Tag: childhood

• Ice Cream or Moxie

  Posted at 1:39 pm by writergherlone, on November 8, 2018

  

   

  *This story originally appeared in Short Fiction Break and went on to The Metaworker.

  **No part of this story may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author.

   

  Ice Cream or Moxie

  by Kristy Gherlone

   

  In the heat of the summer, back when Willow’s mother slipped in and out of lunacy, sometimes she’d wake up at night to find her sitting on the edge of her bed. She’d whisper, “I’m in the mood for something sweet. Let’s walk to Mulberry’s. It’s a good night for ice cream.”

  Willow would search her eyes. If they seemed contented, she would slide out of bed and allow herself to be pulled out into the dark.

  Mulberry’s was a hike, but electric energy buzzed through her mother as they walked along.  It felt like carnival rides and fireworks. Like parades and Christmas. The feeling was catching. It felt like she could walk until dawn without getting tired.

  All at once, Willow wanted to skip and run!  She wanted to laugh out loud and dance around, but didn’t. Instead, she stayed silent, letting the humid air wrap around her shoulders, while her mother gushed on and on about the things they were going do that summer.

  They would go to the ocean and eat lobsters! They would climb the mountain and rent a cabin at the lake! They would have picnics at the park and go to the town pool every day! Willow wanted to get excited about those things, but couldn’t.

  Her mother would stop to point out stars. She’d show her the Milky Way and the Big Dipper. Then she would begin to tell Willow about the sky in Arizona, where she’d grown up. “You should have seen all those stars. There were millions of them out there in the desert. I swear you could see all the way to heaven, if you wanted to.”

  Willow’s stomach would tighten.

  “Sometimes, I wish I’d never left. I wish…” her mother would say, her feet slowing.

  Luna Moths danced around the street lamps overhead, attracted by the light and warmth. Sometimes, Willow felt like a Luna Moth, lured into the brightness only to get burned.

  “I wish…”

  Willow could hear motorcycles and cars zipping up and down Main Street. “We’re almost there. Thanks for bringing me! It is a good night for ice cream,” she would say, trying to lighten the mood again, if it wasn’t too late.

  “…I wish I’d never met your father…What? What did you say, Willow?”

  “We’re almost to the store.”

  “What? Oh. Well, I’m not getting ice cream. I think I’ll have a Moxie instead.”

  Willow’s mother drank Moxie when her mood was changing. She said it reminded her of how bitter life could be.

  A few doors down from Mulberry’s, there was a bar.  There were always a few people milling around out front smoking cigarettes. Willow would try to pull her mother into the store before anything bad could happen.

  “I bet your father’s in there. I bet he’s with a woman,” she’d hiss, her eyes growing dark.

  “I can’t decide if I want a Strawberry Shortcake or a Crunch. What do you think?” Willow would ask, starting up the steps.

  “Oh, I don’t care what you get! As a matter of fact, if you want ice cream so badly, you should go ask your father! Why do I have to pay for everything while he’s out having a grand old time?”

  “I don’t know,” Willow would say.

  “Just forget it. I’m not in the mood now. Let’s go,” her mother would say, whipping around and storming towards home.

  Willow walked alone on the return, her mother having retreated inside of her own mind. She’d call out, spitting questions, and slinging insults at people who weren’t there. There were no promises of good things to come. Her energy was gone. It was catching. Willow would get so tired, it felt as if she could sleep for a week.

  When they’d get back home, Willow would fall into bed. After a time, her mother would peek her head in through the door. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe tomorrow we’ll try again.”

  “Okay,” Willow would yawn. “That would be fun.”

  “Willow?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Sometimes we do get ice cream, don’t we?”

  “Sometimes we do and sometimes we get Moxie.”

  “Oh, I don’t like Moxie. It’s so bitter.” Willow’s mother would say. “Ice cream is so much sweeter.”

   

  Posted in #prose | 0 Comments | Tagged childhood, divorce, familyfriendly, fiction, icecream, maine, mentalillness, moxie, parenting, shortstory, summer

• Wayward Child

  Posted at 8:54 pm by writergherlone, on September 21, 2018

  

   

  *For my latest magazine publications see: “English Tea and Crawdads,” in The Hickory Stump and “When Gracie was Four,” in Down and Dirty Presents, The Legendary.

   

  Wayward Child

  by Kristy Gherlone

   

   

   

  Mama had a wayward child, but that child wasn’t me. Timmy-Tom was pickle juice, cider, and pockets full of slugs. He was armpit farts, soda burps, and ‘I don’t know how to whisper.’ He was dog poop on sneakers and a grimy mud puddle diver. He was crossing his eyes, sticking his tongue out, and coughing without covering his mouth.

  Mama had an obedient child, and that child was surely me. I was chocolate cake, and Kool-Aid, and pockets full of buttons. I was piano music, alphabet reciter, and singing in the shower. I was sequins on sneakers and reading a book under a tree. I was combed hair, smiles, and saying ‘please and thank-you.’

  Mama said, “You kids come on in now. It’s time for your bath.”

  Timmy-Tom said, “I ain’t takin’ a bath.”

  I said, “It’s, ‘I’m not taking a bath.’”

  Mama said, “Don’t you kids sass me. Both of you get in here now.”

  Timmy-Tom got into the bath after me. The water turned dingy-brown.

  Mama came in and saw the water. She said, “You kids are filthy! I told you to stay out of the mud.”

  I said, “I wasn’t in the mud. Timmy-Tom was.”

  Mama said, “It’s not nice to tattle.”

  Timmy-Tom grinned and stuck his tongue out at me.

  Mama dried us off and said, “Off to bed. You’ve got school in the morning.”

  Timmy-Tom said, “I hate school. I ain’t goin’.”

  I said, “It’s, I hate school and I’m not going.”

  Mama said, “I don’t know what the matter is with you two today, but you’re both acting naughty. No television. I want you to go right to sleep.” She gave us each a kiss and turned out the light.

  Timmy-Tom waited until mama went downstairs. He got out of bed, turned the television on, and jumped back into bed.

  I got out of bed to turn the television off, but mama came storming up the stairs and said, “I told you no television. I guess Timmy-Tom was the only one who listened. He can have an extra pancake at breakfast tomorrow.”

  Timmy-Tom said, “Yippee,” and coughed in my face.

  The next morning mama said, “You kids go across the street and borrow an egg from the Fitzsimmons’. Don’t forget to watch for cars.”

  When we got to the end of the driveway I said, “Check for cars, Timmy-Tom, before you cross the road.”

  Timmy-Tom ran across without looking so I ran after him and a car almost hit me! The sound of screeching brakes sent mama flying to the door. She shouted, “I told you not to cross the road without checking! You could have been killed! No desert for you after dinner tonight.”

  Timmy-Tom laughed.

  At the breakfast table, Timmy-Tom said, “I’m sure glad I have this extra pancake. It’s really yummy. I bet you wish you had an extra pancake.” He smiled, put his hand under his armpit, and made a farting noise.

  I grabbed Timmy-Tom’s plate and smashed it over his head.

  Mama said, “Samuel Richard! It is NEVER okay to hit another person. Not ever. That was very wrong. I’m afraid you must be punished.”

  So now I’m in the corner.

  Mama has a wayward child and I guess that child must be me.

  End

   

  *No part of this story may be copied or reproduced without consent of the author.    

  **Photo is the author on her 1st Birthday.

      

   

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged childhood, familyfriendly, fiction, flashfiction, humor, kids, parenting, shortstory, siblingrivalry, siblings

• The Long Dirt Road

  Posted at 1:42 am by writergherlone, on June 2, 2018

  *Some of the stories shared on this page will probably never be seen in the literary magazines.  However, I feel that they have some value and I’m glad to share them with you. “The Long Dirt Road” is the beginning of a series that appeared on my Facebook last year. These stories are about growing up in the Maine woods in a cabin at the lake without electricity or running water in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. Writing them brought me back to that time and I was able to re-capture some of the thrills and the challenges faced.  I hope you find some thrills in reading them. (the photo presented is an actual photo of me during that time)

  The Long Dirt Road

  Part One: A Story of Summer

  By Kristy Gherlone

   

  There’s a road that inhabits a fair amount of space in my mind. I call it forward whenever I need a smile. I close my eyes and suddenly it’s there. Long and narrow, wash boarded and potholed. When I was a child, it was as familiar to me as it was a mystery. While the road itself didn’t change, the scenery often did. I never knew what we might see as my dad and I drove along.

