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Trafford Publishing - Bernard J Sieracki

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160 pages

English

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Description

Now it makes no difference where they go, she takes care of the house and the dough.
Johnnie Jones returns home from the military as a unknown hero. He develops a romantic relationship with two girls of the same family, the family of a friend of his. Adventures continue as he goes to college and becomes a football star. Along the way he gets advice from a sweet old lady that leads to a very happy ending.

Sujets

Romance

Fiction

Informations

Publié par	Trafford Publishing
Date de parution	13 janvier 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781698713779
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

We Spend Our Lives

Bernard J Sieracki

© Copyright 2022 Bernard J Sieracki. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1376-2 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-6987-1378-6 (hc) ISBN: 978-1-6987-1377-9 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023900098
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
Trafford rev. 01/06/2023
www.trafford.com North America & international toll-free: 844-688-6899 (USA & Canada) fax: 812 355 4082
Contents
I: Blue Hat
II: Favor
III: Tomorrow
IV: Playing Backgammon
V: A Delicate Sunshine Yellow
VI: Ta-Taa-Ta-Taa
VII: Percival
VIII: Forbidden
IX: Alma Mater
X: Poetry Stuff
XI: Hot Stuff
XII: Woo and Woo
XIII: Library Boy
XIV: Intentions
XV: To Texas
XVI: Resort
XVII: Open Window
XVIII: Pocket Bible
XIX: Looking
XX: Lot of Money
XXI: Fist of Iron
XXII: Heart and Mind
XXIII: Newspapers
XXIV: Police Station
XXV: Insurance Company
XXVI: Hospital Days
XXVII: Small Business
XXVIII: House and Farm
XXIX: Collaborators

