Instead of my usual Friday blog, I wanted to share this wonderful short story written by Georgia Lange Moore, a writer and artist and a dear friend who graciously gave me permission to use it. When Georgia writes a new story, she often calls me to read it to me, and when she got to the end of this one, I said, “Oh my gosh! What a perfect story for Halloween.”
Before moving on, just a reminder that the virtual Halloween Party at Kindle Book Review is down to the last two days so hurry over for your chance to win Amazon gift cards and get some killer deals on seasonal books. The books are listed according to genres for easy selection, and you can find my historical mystery, Boxes For Beds, in the Mystery Thriller Party, along with a number of other terrific reads. The party ends at midnight on Halloween, so don’t wait.
Three Nights and a Day
Jay was bone tired when he left work at the end of the day. The last thing he wanted was to put in more hours in the evening.
The skin was dry and thin and damaged easily. His hands were rough and worn from his construction job. He tried to be careful while peeling back one fragile layer. He wiped the sweat from his brow and sipped on a cold beer. He stopped the procedure to sharpen his blade. Sharp instruments were essential to this operation. By the time he finished he was openly weeping. He went to bed and cried into his pillow.
The second night wasn’t much better. Even with a sharpened blade, there was blood and the job was more difficult than he anticipated. Cutting through muscle and dissecting carefully was a job for an expert and he really wasn’t quite in that category. He had a headache and his nose itched. Maybe he was coming down with a sinus infection. He finished the job at eleven thirty. He took a pain tablet and went to bed, exhausted.
The third night was the worst. He washed and scrubbed the tender café au lait skin carefully. There was so much washing and cleaning to be done. His hands became crinkled with the hours of immersion in water. Tomorrow had to be a better day.
Morning dawned bright and clear. It would be a hot one. His role was nearly over. The whole operation began at high noon. The containers of blood-red liquid stood ready for the infusion. The experts could take over now. He was more of an observer and an occasional assistant. He had labored over the prep work as instructed.
Bud and Ed stood over the stove and sautéed the meat and onions. Gary opened a couple of beers and started cutting up the potatoes.
“Where are the carrots? You can’t make a stew without carrots! Now bring me the tomato sauce! Gotta get moving! The guys will be here at six!”
Copyright Georgia Lange Moore 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Georgia Lange Moore and her husband are award-winning sculptors and their work can be seen at Bent Pine Studios