   

  Sometimes there were moose. They’d come crashing out of the woods, shaking their heads and twitching their ears, crazy from the black flies and heat. They’d stomp all gangly legged in front of us before turning to trot back in again. I felt bad for them. They were tormented by bugs in the summer, and up to their bellies in snow during the winter. I used to try and convince my dad to build houses for them to escape to.

   

  If we were lucky, there might be a black bear nibbling raspberries in the dusty bushes that lined the sides, but they were either shy or snobby. They didn’t care for company, and would bound off as soon as they heard us coming. To see one was a real treat.

   

  I’d scan obsessively for bull frogs all along that road. They’d sit in the puddles, snapping up flies. I could spot their glassy eyes protruding on the murky surface a mile away, but they would always dive under as we neared, sending ripples in their wake. They couldn’t hide from me. I’d go back later to collect them. Knee deep in mud catching frogs was my life!

   

  I remember rolling down the window on the gold Custom Deluxe truck.

  I used to poke my head out and breathe in the powerful, tangy scent of pines. To this day, that smell makes me happy in a way that can’t be duplicated. The stream that ran along most parts of the road rushed restlessly in the spring and trickled lazily in the fall. Its smell was both boggy and clean as we drove over it on the old splintered bridge. I used to dream about the fish I’d catch in there the next time I had the chance and then I’d hang out as far as I could and try to spit far enough to hit the water.

   

  I’d reach out when we came to the clusters of sapling trees and let the leaves tickle my palm. Every now and then I’d find a big one and tear it off.

  Dad would say, “You know what that is, don’t ya? It’s woodsman’s toilet paper!”

   

  I’d watch for the brown wooden sign that said ‘You are now entering Indian Purchase land.’ I used to envision a whole tribe of Native Americans coming out of the woods. Their bows and arrows would be poised and ready to stop us from going further.

  And then I’d see the tree that stood at the entrance to our turn-off. It meant we were almost to our destination. It was a gorgeous tree, towering well above the rest. Its leaves blazed orange before turning fiery red late in the season. I could hardly stay in my seat with all of the butterflies jumping around in my belly.

   

  In June that road seemed a thousand miles long! We could never get to the end fast enough, but only because it led to Summer’s treasure box. Camp!

   

  Three whole months of fishing, swimming, bike riding and frog catching fun. There would be games of monopoly, and log hopping around the cove. I’d blaze trails through the forest!  I’d sit on the big gray rock, high above the lake, and watch for shooting stars at night. The possibilities were as boundless as my energy.

   

  In late August that road seemed barely a mile. It went too quick! I was sure the very trip would ruin my life. Traveling south, it led back to town. School and dance lessons. Homework and bedtimes. Yuck!

   

  In reality, the road was no more than eight or ten miles, but I’ve traveled it so often it might now add up to a million.

   

  Of course, these days, I mostly travel it in my mind, but it’s definitely a road that’s worth the journey.

   

  

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged cabins, childhood, maine, nature, shortstory

• No Parking

  Posted at 1:56 pm by writergherlone, on February 28, 2018

  

   

   

  No Parking

  By Kristy Gherlone

   

  It was early September in 1973 when Stevie stood in bare feet on the edge of her grandmother’s yard and watched the bus pull up and park.

  The ground was chilly that time of year in Maine, but her feet had grown so tough and calloused over the summer, she hardly even noticed.

  She went out to the street and circled the length of the bus. It might have been bright red at one time, but a layer of rust clung to the exterior. It made the whole thing look as if it had been painted with blood and set out in the sun to dry. She shook her head and sighed. The entrance doors screeched as they flapped open. Her mother poked her head out and grinned. “Hey, kiddo. Whaddya think?”

  “Are we really going to live in that thing?” Stevie asked.

  Before her mother could answer, the rear exit opened with a clanking boom and slammed against the side of the bus. It caught Stevie off guard, making her jump. The heel of her foot landed on a sharp stone. She cried out and hopped around, rubbing at it, as her father began to hurl vinyl and steel into the road.

  “It’s going to be an adventure. You’ll see,” her mother hollered over the noise as she bounded down the steps.

  “Why can’t we just stay with Grandma?”

  “What?” her mother mouthed, pointing to her ear.

  Stevie waited for a pause in the noise before asking again. “Why can’t we stay with Grandma?”

  “She doesn’t have room. You know that. It’s bad enough that we’ve taken up her yard all summer with our tent. Besides, your father can make a lot more money on the road.”  Finally noticing Stevie’s discomfort, she asked, “Where are your shoes?”

  “I still don’t have any. Remember?”

  “Oh. Well, we’ll get you some. Listen, I’ve gotta give your father a hand. We should be finished gutting it today. Going to be just like a regular house when we’re done.” She slapped the side for emphasis. Gold flecks shimmied the ground.

  Stevie bent over and scooped up a handful. She took a plastic bag out of her pocket and sprinkled some inside. She tucked the bag back into her pocket.

  “Will there be a bathroom?” she asked, as more parts of the bus clattered into the road.

  Her mother raised her eyebrows in question. “What, Stevie? I can’t hear you.”

  Stevie shook her head. “Never mind.”  She wandered over to her grandmother’s lawn and sat.

  She ripped out a handful of grass and flung it over her head. As she watched the stray pieces flutter and fall, she noticed something white. She snatched it from the air and examined it. A feather! She put it in her pocket.

  She scowled at the bus. She couldn’t help wishing she was back home. But home, as she’d grown to think of it, never belonged to them. They’d only been renting the pretty little farm house on Merry Meeting Bay. Not even the furniture was theirs, but it was the longest they’d stayed anywhere.

  Green rows of farmland swept wide on both sides, and the bay was right out front. There was even a treehouse in the back yard. It looked impossibly high when she’d first seen it. It was way out of reach for someone her age. She’d stood at the base and peered up at the tiny house in the branches. It seemed as though she’d never be big enough to climb up and see inside, but eventually, she was.

  She and her mother used to take long, lazy walks down to the shore in the afternoons. A crooked cedar tree jutted out over the water, and Stevie used to climb up on it like a horse and sit there watching the ducks and geese take off and land. The air smelled of flowers, and of hay and boggy water. Sitting there with her mother in the scented air warmed her tummy. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever feel that way again.

  Her father had been a carpenter. He made good money, but he hated the work. He wanted to be a singer in a band. Every weekend he’d hold practice at the house. Friday night, cars would pile into the driveway and spill out scruffy men carrying guitars and beer. They’d listen to loud music and try to copy the sounds they heard with their own instruments. Stevie’s nose stung from the acrid smoke wafting out of their skinny cigarettes. The smell made her dizzy and giddy. On Saturday mornings, she’d have to pick her way around half a dozen sleeping men to get to the kitchen. When her father was a carpenter they could afford to pay rent, but not anymore.

  Stevie had come home from school in the spring to find the kitchen full of boxes.

  “What’s going on?” she’d asked her mother.

  “Your father’s quit his job. He’s going to play music full time.  We can’t stay here anymore. We’ve been evicted. We have to be out by the end of today.”

  “What?” Stevie cried.

  “Take what you can carry. We’ll have to leave the rest behind.”

  “Where are we going to go?” She couldn’t breathe.

  “We’ll think of something. You know your father hates staying in one place too long, anyway. This is a good thing.” Her mother stopped packing and smiled with reassurance. “A really good thing. I promise.” She planted a kiss on Stevie’s forehead. “Go on, now. Git!” She swatted her with a spatula.

  Stevie picked up a few empty boxes and climbed the narrow stairway to her room. She looked around, trying to decide what to take with her.

  Her father peeked in. “Just the essentials. I need room for my equipment.”

  “Well, what should I bring?”

  “None of that junk, that’s for sure.” He pointed towards Barbie’s town house and a collection of stuffed animals. “Just pack some clothes and whatever else you absolutely need.”

  “Dad! I can’t leave all my stuff behind!” She snatched a Teddy bear from the floor and hugged it to her chest.

  “You’re just going to have to. Besides, you can’t go anywhere in life if you’ve got too much junk weighing you down. Keep things light, then you can hit the road whenever you want. Don’t ever ground yourself with material stuff.”

  “But, Dad …”

  “Nothing is permanent. Remember that.”

  Stevie’s eyes filled with tears.

  He turned away. “Leave it all here.” His shoulders were tight as he paused at the doorway. For a second, Stevie thought he might change his mind. “I mean it,” he said, and started down the stairs.

  Stevie loved her father, but in that moment, she hated him, too. She hated him for quitting his job. She hated him for making them move. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t even sing all that well, and everyone knew it. People lied to him to make him feel better, and now it was going to ruin everything! She may have only been eight, but she knew that much.

