Tales to Read Before the End of the World: A Short Story Collection Exploring the Absurd

Tales to Read Before the End of the World

A Collection of Short Stories

by Hadena James

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Any names, places, characters, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are purely fictitious. Any resemblances to any persons, living or dead, are completely coincidental.

Tales to Read Before the End of the World

Copyright © Hadena James 2012

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Acknowledgments

For everyone who has ever read my short stories, whether they were in writing class, a random friend or a professor who encouraged me to turn at least one of the stories contained within into something more…

Other Works By

Hadena James

Dark Cotillion (Book 1 in the Brenna Strachan Series)

Dark Illumination (Book 2 in the Brenna Strachan Series)

Tortured Dreams (First in the Dreams & Reality Series) – Releases January 2013 (preview at the end)

Table of Contents

Foreword

A Force of Will

Faking It

Everything Changes

The Worst Date Ever

A Strutter

The Daughter

Controlled by the Clock

Three Hours, Forty-Five Minutes of Tears, Touchdowns and Testosterone

Intimacy

Ascension

Davidson Family History:

Mama's Boys?

Are We Done Yet?

Grease Monkey

A Bachelor's Life

Plausible Deniability

Wedding Bells

The First

The C Word

Beale Street Blues

New Orleans Allure

A Scattering of Ashes

A Happy Ending

About the Author

Preview of Tortured Dreams

Foreword

Most of the stories contained within these pages were written while I was in college. These stories revolved around two central themes. The first was the breakdown of communication within relationships. The second was the absurdity of society.

The exceptions are The Worst Date Ever and Ascension. The concept for The Worst Date Ever came from a friend. We were talking one day and she told me I should write a comedy. Something that really appealed to the funny bone. I thought for a couple of days, I had never attempted a comedy, and came up with The Worst Date Ever.

It’s reception was more than I could have hoped. My friends who read it said it was one of my best pieces ever. A sequel was attempted, but the magic of the first one couldn’t be reproduced and it was shelved.

Ascension is the other exception. I did write in college. However, it doesn’t have a central theme as mentioned above. My creative writing professor loved it. Even encouraged me to revise it and make it a novella or a novel, the meat for either was there.

It was my feeling that it was a flashback, not a novella or novel. In the years since it was finished, I have considered making it something more. The idea is always rejected. Not because it wouldn’t make a novel or novella with ease, but because I love the way it turned out.

Finally, The Davidson Family History was another experiment. Could you take a group of short stories, revolve them around the same characters and create a novel out of them? The answer was a yes, but after creating the stories listed in this section, I shelved the experiment.

Not because it didn’t have merit or possibility, but because I couldn’t convince myself to tell anymore about them. I had expected to have more stories about Tony, Heather, Phil, Tonya, and Asher. Unfortunately, it became a study of Sean and Anna. And after much self-debate, I decided that was exactly as it should be. The characters had run their course, so to speak.

Enjoy the tales within! Find your favorite and read it over and over again.

A Force of Will

The man sat at the table, staring down at the dark, scarred wood. He gently rubbed his hand over it, lovingly caressing some of the scars. He loved and admired the wood's ability to stay strong regardless of its hard life. Sighing, he stood up and went to the fridge. Almost barren, it contained the essentials, ham, cheese, bread, milk, orange juice and Budweiser. He fixed a sandwich and pulled out a beer.

He ate standing at the counter, not really tasting the food. The beer was the only enjoyable part. He sipped it slowly savoring the flavor. Disposing of the trash, he sat back down at the table and began his caressing again.

It's been three months, he said out loud to no one.

The doorbell rang. He got up slowly, walking like a man twice his age and went to the door.

The door opened to his brother and his brother entered without an invitation. Hi Will, how you doing? His brother took a seat on the couch.

I'm here. Will went back to the kitchen, sitting down at the kitchen table. What's up Rick?

Rick grudgingly joined him at the table. Not much. The kids and Heather are good. Maggie won first place in the science fair last week. She was kind of upset that you didn't come. Maggie was the older of Rick's two kids and Will's favorite.

