Tucker swiveled his chair away from the
desk and looked out across Denver.He
loved this city.It had been good to
him.He leafed through the offer on his
lap.One year.It was a good offer and he knew the man would
take good care of the plumbing business he had operated for the last 8
years.But this offer was for a year
down the road.Why couldn’t he do it
now?But there was an advantage to
this.In one year he would have more
money put away and the business would be all paid for.He could walk away with a clean slate and
over $500,000 in his pocket.This would
give him time to find a place probably in Pueblo or Colorado Springs and
establish some sort of social life.
He had started the business just to see if
he could.It had been boom times and his
bids at the hospitals and medical centers were fair and honest and this led to
more work.He had expanded several times
and was now set for retirement.He could
begin to wind things down and by the time all his contracts were finished the
year would be ending.He picked up his
pen and signed the contract.Then he
buzzed the intercom and spoke to Margie, the office manager.“Margie, this contract is ready.Want to do that for me?”
“Of course, Tucker, be right in
there.”She clicked off.
Cyndi stared at the match.com email on her
screen.Where had that come from?She could join free for ten days on a trial
period.What was there to lose?Nothing.She moved the cursor over the try
it free box and clicked.Oh, dear,
she needed a name.She looked out the
window and there was a delivery truck with a duck on the side.Truckingduck.There!That sounded good!She picked a password and made a note of all
this in her book she kept by the computer.The next screen asked her personal information, what she expected from a
man if she did indeed want a man.She
filled in hobbies, interests, religion, height, weight, hair color, eyes,
build, marital status, children, pets, and then she was done.
The next page opened and the search box
came up.Sure.Female seeking male age 55-65.That seemed about right.Height?6’ would do.She liked tall men.She hit the search button again and was
amazed at the men that popped up.She
idly ran the cursor down the first page.Nothing caught her eye.She hit
next. Whoa!A cowboy.She liked cowboys.65 Likes to ride.Has a ranch.No kids. Widower.2 dogs.
Something was not right.Next.
This was a rather plain man in some sort of
“go to hell hat”.At least that was what
Cynthia called it.6’2”.Now that sounded good.There was also a picture of him with a big
black Poodle.He liked animals.She opened his profile.“Successful business man looking to retire in
Southern Colorado.Seeking a good
hearted woman with a sense of humor.Must be able to carry her own suitcase and weight in proportion to
height.Well, a few pounds is alright
and I might help with the suitcase.”Cynthia smiled and hit the wink button.
She
checked out a few more, winked at another one and then took a second look at
AlfredJ424.He did have beautiful blue
eyes.She closed the window, checked her
email and turned off the computer.It
had been a very long day and she was ready for bed.
************************************************************************
Do not be confused by the title. Chapter One simply means this is my first book. There may never be another, or there may be many more. I am very proud of this endeavor and guarantee you will enjoy the book in it's entirety. Lou Mercer
Tucker slid into the drivers seat of the
now black BMW.This felt good.This felt right.John had taken the car into the paint shop
and now the brown BMW was a muted black.Exactly what Tucker wanted.Green
was a good color for a ‘vette, but a BMW was a conservative car and said that
the man at the wheel was a success; a man who had reached the top.And black was a serious color.
“I sure appreciate this, John.I just don’t like brown.”He pulled his checkbook out of the back
pocket of his jeans.“Let me give you a
check and I will pick it up tomorrow afternoon when the paper work is all
done.OK?”
John nodded and opened the door to the
office allowing Tucker to enter. As he watched Tucker filling in the zeroes he
envisioned Holly welcoming him to the apartment love nest.Maybe he would even move in with her.Leave that fat wife of his in the house in
the suburbs.What had he been
thinking?Holly was so warm and
welcoming and the little lines they sometimes shared just added to the
excitement.He reached for the check and
shook Tucker’s hand.
“Thanks, Tucker.It has been a pleasure.”As he watched Tucker climb back into the
Corvette, reverse and then move easily into traffic, he licked his lips and
reached for the phone.He listened as
the phone continued to ring on the other end.Why that stupid bitch!Where was
she now?She was no doubt out screwing
her dealer for her daily fix.In a moment
of clarity he saw it all before him.He
would go home to Margaret.Holly was
fun, but Holly was a player.A man with
kids in high school and a car dealership had no business with someone like
Holly.There was talk of him being a
candidate for city council.Politics and
whores did not mix.When he reached the
top, Holly would follow.Maybe it would
not be this Holly, but another one.He
dialed his home phone and this time there was an answer.
