- Dec 2, 2003
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OK, here I go again, dipping into the abyss that is my imagination. I wrote this little story this morning. I'd be interested in anyone's feedback. Thanks!!
The Promise
As he drank his second cup of coffee that morning, Joe looked out the door of the motel, taking in the flatness and spaciousness that is west Texas. He had a short ride this morning, and then he would see her again.
He could have rode all the way into Abilene last night, but he wanted to get a good nights sleep and a shower before they met. For some reason, he wanted her to notice that he had changed. That hed quit drinking and was working on his smoking, too.
He walked down the sidewalk to the office, and turned in his key. The girl (she couldnt have been more than twenty) smiled at him and called him Sir. And that just made Joe feel even older. He gave her a tired smile, and went back to his motorcycle. It was all packed and ready to go.
He took her picture out of his wallet and looked at it one more time. She had sent it to him when he was doing time over in Huntsville for armed robbery. He flipped it over, and read again what she said.
I love you, and want to be a part of your life. Please come back when you get out.
She was beautiful. Long strawberry blond hair, green eyes, and a dimple right in the middle of her chin. Joe blinked a few times, and put the picture back, and cranked the bike up.
It was a little under an hours drive from Ranger on into Abilene. The open, desolate landscape allowed his mind to wander to his past. It wasnt something he was proud of, but is was his history, and he couldnt do anything to change it.
He started drinking whiskey when he was twelve years old. His old man was retired Army, and they lived in a little trailer just east of El Paso, near Hueco Tanks. His dad didnt know what to do with himself after he got out of the Army, so he just drank and talked about the war. Joes mother had died when he was ten, so it was just the two of them.
Joe was driving himself to school by the time he was fourteen. He started robbing convenience stores when he was sixteen. Did his first stint in the El Paso County jail when he was seventeen. And so his life went.
When he was twenty six, and had been out of jail for a few years, he met this wonderful woman. She thought she was going to change him, clean him up, and make him something he wasnt. But he just broke her heart. They lived together for a few years, and then he just started to drift off. The last time he had heard from her, she was living with another man, and he was being arraigned for armed robbery of a Stop N Go in Weatherford. He often wondered how she had fared over the last six years.
The back draft from an eighteen wheeler brought him back to the present. The bike wobbled, and he almost lost control of it, but was able to bring it back at the last second.
He was almost there. His heart was pounding, and he almost giggled when he thought of the reunion. My God, he thought, I havent felt like this since I ran away from my old man.
Just a few more miles now, Joe thought. I wonder if shell even remember what I look like. Ive changed a lot in six years. Ive gotten sober and lost thirty pounds. My hair is gray, and Im wearing glasses now. Please God, dont let me be too old.
There it was, the Days Inn right off I-20. She was supposed to waiting for him in room 104. He prayed she had made it safely and was as anxious as he was to meet again.
He parked his bike in an open space near the office. For some reason, he wanted to walk up to the door.
There it was. And it was opening! Oh, my God!, he thought. Shes even more beautiful than the day I left. Please God, if youre there, give me the strength I need.
And now she was running to him, arms open wide, crying, into his open arms.
Daddy, Ive missed you! Please, please tell me you wont leave again., she sobbed.
I wont, baby, I promise I wont, he said. Im sorry I wasnt there for you when your mother died, but Im here now, and Ill never leave again. Today is the start of a new life for both of us. I promise.
The Promise
As he drank his second cup of coffee that morning, Joe looked out the door of the motel, taking in the flatness and spaciousness that is west Texas. He had a short ride this morning, and then he would see her again.
He could have rode all the way into Abilene last night, but he wanted to get a good nights sleep and a shower before they met. For some reason, he wanted her to notice that he had changed. That hed quit drinking and was working on his smoking, too.
He walked down the sidewalk to the office, and turned in his key. The girl (she couldnt have been more than twenty) smiled at him and called him Sir. And that just made Joe feel even older. He gave her a tired smile, and went back to his motorcycle. It was all packed and ready to go.
He took her picture out of his wallet and looked at it one more time. She had sent it to him when he was doing time over in Huntsville for armed robbery. He flipped it over, and read again what she said.
I love you, and want to be a part of your life. Please come back when you get out.
She was beautiful. Long strawberry blond hair, green eyes, and a dimple right in the middle of her chin. Joe blinked a few times, and put the picture back, and cranked the bike up.
It was a little under an hours drive from Ranger on into Abilene. The open, desolate landscape allowed his mind to wander to his past. It wasnt something he was proud of, but is was his history, and he couldnt do anything to change it.
He started drinking whiskey when he was twelve years old. His old man was retired Army, and they lived in a little trailer just east of El Paso, near Hueco Tanks. His dad didnt know what to do with himself after he got out of the Army, so he just drank and talked about the war. Joes mother had died when he was ten, so it was just the two of them.
Joe was driving himself to school by the time he was fourteen. He started robbing convenience stores when he was sixteen. Did his first stint in the El Paso County jail when he was seventeen. And so his life went.
When he was twenty six, and had been out of jail for a few years, he met this wonderful woman. She thought she was going to change him, clean him up, and make him something he wasnt. But he just broke her heart. They lived together for a few years, and then he just started to drift off. The last time he had heard from her, she was living with another man, and he was being arraigned for armed robbery of a Stop N Go in Weatherford. He often wondered how she had fared over the last six years.
The back draft from an eighteen wheeler brought him back to the present. The bike wobbled, and he almost lost control of it, but was able to bring it back at the last second.
He was almost there. His heart was pounding, and he almost giggled when he thought of the reunion. My God, he thought, I havent felt like this since I ran away from my old man.
Just a few more miles now, Joe thought. I wonder if shell even remember what I look like. Ive changed a lot in six years. Ive gotten sober and lost thirty pounds. My hair is gray, and Im wearing glasses now. Please God, dont let me be too old.
There it was, the Days Inn right off I-20. She was supposed to waiting for him in room 104. He prayed she had made it safely and was as anxious as he was to meet again.
He parked his bike in an open space near the office. For some reason, he wanted to walk up to the door.
There it was. And it was opening! Oh, my God!, he thought. Shes even more beautiful than the day I left. Please God, if youre there, give me the strength I need.
And now she was running to him, arms open wide, crying, into his open arms.
Daddy, Ive missed you! Please, please tell me you wont leave again., she sobbed.
I wont, baby, I promise I wont, he said. Im sorry I wasnt there for you when your mother died, but Im here now, and Ill never leave again. Today is the start of a new life for both of us. I promise.
