can’t believe you’d stoop
so low to steal from your friends. You should be arrested.”

Biff handed a bag to Bernie.

Myers opened it. Inside were the missing
items. “Where did you find them?” He asked the boys.

“They were in his bike basket.”

“I see,” Kiski said. “And you’ll swear to
that?”

“Yes sir. Found them last night.”

Bottles eyes narrowed, but his lips turned
into a grin. “Oh really? When last night?”

“After you went to bed.” Biff turned to
Jimmy. “It was after he went to bed, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Hmmm. That’s strange. I locked my bike in
the cellar last night. My bike is locked up every night. You
couldn’t have found them in the basket because they weren’t
there.”

The boys looked at each other. Biff punched
Jimmy in the arm. “You are so stupid.”

“Do you have a telephone?”

“Of course,” Louise said. “It’s on the wall
by the cellar door.”

“May I use it?” Not waiting for an answer,
Myers walked into the house. Everyone followed.

“Mable? Ring the police chief for me.”

Jimmy looked at his brother. They started to
sneak out, but Joe had a firm grip on both of them.

“No you don’t, boys. You’re not going
anywhere.”

The phone rang. “Bill, it’s Bernie Myers.
You had better get out to Bottles’ house. I think we caught
ourselves a couple of thieves.”

Joe turned to Louise. “Do you know where
your brother is?”

She nodded meekly. “He sent a letter with
his contact information.”

“Get it for me.”

He took the letter from her hand and picked
up the phone. “Mable, ring up Hudson 67948.”

The next half hour was a blur to
Bottles.

Bill Owens, Raytown’s police chief drove up
in his police car, with the red light flashing. After sitting the
brothers down, they confessed to stealing the baseball merchandise
and revealed their plans to frame their cousin. They confessed to
stealing Bottles money. They even confessed to other minor thefts
that had not yet been discovered.

He drove off with the boys in the back of
the police car, leaving Louise in tears.

Bottles dad called back and, after a
conversation with Joe Kiski, which included a job offer, he decided
to return home on the afternoon bus.

Bernie Myers and Joe Kiski apologized to
Bottles for even doubting his integrity.

Everyone left, leaving a stressed Louise and
a very relieved Bottles alone at home.

The boy felt sorry for his aunt and poured
her a glass of cold lemonade. “Here, Aunt Louise. Maybe this will
help. Do you want a boloney sandwich? I’m going to have one.”

She looked at her nephew. “Thank you,
Bottles, for the lemonade. But let me fix lunch for the two of us.
You sit right here.”

He sat at the table and watched his aunt. He
wanted to say something, but words escaped him. They ate in
silence.

“Why don’t you go lay down Aunt Louise, I’ll
do the dishes.” Bottles finished, then went outside to wait for the
afternoon bus. When he saw his dad walking up the drive, he ran to
greet him.

Life went back to normal for Bottles. He
went back to collecting empties to cash in. He moved out of the
cellar and back into his old bedroom. With his dad working at the
ball field, the boy spent a lot more time there and eventually
became a full time bat boy.

Louise became a changed woman. She moved
into the small bedroom. The cousins spent time in the system for
their theft. While there, they were charged with several unsolved
crimes in Pottsville.

As endings go, everyone lived happily ever
after.

~*~

The two men were quiet, then they broke out
in deep laughter.

Slapping his knee, the reporter said, “You
had us going there. That was a far-fetched story. But things like
that don’t happen in real life to real people.”

The executive shrugged. “Believe what you
will, gentlemen, but it is the truth.” The man looked at his watch.
“I hate to cut this short, but I have a meeting in a few minutes.
Did you want any more pictures for your article?”

The photographer scanned through the photos
he took. “I’d like a couple more with you posing over by those
awards.”

The executive nodded and stood in front of
the shelf filled with plaques and trophies.

“Perfect.” He took the shots. “Thanks. That
should do it for me.”

“Did you have any more questions?” he
addressed the other man.

“No, sir. I’m sure I have all the
information I need. I’ll email you a copy of the final draft.”

The men shook hands.

He watched out the window as the men got to
their car. The photographer scanned the last shots. He did a double
take. Tapping the reporter on the shoulder, he handed over the
camera. The second man looked at the image, then both looked up at
the man in the window.

The executive smiled and touched two fingers
to his forehead. On his way to his meeting, Ralph Steadway stopped
at the shelf and straightened an empty soda bottle and a taped
baseball holder containing a scraped, dirty autographed ball. He
smiled and closed his office door. 

BIO:

Cindy Bartolotta hails
from a small town nestled in the winding Monongahela Valley, south
of Pittsburgh. A writer for years, she had two short stories
published in the Tribune Review’s Focus Magazine, several entries
in
Metamorphosis
,
a literary journal 2006-2007, published by the Pleasant Hill’s
Public Library, and won several minor prizes in the 24-Hour writing
contest. She creates a monthly word search puzzle for the Senior
Times. Most recently Cindy had a short horror story, The Jailer,
published in a horror anthology, Pleasant Dreams, available at
Amazon. Always writing, her debut novel, Beyond the Border, should
be out this fall.

