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A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
Will shuddered as another blast of wind and ice shook the large windows of the terminal. Wind, snow, ice, power outages, worries, Tessa, $150,000. Will was tired of it all. He just wanted to get back to Tessa and straighten out this whole crazy thing.
He’d turned it over in his mind so many different ways that, rather than figuring things out, he was more confused than ever. He needed a nap; he needed a drink; he needed Tessa. At that desperate moment, an answer came from above, well, sort of from above. Unless he’d misheard, the latest of the nearly constant announcements raining down from the speakers had promised free food and drinks courtesy of the airport.
Will knew he hadn’t hallucinated the promise, because he witnessed men and women grab their carry-ons and head to their favorite eating establishments. Will quickly joined the rush, not stopping at the first allurements of McDonalds, nor the kitschy “fancy” restaurants. The further he jogged, the fewer travelers hurried beside him. Out of breath and eager for relief, Will squeezed into a small restaurant, made his way to the bar, and ordered a double scotch.
Will downed the drink in a few desperate swallows and signaled for another. He didn’t really feel better, but he didn’t feel quite as miserable. Waiting for his drink, Will stared without seeing his reflection in the mirror behind the bar. When he focused, he saw a normal guy, brownish skin, wavy black hair, brown eyes with flecks of green. He sighed. What does Tessa see in me?
Will hadn’t ordered food, but the bartender brought him a sandwich with the second drink. He ate and drank thoughtlessly, numbing his mind to his problems. He looked back at the mirror. He saw other frazzled fliers: a salesman type, two soldiers, an older woman, and two younger women who looked like sisters.
Sisters! Of course!! This whole mess was probably caused by Alisha!
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
Alisha had a conflict of conscience. She had lied to Tessa. Tessa. The only person in this world she could count on.
She had embezzled $50,000 from her employer. She had to replace it before the auditors came Monday morning. Tessa came through. The money was safely returned. Her job was safe.
And now she had the additional $100,000. She considered all of her options. She could double that money with one good night at the casino. She would be set for life. She could shop whenever she wanted. She could travel to exotic places. She could buy that sports car, maybe get that house on the north side of town. The house was in a better school district. Sure. A better school district. She would do this for her girls.
With just a tinge of regret, Alisha drove to Blue Lake Casino. This was for her girls. And that trip to Monte Carlo. And the car. And….
She lost at the slot machines. Before her balance went below $50,000, she went to the Black Jack table. She chose the table with the best looking dealer. That always brought her good luck. She brought her balance to a little over $100,000.
Alisha heard a shout. Someone was winning at the roulette wheel. Feeling lucky, she joined the group at that table. For an hour, she played. Her balance grew. And grew. And grew. She had $300,000 in her account. The heady atmosphere pushed her forward. Even when her luck changed. It was going to happen again. On the next bet. The next one. No, really, the next one.
The crowd was gone. Even at the casino, gamblers are loathe to hang around a table with a loser. Alisha was not going to give up, though. She had $20,000 left. She pushed half her chips onto number nineteen. Before the croupier said, “Bets all in,” she pushed the rest of her chips to the same space.
The croupier spun the wheel and let the ball loose. The wheel turned. The ball bounced. The eyes that remained at the table were trained on Alisha.
The wheel slowed.
The ball landed on seventeen.
Alisha was stunned. She had gambled everything away. The life she imagined for herself…for the girls…was…gone….
Then she remembered Tessa’s life insurance policy. A half million. She was still the beneficiary.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
Tessa was calm once again. Until the phone rang. Again. It was Jason. “Tessa, why don’t we meet at my place and talk things over?”
Tessa was not sure this would be safe. Jason asked her to bring the paintings so he could take a look at them again, just one last time. Jason’s voice had that tone, though. The tone that signaled a hidden meaning. The tone with a drug-clouded edge.
The Tessa Study was safe. Safe from Jason. Safe from Will. They were secure in a rented storage unit, and there, they would stay.
County crews had cleared the main roads by now, and the city streets leading to Jason’s apartment were clear. Tessa, bundled against the frigid wind, thought about the healing waters as she walked up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell. Jason answered the door, hands on either side of the door jamb. He looked at Tessa and around her. “Where’s the study?”