  She closed her eyes and prayed that roots would grow out of her feet. She envisioned them busting out of her skin, breaking through the floor, and snaking through the thick earth beneath the house.

  Her mother hollered up the stairs. “Get a move on!”

  She checked her feet and scowled when she didn’t see anything. She stuffed a few of her favorite things in the boxes and hid them under her clothes.

  Later that afternoon, it felt as if she was leaving pieces of herself behind as they pulled away from the house for the last time. It made her feel sick and weak and hopeless as she watched the house get smaller and smaller in the rear window. Her stomach flipped when she thought about some strange kid playing with her toys.

  They had to stay in a tent in her grandparents’ yard ever since.  Stevie’s mom said it was just until they figured things out, but it had already been months.

  ***

  Stevie’s mom got off the bus. She shook padding and dust out of her hair as she climbed down the steps.

  Stevie stood and put her hands on her hips. “How am I supposed to go to school?” she asked.

  “You’re not. I’m going to teach you. Isn’t that neat?”

  “But you’re not a teacher.”

  “So? That doesn’t mean anything. I wouldn’t worry about it. The stuff you’re going to learn can’t be taught in school.”

  “You know, I could always …”

  “You’re not staying here.” Her mother’s voice was firm.

  “Fine.” Stevie ran to the tent and dove in.

   

  Stevie’s father finished fixing the bus the day before the sky spit the first snowflake. She was allowed in for the first time. All of the original seats were gone, except for the driver’s. Towards the front, there was a small table and chairs, a battered love seat, and a pot-bellied stove. Out back, there was a walled-in room for her parents and a bunk for Stevie in the middle. In place of a bathroom was a plastic toilet that had to be emptied. A shower curtain enclosed the area, giving it a small measure of privacy.

  “This is it?” she asked in surprise.

  Her father whirled around. His eyes were full of disappointment. “What more do you need?”

  Stevie got off the bus and ran over to her grandmother. “Don’t make me go. I don’t want to leave,” she whispered. She jumped up and wrapped her arms and legs around the woman.

  Stevie’s grandmother unwound her and set her down. “You take care now,” she said, dismissing her with a kiss on the head. “Be wary of strangers,” she added, swatting her on the butt. Her eyes twinkled as she reached up to capture her son’s face. “I’m just so proud of you,” she beamed, squeezing his cheeks. “I’m proud of all of my kids, but you …” she pulled his face down to meet hers. “You are my star.” She kissed him on the nose. “Follow your dreams, Frankie. You’re going to be a big hit.”

  Stevie’s father grinned.

  “Corrine? You take care of my boy. Hear?”

  Stevie’s mother cleared her throat. “Of course, Mother.”

  She waved from the driveway as they pulled away from the curb.

  The first night on the bus was cold and strange. They’d driven several hours before her father pulled down onto a dirt road and parked. The heat from the stove didn’t reach all the way to Stevie’s bed. Unfamiliar noises like wolves howling and a woman’s screams sneaked in through the windows. Stevie wrapped herself in a blanket, plodded down to the front, and fell asleep in front of the stove.

  The next morning when she woke up, her neck was stiff and sore. She untangled herself from the blanket and peeked out the window. There was a police car parked next to their bus. She tip-toed to the back of the bus and woke her father.

  “Break down?” the officer asked.

  “Nope. No sir. We’re just fine.” He scratched his chest and yawned.

  “This here is a private road. I’m going to have to ask you folks to leave. You can’t park out here like this.”

  “Sorry. We’ll be on our way real soon.” He began to close the door.

  “That kid in school?” the officer asked, nodding towards Stevie.

  “That’s none of your damn business.”

  “Well, actually it is.” He smiled at Stevie. “How old are you, honey?” he asked.

  Stevie’s father pulled the door shut. He jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

  The officer pounded on the side of the bus. “It’s against the law! She needs to be in school.”

  He put the gears in reverse and pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Stevie’s heart pounded as the tires kicked up rocks and dust. They flew out of the road backwards and sped away as soon as they reached the pavement.

  As time went on, Stevie’s father got a better feel for where they could and couldn’t park in each of the towns they visited, but it wasn’t always foolproof.

  They’d been on the road for a couple of months when they pulled into the driveway of an abandoned farm house. They’d stayed there a couple of times and no one had ever bothered them before.

  Stevie liked to explore the half-fallen down barn on the property. She was doing just that when she noticed a man come out of the woods across the field and start walking towards her. She wasn’t scared until she saw that he had a shotgun slung over his shoulder. She froze.

  “You got any parents around?” he asked. He lowered his arm, letting the strap fall. He caught the gun in his hands.

  Stevie nodded, wide-eyed, and motioned towards the bus.

  “Get ‘em,” he ordered.

  Stevie’s feet flew. She bounded up the stairs out of breath. “Dad! There’s a man out there with a gun!” she cried. “He wants to talk to you.” She ran and hid behind her mother.

  Stevie’s father shoved his feet into his shoes. “Stay here,” he said.

  Stevie watched from the window as her dad got off the bus. “Can I help you?” she heard him ask. His voice was high-pitched and nervous.

  “Yeah, you can help me. You can get the hell off my property. Goddamn squatters think you can just park anywhere you want. You have exactly five minutes, too, before I start shooting.”

  “Sorry. We didn’t know anyone lived here,” Stevie’s father explained, holding up his hands in apology.

  “Don’t matter if anyone does or doesn’t. It ain’t yours, is it? You’re probably the same damn folks that have been tearing up my road. It’ll take me all spring to right it again.” He held up the gun. “Now git and don’t ever come back. You hear me?”

  “I’m sorry we invaded your space, man, but you got no call to point a gun at me,” Stevie’s father said.

  “Don’t you tell me what I got the call to do on my own damn property. I could shoot you right now just for trespassing. I suggest you get back on that rattletrap of yours and get the hell out of my sight.”

  Stevie’s father didn’t argue any further. He jumped back in and started the bus. “Hold on,” he said grumpily.

  He gunned the engine and wrenched the gears into drive. Clots of mud flew up and splattered the windshield. Stevie dared a glance back as they pulled away. The man chased after them screaming words that were swallowed by the sound of the spinning tires.

  When they got out to the pavement, he whipped the bus around and didn’t stop driving until they came to a shopping plaza. He drove to the end and parked.

  “I’ve gotta look for work,” he said, shoving his feet into his scuffed cowboy boots. “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Bring back some food, okay?” Stevie’s mom called after him.

  “Won’t be much,” he said. “Gotta get gas today, remember?”

  Stevie looked out the window. Something captured by the wind skittered across the empty lot. She waited for her father to leave before getting out. She chased it around until it crashed into a guardrail and flapped against the cold metal. It almost took flight again, but she caught it just in time and held it up.  It was a baseball card. She didn’t know much about baseball, but she shoved it into her back pocket anyway and got back onto the bus.

  “What did you find out there, Stevie?” her mother asked as she poked at the fire.

  “Nothing, really,” she said. She pulled it out of her pocket and gave it to her.

  “Huh. The Giants … Willie Mays …” She turned it over in her hand. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about sports.” She passed it back to Stevie.

  “Me either,” Stevie said. She went over to her bunk and rummaged around underneath. She pulled out the shoe box and opened the top.

  “Stevie?” Her mother called.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you happy?” Her voice was high and strange.

  “I guess,” Stevie answered. She put the card inside and closed the lid. “Are you?” She held her breath.

  “I guess,” her mother answered, not looking up.

  “I miss school,” Stevie admitted.

  “Yeah,” her mother said sadly.  “I miss …” She didn’t finish the sentence. “I’ll try to get you some books soon, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m going for a walk,” she said suddenly. Her eyes were moist.

  “It’s cold out,” Stevie cautioned.

  “Yeah.” She grabbed a sweater off from the chair and draped it over her shoulders. “I’ll be back,” she said.

  Stevie went to the windows. Her mother’s shoulders shook as she hurried away. Stevie was sure it didn’t have anything to do with the temperature.

  ***

  Stevie’s father didn’t have a lot of work lined up that winter.  Sometimes he’d spend all day trying to find a bar that would let him sing for the night. He didn’t make a lot of money that way, but it would get them by for another day.

  Sometimes when he did secure a gig, Stevie’s mom would go in and watch and leave her out in the bus alone. She’d stare up at the apartments that were lined against the street. Lamplight glowed through the windows, casting shadows that ghosted on the brick sidewalks as the people inside moved around.

