The Unapproachable

A story of hard decisions.

                      

                      ~strawberry mountain~

When at first Nicole proposed the solution, he didn't grasp the full picture.

But he did now, sitting on the back porch, staring across the praire at the stars.

They reflected in her eyes as she answered his question.

."...I never really thought about that...." she said, a ghost of a smile on her wrinkled face.

"..we can't just take a bunch of pills or something, it has to be an accident."

He looked now to the left down the valley, the night sky so clear you could see the outline of the stormcloud building, coming. He poured 3 fingers of sour mash into a glass with spongebob on it.

"I like it now that you're all decided on this, I can drink as much as I want too..."

Nicole grinned then, the one that made him follow her through two marriages, a silent soldier, commited to waiting forever, if he had too.

But he didn't and when she finally got what she needed, she did remember him. Showed up on his doorstep with two kids and some stuff. Fifty years later, what was a surprise to everyone but them had grown strong, and they had fought their way tooth and nail to gain the dream of their making. Yet in a matter of two decades he had seen the changes, even watched his own securities being slicked away in this tax or that developement. Progress, that somehow, hadn't progressed very well.

Their two kids and half a dozen grandkids with kids of their own were what they built, and none of them had s**t for a future. The boy had lost as much as the old man, being in the same business.

 The cold liquor turned to fire, and thunder ripped across the valley, 3 seconds behind the shards of light that danced on light feet in the fields below.

"Well, how do you think we should do it, Mr. WheresmyTums?

...he fumbled in his shirt pocket...

"..wheres my tums, d****t..."

She handed him a roll from the bowl of stuff on the table.

"Well?"
Hailstones the size of marbles began to pelt the roof, making a sharp smacking sound, and the wind moaned in the pines. The temperature dropped 10 degrees in the half minute they took to gather things up and head in the kitchen.

They stood side by side at the sink, looking out into the night, as the thunder intensified, shaking the windows, as the hail turned to downpour.

"Now, why do we have to do this again?" he asked, teasing her.

She feigned exasperation.

"Because science needs our old leaky bodies for some experiments, I already told you... but you still haven't told me the 'way out', with a smile..."

"Oh, didn't I?"...

"Well, I figured since the kids don't need to know anything, and we want to go out pretty quick and certain, I'm thinking we'll get out the ol' Unapproachable and ride that son of a b***h  off the top of Pisgah."

A moment of silence settled in and the rain increased it's volume, as they quietly considered the audacity of their plan.

Taking his hand, she pulled him away from the bottle.

"That sounds just perfect, and no one will suspect a thing.....let's do it tomorrow."

She stood in front of the old framed mirror, the one her grandma had brought all the way from Germany. She resigned herself to Righteousness, and committed.

"I cant bear the body any longer, I really beat the s**t out of myself over the years, you know...why didn't you stop me?" she asked dropping her dress on the floor and climbing beneath the old quilt.

"God knows I tried, god knows..." he replied, taking her in his arms.

                        

 

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

You must've known this title would grab me. I used to have a Norton t-shirt with those words on it. While I can appreciate their idea for a glorious exit, the motorcycle-lover in me cringes at the thought of losing such a mechanical marvel. This is a very fine tale, full of strong imagery and emotion.

[Tony]

Your assumption is fact. After adventuring your story the other day, I decided to post a couple of thing here. That one, particularly for you ... lol ... I have something that is two notches right brain below photographic memory, and I remembered a conversation we once had about motorcycles... your Norton Unapproachable shirt, is merely the magnificent powers of the universe at work, and ain't it a marvel?
I mean, what are the chances?

I'm glad you liked the story, it's going in the Pulitzer, sure. :]s