Tessa looked at him squarely. She would not give in. “It’s in a safe place.”
After a moment, Jason backed away from the door and motioned her in. He seemed calm. Tessa stepped in. She took off her warm coat, hung it on the rack with her scarf and gloves, and sat at the dining room table. While Jason made coffee, she looked around. The table held a hodgepodge of oil paints and brushes; partially completed canvases lay haphazardly around the kitchen and living area; easels in the corner looked as if they had been broken in a bar fight.
Jason brought the coffee to the table. As they talked, he sounded reasonable. They caught up on gossip about old friends. He told her about an exhibit that would open soon. She told him a funny story about a mutual friend, another painter. He mentioned, almost in passing, that he wanted to see the study again. Just once.
Tessa steeled herself. “I don’t think that’s wise, Jason. The Study is in a safe place. You won’t see it again. I’m sorry I brought it up. I should have realized how important it was to you; I had no right to bother you.”
Too late, Tessa realized Jason’s calm exterior had cracked wide open. He lost control. He lunged, grabbed Tessa by the shoulders and shook her as hard as he could. “It’s my work, and I’ll have it! I’ll sue if I have to.”
She struggled against the pressure of his hands and arms. In a strangled voice, she managed to shout, “Go ahead! I’ll destroy it first!”
Tessa tore Jason’s hands from her shoulders, leapt past him and ran from the apartment. He didn’t follow. She fumbled as she tried to put her keys into the ignition. Finally, she had to stop and breathe deeply. She was in the car. Her doors were locked. Jason was still inside. She no longer had a coat, scarf or gloves, but those were just “things.” She could replace them.
Tessa was shaken, but unharmed. She was now more determined than ever. She would destroy the study as soon as the roads to the storage unit were clear of snow and ice.
In her own home, in her bedroom, she watched the moon come out from behind the clouds of Jupiter. Once again, the shadows danced, this time on new-fallen snow.
Tessa picked up her cellphone and dialed Will’s number. It went to voicemail. “Will, when you get home, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first, but, well, when you get home, I’ll tell you everything. And Will, I love you. I miss you so much. Hurry home.”
Tessa thought Will was in Iceland. She had no idea he was in New York, just hours from home, if only the storm would let up in the east.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
“Jason, thank you for calling back. I’ve changed my mind. The Tessa Study is no longer for sale. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“We had a deal. It is my work, after all.”
Tessa listened as his anger grew. It was the old Jason. He would never change. She had to turn his anger back. There was no telling what he would do or say. He could even go to the media if she couldn’t get through to him.
Tessa knew Jason’s ego could never handle others knowing he was unable to keep the woman he so openly adored. Nor would he like having other secrets disclosed. She pulled her last card. She told Jason she was going to tell Will all about those “modeling” sessions and the nude paintings that haunted her. She might even tell him the rest of it.
Jason realized Tessa had the upper hand. She had the Tessa Study and he had no leverage. His mind turned to possible solutions to keep her quiet.
Surely Tessa wouldn’t tell Will everything. Would she? He couldn’t take that chance.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
Tessa’s anger turned to fear, then pity, as tears rolled down her cheeks. After all she had been through with Alisha, then that affair with Jason. She worried what other people would think of those nude paintings. It was just too much for her to handle mentally and physically!
With a long sigh and a release of all the air in her lungs, she eased back into the warm leather chair. A power seemed to put its arms around her and comfort her. She felt relaxed and cleansed. She knew who she was. Meditation helped for a while, but eventually her life and fears renewed their hold.
Then an unknown voice from somewhere within said, “Take charge of your life, be who you are. You are a good person.”
Her arms fell to her sides; she felt the tense muscles in her neck and shoulders relax. She spoke aloud. “This is the answer. From now on I am going to take charge of my life. No pleasing people. They can take me for who I am or not at all.”
She called Jason again. He didn’t answer. She left a message.
Tessa stepped out into the sunshine. Jupiter was fading as well as her own personal storm.