  She imagined herself inside. She could feel the soft carpet under her feet and the smell of dinner wafting from the kitchen. She could feel the heat from the furnace wrapping around her shoulders, enveloping her in a warm embrace.

  One night in late February, Stevie’s father parked in front of a bar in Brunswick.

  “We won’t be long. Short set tonight,” Stevie’s mom said. “Don’t open the door for strangers!”

  “I won’t.”

  “Oh, and put another log on in about an hour, will you?”

  “Okay.”

  She started down the steps, but hesitated. “Stevie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you, you know.”

  “I know,” Stevie said. She poked at the fire.

  “It won’t be like this forever.”

  “Okay,” Stevie said, shrugging her shoulders.

  “It won’t.”

  “Okay,” Stevie said again, looking up.

  Her mother smiled. “Okay,” she said with confidence and walked off the bus.

  They hadn’t been gone long when someone came pounding on the door.

  Stevie looked out. It was a police officer.

  “This bus needs to be moved,” he shouted, spotting Stevie.

  Stevie went and opened the door. “I’ll have to get my mom,” she said.

  “You do that. Tell her there’s no parking here.”

  Stevie got dressed and went in to find her mother. She batted the cigarette smoke away from her nose as she tried to make her way to the stage. Colorful lights zig-zagged from the ceiling, illuminating the darkened room for a few seconds at a time. It made her feel dizzy and like she was walking funny. She tripped and almost fell.

  A woman sitting at one of the tables caught her arm and righted her. “Hey there, toots!  Aren’t you just the cutest little thing?” she said. “Come sit next to me.” She patted the chair next to her and smiled through hot pink lips. Her fingernails looked like talons as she tapped on the seat, and her hair looked like the sun on fire. “Come on. I won’t hurt ya. I’m Patti.” She held out her hand. “But you can call me Mimi. Everyone does.” Her hearty laugh turned into a violent cough. “What’s a nice kid like you doing in a place like this?” she rasped after catching her breath.

  Before Stevie could answer, a man stumbled and bumped into the table, spilling Mimi’s drink.

  “You clod!” she yelled, jumping up. Watch where you’re going!” She grabbed a napkin and began sopping up the mess. “You owe me a drink!” She glared, but the man was already staggering away. She sat back down. “Well, never mind. Let me get you a drink, sugar.” She patted the seat again. “Hey, Earl?” she yelled. “Get this little lady a Shirley Temple, would ya? And get me a drink, too. Put it on my tab.”

  Hesitantly, Stevie sat. She craned her neck around, trying to spot her mother, but didn’t see her anywhere. Sitting on the table in front of her was the smallest glass she’d ever seen. It had a picture of a lobster on it. She waited until Mimi wasn’t looking before stuffing it into the waistband of her pants. She pulled her shirt down to cover it.

  “She can’t stay here, Mimi. Even you ought to know that,” the bartender said as he sauntered over.

  Stevie stood back up. “I’m just looking for my mom. Have you seen her?”

  “Who’s your mom, honey?” the woman asked.

  Stevie didn’t know how to describe her. “Well, my father is the one on the guitar.”

  Mimi’s mouth fell open. “Oh, sweetie! That’s your dad? He’s a looker! A real heart breaker.” She put her hand over her heart and swooned.

  “Out,” the bartender said to Stevie.

  “For God’s sake, let her stay. You want to see your daddy sing, don’t you baby?” she crooned, batting her eyes at the bartender.

  “She can’t be in here, Mimi. Christ.” He grabbed Stevie’s arm. “Out,” he said, shoving her towards the door.

  “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll find your momma and send her out.” Mimi winked. She slurped the last drop in her drink, stood up, and headed towards the stage.

  The bartender pushed Stevie outside and shut the door. Stevie started for the bus, but there was a man standing near the back. He wasn’t facing her, but Stevie could see a golden arch of liquid coming from the front of his pants. It cascaded over the tire and splattered onto the road.

  Stevie’s parents stumbled out together right then. “Don’t come back!” the bartender yelled. “More trouble than you’re worth with that hunk of junk parked out front and your damn kid. Goddamn gypsies,” he grumbled.

  The next day Stevie’s father said, “I think we’ll head down to Florida. I’ve had it with this state. Besides, there’s a lot more clubs down there.”

  “How will we afford the gas?” Stevie’s mom asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about that. I say we head up north first and visit my sis. She’ll lend us some money and then we can be on our way. We should say goodbye to her anyway. Once we get down to Florida, I might not want to come back.”

  “Am I a gypsy?” Stevie asked suddenly, thinking about what the bartender had said.

  “Heavens, no.” Stevie’s mom laughed. “Well, maybe … by default, anyway,” she teased, ruffling Stevie’s hair. “Your father’s just full of wanderlust. He can’t help it.”

   

  A week later they were on their way. Stevie had never been that far north before. It was late afternoon when they neared their destination. Stevie saw the town where her aunt lived up ahead in the distance. It looked as if it had erupted from the earth and spilled out all over a sea of wilderness.

  “What’s that smell?” she cried as they got closer.

  “This is a mill town,” her mother said, pointing out the window and towards the sky. “See those stacks over there? That’s part of it. Looks like they’re making clouds, doesn’t it?”

  Stevie nodded. She watched as towering columns shot out fluffy white puffs and tossed them into the air. She laughed and held her nose. “It’s neat, but it smells like boiled eggs.”

  “It does stink,” her mother agreed, holding her own nose, “but I suppose people get used to it after a while. Oh! Look over there!” she squealed, as they came to the top of a hill.

  Stevie stood. Over the rise, she saw a mountain. It was jagged and tall, swallowing half the sky. It was a magical place.

  They descended and paused at a traffic light.

  “Almost there,” Stevie’s father said. “Sit down.”

  Stevie sat back down, but kept looking out. There was a lot to see. She liked the way all of the houses seemed to be lined up in neat rows and how all of the people she saw were smiling. She liked that place. It looked like a good place to grow roots in.

  “We’re here,” her father said. He pulled over and stopped the bus in front of a tall, green, shingled house.

  He opened the doors and Stevie ran out. There was a dime sticking out of a snow bank on the sidewalk. She snatched it up and put it in her pocket. Right beside it, there was a Pepsi cap. She put that in her pocket, too.
  “Hey, Sis.” Stevie’s father caught his sister in a welcoming embrace.

   

  Just before the sun rose a few days later, Stevie’s father shook her shoulders, waking her up. “We need to get going,” he whispered.

  “What?” Stevie asked, rubbing the sleep sand from her eyes.

  “We have to go. I have a gig in Jacksonville on Friday.”

  Her stomach filled with dread. She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay. She wanted to go to school and make friends. She wanted to sleep in a warm room and go to the bathroom in a place that would flush. She wanted to climb that mountain and look out over a town she could call her own.

  “Hurry up,” her father said. He turned and tip-toed down the stairs.

  She jumped up. Her heart pounded as she got down onto the floor and snatched the shoe box from underneath the bed. With a fluttery stomach, she went to find her father.

  He was in the kitchen, rummaging through his sister’s purse. He looked around nervously before shoving a wad of bills into his pocket.

  Stevie’s mom stood at the back door, looking out.  She had a cup of coffee in her hand.

  “We need to go!” he hissed, heading towards the door. He pushed Stevie’s mother out, but she didn’t move past the steps.

  “I can’t leave!” Stevie blurted.

  “What?” her father asked, surprised. He stopped moving and gaped.

  “I can’t leave,” she repeated. Her voice was shaky but defiant.  She sat down in one of her aunt’s kitchen chairs and opened the box.

  “I don’t have time for this. We have to go now!” His eyes were daggers as he held the door.

  “You’ll have to go without me.”

  “What in the world is your problem?” he asked. He stormed back in and grabbed Stevie’s arm, trying to pull her along.

  “I can’t leave because I have too much stuff!” she said. She emptied the shoe box onto the table. All of the things she had been collecting fell out. “You’re the one who said you couldn’t go anywhere if you had too much stuff. I think I have too much stuff.”

  “Corrine?” he said, appealing to his wife.

  Stevie’s mother came back into the house. Her face was strange. She took her pocket book off from her shoulder and spilled the contents onto the counter. “I think I do, too,” she said.