Tell her I'm sorry I missed it.

Tell her yourself. We're having a bar-be-cue this weekend and I expect you to be there.

Will stood up, wanna beer?

Sure, but it's not going to get you out of the bar-be-cue.

I don't wanna come.

It wasn't a request.

Will handed Rick the beer and sat back down. I'm not gonna be there. Don't wait for me.

You will be there. Rick took a long drink from the can. Maggie, Joanie and Heather all want you there. I want you there.

Forget it Rick.

I will not forget it. You're my family, Will. Family is the most important thing you got.

What do you intend to tell your friends?

I don't intend to tell them anything except you're my brother.

I don't wanna come.

Damn it! Rick stood up fast, knocking the chair over. You moved here to be closer to us and we still never see you. Maggie and Joanie both want you to come to their events. They love having you around. It hasn't changed.

It will.

Yeah, when they're 14 and 15 and all they can think about is boys, make-up and how close they are to getting a car.

It will change sooner than that.

The only thing different is your opinion of yourself.

Will concentrated hard on not looking at his brother. He couldn't believe Rick didn't see the difference.

Will, you have got to stop this. It’s nonsense. You're going to kill yourself under the burden of it.

You just don't understand.

Yes I do, more than you think. Rick righted the chair he'd knocked over. Come to the bar-be-cue, you'll have a good time. Maybe meet some new people. Life gets to start over for you. Most people don't get that chance.

I'll think about. Will had no intention of going to the bar-be-cue.

I'll pick you up on Saturday, 10 a.m. Heather wants you to be grill master. She says you cook better than I do. Rick left. Will waited until he heard the car start and pull out of the drive before getting up.

Rick had only taken a small drink from his beer. Will poured the rest down the sink. He didn't want to go to any stupid bar-be-cue. He really didn't want to face the girls. He'd let himself go lately. Walking to the mirror he examined himself. He hadn't shaved in months. The beard was coarse and shaggy. Wrinkles had formed at the corners of his eyes and furrowed his forehead. It made him look much older than 34. He felt much older than 34. His dark hair was just as unruly as his beard. It needed to be cut and combed thoroughly.

He sighed again. If Rick wasn't going to let him out of coming to the bar-be-cue. He'd have to clean himself up a bit. The calendar said it was Thursday; he only had two days to fix the damage that had been done over the last several months.

The bathroom seemed foreign to him. The whir of the electric razor brought deja-vu. The feeling overpowered him, giving him vertigo. He gripped the bathroom sink and waited for it to pass. Slowly, it subsided.

As the beard fell away, he was amazed that the person staring back looked younger. It seemed as though it had been years since he'd seen the face. The beard gone, he turned to the shower. This was the part he dreaded. He hated seeing himself nude. His mind refused to believe the body was his. It screamed against being locked inside it.

He'd cut down on the number of baths he took, because it was a reminder of who he'd once been and what he now was. The doctor's were good at fixing what was broke, but they hadn't done anything for his mental health. The clothes peeled away slowly, prolonging the dreaded moment. He sat down on the toilet, untied one shoe and set it down. He didn't bother with the other. He pushed the jeans down below his knees and unfastened the leg. It made a small popping noise. He finished removing the clothes and stood up. Hopping towards the bathtub, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. The scars dribbled down his chest and disappeared somewhere below the mirror.

Exiting the shower, he called Rick.

I'm not coming. He said as his brother got on the phone.

You are coming. You haven't left the house in three months.

I don't want to.

I don't care. You are coming. Heather and I bring you all your groceries and necessities. We mow your lawn, hire people to do the outside work, and make sure the maid doesn't accidentally walk into a room where you are. Hell, you won't even let your nieces come see you, Will. You are coming to this bar-be-cue, even if I have to come drag your ass out in chains.

Why?