To contact Cindy, email
her at
[email protected]

Visit her blog, Traveler
With an Idle Mind, at
http://
synlab.blogspot.com

Blurb for Beyond the
Border:

After a school sponsored Halloween party,
teacher Lizzie Grant returns home to find kids at the far edges of
her property. Determined to chase them away before they cause
mischief, Lizzie runs after them and sprains her ankle. Searching
for help, she encounters a re-enactment village unlike any
other.

When the on-site doctor splints her ankle,
she’s unable to get a ride home and spends the night. When she
awakens the next morning, she’s pain free and her injury healed.
Wandering through the village, she is caught up in the Festival
preparations and offers to help. After the banquet, the Festival
takes a bizarre turn. Confused, she spends a second night
there.

Once Lizzie discovers the truth about the
village, will she be able to solve the mystery or will she be
forever doomed to remain in Marsh’s Landing?

TRAPPED

By Twinkle (Sugandha) Varshney

©2013 by Twinkle (Sugandha) Varshney

What we have is all we want but we realize it
only when it’s gone

What we have is enough for us but now all we
can do is moan!

Tears were rolling down my cheek to fall
into void and I was speculating if they could run just as far that
I do not remember that I was in pain, that I was ever wounded, that
I have lost my reason to live and to breathe anymore. If I could
let the inexorable pain cramming out of my fractured soul swirl
into a tide of time, then probably it would stop hurting
eventually.

I can look through their innocuous face,
with my closed eyes but when I opened them I was left with nothing
more than the repent and embarrassment. The vicious fact that I was
the reason for all this chaos was piercing every cell of mine
making me regret for being such an evil. I was like the scoundrel
chameleon stepmother of the century old fairy tales who ended in
her dreadful fate, a life worse than hell stuck in her own trap of
uncouth moves.

The sugary sore memories were flushing
around encumbering my heart with guilt and I was lost.

(1)

The day I saw Angel and Little I decided to
have them with me forever. The way Angel was gnawing my thumb and
Little holding that doll in one of her hand and her frock with
other, the innocence in their sad brown eyes was penetrating my
soul screaming to me their miserable past. It seemed like after
amassing the ache the misery of whole world god has created those
serene placid eyes. There was a lot of pain and charm floating in
them that one could not resuscitate themselves from doting them.
Their poignant story had made my heart elegy and I still cannot
believe the abyss these little buds have gone through in such an
unripen age. After the disheartening dismal of their parents they
were adopted by an old disingenuous lady who dispirited and
dispelled them from every possible happiness. These fearless
nascent agile kids subjugated that felonious witch and set
themselves free.

In this stride of constantly moving time
every little bit of me was craving to be a mother. Those innocent
veracious eyes, little playful palm, stubbornness to rule fate has
always lured me. These kids have already made a kinship with me and
all I wanted was to take them home to give them every happiness
that they deserved but somehow have been kept away from. I wanted
to make them forget their anathematized past and give them a
pulchritudinous beginning for a new chapter of their life and
embellish their future. Though adopting two kids simultaneously
would not be easy but neither had they wanted to be set apart nor I
sought to add to their miseries. I was striving for over one year
now to be with them doing whatever could have been possible.

I smiled at them and kissed their cheeks
holding their tiny little fingers. Their steward instructed them
and they left to pack their bags. I was called to complete the
fiscal paperwork. Unable to take my eyes off their emblazing faces
I turned towards the office. I have brought all the required
documents as my attorney has suggested me. After completing the
paperwork the superintendent gave me a handful of instructions and
finally said “Congratulations! Ms. Snow, these kids are officially
yours now! We hope you will take proper care of them.”

I could not believe finally it has happened
after all this I have gone through, I was taking my kids home. To
have all that I've ever wanted instantly shot down created a sick
feeling in my stomach. I picked their little bags and moved at a
slow pace marking my steps with the little feet of my beautiful
sweet kids towards my comet all set to be a family.

(2)

Before adopting I have shifted from my
studio apartment to a three bedroom flat. I had also done a little
shopping for the double doses of happiness but I needed to shop a
little more especially for Little. I had rehabilitated the interior
of her room to pink “She would love it” I said to myself.

I showed Angel and Little their room. They
seemed happy though they were very quiet but change of place and
eerie past experiences explained that. I made a list of their
favorites so to make them feel at ease. I tried a lot to converse
with them, to make them harmonize and acclimatized with the new
surroundings.

I was preparing their bed for the night
after dinner when the doorbell rang. I rushed towards the door, I
knew it would be Clay, my love. I was sure he would be excited to
meet the kids though he would have never imagined that there will
be two of them. I was ecstatic to see his reaction, the wondering
glint in his eyes when he will look at me, arraying his brows in
surprise. I was sure that the kids were going to love him too.