  End

  *This popular story, written by Kristy Gherlone, was originally published by Bedlam Magazine’s Loud Zoo on April 30, 2017. From there, it went on to appear in Fiction on the Web in December 2017

  **No part of this story may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author.

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged 1970, childhood, family, familyrelations, fiction, gypsy, learning, maine, mountains, moving, nomad, published, school, shortstory, travel, traveling, writing

• Daddy’s Coat

  Posted at 4:19 pm by writergherlone, on August 19, 2017

  

   

  Daddy’s Coat

  by Kristy Gherlone

   

  “Mom, you gave me an extra again,” Katie said as she placed the last setting at the table, only to realize she still had a plate in her hand.
  She glanced briefly, but painfully, towards her dad’s chair. Her heart squeezed at the sight. His olive colored winter coat, puffy with downy feathers still hung over the back as if at any moment he’d be coming in to put it on.
  “Just habit, I guess. I’m sorry. Bring it here,” her mom said.
  Katie, lost in a memory, didn’t hear her.
  **
  “What do you want for Christmas daddy?” Katie, at fifteen, had asked her dad that year. She’d taken a part time job a few weeks before, and was proud that she’d finally be able to purchase the gifts for Christmas all on her own.
  She didn’t know, at the time, how tight her parents’ budget was, and what a relief it was for them. She couldn’t know. Her dad never deprived her of anything and never let on how much he went without sometimes.
  “Oh, I don’t know. How about a tin of those peach blossoms I like?”
  “But daddy, I meant a real gift. I always get you candy. I want to get you something you really want.”
  “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want you spending your money on me. Save it up! Get yourself something special,” he’d said, ruffling her hair as he headed off for work.
  She’d had to ask her mom later what he wanted.
  “Well, you know… there’s this coat he’s been wanting. He saw it in the Sears and Roebucks. Said it looked real warm. Supposed to be filled with goose feathers or some foolishness, but don’t worry about it. His coat’ll do another year. That one’s too expensive, in my opinion. Ninety-nine dollars!” Her mother clucked and shook her head.
  Katie knew the coat he had been wearing was dangerously worn out. Many years of harsh Maine winters and several dozen washings had left it thin and faded, but he never complained no matter how cold it got. He used to say, ‘I’m tough I is I am I are, and when I’m mad I spits tar.’ It used to make Katie giggle when she was little, and her eyes roll when she got older.
  He probably could have bought a new coat the year before with the money he had in savings, but Katie had needed braces.
  “Ninety-nine dollars?” Katie asked nervously. She had one hundred and fifty saved up. Ninety-nine was a lot of money… Nearly all of her Christmas budget.
  “Yeah. That’s why I said don’t worry about it. He’ll manage.”

  Her mom had married him when Katie was just eight years old, so he wasn’t her real dad then. He’d only become he real dad by the way he treated her, and by the way her heart felt about him. He became as real as anyone else’s. They’d been so poor before. Never enough food, or anything else for that matter.  He’d taken them in, and treated her like she was his very own daughter. That first Christmas he’d bought her every single thing she’d scribbled down on her list. She knew he wanted her to know how loved she was and that she’d never have to worry again.
  Katie went off in search of the catalogue and looked it up. It was nice. It was rated to forty-five below. He could use that, working outside like he did a lot of the time. He was getting old. His hair, gone gray years before, had thinned to unmanageable wisps, and his hands, all gnarly from arthritis, could barely hold a wrench anymore. She knew the cold bothered him, though he’d never admit it.
  Katie studied the picture again.
  Ninety-nine dollars! She sucked in her breath. It was a lot of money. There were so many things she could buy with that!

  Without any more hesitation, Katie called the number on the catalogue.
  Christmas morning, she watched as he opened the big brown box. She’d never seen him cry before, but as he unwrapped the tissue paper and pulled the coat out of the box, his eyes were misty. He choked up as he reached over to hug and thank her.
  He wore that coat every winter day until the last one, and every time he put it on, he’d say the same thing, “Boy oh boy this is a nice coat. So sturdy and warm.”

  **
  “Katie! I said bring it here!” Her mom’s voice, tinged with annoyance, brought her back to the present.
  Katie snapped to and handed the plate back to her mother.
  She turned around and went over to her dad’s chair. She ran her hand over the soft fabric of the coat. She lifted it up and held it to her nose, breathing in deeply.
  It smelled of tobacco and mint. Of wood shavings and oil. There was a whiff of coffee and just a hint of cologne. Everything that was her dad was captured in that coat. There were a thousand memories wrapped up in there; of him pulling her on the sled, the year he taught her to drive a snow mobile, that fall he took her hunting, and of him chopping down countless Christmas trees. The threads that ran through the length of that coat, holding it together, were like the threads of their relationship. Sturdy. Just like her love for him would always be, even though he was gone.
  “I can put it away in the closet if it will make you feel any better,” her mom said.
  “No, don’t!” Katie said quickly. After all, she liked to pretend too.

  There would always be a place at the table, even if only in their memories

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged childhood, family, familyfriendly, fiction, flashfiction, shortstory, stepdad

• Humiliation

  Posted at 1:40 pm by writergherlone, on June 23, 2017

  

   

  Humiliation

  by Kristy Gherlone

  A true, short story.

  When I was five and in kindergarten, I tied my shoe laces together and couldn’t get them undone.

  I remember it was fall, sometime near Halloween. I know that we were watching a movie and eating roasted pumpkin seeds. I was disappointed that we weren’t having popcorn, but I was surprised by the sweet, buttery saltiness.
  That particular day, we’d walked in a neat, quiet line across the hall to join the other kindergarten class. I can’t tell you what the movie was or who was sitting next to me, but I remember frantically trying to get my shoelaces undone before a teacher noticed what a lame brain I was. I asked the kid next to me for help, but she knew less than I did about the workings of shoelaces.
  When the movie finished and it was time to go back, I shuffled along with my feet close together until the other teacher (not my own dear teacher) stopped me at the door and asked why I did such a foolish thing. It was the first time I remember feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I remember that she wouldn’t help me. She said I’d have to figure it out on my own, and I can remember, in my panic, thinking that my shoes would stay like that forever.
  Would I have remembered that day if it hadn’t left a mark on my psyche? Probably not. As I think back, I have quite a few memories like that. Days that I would have otherwise forgotten if not for the feelings they gave me. I have a sense that if not for those seemingly small tragedies, my childhood days would be molded together in one big blur.
  It’s funny how the brain works. I do have plenty of pleasant memories, but it’s the ones like the shoelaces that come back the easiest.
  Why is it easier to remember the bad stuff? Psychologists would say it’s an innate defense mechanism to keep you from making the same mistakes again. While tying my shoelaces together wasn’t detrimental to my health, I never did it again, so well played, brain.
  As I look back on a lifetime of embarrassments, I realize that it’s not all bad. I remember kindergarten. I remember my sweet teacher Mrs. Hartung, and I remember how good pumpkin seeds taste.

   

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged childhood, humiliation, kindergarten, nonfiction, school, shortstory, teacher

• Dear Old Golden Rule Days

  Posted at 10:36 pm by writergherlone, on June 20, 2017

  

  Dear Old Golden Rule Days

  Summer Series (Final story in the series)

  By Kristy Gherlone

   

   

  *If you would like to read the entire series, begin with The Long Dirt Road

  **some names have been changed to protect privacy

   

  My mother huffed a puff of air from the corner of her mouth as she fished a week’s worth of mail out our box in town. A few strands of overgrown hair scattered up and away from her eyes. “Thank God! The catalogs are in,” she sang with relief, as she sifted through the pile. She tossed two thick, glossy books onto the table, where they landed with a thud. She set the rest of the stack on the counter for my dad. “You guys can bring them up to camp and pick out your clothes for the year,” she stated with satisfaction.

  I felt like throwing up. My entire body filled with dread as I dared a glance. The Sears and JC Penny’s catalogs lay there, taunting me. Any excitement I felt about the prospect of new clothes was squashed by the reason I needed them… School!

  “Only two weeks left! I want your list no later than Friday,” she added, as she descended into the basement to finish the laundry before it was time to head back up to camp for our last weeks of summer.

  My lip curled in disappointment and disgust. Only two weeks of summer left! It couldn’t be over already! No more fishing, or swimming, or frog catching! We’d be closing camp for the season and moving back to town! That thought pained me in ways I can’t describe. My life was over!

  I sat heavily in one of the kitchen chairs and shoved the catalogs away. I didn’t want them in my sight.

  “Mom, can I have Andrea up?” I asked, brightening a little with hope. I was grasping for anything that would take my mind off from the impending doom.

  “Absolutely not! We have a lot of stuff to do at camp to get it ready for winter, and we’re not coming back into town next week. I want you girls to clean up that wood and all those nails out at the colony. Then, I want you to go through those games on the porch and put the pieces back where they belong and then…”

  “Oh geez, that’s right! I gotta hurry up and get stuff done.” My dad breezed in and took the laundry basket from my mother. “I gotta get that wood chopped and stacked. I’m gonna need some help.” He gave my sister and I a meaningful look.

