Buzzard Bend/Joan

This is the second in my series of short stories that all go together.

Joan

 

The day we pulled up to our new house was the worst day of my life. I had left all my friends behind and I would have to miss my best friend Matilda’s birthday, she was turning double digits, 10.  I was three months her senior, we had been best friends since kindergarten.

 

When my parents broke the news that Father had bought a tavern in Buzzard Bend, I thought it must be a joke.  My grandparents had just moved back to Buzzard’s Bend about 9 months ago after being gone for over two decades. My Grandfather was the town Sheriff.

 

What kind of name is Buzzard Bend? I thought.

Mother assured me it was no joke and we would be moving in two weeks.

The next day at school I broke the news to Matilda and we both cried, swearing that if my parents made me move we would run away together and join the circus. 

*****

“Did put your over night case in the trunk, Rose?” Mother asked.

“Yes, Mother. Do we really have to leave?” I sulked.

“I could stay here with Matilda for the summer, and come back in time for school.” I said, hopefully.

“Rose, you will love our new house, and there are lots of kids your age to make friends with. You are going to love Buzzard Bend honey. 

I hated those words, Buzzard Bend.

I imagined a ghost town, with dirt roads and shacks. I imagined bony cows wandering around looking for water, as the buzzards circled, waiting for one to drop.

 

We said our goodbyes to the neighbors and friends we had known my whole life.

 

Driving for what seemed like an eternity; I stretched out in the back seat of Fathers car and silently cried myself to sleep.

*******

 

I woke to mother calling out, “Rose, look the ocean. The sand was gray, and the beach was flat and rocky. This was not the kind of beach I was used to seeing.  I felt sick as we passed the Welcome to Buzzard Bend sign. I noticed the population, 1,500. Great, it is a ghost town, I thought.

 

To my surprise the town was well kept and people were milling around the town square.  Trees and big houses stood up high overlooking the ocean.

Father turned the car onto the main street and we passed several small stores, a post office, beauty shop and the library. We drove past the Moonstone Tavern. It was an old Victorian building that had been renovated and had an actual hitching post in front of it. An old nag of a horse stood swishing the flies off its backside with its long tail. Next to the horse was an old red tractor that looked like it had seen better days.

 

As we continued on, we came to a pretty little Inn perched above the ocean called the Sea Lion Inn. The main house was a two story Cape Cod with rocking chairs that lined the covered porch. Wild flowers scattered the yard which was enclosed with a white picket fence. A sign on the fence said Welcome to Ms. Jessie’s Garden.

An old rope swing hung from a large oak tree. It was the most charming place I’d ever seen. I could not wait to meet this Ms. Jessie person.

 

“Oh how beautiful Joe!” Mother cried. I could already imagine mother, and her easel perched across the street sketching this old, beautiful house. 

Father smiled, and took one last turn pulling to the curb. I peeked out my window, spying an old white house with a large porch lined with flowers. The house was odd. It did not look like any of the other houses on the block. Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice house, but it didn’t fit. There was a tall tree in the front yard and thick ivy covered the fence which made the house look dark and lonely.  Father turned off the car and we all sat in silence, staring at the house.

 

Suddenly, we were all shocked back to reality when a tanned, red-haired woman began banging on our car window. She was wearing a tight, short, yellow sun dress, and the bluest eye shadow I’ve ever seen!

The unfamiliar woman was trying to open mothers door, as she balanced a tin foiled casserole dish in her other hand. She flashed a white toothy grin at my father.

 

“Mother, do you know that lady?” I asked, excited.

 

“No…No, I don’t.” Mother stuttered, shifting closer to Father.

 

Father was amused. He opened his door and exited the car. “Hello, my name is…” Before he could finish his sentence, the strange woman said “Joe, Peggy and Rose, welcome to Buzzard Bend. I am Joan, you next door neighbor.”

Mother whispered, “Rose, stay close to your father when you get out honey.”  Mother slid to the drivers side.

 

I was ready to see this peculiar woman up close. I threw open the car door, and tapped the woman on her flat backside, pushing her forward. Trying to balance herself, she let go of the casserole dish, launching it through the air, and then shattering on the sidewalk. The broken dish glistened like sea glass in the blistering sun.

 

Father gave me a warning look as he helped the very tall woman to her feet.  

Mother got out of the car and said, “Oh, my, I am so sorry, please forgive my daughter.”

“She is very excited to be here.”

“Rose, apologize to our neighbor.” Mother said to me under her breath.

 

 I stepped up to the woman to give my apology, and got the full view of this unusual, giant of a woman. I was speechless.  She looked like someone from the TV shows I watched with mother. Taller than Father, who stood at six feet one inch, she towered over me.

Her bare feet were tanned. Her toes and finger nails were painted a bright coral.

 

I gave her a bright smile, hoping for forgiveness.

Straight faced she looked me in the eye and said, “Hello… Rose.”

Chills running down the back of my neck, my smile faded..

 

 

Author's Note

Please excuse any errors, I have lost my helper in editing. I am trying to put these stories together.
Thank you for reading my story.