“Shit.” Leslie glances at her watch and sees that it’s 7:04:32. Siobhan would be awake if not at work yet. Leslie calls her. “Where the hell are you, Leslie? I tried to call you all day yesterday.” Siobhan is angry and not reticent about showing it. “Sorry. I had my cell off.” Leslie turns off… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter seven, part one
“Damn. Where is she?” Leslie scans the area outside the baggage claim for Rose. Leslie only brought her duffle and her laptop with her, so she has no baggage to claim and has arranged to meet Rose outside. Rose had said she drove a black Suburban, license plate RedRose. Leslie is tired and grumpy, and… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter six
“Beth, we have some breaking news. Senator Jonah Bronson of Chicago has been accused of molesting three girls, ages 10, 11, and 12 in his youth group, starting from when they were each eight years old. Let’s go to his church for some reactions.” Leslie stares at her television, her spoon halfway to her mouth. … Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter five, part three
Leslie presses the letter to her lips as the tears fall down her cheeks. The last bit of mistrust she had for John melted away. It still stings that John had kept so much of his life a secret from her, but she no longer doubted that he did it out of love. She struggles… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter five, part two
“Leslie, meditation is done now.” Sasha’s voice is unusually gentle. Leslie snaps to the present and is astonished to find that her face is wet with tears. Two of the other students, longtime classmates of Leslie’s, make a point of not looking at her. The third, a relative newcomer is staring at her with an… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter five, part one
“All right, class. Let’s do some standing meditation.” Sasha gathers the four students into a small circle. Leslie takes her usual place to Sasha’s immediate left and assumes the standing meditation posture, but not without trepidation. Meditation taps into the deep wells of sorrow in her. Many of the memories she has repressed for decades… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter four
“Siobhan! What are you doing here?” Leslie is surprised to see her best friend at Funk ‘N Junk because she isn’t scheduled. “I switched with Muriel,” Siobhan says briskly. “I wanted to work with you your first shift back.” Leslie snorts because Siobhan makes it sound as if Leslie has been wounded in battle or… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter three, part three
Leslie’s stomach growls, but she does not want to eat anything until after the cops leave, so she ignores her stomach and concentrates on her computer. She reads about how Amy had been rushed to the hospital with a broken leg when she was ten. It was said to be an accident, but the article… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter three, part two
Leslie brushes away the tears as she kisses the ring on her finger. She has worn it since John placed it on her finger, and now she knows she will wear it for the rest of her life. She holds it up to the light and admires how the onyx shimmers and glows. She presses… Continue Reading
A Hard Rain; chapter three, part one
Leslie wakes up the next morning at 5:23:32, and not solely because the cops are coming ‘sometime between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. She had had a nightmare in which John had returned to her, but as a zombie. Now, while the real John would have appreciated that as he was an absolute fiend for… Continue Reading