  Just shoot me…

  That week, most of my friends would be driving an hour to the mall in Bangor. They’d go in groups with their parents, shop in cool stores, eat lunch in neat restaurants, and maybe even go to the movies after, but the fact that they were having fun and I wouldn’t be, wasn’t what was bothered me.
  In our family, we always shopped by mail order. My mother hated driving and hated department stores even more. We’d learned to accept that long ago. I didn’t really mind because it meant I got to stay at camp longer.

  No, the problem was that my sister and one of the boys that lived next to us at camp had been telling me a thing or two about seventh grade all summer, and I didn’t like what I’d heard. I’d been getting more nervous about it as time wore on.

  “Who’d you get for home room?” my sister had asked that last day of sixth grade, when I’d come home with the packet from the office. She jumped up and down over my shoulder as I read, so she could see too.
  I flipped it over and held it to my chest. “None of your business, Miss Nosey,” I said.

  She ran over to the back door and stuck her head out. “Mom! Kristy won’t let me see who she got next year! Make her tell me!” she wailed. My mother was busy packing the truck, so my sister came back in and tried to snatch the notice away from me.

  “Oh for heaven’s sake. What’s the big deal?” my mother said, hustling back in for more boxes. “Just tell her.”

  “Fine.” I rolled my eyes. “I got Mrs. McDermott. Who’d you get?”

  “Ha!” A wicked grin spread over my sister’s freckled face. “Mrs. McDermott?! Ha ha! She’s mean! She hits kids and everything. You’re going to hate her. Everyone does.”

  “Oh stop that!” my mother protested. “She’s a very nice lady.”

  “You wouldn’t know,” my sister sassed. “Last year she threw a chair at a kid for talking in class.”

  “That’s not true, and you know it! You’d better stop that! You’re going to scare your sister to death!”

  “It is too true. Rebecca told me.” She stuck her tongue out and sneered when my mother turned away.

  A nervous feeling pitted in my gut. I’d heard the rumors too, but I didn’t pay much attention because it didn’t have anything to do with me at the time. Now, it seemed it would.  However, seventh grade was months away. I tried to forget about it as I soldiered forth into the long summer ahead. Unfortunately, my sister had other plans.

  “Hey guess what?” she laughed, running over to the greet the boys next door as soon as we got to camp. “Kristy got Mrs. McDermott for home room next year. And she has her for History too. She’s going to hate her, isn’t she?” She raised her eyebrows knowingly.

  Shane whistled through his teeth. “Geez. Good luck.” He shook his head. “She’s tough! I heard no one passes her class. She yells at kids and last year she made someone cry.”

  She turned to me and smirked. “See? I told you.”

  It was like that all summer. Not just with Mrs. McDermott, but the other teachers on my list were picked apart and analyzed for their worst qualities.

  Now, there I sat with just two weeks left. I was a mess!

  “Shake it up in there! Let’s get a move on!” My dad bellowed impatiently from the truck outside.

  I sighed and started for the door.

  “Don’t forget the catalogs!” my mother called.

  My sister rushed ahead of me and scooped them off the table. “I’m looking first.”

  “Good.” I pouted.

  We climbed into our truck and started on our final journey to camp that year.

   

  Time is something that can either be a friend or a foe, and as I arrived back at camp for my last two weeks of summer vacation, I felt it snaking around my neck and tightening into a noose. It was my enemy, and I cursed it as much as a kid my age dared.

  At the beginning of the summer, there was so much time, I had plenty to waste. It stretched further than I could see, and held months of mysteries and possibilities. School and Mrs. McDermott had been far into my future, but now it was almost here.

  I stomped down to the lake, found the biggest and clunkiest rock I could find, and hurled it into the water.

  “Stupid school,” I said, scowling into the ripples I’d made.

  My dad saw and heard me. “What in the name of jeeslum is the matter with you?”

  I didn’t turn around.

  “She’s being a big baby cause summer’s almost over and she’s gotta go to school soon.” My sneered.

  My dad shook his head. “Are you going to pout the whole rest of the GD summer?”

  “Maybe,” I glowered.

  “Well, it seems to me like that’ll be an awful waste. Why don’t you go fishing? Who knows? There might just be a trout out there on a day like this.” He winked.

  I started up the pine dock, slowly, with my head down. I didn’t want to let on that his suggestion had brightened my mood in the slightest.

  My mother cut in, “Oh no she doesn’t. She’s going to get in here and help with some of this stuff.” She heaved a plastic tote off the ground and started up the stairs.

  I sighed heavily and started back down.

  “Let the kid fish, Jo.” It wasn’t a question. My dad had spoken and I loved him for it. He knew what I needed.

  “Fine,” she huffed. “One hour and then I want you in here.” She let the screened door slam behind her.

  I ran the rest of the way up the dock and sat down in my special place on the big gray rock.

  You can work out a lot of problems in your head while holding a fishing pole, and after a few minutes, I’d thought of a couple of things that made me feel a little better…sick days, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas vacation… If I planned it right, I might not have to spend that much time in school after all!

  I smiled and cast out again. My bobber landed with a plop on the wavy surface, dipped out of sight for just a second, then popped back up.

  I looked out over the landscape. The trees on the far shore were changing. Yellows and reds were a contrast to the dark green pines. My heart squeezed. Time really was growing late. I would miss camp over the months ahead. It was my place. I was safe there, but brave. I was a woodsman and a builder. I was a trail blazer and a fisherman. I was a hiker and a frog hunter. I was anything I wanted to be.

  I would miss the sound of the loons calling at night and the waves crashing against the shore. I would miss the pine soft ground under my bare feet and the smell of the boggy water.

  The breeze blowing off the lake was chilly and persistent. I zipped up my sweatshirt and shivered slightly. From then forward, the cool wind would be a daily reminder of the changes to come and wouldn’t let up much.

  That time of year my dad called them ‘the winds of change.’

  “You know why it’s so damn cold dontcha?” he’d ask. “Cause that wind is coming straight down from Canada. Yup, they’re sending us winter, that’s for sure.”

  I didn’t much care for Canada after I’d heard that, but as I sat there, the wind ruffled my hair, tickled my cheek, and helped to dry the tears I didn’t want my dad to see.

  My sister stuck her head out of the front door. “Mom says you have to get in here and now,” she smirked.

  I rolled my eyes, set my pole down, and got up. A flock of geese flew overhead, honking and flapping, bound for someplace warmer. To a place where they could extend their summer by weeks. I wanted to go with them.

  I went inside and washed my hands.

  My sister thrust the catalogs my way as I was drying off. “Mom said you should pick out your school clothes. I already did mine.” She grinned proudly and added, “If I were you, I’d pick something besides jeans and T-shirts. I heard Mrs. McDermott always makes favorites out of the kids who dress nice.”

  Really, just kill me…

  Those two weeks went fast, just like I thought they would. I visited all my favorite places at least a dozen times and said goodbye to the frogs and chipmunks. I walked the length of our cove’s shoreline with the kids next door and lost a shoe in the mud. I helped stack wood, and clean up the colony.

  I managed to pick out my clothes, too. All nice things. No T-shirts or anything. I was going to need all the help I could get.

  The last day at camp, my chest felt tight as we gathered up our things and packed them into the truck. My nerves were jangled as I thought of the coming week and Mrs. McDermott and school.

  I slumped down to the shore and gazed out at my lake and mountain one last time. It was quiet and still for the first time in a while. I wanted to capture that moment and those sights and hold onto them for as long as I could. Maybe it would help sustain me through the rough times ahead. Nine months was a long time to miss something I loved so much.
  Tears stung my eyes as I whispered my goodbyes. “I’ll be back,” I said. My heart was heavy as I turned my back and walked away.

  “Let’s shake a leg!” my dad bellowed. He shut the door, secured the padlock, and hustled into the truck. “I wanna get home! I’ve gotta go and I might as well do it where I can flush.”

  Oh dad..

  On a side note:

  Mrs. McDermott turned out to be tough, but fair. She was not half as bad as my sister and Shane told me, so I worried all that time for nothing! In the end, I think I may have been her favorite. Perhaps it was because of my purple velvet jacket and ruffled white shirt?

  I think back to those years at camp as some of the best in my life.

  The camp was sold a few years back, and it broke my heart. I never had the chance to say goodbye, but at least I will always have the experiences and moments I shared there, if only in my memories.

