A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.

Chapter Six: Liz Flaherty

“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.

Shadows of the Moon

A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.

• Chapter One: Kathi Thompson 01/05/25
• Chapter Two: Elaine Powers 01/20/25
• Chapter Three: Maria Kelsay 02/05/25
• Chapter Four: Larry Cunningham 02/20/25
• Chapter Five: Linda Leasure 03/05/25
• Chapter Six: Liz Flaherty 03/20/25
• Chapter Seven: Pam Ege 04/05/25
• Chapter Eight: Don Kegarise 04/20/25
• Chapter Nine: Kathy Kegarise 05/05/25
• Chapter Ten: Ken Meyer 05/20/25
• Chapter Eleven: Ken Meyer 06/05/25
• Chapter Twelve: Maria Kelsay 06/20/25
• Chapter Thirteen: Linda Leasure 07/05/25
• Chapter Fourteen: Larry Cunningham 07/20/25
• Chapter Fifteen: Liz Flaherty 08/05/25
• Chapter Sixteen: Kathi Thompson 08/20/26

A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.

Chapter Five: Linda Leasure

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.

Shadows of the Moon

A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.

• Chapter One: Kathi Thompson 01/05/25
• Chapter Two: Elaine Powers 02/05/25
• Chapter Three: Maria Kelsay 03/05/25
• Chapter Four: Larry Cunningham 04/05/25
• Chapter Five: Linda Leasure 05/05/25
• Chapter Six: Liz Flaherty 06/05/25
• Chapter Seven: Pam Ege 07/05/25
• Chapter Eight: Don Kegarise 08/05/25
• Chapter Nine: Kathy Kegarise 09/05/25
• Chapter Ten: Ken Meyer 10/05/25
• Chapter Eleven: Ken Meyer 11/05/25
• Chapter Twelve: Maria Kelsay 12/05/25
• Chapter Thirteen: Linda Leasure 01/05/26
• Chapter Fourteen: Larry Cunningham 02/05/26
• Chapter Fifteen: Liz Flaherty 03/05/26
• Chapter Sixteen: Kathi Thompson 08/20/26

A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.

Chapter Four: Larry Cunningham

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.

Shadows of the Moon

A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.

• Chapter One: Kathi Thompson 01/05/25
• Chapter Two: Elaine Powers 02/05/25
• Chapter Three: Maria Kelsay 03/05/25
• Chapter Four: Larry Cunningham 04/05/25
• Chapter Five: Linda Leasure 05/05/25
• Chapter Six: Liz Flaherty 06/05/25
• Chapter Seven: Pam Ege 07/05/25
• Chapter Eight: Don Kegarise 08/05/25
• Chapter Nine: Kathy Kegarise 09/05/25
• Chapter Ten: Ken Meyer 10/05/25
• Chapter Eleven: Ken Meyer 11/05/25
• Chapter Twelve: Maria Kelsay 12/05/25
• Chapter Thirteen: Linda Leasure 01/05/26
• Chapter Fourteen: Larry Cunningham 02/05/26
• Chapter Fifteen: Liz Flaherty 03/05/26
• Chapter Sixteen: Kathi Thompson 08/20/26

A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.

Chapter Three: Maria Kelsay

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?

Shadows of the Moon

A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.

• Chapter One: Kathi Thompson 01/05/25
• Chapter Two: Elaine Powers 02/05/25
• Chapter Three: Maria Kelsay 03/05/25
• Chapter Four: Larry Cunningham 04/05/25
• Chapter Five: Linda Leasure 05/05/25
• Chapter Six: Liz Flaherty 06/05/25
• Chapter Seven: Pam Ege 07/05/25
• Chapter Eight: Don Kegarise 08/05/25
• Chapter Nine: Kathy Kegarise 09/05/25
• Chapter Ten: Ken Meyer 10/05/25
• Chapter Eleven: Ken Meyer 11/05/25
• Chapter Twelve: Maria Kelsay 12/05/25
• Chapter Thirteen: Linda Leasure 01/05/26
• Chapter Fourteen: Larry Cunningham 02/05/26
• Chapter Fifteen: Liz Flaherty 03/05/26
• Chapter Sixteen: Kathi Thompson 08/20/26

A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.

Chapter Two: Elaine Powers

Three thousand miles away, Will boarded a plane. A day early. He hoped to beat the storm and arrive home by noon the next day. Home. Tessa. Only a face-to-face conversation would do, and he couldn’t wait another twenty-four hours.

Will’s mind wandered, but it grasped at straws. He had many questions, but no answers. Why did Tessa withdraw $150,000 from their joint account? She must have had an urgent reason, but she said nothing when they spoke two days ago. Was she in trouble? Should he have asked her to come with him to Reykjavik? Should he have cut his trip short? What had he missed?

Tessa was unable to sleep. Her mind was a jumble. If Will arrived on schedule, everything would unravel. If he was delayed a day, she might have time to return the money. Things would return to normal. Will may never know what she had done.

She finally got out of bed. Maybe a cup of tea would help her sleep. She made the tea and carried the hot mug to her bedroom. Moonbeams danced on the bedroom floor. Her thoughts turned to her sister.