“I will stand up, speak the truth and be willing to take the responsibility, good or bad.” She felt as if a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She was brought back to the present by the ring of her cellphone. It was Jason.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
As close as Tessa and Alisha were over the years, there were times when they were oceans apart. Tessa always cautious, while Alisha sailed on the wind. Still, they were family and that would always be a priority over money, love affairs, even the occasional earthquake.
Until recently, though, they had communicated largely through rumor. A friend told Tessa this; another friend told Alisha that. And boy, what rumors there were!
This time, however, it wasn’t a rumor. This time, Alisha called personally. Every time Tessa thought about that last desperate conversation, her hands shook and her stomach trembled. $150,000.
Tessa had always prided herself that money was so very unimportant. She took pride in that, although she never really had money. An attitude like hers was usually reserved for people who had more money than they needed. She was comfortable now, but she also knew that her comfort pretty much hinged on her sister’s next drama.
And now, she had to fix it. Every time Tessa thought about what she was about to do, she felt ill. There simply was no other way out. It was either crawl back to Jason to get the money to replace what she had borrowed, or tell Will everything.
Giving Jason what he wanted still had the potential to complicate everything. Jason could sell the Tessa Study or put it on exhibit. Her relationship with Will could possibly end. Her career would definitely be over.
Doing nothing – facing Will with the loss of $150,000 – could possibly end the relationship, but her career would be safe. She would survive; she would have her dignity. She could still lose Will.
The hour grew late. She no longer felt ill. She was angry.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
“Jason,” Tessa said. She had to concentrate on breathing again. In. Out. In. A little gasp betrayed the case of nerves that had overtaken her body. She needed that vision of water to come back. “The Tessa Study. Do you still want it?”
“Ah.”
Tessa’s heart sank. She thought that even after all this time, world famous artist Jason Edward Marleton – who used to be Jason Edwards, a day shift waiter at Applebee’s – would jump at the chance to regain ownership of the Tessa Study. It had been his first, and arguably his best, when he’d been a Raphael devotee. He’d loved – and displayed to advantage – every bump and crevice in her post-high-school body. What her father would have called “warts and all” if, God forbid, he’d known the sketches and paintings ever existed.
That had been the only blessing, that her father was already gone. The modeling had paved Alisha’s and her ways through things their parents’ life insurance hadn’t covered. Braces for Alisha. Old Navy jeans instead of Goodwill. Because of Tessa’s modeling, they could nearly always afford hamburger instead of ramen noodles like many of their student friends. They’d laughed at the time, but it had been true.
Only Jason had painted her face. And brought it to life. Everything from the chickenpox scar near her ear to the birthmark that painted a thin dark slash on her jaw. The chestnut hair that had flowed thick and lustrous down her back in those days had looked so real in the paintings that she’d reached out to touch it.
She’d stopped modeling for anyone else by the time he did the nudes. Alisha had been doing well in college, and accounting was financially kind to Tessa. It had been the expression on her face that had made her stop modeling for Jason. She’d always heard that eyes were windows into the soul, but in her case, it was her face. Anyone could have looked at the pieces and known the model loved the artist.
And that the artist burned to possess the model. Heart, soul, and body. He’d wanted to show the paintings even though she’d begged him not to. He’d slapped her hard when she’d insisted and then he’d painted an angry hand shape on her cheek in one of the profiles. The red of the handprint had bled painfully into the birthmark.
The paintings were almost as frightening as they were good. It had taken every cent she had saved to persuade Jason to sell them to her. Fortunately for her, his need for drug money had outweighed his need to possess her in any way.
It had all been years ago. Before Alisha married Ted and before Tessa met Will and discovered the real difference between love and possession. Will knew about Jason. Sort of. And he knew about Alisha’s problems. He would support Tessa in her wish to help her sister, but support and $150,000 might be two different things. All the better if he never had to know.
She looked at the clock on the kitchen wall, thinking abstractedly that it needed to have its face cleaned – it got greasy there where they hung it near the stove – and that Will should have called by now. Surely he was at the airport in Iceland by now, or perhaps the airline had already announced flight cancellations. Jupiter was on its lethal way to the east coast. She prayed his flight would be delayed a day.
“Yes.” Jason’s voice came after a heavy silence. “I still want the collection. How badly do you want to sell it?”