  

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged childhood, maine, nature, parenting, school, series, shortstory, summer

• Road Tripping

  Posted at 12:05 pm by writergherlone, on June 19, 2017

  *Some of the stories shared on this page will probably never be seen in the literary magazines. However, I feel that they have some value and I’m glad to share them with you. “The Long Dirt Road” is the beginning of a series that appeared on my Facebook last year. These stories are about growing up in the Maine woods in a cabin at the lake without electricity or running water in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. Writing them brought me back to that time and I was able to re-capture some of the thrills and the challenges faced. I hope you find some thrills in reading them.

   

  

  Road Tripping
  By Kristy Gherlone
  Summer story series

  If you’ve ever stayed in one spot long enough, no matter how much you like it, you start longing for a change of scenery.

  For me, living at camp all summer, it came on gradually. Things that were exciting and new at the beginning of the season started to dull. Back in the late 1970’s, when I was just a kid, this happened nearly every mid- summer.

  I’d catch a fish and swear I’d already caught that same one a half dozen times. Boat bailing and treks to the outhouse became more like work, and I’d swear I’d die if I had to haul one more pail of water!

  Right about the time I’d caught my fill of frogs, the lake became a little tepid for swimming, and my sister and I were at the height of our summer bickering, my parents would talk about packing up the truck for a drive to Upstate New York, where my grandparents lived.

  Apparently, the open road had been calling to all of us.

  The anticipation of the journey would keep me from sleeping the night before. Campgrounds and swimming pools! Four lane highways and side attractions! My belly was full of butterflies as I lay in my swinging bed at camp, imagining all the fun we were going to have.

  The morning of, our coolers were packed with sodas and sandwich fixings, cookies and condiments. My dad would stow the tents, camp stoves, and pillows in the back of the truck, and with a hasty ‘See ya later camp! We’ll be back!’ we’d head down the long dirt road that led south to 95.

  I’d been the hour to Bangor several times. It was as lifeless and boring as a dry creek bed. There was nothing to see. I used to dream about having a portable television so I could make that stretch go faster! My sister and I would fight over the radio station, but dad had the final say, usually settling on anything playing his favorite, Ann Murray.
  After Bangor, things got interesting. Towns and cities appeared nearly every few miles. If I finagled my way to the window seat, I’d roll down the window and stick my head out. The warm wind blew my hair and tickled my ears. Dad would say, “You’re gonna get bugs in your teeth riding like that.” But I didn’t care.

  Inevitably, I’d start to see and smell the aromas of fast food restaurants and start begging to stop. All we had in our town was a McDonalds, so anything else was exciting.

  “Why would we eat that crap when we’ve got real food?” Dad would grunt.

  He’d keep right on going, but we’d stop at meal times to eat at the rest areas. My mother would haul out the red and white checkered table cloth, straighten it with one big whip and a little help from the breeze, and lay it flat on the picnic table before setting out the food.

  There we’d sit, eating our lunches among strangers in lands foreign to me. Sitting out there under the shade of the pine trees, I’d grumble about French fries and burgers, but that was my job as a kid!

  We’d get back into the truck again and roll on. The air was filled with newness. I could barely wait to see where we were going to camp that night. As long as it had a pool, I’d be happy.

  In our travels over the years, I saw a lot. I’ve been to the depths of Howe Caverns. A lengthy downward elevator took us to the bowels of the earth, to a place where Huckleberry Finn used to roam. I touched a stalagmite and canoed in an underwater river. I’ve seen Fort Ticonderoga and I’ve been to Sturbridge Village. I’ve fed the goats and deer in the Catskills. I thrilled in every part of the journey because for a girl from a small town, I knew in those moments how much more there was out there. It made my mind swim with possibilities.

  As we neared our destination, however, the excitement would fade just a tad.
  Visiting grandparents when you’re a kid is a tricky business. You’re either going to be bored to tears or they’ll give you so much to do you’d wish you were bored to tears. It was a crap shoot.

  My grandparents usually had a lot for us to do, but on the good visits, grandad would pack us into the old station wagon and drive us to their cottage in Pennsylvania. It smelled musty and old in there until grandad rushed around opening the windows, letting in the clean pond air. It was also filled with stuff from the past. Kitchen gadgets and furniture lived there that were older than me. I’d walk around looking at things and try to imagine what life was like back when those things were new. Grandad would put a Sinatra record on the player and tell me about the dances they used to have across the pond at the pavilion.
  There at the cottage, I’d do pretty much everything I’d been doing all summer at my own camp, but it felt different. I traded ordinary squirrels for the ones that flew. Perch fishing for bass, and canoe paddling for my granddad’s row boat. Eventually, though it would be time for us to say goodbye.

  It’s funny, now, that I don’t remember much about the drive home, but I do remember feeling relieved as we turned onto the long dirt road, leading back to camp.

  Those road trips all those years ago were the best part of summer, but after being gone so long, everything seemed fresh and new again.

  My feelings about needing a change of scenery every so often haven’t waned, now that I’m older. The open road still calls to me. Every summer I long to hop in the car and take a long drive. I hope this summer I’ll get to do just that.

  

  

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged 1970, adventures, childhood, NY, roadtrip, summertravel

• The Best Kind of Company

  Posted at 2:25 pm by writergherlone, on June 17, 2017

   

   

  *Some of the stories shared on this page will probably never be seen in the literary magazines.  However, I feel that they have some value and I’m glad to share them with you. “The Long Dirt Road” is the beginning of a series that appeared on my Facebook last year. These stories are about growing up in the Maine woods in a cabin at the lake without electricity or running water in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. Writing them brought me back to that time and I was able to re-capture some of the thrills and the challenges faced.  I hope you find some thrills in reading them. 

  The Best Kind of Company

  Summer Series

  For Andrea. My very best friend

   

  “Can I have a friend up?”
  It was a question I asked often over the course of a summer when I was a kid growing up at camp.

  I learned never to ask that particular question when my mother would accidentally pound her thumb with a hammer instead of hitting the nail, or when the polyurethane on the furniture she’d painted hadn’t set right, or when the dog had run off to the neighbors…again!

  When I did manage to get the timing right however, her answer was most often, “We’ll see.”
  Now, ‘we’ll see’ can end up meaning a couple of things: yes, or absolutely not, depending on the variables, with the most important variable being who the friend actually was.
  If it was my best friend, then ‘we’ll see’ usually turned into a ‘yes.’

  Wednesday’s were town days for us. Every week we’d have go in and replenish our supplies, wash clothes, and run errands. Exchanges of people and goods could only be done on that day, and I was fidgety and restless all week just waiting for Wednesday to roll around so we could collect Andrea.

  Early in the morning my mother would start loading up our truck for town. “For heaven sake, don’t forget your laundry!” she’d call out.

  My sister and I would shove and trip each other as we bolted up the spiral staircase to our room in the loft. Grimacing, we’d paw through our piles of clothes, hoping to find anything that could wait until next time. Somehow it always looked like my stuff had been the dragged through a bed of pine needles and worm dirt as I sat stuffing my half damp clothes into black plastic bags.

  Windows needed to be closed and pets had to be rounded up and shut in before we could leave.
  My sister would skid ahead of me on the canvas driveway, trying to get to the truck first. I had to hold my tongue and try not to fight with her for the window seat or anything else. A yes could turn quickly into a no if there were any shenanigans on the way back down the long dirt road to home.

  Our town house always smelled musty and strange after being shut up for so long. I stumbled in with my arms full of bags and dumped them on the orangey brown linoleum and bolted back out again.

  Andrea lived in the blue house right across the street, and I raced over without even checking for cars. Oh, the suffering if she wasn’t home! A whole week down the tubes until we came back the next time! If she was home, however, and got permission, my life was made!
  We’d sit on the fluffy pink carpet in her room and talk about all the things we were going to do, while she packed.
  “Should I bring my Barbies?” she’d ask, whipping the hair back and forth on the blonde -haired beauty in question.

  “Hey! Yeah! We can bring the Barbie camper too, and set it up by the lake!”

  Fully packed and smiling like fools, we’d drag her duffle bag and pillows back across the street.

  “Get in,” my mother, looking frazzled and worn out, would utter as she pointed into the truck. “We need to do some shopping.”

  Andrea and I would exchange wicked grins. Cookies and candy! Snack cakes and chips! We were going to need a lot of junk food to keep us going for a week!

  My mother would pull into the parking lot of the Shop N Save. We’d hop out and run in ahead.
  Brach’s candies were first in the aisle, and we’d choose about 5 pounds of caramels and chocolate chews before my mother would come and empty most of it back out. “This stuff isn’t cheap, you know. Go find something else.”
  Little Debbie’s and Andes candies were good alternatives, and several boxes of each were tossed into the cart alongside of the toilet paper and soap.