Tessa was eighteen and Alisha fourteen when their parents died. A life insurance policy provided money for their college educations, but Tessa struggled to complete her degree while raising a sister. Life was easier when she graduated and began a career as an accountant. Using the last of the life insurance money, she made sure Alisha graduated and established a career of her own.

Tessa couldn’t contain her pride when Alisha graduated with honors from business school. Her future seemed so bright. Then Alisha met the man of her dreams and married him almost immediately.

Tessa had never trusted Alisha’s husband. He moved to town from another state and shared nothing about his family or his previous life. Tessa worried that he hid something about his past; Alisha insisted he was everything she needed.

And now? Now Alisha was divorced, raising two adorable girls without a father. Now Alisha could turn to no one but Tessa when her job was on the line.

Tessa had done what she could, but now, everything she held dear was in jeopardy.

Tessa took another deep breath. Jupiter could be the solution. One more day and she may never have to tell Will anything.

The tea and the moonbeams worked together. Finally, Tessa fell into a fitful sleep.

Shadows of the Moon

A chapter will be released once a month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.

• Chapter One: Kathi Thompson 01/05/25
• Chapter Two: Elaine Powers 02/05/25
• Chapter Three: Maria Kelsay 03/05/25
• Chapter Four: Larry Cunningham 04/05/25
• Chapter Five: Linda Leasure 05/05/25
• Chapter Six: Liz Flaherty 06/05/25
• Chapter Seven: Pam Ege 07/05/25
• Chapter Eight: Don Kegarise 08/05/25
• Chapter Nine: Kathy Kegarise 09/05/25
• Chapter Ten: Ken Meyer 10/05/25
• Chapter Eleven: Ken Meyer 11/05/25
• Chapter Twelve: Maria Kelsay 12/05/25
• Chapter Thirteen: Linda Leasure 01/05/26
• Chapter Fourteen: Larry Cunningham 02/05/26
• Chapter Fifteen: Liz Flaherty 03/05/26
• Chapter Sixteen: Kathi Thompson 08/20/26

A progressive short story from the Akron Writers’ Group, Wordplay. Written Winter, 2017.

Chapter One: Kathi Thompson

Pen and Ink Drawing by AAAL Member Brenda Ramseier

Tessa stepped onto the deck of her country home. She took in a deep breath of cold, crisp winter air. The full moon was not yet at its zenith; the rays still shone from the high southwest. A quick wind moved clouds across the sky. The long shadows of the walnut trees shifted as each cloud passed.

With her second deep breath, Tessa took stock of her situation. The moon was full. Tomorrow was Friday the thirteenth. An ice storm was predicted to start tomorrow and envelop the weekend. Indeed, school systems two hundred miles to the west had already called off for tomorrow due to weather. Earlier, she had called her employees to start their weekend early.

The storm was large and dangerous enough to have been given a name: Jupiter.

Full moon, Friday the thirteenth and Jupiter. What could go wrong?

Indeed, what could go wrong? Will was scheduled to arrive tomorrow night. His flight could be delayed because of Jupiter. If his flight was delayed, she might be able to put things right. She had to put things right. Will meant everything to her.

Shadows of the Moon

A chapter will be released every month. The first chapter was released January 5, 2025.

This was the writers’ group’s first (and only) attempt at a progressive short story. Several authors participated. We started with a title and a few basic rules. For example, we asked that authors limit their chapters to no more than five hundred words and asked that they call out the next writer to contribute.

We didn’t have a theme. We didn’t have an “order list” for writers. We didn’t script anything. The first writer started, and the second writer took it from there. And on it went.

One month in, we decided the pieces had to start coming together. At that point, we did put the remaining authors in order, so everyone knew how many chapters we had for the pieces to become a completed puzzle.

The entries remain the sole property of the authors and may not be used without permission. These writers represent just a portion of the total membership. Some concentrate on verse and others prose. Some are serious and thoughtful, while others are funny. Some write for pure enjoyment, others for the need to express emotions. Some write for themselves, others are published authors. Regardless of their reason for writing, they hope you enjoy their offerings.

• • Chapter One: Kathi Thompson 01/05/25
  • Chapter Two: Elaine Powers 02/05/25
  • Chapter Three: Maria Kelsay 03/05/25
  • Chapter Four: Larry Cunningham 04/05/25
  • Chapter Five: Linda Leasure 05/05/25
  • Chapter Six: Liz Flaherty 06/05/25
  • Chapter Seven: Pam Ege 07/05/25
  • Chapter Eight: Don Kegarise 08/05/25
  • Chapter Nine: Kathy Kegarise 09/05/25
  • Chapter Ten: Ken Meyer 10/05/25
  • Chapter Eleven: Ken Meyer 11/05/25
  • Chapter Twelve: Maria Kelsay 12/05/25
  • Chapter Thirteen: Linda Leasure 01/05/26
  • Chapter Fourteen: Larry Cunningham 02/05/26
  • Chapter Fifteen: Liz Flaherty 03/05/26
  • Chapter Sixteen: Kathi Thompson 08/20/26