Books by the same author
A Party to Remember
Boot Camp Camp
The Ennui of Helen
Blackout and Fade Out
Copyright © 2013 Steven Ehrman
Dedicated to O Henry
The Patron Saint of the Short Story
The four short stories contained within this small collection are all about the masks that we wear. They run the gamut from melancholy to humor to the macabre. Each story contains a character or characters attempting to escape from a given situation, be it of life or of standing. Until that escape is found they remain behind their masks. The struggles to escape can be funny and sad at the same moment. Sometimes the method of escape is endurance and other escapes involve taking a long chance. Some escapes cannot be made and the mask remains in place to hide what lies beneath.
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Collection of Four Short Stories
A Party to Remember
Helen knew she would remember this night for the rest of her life. It had been just perfect. The party was over now and she was sitting in a car in the front seat with a man on each side of her. The two men were her husband and her brother. Her husband Steve was behind the wheel and her brother Bill was on her right against the passenger door. The night was very cold and snowy. She had not been back to Ohio in years and had quite forgotten just how cold Decembers could be in the Buckeye State. She mused about the state nickname and remembered how odd she thought the name was as a child. She was lost in her youth for a moment and then a cold shiver brought her back to the present. The boys had just walked her to the car and Steve was letting the car warm up. She looked at him with great affection and saw his breath condensed by the cold air in the car. She tried to recall who first explained why you could see people’s breath in the winter. Perhaps it was father, but at any rate she snuggled down into her fur coat against the cold. Steve noticed her movement and smiled that weak smile he sometimes gave her. She had spoken to him about that before. She considered it a character flaw, but he was such an attentive husband, indeed very attentive, that she forgave this flaw in him.
Bill on her right was attentive as well. He was her younger brother and had always treated her as almost another mother. The five year gap in their ages had seemed huge to Helen when they were children, but Bill had been changed by his college years it seemed to her. As a child he had been so happy and cheerful. Nothing could keep the boy down, When Helen had first met Steve Bill had been just 15 and Steve took him on as a young brother. They had spent many hours together when Steve had courted Helen. Helen had even gotten to the point of being somewhat annoyed at Bill’s presence when she desired privacy with Steve, but it was impossible for her to be angry with her sweet cheerful Bill. At least that was the old Bill. Since Steve and her had moved back, even back into her old house while they looked for a place of their own, Bill was changed. He seemed so serious now and even grave. This evening in particular he had been withdrawn. He probably had girl trouble Helen thought and she put her head on Bills shoulder in silent support of him.
Bill looked so much like Father when he smiled, but he did not smile enough for Helen’s satisfaction. It was a pity Bill had been too young to really remember Father. Father had doted on Helen and treated her like a princess. Helen smiled and hugged herself and could feel Father’s arms around her. He had always made her feel like the most important person in the world. How long had it been since he had passed? Helen could not remember. Was she eight or nine when he had died? She frowned in concentration yet could not remember for certain. It had been in the winter she remembered that at least. In fact she could recall snow on the ground when Mother had given her the horrible news that Father was not coming home. It had been a terrible day Helen had felt she would never get over the loss. Mother was stoic as usual and Bill had been just a child. She had felt it was up to her to mourn for Father and she had done so. For months she had cried daily and then she went an entire day without tears, but she had still thought of him constantly. One day, years after his death, she was thinking about Father in her room and had suddenly not been able to remember what he looked like. Startled she had ran downstairs to the den and stood in front of a portrait that Mother had commissioned after his death. It was a good likeness, but Helen could not see her Father on the canvas. It was just what the painter thought Father looked like from a photograph. Father was not really there. She had realized he was really gone at that moment and she lost her childhood that day.
She felt very safe between her two favorite men now, but the car had not yet warmed up and she was still shivering. Steve had turned the heater to defrost so they could drive home. She could hear the fan and feel the air moving, but it was still cold. Snowflakes began to hit the windshield that was still partially covered with frost. The flakes on the glass were bathed in the glow from a nearby street lamp and they formed a spectacular display. Each flake seemed a work of art to Helen. She had always heard that no two were alike and she took this opportunity to put that theory to the test. She leaned forward a bit and scrutinized the windshield. Just as she began her examination she felt the temperature change. The car was heating up. Steve turned the fan on high and in moments the flakes had melted. Helen felt sadness tug at her. From beauty to plain water in an instant and with no one but her to mourn the loss of such beauty. Steve and Bill were oblivious to the event as men often were in her experience The windshield now looked as if it were covered in tears. She stared blankly at the windshield and reached a hand to touch it. Steve turned the wipers on and the flakes and the beaded water were gone. Helen leaned back in her seat as Steve backed out of the parking space and began the drive home.
