red moon over west virginia - 36. morning

by jeremy witherington

part 36 of 36

for previous episode, click here

trixie was back in the department store, but this time she had plenty of money. her share, and tony’s share and joey’s share of the billions they had scored after the latest caper, when tony and joey had mysteriously disappeared after they had made their getaway. she hoped they would not think she had double crossed them, if she ever ran into them again. anyway, here she was, in this grand department store, and she decided to buy herself a yacht. after a few wrong turns, she found herself in the yacht department in the center of the store. the yacht department had an ocean in the middle of it where customers could take the yachts for a spin. trixie selected a nice looking blue yacht with green trim and took it out into the deepest part of the ocean. she came to an island. the whole island was surrounded by a golden beach. trixie saw some people she thought she knew on the beach. people like cinderella, little bo beep and her sheep, hillary clinton, and joey’s sister jennifer. jennifer waved to her and trixie moved the yacht a little closer to shore. suddenly the beach was covered with fog… she felt she was going to crash onto the shore… people on the beach started to run… trixie woke up. in the motel in west virginia. she had decided before going to sleep that if it was a nice day, she would not buy another bus ticket, but start to hitchhike back to atlantic city. she pulled the venetian blind back and saw that the sun was shining. she dressed, packed her toothbrush and toothpaste in her little bag and went downstairs. there was a clerk she had not seen before at the desk, and she gave him the room key and checked out. she went outside. there was a bench beside the door and pete pickering was sitting on it. pete stood up when he saw trixie. he had a book in his hand and he held it out to her. you forgot your algebra book, trixie, he said. you have a test on tuesday. the end

red moon over west virginia - 35. the switch

by jeremy witherington

part 35 of 36

for previous episode, click here

as eleanor drove back to the new house, she did not feel at all sleepy. she decided to work on one of her memoirs when she got back. the one about her emotional dependency, and her painful relationship with gordon. her last advisor had suggested that she not make gordon too “cartoonish” a villain, but eleanor had resisted that advice. now, she thought, maybe i will try it. perhaps make an alternate draft of the book in which the portrait of gordon is softened a little bit. or, at least, bring out his hatefulness by attempting a more subtle shading than she had before. it was something to think about. there was almost no traffic on the road, and she quickly arrived back at the new house . she parked in the driveway and sat in the car for a few seconds. at last, she thought, i am finally alone. as she got out of the car she noticed, not for the first time, just how visible the house and car were from the road. somehow it seemed more obvious at night than in the daylight. she unlocked the front door and went inside and flipped the light switch beside the door. the light did not go on. next

red moon over west virginia - 34. old friends

by jeremy witherington

part 34 of 36

for previous episode, click here

later, when the sun had gone down, eleanor drove them back to the city in the u-haul truck and turned it in. eleanor then picked up her own car and drove herself back to the new house. marcia had to go to work the next day. she found herself too tired to work on her memoir, or to think about eleanor and the serial killers and wolves and bears out in the wilderness. she fell into a deep sleep. * marcia walked down an endless mall/highway/subway station. the center strip had a black and silver checkerboard pattern. marcia was walking in one direction. everyone else - a considerable stream of people including a lot of male and female - but mostly female - teenagers in school uniform - was walking in the other direction. most of the stores in the mall/subway looked closed. despite the safety the crowds provided, marcia could not wait to get through the station and out onto the country road with its overhanging trees. finally she did. another two or three miles and she would be home. there was no one else on the country road. most of the houses she passed had no lights on, and when she left the houses behind, the stars and moon went away and darkness descended. marcia heard a car coming behind her, and then a faint glow of headlights, and turned. the car was a gray 1936 rolls royce. little red riding hood was behind the wheel. the big bad wolf and eleanor roosevelt were in the back seat. marcia got in the front seat beside little red riding hood. marcia had known little red riding hood, and also had met the big bad wolf on several occasions and always found him a perfect gentleman. eleanor roosevelt she did not know so well. where are we going, marcia asked little red riding hood, to the vineyards? no, replied little red riding hood, we are going to the beach. that is all right , said marcia, i have always liked the beach. it should be pleasantly deserted this time of year, said the big bad wolf from the back seat. the rolls sped along through the night. next

red moon over west virginia - 33. the woods

by jeremy witherington

part 33 of 36

for previous episode, click here

the house and driveway were surrounded by trees on all three sides away from the road , and there were even denser looking woods on the other side of the road. the trees on both sides came almost up to the road. marcia was not such a city person that she expected sidewalks but she was surprised there was not more of a dirt path right beside the road. most of the time they were walking right in the road. it was now afternoon. they walked along looking for some kind of path into the dense woods. there is supposed to be a path to some kind of pond, said eleanor. how about that? marcia pointed to a slight break in the trees. let’s try it. they entered the trees. there was no clear path but they were able to walk along. marcia looked back. she wanted to be able to see the road. especially as there was no traffic, and they could not hear the road. it’s quiet, said marcia. yes. it is, eleanor agreed. no animals. eleanor laughed. oh, there are plenty of animals. you just can’t see them. if you say so. are there wolves and bears? probably. but they are keeping quiet. animals are like that. they can just stay in one place and not move or make a sound. my cat couldn’t do that, said marcia. maybe for a few minutes, but not after they wake up from a nap. you feed your cat. so it gets bored. that is what boredom is. not having to find food . whatever. marcia peered into the woods. i don’t see any pond, do you? no, i don’t think it’s here. eleanor laughed. i can see you want to get back. marcia smiled but did not argue. she was glad when they got back to the road. wolves and bears? she thought. why don’t we go into this halford or herford? marcia asked, as they started walking back to the house. why? eleanor asked. they might have something to eat there. yes, some horrible plastic wrapped sandwiches in a tedeschi’s. and doctor peppers to wash them down. don’t worry, i will feed you. i’ll get my cookbook out and whip us up something good. that sounds great, marcia agreed. bur she was really none too pleased. not at the thought of what eleanor might cook, but at how long it might take her to cook it. she could not wait to get back to the city. next