To Mary Masterson, who
made this work possible.
I
Blue Hat

F inally, the brakes squeaked, the wheels skidded along the tracks, and the streamlined train slowly came to a stop. It was the Union Station of Kansas City, and the passengers hurried out of the cars onto the crowded platform of Track 16. Some carried a suitcase to one side of them. A woman came along loaded with a shopping bag, an arm full of boxes, and three little children straggling close behind her. However, most of the people carried nothing at all as they walked alongside the standing train toward the escalator leading up to the passageway through which the people proceeded on to the lobby.
In the lobby, a countless number of people waited at the doors. Some were eating popcorn or candy or drinking Coca-Cola out of a paper cup as they waited for the arrival of their friends or relatives. Upon the arrival of the passengers from the train, in all the excitement, there was much handshaking, embracing, and kissing of the loved ones. A short ways from the doors, at the bookstand, were two girls talking excitedly to each other as they looked on with the excitement of expectation. One was taller and appeared somewhat more mature than the other. The younger seemed to be more excited about something than her companion. They stood in one place, but they certainly looked about in all directions, with their faces filled with the excited emotions of the imminent recognition of someone.
As the people came pouring through the many doors on the passageway, a soldier slipped out of the crowd and stood by, with his eyes searching through the crowd. From his decorations, one could easily tell that he was an active man in the army, and the captain’s uniform added a decided attraction to his entire self. He scrutinized the faces of women. Often he would raise his left hand to bring part of a letter to his eyes. He would study some girl’s appearance as he referred to the letter. Soon, he began wandering about impatiently through the crowd.
The last of the people from Track 16 straggled into the lobby. The doors were closed, and the crowd at the doors began to dissipate. It wasn’t long before most of them had left. The captain, with his back against the doors, still holding the letter in his left hand, looked about with signs of disappointment.
The taller girl of the two left, but her companion remained. She wasn’t looking around so feverishly any longer. Her downcast eyes and slow motions of her body showed all the signs of a heart heavy with disappointment. Her thoughts were drifting far away, and her lips quivered as if she were about to cry.
The captain studied her several times before, but after referring to his letter, he turned elsewhere. She also looked at him several times but paid no more attention. As he watched her this time, he saw her disappointment and instinctively started toward her. He worked his way around to her back, and he drew up close enough to embrace her.
“Mary!” he cried out with delighted excitement.
“George!” she cried out in return.
She turned around and threw her arms around his neck, only to recover in time before she kissed him. Quickly, she withdrew her arms, but his arms were holding her fast at the waistline. Her face felt a sudden glow of heat, and so embarrassed was she that her chewing gum found its way down past her esophagus. She pressed his arms away and retreated a few slow steps backward.
“No, it isn’t George—it’s me,” he said in a soft tone.
He smiled, so silly, as though he had known her a long time. He slowly stepped forward, after her, putting the letter in his pocket.
“So I see.” She kept retreating, slowly, step by step.
“Johnnie is my name,” he said. “Johnnie Jones.”
“Your name does not interest me. Please go away before my aunt gets back,” she remarked.
“Am I afraid of your aunt?” he jested.
“I don’t know. Please go away. You see, I’m engaged, and she will talk if she sees me here with you.” Mary pleaded with him and even took off her glove to proudly display the ring.
“You don’t seem to like me very much.” He followed her with every step; she retreated backward.
“I would like you more if you would leave right away. Now will you please go?”
“How is it you’re not wearing your blue hat?”
“What blue hat?” This thought stopped her, and she looked at him in bewilderment.
“The one that matches your eyes,” he said.
“The one with the feather in it?”
“Yes, the one with the feather in it.” He smiled.
“Don’t you like this one?” she asked.
“It’s all right, but what about that light gray suit you’re supposed to wear?”
“Who told you what I was supposed to wear today?” she questioned.
“I guess if I said I would be at the railroad station with a light gray suit and a blue hat, I’d be at the railroad station with a light gray suit and a blue hat. How do you expect somebody to find you if he’s looking for a blue hat and you’re not wearing one?” His smile never faded from the moment he first spoke to her.
Mary was embarrassed with this. She felt like a scolded child, although it came with a smile. Some fresh guy who got hold of her letter somehow , she thought.
“Look,” she said, “here comes a policeman, and if you can’t leave me alone right this minute, I’ll ask him to help you.”
She showed signs of anxiety while she looked about to see if her aunt was coming. She was nervous and frightened by this stranger who took it upon himself to make her acquaintance. He seemed so determined, and that constant smile meant to her that he had something on his mind.
“But why should you be calling on anyone for help when I wouldn’t hesitate leastways to be at your service? I hope it will be my pleasure to escort you home,” he said calmly with sincerity.
Mary’s back was chilled, and her face turned pale. She realized what he had on his mind and that there would be no end to this. She noticed that her aunt was returning, and in her nervous anxiety to be rid of this character, she cried out “Officer!” to the policeman who stood a short distance from them.
“What is it, ma’am?” the policeman asked her while he looked at Johnnie.
“I assure you, Mary, this wasn’t necessary.” His smile disappeared, and he felt taken back.
“Officer, help this man to leave me alone.” She faced the policeman when she spoke and immediately turned to leave.
Johnnie quickly turned to follow her.
“You heard what the lady said!” the husky voice of the policeman bellowed as he took hold of Johnnie by the arm.
All the people in the surrounding area were attracted, and they watched with interest. Some even came closer to learn what was going on.
Mary hurried away to her aunt.
“Mary! Come back! Mary! Don’t leave me! I just want to talk to you! I want to talk to you about your brother!” Johnnie shouted louder and louder as she hurried farther away from him.
She came upon her aunt halfway across the lobby. She tried to compose herself to make it appear as though nothing of any importance had happened.
“What did you find out, Chris?” she asked with an air of innocence.
“The only information we can get at this railroad station concerns the train schedule and the tourist.”
She spoke to Mary, but her eyes were straining far across the lobby where Johnnie tussled, verbally, with the policeman. It was not the size of the policeman that held him back; it was his respect for the law. Of course, the policeman sympathized with Mary, and he waited for her to disappear out of sight before he would permit Johnnie to be on his way.
“Maybe we could get some information from the Red Cross office,” Mary suggested impatiently in trying to get away from Johnnie.
“Yes, we may. What would you say i