The steady movement of the car made Helen drowsy, but she shook off the sleep. She was so happy that she did not want the night to end. She could tell that Steve, and even Bill, had been nervous tonight. Bill was still new at the corporation, under a year employed, and had recommended Steve for a position that he had just began a week ago. Steve was always changing jobs. Some men just had a traveling itch Helen thought, but she hoped they would stay here for a good long time. The Christmas party was an important one as all the big executives and the company’s most important clients would be there. That must have been why the boys were so nervous. Helen had decided that she would make certain that the evening was a success. Behind every great man is a great woman as the old saying went. With that in mind she was determined to make the night a hit. After all she knew she was a beautiful woman and she was used to the attention she drew from men. That was the plan.
As they had entered the party she had felt eyes upon her. Steve and Bill had seemed guarded, but she was not nervous at all. The party started slowly, but that was normal. People were still feeling each other out and it not long before she was in demand as a dance partner. Steve had been reluctant to share her, but she was determined to help the family cause and allowed herself to be squired about. Some of the women seemed a bit peeved, but what was that to her? She knew that the men made all the important decisions in big corporations. At any rate she spent much of the night on the dance floor. Heads were turned in her direction all night. Several junior executives had danced with her and several of Steve’s potential new clients also had a turn on the dance floor with her.
Helen knew the climax of the evening had been when she
had the last dance with the CEO of Steve, and Bill’s, company. He had seemed a bit shy. She was used to that. Her beauty intimidated men sometimes, but it was the last dance of the night and he had chosen her. She was very happy for herself and for Steve. This undoubtedly meant he was a man to watch in the company. The floor was somewhat crowded when the dance began, but by the time the music stopped nearly everyone had stopped dancing and was watching the two of them. Helen had felt like a queen at that time and she smiled at the remembrance. The CEO had not been the most graceful of dancers and had stepped on her toes more than once. He had even seemed embarrassed and asked her if she wanted to sit, but she was a trooper, and after all this was for Steve’s career, so she carried on to the end. He was not a stuffed shirt either. At the end of their dance he escorted her back to the table. They were arm in arm and when he bowed to her, like the gentleman that he was, his toupee had slipped off his head. Conversation halted for a moment, but he was such a good sport and he laughed at his own faux pas and put everyone else at ease. He was so nice Helen had even favored him with a peck on the cheek and he had greatly enjoyed it Helen thought. She knew he had fallen for her a bit and she smiled and not just for the satisfaction of her ego, but also for the good she had done Steve’s career.
The car was very warm now and she was feeling sleepy again. She considered asking Steve to turn the heat down, but he seemed to be concentrating on the road intently. She turned to look at Bill and he was watching the road closely as well. Men and their cars she thought. They cared more about getting a dent in the car on the icy roads than they did about keeping her company and after all she had done for them that night. Her irritation quickly ebbed in the good feelings of the party and she settled back into a contented state between her two men. She knew they were there for here now in the bad driving conditions as she had been there for them at the party. She thought that seemed only fair and relaxed as she realized they were almost home.
She suddenly realized she had thought of the house as her home again. Helen had been anxious to leave when she had gotten married. One reason she had chosen Steve had been that he seemed to have good prospects and she expected to live in New York or Los Angeles. Middle America bored her and she yearned for the upscale social life on the nation’s great coasts. They had been to New York and Los Angeles over the years as well as Boston, Miami, Seattle and several others she could not remember off the top of her head. It was Steve’s doing. Just when it seemed they had settled down in a new city and a new job Steve would uproot them again and drag her to yet another city and job. She had not failed to notice that these events were usually just after she had begun to make friends in the new town. Steve was jealous of her time and seemed anxious to shield her from people and keep her all to himself. It was flattering Helen had thought in the beginning, but his neediness was now starting to wear on her. This new position seemed promising and she liked the women, not to mention the men that she had met tonight. Steve was going to meet firm opposition if he proposed another move any time soon. She had left him in the past. The first couple of times if was just for a week or two, but the last episode had lasted an entire month. She was confident that she would win out any argument this time.
Steve eased the car into a space across the street from the house. Mother’s car was in the driveway and parking was at a premium in this residential neighborhood. As they exited the car Steve and Bill each arranged themselves on either side of Helen and took her by the arms to assist her across the street. Helen felt that their concern for her footing was overprotective as the snowfall had ceased and the street did not appear to be too icy. Nevertheless the boys were true gentlemen and Helen enjoyed the attention. They were always looking out for her. Helen sometimes wondered if other women received this type of attention from the men in their lives. From her experience the answer was no and she felt quite special. Of course her experience was that she had always turned men’s heads. Tonight had been another example of that. The memory of the night’s triumph returned and crowded out her worries about Steve and his itch to pull up stakes at the drop of a hat. She was walking on air as the entered the house.