************************************************************************
Do not be confused by the title. Chapter One simply means this is my first book. There may never be another, or there may be many more. I am very proud of this endeavor and guarantee you will enjoy the book in it's enirety. Lou Mercer
Cynthia pushed the gear shift up to “P”,
set the emergency brake, and turned the key to the off position.The little Mazda quietly shut down.She loved this car.There was just something about a Mazda and
the way it handled.Sporty.That was it.Blue would not have been her first choice, but when Rick had seen it on
the lot and knew it was the owners demo car he had lit up.That would drop the price several thousand
dollars and he had been looking for something dependable for Cyndi and he had
found it!
And he was right.It was a four door, but small with four
cylinders.The inside was as nice as a
luxury car at an economy price.The gas mileage
was phenomenal and that was good.He
drove a little Mazda Sundowner pickup that he loved, but Cyndi needed a
car.So the deal had been made.
Before she opened the door, she remembered
back to the visit from the state patrol a year ago.Rick had been late getting home from work and
she had began to worry.She knew when
she opened the door why the trooper was there as soon as she saw him.The little gray Sundowner pickup had been no
match for the big Ford ¾ ton pickup that had crossed the center line and hit
him head-on.
He was in the hospital and he would drive
her there.It was not good.Was there someone the trooper could
call?No one near.The kids were back in Kansas.Oh, wait!Yes, he had kids.Right here in
Pueblo, Colorado.Right up the street
actually.Yes, call them.Thank you.
And so she had met the two girls at the
hospital.Allen and Fred were further
and would be flying in as soon as they could get a flight.She had set through the night with Angie and
Martha.Rick was still as death.Since there was no one to tell them not to,
the EMT’s had placed him on life support.They prayed, but there were no signs of life.The boys came the next day and it was the
same.And so it stayed in that limbo for
three weeks.Feeding tubes giving him
nourishment, a respirator breathing for him, a catheter to empty him, nurses to
bathe him.The boys went home.The girls returned to their lives.And Cynthia waited.
When the waiting became too much, she hired
an attorney.Yes, he could be
unhooked.There were no signs of life on
any of the screens.And so she called
the kids together.She presented the
facts.She told them the cold, hard facts,
which they already knew.Five signatures
later, with hospice in the room, the ventilator was turned off, and the room
echoed with Rick breathing in the same rhythm as the respirator had breathed
when it was hooked up and working.Cynthia knew a moment of hope.She held that hope for the next few hours.She knew it was just muscles doing what they
had been trained to do, but still she hoped.At 5:26 the next morning, that stopped and Rick Browder’s spirit left
his body.
She was a widow at the age of 51.She would have no one to hold her when she
cried.No one to share her joys with at
the end of the day.She would eat alone,
walk alone, dream alone.She suddenly
began to cry alone in the stillness of the car.The road ahead that was her life suddenly became very long and desolate.Life was not fair and her sadness was slowly
replaced by an anger that threatened to consume her.Then she laughed.She was remembering the single piece of paper
that the hospice worker had given her.The title had been The Normal
stages of Grief.Yes, as surprising
as tonight had been, it was normal. She sighed as she picked up her purse,
opened the car door and headed into her home.
*****************Buy my Book*******************
From the back cover
Chapter One...Loose Ends Lou Mercer
Meg Parker led a simple life. She was a widow of three years and lived on a chicken farm at the foot of the mighty Rockie Mountains. Life was good and her little store on eBay made her extra spending money. But snow and wildlife were not the only things lurking in the forest above her house. Nor did it stay in the forest for long.
Marshall Purcell came home a wounded veteran from vietnam. He still had his dreams, but they were of an incestuous past that threatened to consume him.
When Meg and Marshall met it seemed an inconsequential meeting, but it changed both their lives forever. And change is not always a good thing.
This is adult fiction at its best without all the sex. Well, maybe just a little bit.
About the author. Lou Mercer was born in Nickerson, Kansas. She came to Pueblo, Colorado in 1977 and is now a product of the majestic Rockie Mountains