She hesitated. Took another deep breath. And searched for the sound of the sea. And then she answered him.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
Tessa took another deep breath and assumed the Yoga position for meditation, sitting upright on her mat, legs crossed in front of her, hands at rest, eyes closed. She would remain in that state until her mind was clear and peace prevailed. She concentrated on her breathing. Negative thoughts came, were recognized, and were let go.
Eventually, the thoughts stopped coming and the vision of water came, waves flowing in, waves retreating. The sound of the surf was so relaxing. There was no need to think, only to enjoy. She heard a bell chime. She opened her eyes. It was time.
$150,000 was readily available to replace what she had borrowed. She could wait no longer. Tessa picked up the phone to make the call. For years she had prayed this part of her life was over. Now, it couldn’t be helped. She was back in it.
Tessa dialed. She took deep breaths in, deep breaths out while she listened to the ring tones. The ringing stopped.
The voice on the other end was sarcastic. “Hello, darling Tessa. What impending tragedy has caused you to contact ME after all this time?”
Tessa swallowed her pride to make the most important plea of her life.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
Will’s nerves began to fray. To conserve power, he had turned off his cellphone. The battery was under fifteen percent, not enough to go online. The charging stations were still full and the lines were even longer than before. He would just have to wait to check their joint accounts again.
If only the storm was over. He was anxious to see his beautiful Tessa again. They were so much in love and this trip had been longer than usual. He wanted to look into her eyes and feel her body next to his. And talk. Face to face.
For now, he had to think of the present and the next few hours. When would the storm let up? Damn, the lights just went out. Now it would be impossible to charge his phone. It’s just one more thing to go wrong on this damn trip.
Will realized he had to be patient. If only he knew when the storm would end, when the planes would fly again. He noticed a young man nearby, sitting on a suitcase and using a cellphone. Will approached the young man and asked if he would check the weather. The young man pulled up the weather map and showed it to Will.
Jupiter looked like it would be the storm of the century. The forecast called for six to ten inches of snow in the next few hours. An ice storm was to follow with two to four inches of ice. Power lines were down in a three-state area. What a mess!
Will worried about Tessa. Had she been trying to call him? The only thing he could do was sit in the dark and wait. Damn, waiting.
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.
A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.
Will’s plane arrived on time in New York. Jupiter arrived early. Instead of boarding the connecting flight to go home, Will joined hundreds of stranded passengers unable to move west into the storm. Will considered getting a hotel room, so he could arrive refreshed, but he waited too long to make that decision. Now, even ground transportation was at a standstill.
Will stood and paced, never letting his duffel out of sight, a nod to airport security regulations. He wondered why he bothered. As he looked around the crowded terminal, he saw at least half a dozen unattended bags.
Will heard some of the passengers say they had been here for nine or ten hours. Children ran around, apparently without supervision, or cried, or begged their parents for…well, he wasn’t sure what they wanted. Some passengers paced and shouted into their phones. Some stood, glaring or stomping their feet, behind others plugged into the cell phone charging station. One man had begun to moan and sway. He looked anxiously at his phone, then at the line of people in front of him at the station. The line at Starbucks stretched past three other kiosks; Will had seen no forward movement for quite a while. A man to his left repeatedly banged his head into the back of his chair.
Will’s thoughts roamed. He wondered if anyone cared that some may have a more dire need than others to have just a little power on their phones. He hoped the man banging his head into his chair was not epileptic. He wondered if the hideous plastic chairs were designed for maximum discomfort. He hoped Starbucks was not out of coffee.
His attention was grabbed by the sobs of a woman. She had run out of the restroom crying, “There’s no more toilet paper! Oh, dear God, there’s no more toilet paper!” Another woman moved to calm her and led her to the men’s room. Will hoped he wouldn’t need the restroom anytime soon.
Will resumed pacing. Good gravy. What’s happening to the world? You’d think there was a full moon or something. Thinking of a full moon led his thoughts straight back to Tessa. His beautiful, practical Tessa.
With a sigh, Will fell back into his seat. He had not noticed a problem in the relationship. He thought everything was fine. He had stayed away too long. The project in Iceland was going so well, he had possibly ignored signs of trouble from the home front.
Will leaned forward, putting his head into his hands. How could she do this?
A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.