Because we love you. After the car accident, you told us you wanted to come live near us. You wanted to be closer to your nieces, closer to the things you were missing out on. You're here and no one ever sees you. You might as well still be in Scotland.

Tennessee isn't what I thought it would be.

How would you know? You don't leave your house long enough to find out what Tennessee is like. Rick sat quietly for a moment. Maggie wants to talk to you.

No, Rick. Will tried to protest, but Maggie was already on the phone.

Uncle Will? She asked quietly.

Hi honey, how are you? Will struggled to keep his voice light.

Pretty good. Dad says you're coming to the bar-be-cue this weekend.

I'm thinking about it, Will lied.

I really hope you come. I want to show you my horse. She paused for a moment. Oh and I have some friends coming and I want to introduce you. I've told them all about you. How you've traveled the world and lived overseas and everything. Why haven't I seen you since you moved to Tennessee?

I've been busy. Maggie, I may be busy on Saturday. If I am, I want you to know I love you.

You're not coming. Maggie didn't sound surprised.

I don't know yet.

He could hear her breathing on the other end of the phone. Dad says that you've been through a lot since the accident and that we just need to give you some time to adjust.

I need to go. Will hung up the phone. He sat at the scarred table and cried. This was not the way life was supposed to be. He'd taught Maggie to ride a horse, now he wasn't sure he could get up on one.

He'd been an athlete in college and now he couldn't bear to look at himself. Couldn't bare for others to look at him. He knew he'd missed something. Some part of his life that he couldn't replace. Maggie's science fair was just the beginning. He wondered how many ballet recitals Joanie had been in that he hadn't attended. And Joanie had turned 10 years old last month. He'd missed the party. He'd gotten her a gift but he hadn't seen her face when she opened the present. Maggie was going to turn 12 in a couple of months. Even his own birthday had been passed over without a thought. It'd been a while since he saw a movie in a theatre or even rented one. He sat locked inside his house, vegetating in front of the television, hoping no one saw him. Hoping the world would forget about him. Hoping he would forget about himself.

For a moment, he felt empty. Then the anger he'd been fighting with swelled up, over taking him. The chair banged against the floor as he stood up. I hate you! He screamed. Taking firm hold on the bottom of the table he jerked upward. The mahogany table teetered on two legs then crashed down. The shattering of the wood was loud in the silent house. Echoing like a shotgun blast.

Standing up, he ran from the room. He slammed the door and fell onto his bed. The tears came in great wracking sobs that shook his entire body.

In the morning he felt a little different. The anger had lessened. The pain didn't cut as deep. For the first time in months, breathing wasn't an effort.

He walked to his bookcases in his den. He hadn't read a book since the accident. Scanning the shelves, he picked an old favorite. A comedy by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. Sitting on the leather sofa, he spent all Friday enjoying the book. At the funny parts he even laughed out loud.

Saturday morning sprang upon him. He'd only slept about three hours. Once he'd started reading, he just couldn't put it down. He'd read until he'd finished the book.

Quickly, he went through his morning necessities. Shower, shave, brushing his teeth, he kept checking the clock. He'd decided to surprise his family. Surprise the people he loved and who loved him. By 8 a.m. he was ready to go. If he hurried, he could be there in time for breakfast. Rick's family always ate late on the weekends.

Cautiously, he entered the truck. He hadn't driven for a while. There was a moment when he worried the beat up old thing wouldn't start. But the engine caught on the second try. If he was really going to have a life, he'd have to buy a new car, he thought briefly. He drove to his brother's home.

There was a moment of hesitation as he pulled into the driveway. He considered running away. He didn't want the girls to see the limp. Didn't want them to notice that he couldn't pick them up anymore. Killing the engine, he opened the door.

Maggie stepped onto the front walk. She'd heard the truck and come out to see who it belonged to.

Uncle Will! She ran to meet him. Throwing her arms around him, she put her head against his stomach.

You came. Rick said as he stepped onto the porch.

I came. Will responded, his hand on Maggie's hair.

You're just in time for breakfast.