by Jack Baran
“That’s my mother,” Pete exclaims in wonderment. “The one in the beret.”
“That’s my mother with the feather.”
Pete turns to the woman. Susie? Not with those green eyes. “Mary Ann?”
“Petey.”
“They said you were dead.”
“Susie died, the Woodstock paper got it wrong. I just found out when I came back to sell the farm.”
They gaze at the painting, flashing on the day they discovered their mothers posing. Mary Ann takes Pete’s hand. “That day.”
“We saw them.”
“How beautiful they were.”
“And you.”
“Us.”
Pete follows Mary Ann out of the gallery. Driving down Zena Road, Dicey stands in the back seat sniffing the world going by outside. The Downing fields have been plowed and planted; lights burn in the farmhouse on the hill.
“What happened to your folks?”
“Dad died in an automobile accident coming home from a gig. Mom moved to Oaxaca. She loved it down there, became a potter. Susie traveled a lot, at some point she came to live with me in Seattle.”
“You married?”
“Three kids, two grandchildren. What about you, Petey?”
“Married three times, divorced three times, one adored child.”
“I often thought about us back then.”
“Me too, but I couldn’t imagine you now.”
“I would have known you anywhere.”
She turns up the driveway. He lets Dicey out of the car. They stare at the old house.
“Am I dreaming?”
She holds out her hand, leads him to the kitchen door. Pete follows her up the creaky stairs to the attic. Her bedroom is empty; neither Cleo nor Desirée wait for them. Without a word, two shy grownups take off all their clothes, hug innocently.
Outside a black dog chases her shadow under a full moon.
About the Author
Like the Hollywood guy, Jack grew up in the Bronx, lived in the Village and made a career in Los Angeles. No Icelandic roots or hit TV series. A successful nuts and bolts line producer and assistant director with a couple of produced screenplays -Band of The Hand with Leo Garen and Great Balls Of Fire and Uncovered with Jim McBride. He also directed Destiny Turns On The Radio.
Nowadays he lives in upstate New York with the love of his life for 31 plus years. They had a daughter, but lost her. Jack’s next book is about her.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Acknowledgements
Copyright
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
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17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Epilogue
About the Author