HAUNTING STURGEONS: Chapter Nineteen

 Previously in this blog serial...

(Click here to read Chapter Eighteen) 

Now the HAUNTING continues...

______________

    I am gazing into the dark brown eyes of Eddie Newcastle.  We had been at Gordon’s Bar, sitting at ‘our’ table and talking.  He had a busy day at the body shop with a carburetor and multiple tire changes.  No matter how fast he worked, his dad yelled at him over every little thing.  I suggested my presence was probably the reason, but Eddie didn’t think so.  He figured his dad was just being his dad.

    Eddie moves closer, reaching for my hand.  He asked me about my day as we drank the pitcher of beer.  I told him about visiting Ms. Minch and how age had failed to soften her.  Eddie wasn’t surprised to hear the gossipmonger is as bitter and nasty now as she was then.  I grudgingly admitted that, despite her toxic personality, she had been helpful.  This shocked him even more than it had me.

    I entwine my fingers with Eddie’s, feeling the warmth of his skin.  We drained the last of the beer into our glasses and I told him about the library.  He agreed the ending of the lawman’s book sounded crazy, but he wondered if the truth could be stranger than fiction.  I also told him about the proposition I received, which made him chuckle.  It turned out that he had briefly dated Simon Hollis, but their relationship ended when Eddie wouldn’t give the head librarian what he wanted.  

    “I waited for you, Jimmy,” Eddie confesses in a gentle whisper.  We emptied our glasses over a brief discussion about the Abernathy-Woodhouse clan.  The scientist had been Eddie’s high school chemistry instructor and she still teaches, but works at the pharmacy on the side.  My old police crush had become sheriff when Sturgeons was rebuilt, but now he’s a stay-at-hone dad.  This made me wonder if having kids was why the scientist pushed me and the past away. 

    Placing a hand on his cheek, I move closer to Eddie.  My phone vibrated in my pocket as we said goodnight to Val and left Gordon’s Bar.  The inevitable text was short and to the point, asking me if I was still all in.  I apologized to Eddie for the interruption, but he didn’t mind waiting as I dealt with the message.  With only a moment of hesitation, I replied with a ‘yes’ and then quickly shut off the necessary evil.  Eddie inquired if everything was alright as we walked towards our vehicles.  This shook me a bit, but I assured him that everything was fine.  He believed my words because I believed them.

    Standing together in my room at the Teeter-Totter Motel, I still believe my words.  The words I said to Eddie.  The word I texted, but morning will come soon enough.  Tonight is about us.  About what might have been.  About the connection that never faded away. 

    Moving as one, we kiss for the first time.  Tender and passionate, our lips taste the affection we missed out on over our long separation.  I whisper his name within a breath and feel Eddie tremble.  Pulling back just a little, I ask if he’s sure.  He answers with a kiss so full, so deep, so open that we melt into the night…into each other. 

______________

The HAUNTING continues in…

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was 5 years ago this month when I saw a chunk of my vision fading away.

A few years later, I published this small volume about my experience, along with some poetry. 

ebook 

getbook.at/VBebook

paperback 

getbook.at/VisionBent

click for more info