Since no writer stepped up this month with a short story or a novel excerpt, I am sharing with you an excerpt from one of my novellas titled RECOMPENSE.
The truth is my mind is
in turmoil and my stomach aches just thinking about what is to come. I confess there are even bigger, more
frightening changes happening inside me; in my thoughts, in my purpose and in
my determination to fulfill a long-buried dream. Yes, I am scared.
I
am determined that I will not allow this fear to stop me. I am committed to
taking this step. No one sees it coming,
no one; but especially not Alison, my wife.
Yes,
I say Alison is my wife even though we have no papers to prove this fact. There was no white gown, no walk down the
aisle and no priestly prayer to seal the bond between us. But close to twenty-five
years of living together have to count for something and I know that what I am
planning; what I am, indeed, already beginning to put into action is something
that will hurt Alison more than any good woman deserves to be hurt. From her I
neither deserve nor will I receive recompense. That is just as it should be.
My
name is Maurice Wilson. I came to live
in this big, beautiful country called Canada more than twenty–five years ago
when my fortieth birthday was just around the corner. For nearly all these years I have been living
with Alison Pierce in a small town called High River, Alberta.
Here
in High River we have a population somewhere just above 12,000 people. My little house is not too far away from the
junction of Highways Two and Twenty-three.
My little town is just thirty-seven kilometers south of the big city of
Calgary in Southwestern Alberta.
For
many years now I have been steadily employed by the Canadian Post Office here in
High River as a mail carrier. I’ve
worked hard. I have the aching back and
the calloused sore feet to prove it. But
even here within my employment status major change is taking place. Any day now
I will become a senior citizen. Soon I will be sixty-five years old. Finally I
will be able to stop working. At last I
will collect my old age pension and all the money I’ve been paying into the
Canada Pension Plan.
Most
people, and especially Alison, think I will settle into a comfortable, quiet
retirement life sitting on the porch swing on hot summer afternoons and going
fishing in the river whenever the mood strikes me.
Their
thoughts may be fiction.
Paperback Edition
Audrey Austin's passion is creative writing. She recently celebrated her seventh writing anniversary and invites you to enjoy her many short stories, novellas and novels. Check out her author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin
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