Helen and Bill’s mother had been reading on a sofa and she arose at their entrance to meet the group. She was a somewhat grave brunette who might be fifty and might be sixty. Her skin was still smooth and she was dressed in quiet modesty with a pearl necklace, but with no other jewelry except a gold band on her left ring finger.
“Mother,” said Helen as she pulled herself from the grasp of the men. “I am so glad you are still up. We had an absolutely glorious night.”
Before her mother could respond Helen had reached were she was standing and embraced her in a joyful hug.
“It was a beautiful party Mother just beautiful. The ballroom, the food, the dancing was just beautiful. How can I describe it to you.”
“It was probably beautiful,” said her mother.
“Oh you’re teasing me as usual Mother,” said Helen with a smile. “I know you think I exaggerate things, but you can ask the boys. They will tell you what a wonderful night it was. I did the boys some good tonight to Mother. Never underestimate the power of a beautiful woman. I danced the night away and stole the show completely for my two men. Can’t you just see it?”
“Yes I can dear,” said the mother. “I can see it quite clearly. “
At that Bill announced he was going to bed and kissed his mother goodnight.
“Don’t I merit a kiss Billy?” asked Helen. “You never went to bed without a kiss from your sister when you were a child”
Bill kissed her gravely and with a shake of Steve’s hand he retired down the hallway. A moment later the closing of a door signaled that Bill was retired for the night.
“Helen perhaps a good nights sleep is what you need as well.” Said her mother.
“Sleep? Oh no I want this night to gone on and on. Why would I go to sleep now?”
“Well because you have had a long day and I worry about you when get all excited. Remember you have been through a lot the past few weeks.”
“Perhaps you’re right Mother,” Helen said reluctantly. “You always know best it seems. Suddenly I am a bit sleepy.”
As if to prove her new found sleepiness Helen smothered a huge yawn and turned to her husband who was still standing by the door.
“Darling are you coming to bed as well”
As Steve started to speak his mother-in-law interrupted.
“Helen if you don’t mind I need to speak with Steve. Nothing you need worry about and I will send him in directly.”
“If it is financial stuff I do not want to hear it anyway. I find all simply horrid.”
With that pronouncement Helen received a kiss from Steve and started down the hall.
She turned as entered the hallway.
“Please hurry Steve. I am getting very sleepy and I do not like to be alone on a cold winter night.”
As she disappeared Steve and his mother-in-law stood facing each other in silence. Steve cleared his throat as if to speak, but did not. He stared at his shoes and seemed very uncomfortable.
“What happened tonight Steve?” his mother-in-law finally asked.
“Oh, I don’t want to talk about it mom.”
“Whether you do or whether you don’t we are going to talk about it. I can see with my own eyes she’s drunk out of her mind again. She reeks of it Steve. How did you let this happen again? You told me you and Bill were going to watch her. You told me she was better.”
“Mom it was a party. There was booze all around and she must have gotten some when we weren’t looking. I am not her jailer. I tried to watch her, but you know how she is. She gets upset if you treat her like a child. She’s been good for a while. I wanted to believe we were past this.”
Steve looked as if he were weary to the bone. His shoulders were slumped and his breathing was heavy.
“All right Steve,” she said gently. “Of course you’re not her jailer. I thought she was b
etter too. What really happened tonight? Was it as bad as all that? It was just a party and I’m certain lots of people were drinking. Maybe no one will even remember her”
“Oh they’ll remember,” he croaked. “Mom it started out okay, but once she got going she had to be the center of attention. You know how she is”
She nodded and Steve continued.
“She had to start dragging all the guys out on the dance floor. No one else wanted to make a scene so they went along.” Steve paused and seemed to wonder whether he should go on. “It just gets worse.”
“I want to hear it all Steve. She’s my girl too.”
“Well the final straw was when she cornered our CEO. The poor man was obviously embarrassed, but when she practically sat in his lap he danced with her. She fell all over herself and him. You could hear a pin drop when the music stopped. Everyone was staring. He nearly had to carry her to the table. I tried to help, but she would have none of it. When she sat down she reached up to hug him I think and pulled his toupee right off of his head.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. He was polite, but I could tell he was steaming. She insisted on giving him kiss. I think she was aiming for his cheek, but she kissed him full on the mouth instead. I could tell by the look in his eyes it was the kiss off for my career at the company.”
“Steve was it as bad as all that?”
“Mom I’m washed up here and if we don’t get her away I’m afraid Bill’s career is in jeopardy as well.”
“What will you do?”
“Oh I don’t know. Another town, another job I guess,” he said glumly.
“Maybe rehab can help her Steve.”
“Mom she’s been to rehab three times and you know it. The last time was the full 28 days. She can’t quit because she doesn’t want to quit.”
“What will you do Steve? I refuse to stand idly by while she continues to hurt you even if she is my child.”
“I love her Mom,” he said quietly.
“That’s not an answer or a plan Steve.”
Collection of Four Short Stories Page 1