  Finally, in the stifling heat of the mid- afternoon sun, it would be time to head out of town.
  Truck full of food and clean shorts, we’d climb in, singing and giggling the whole way out of town, annoying my sister immensely.

  Our heads hit the gold metal ceiling of the Custom Deluxe as we bounced around every time my mother hit a pot hole. “Are you kids buckled?” She’d ask.
  I’d fish around and pull out the buckle we had. I’d stretch it wide over the two of us and click it into place.

  It took forever to get to camp! When we did, we’d tumble over each other getting out, and run up the rickety pine dock that led to the big gray rock that sat high above the water.
  The change in temperature and the cool breeze coming off the lake was refreshing.

  “Wanna fish?” I’d ask, thrusting a pole in her direction hopefully.

  “If you put the worm on and take off the fish,” she’d always answer, wrinkling her nose.

  “You kids get in here and help put this stuff away!” my mother would holler from the kitchen window.

  Part II

  “Where should I put my stuff?” Andrea had asked the first year she’d been allowed to spend a whole week with me at camp.

  She clutched the handle of her duffle and stepped into our boxy, brown camp.
  I peered at my sister with begging eyes. She and I shared the loft in the upstairs in our cabin. It was a spacious loft, but there were only two small beds. They hung by chains from the rafters. Andrea loved hearing about our swinging beds and was dying to try them out.

  “No way! Not my bed. You guys can just sleep somewhere else,” my sister wailed, shaking her head vehemently. “Mom! Tell them they have to sleep somewhere else! I won’t be able to sleep if they’re up all night talking!” she cried.

  “You guys work it out,” my mother gave in answer, trying to be diplomatic in the eyes of “company.”

  “Hmm. What should we do?” I ruminated, looking around for another spot we could use.

  Our camp was open and airy. There were no actual bedrooms to speak of. My mother slept on the pull out couch in the living room, while my dad occupied the back room. Neither of them would appreciate the giggling or the crinkling of candy papers that was sure to go on half the night. The only other place would be the screened in porch…

  “Nope. The paint’s still wet on the floor out there,” my mother said. “Besides, it’s gonna be too chilly tonight. You’ll catch pneumonia.”

  “What should we do?” Andrea whispered meekly. She gave my sister a pitiful stare.

  “Fine,” my sister huffed, rolling her eyes. “You can sleep in the loft. But not in my bed and only if you share some of your candy.” She started up the stairs with her clean laundry, smug in her generosity. “And you guys better not wake me up early!”

  So it was settled. I rolled the foldaway mattress out onto the red, slated floor. I would sleep there and Andrea would have her chance at the swinging bed. She loved it! The chains that hung from the ceiling and attached to the bed creaked and squeaked as she rocked back and forth smiling.

  We were young that first summer. We didn’t venture very far from the main camp, but we didn’t need to. We set up the Barbie camper down on the shore, just like we planned. There, the breeze was cool and kept the black flies away. We spent hours in make believe. Our Barbies never had such a summer!

  We caught sunfish and made rocky cages to trap them in the shallows. They found ways to get out, so we built the walls up higher and stuffed pebbles in the cracks.

  We found tiny frogs and tossed them from the big gray rock. Gulping perch jumped after them, snatching them quickly from the surface, leaving giant rings in their wake. It probably wasn’t very nice, but it was entertaining!

  We talked and talked, skipping up and down the road each day. We had the kind of conversations that would only make sense to the two of us.
  “Would you still hang around with me if I walked like this?” I asked, bowing out my legs and shuffling along all catawampus.

  “Probably,” she answered, unconvincingly. “Would you still hang out with me if I looked like this?” She used her finger to push up her nose to resemble a pig.

  “Maybe,” I answered, trying not to laugh. “But I don’t know.”

  We snapped leafy branches from the trees to swat the deer flies away as we walked along.

  The loneliness I felt when she had to go back home at the end of the week was painful. Though we always begged for more time, it was usually rejected.

  “Geesh! One week is enough!” my mother declared. “There will be other times.”

  And there were. Every year, for a week or so, Andrea traded her house in town with electricity and plumbing for the gas lights and the outhouse we had at camp. She never complained. Well maybe about the outhouse…

  Our conversations shifted over the years from Barbies to boys. Our interests changed. We spent less time at the camp and more time walking the road and exploring.

  Our sleeping arrangements changed too. We required more privacy. We could never talk about all the things we wanted to with nosey ears listening. A couple of times we set up a tent in the yard, but it wasn’t much good in the rain, even with the waterproofing. Plus, there might have been bears! A thin layer of tent material was no match for the towering bears we imagined!

  “Why don’t you jokers sleep in the barn?” my dad suggested one year. His voice was gruff, but kind. “It’s not half bad now that it’s painted on the inside. You guys could fix it up.”

  Years before, my dad had bought me a horse for Christmas. When summer came along and he bought the camp, we couldn’t leave the horse in town. We spent all one summer building a barn together up the hill past camp. The horse didn’t last long, but the barn still stood. It was sturdy and private.

  “Yeah! We could make it into a guest house!”

  We hauled in posters and quilts, snacks and lanterns. We spent an entire day fixing it up and both of us had to admit how nice it was. By the light of the day it was pretty neat. After dark, however, the squeaking started. Low chirps at first that turned in to vicious squeals. We turned on the flashlight and pointed the beam in the direction of the noise.

  Bats! We couldn’t get out of there fast enough!

  “What in jeeslum is going on?” my dad bellowed, sticking his head out the door, awakened by our screams.
  “Bats! The barn is full of bats!” we cried, running and tripping over roots as we fled the barn with blankets covering our heads.

  “Oh heck! They don’t eat much! Pipe down and get to sleep!” He shook his head and slammed the door.

  By that time, I had a license and a car and we ended up sleeping in it for the rest of the night. It was uncomfortable and stifling, but safe.

  We evicted the bats over time and plugged the holes in the barn so they couldn’t get back in.
  While we never fully recovered from the trauma of that night, and never stopped checking for bats, we did spend many nights there. My favorite nights were when the air would turn cool and the wind would kick up, causing whitecaps on the silvery moonlit lake.
  We’d sneak out, running in our bare feet down the road to the neighbors’ beach. If no one was home, we’d jump off the wharf there wearing nothing but grins.
  The water was warmer than the air and we would stay in a long time, just laughing and talking well into the night.

  It’s been twenty- eight years since the last sleepover I had at camp with Andrea.
  We both grew up and had kids of our own. We’re busy, she and I, but we still make time to talk.

  I believe the experiences we shared and the memories we made at camp all those years ago cemented us together for a lifetime. She will always be a part of me.

  I pluck snippets of those times from my mind when I need a lift, and they always make me smile.

  Andrea wasn’t just the best kind of company, she was and always will be my best friend.

  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged 1970, 1980, cabins, camp, childhood, maine, shortstory

• The Colony

  Posted at 10:51 am by writergherlone, on June 16, 2017

   

  

  *Some of the stories shared on this page will probably never be seen in the literary magazines. However, I feel that they have some value and I’m glad to share them with you. “The Long Dirt Road” is the beginning of a series that appeared on my Facebook last year. These stories are about growing up in the Maine woods in a cabin at the lake without electricity or running water in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. Writing them brought me back to that time and I was able to re-capture some of the thrills and the challenges faced. I hope you find some thrills in reading them. 

   

  The Colony

  by Kristy Gherlone

  Summer Series

  Through the black and white birches, over the maze of pitchy pine roots, and just past the dead pools of standing lake water, there is a place where my childhood lingers. When I close my eyes, I imagine that I’m still there, playing amidst a sea of boulders.

   

  Ancient glacial fingers lost their grip on gigantic rocks as big as trucks, long ago, dropping them in a scatter throughout that hidden stretch of land.

  Amber beds of pine needles and white moss covered them in blankets of fragrant carpets. Crooked cedar jutted out from the tops, like weary soldiers. Their thick roots wound around in spindles, like spiral stairways waiting to be climbed. It was a magical place where ferns, tea berries, and imaginations bloomed.

   

  When my dad bought our cottage in the woods in the late 1970’s, the adjacent property was uninhabited.  Rows of pines and maples stood guard at the entrance to that the deeper, dark forest that surrounded our cove for miles and miles. It was deserted and desolate as I stood on the edge peering in with fearful eyes. I was sure that bears and vicious creatures lurked behind every corner. It took a year or so of brave, but short, excursions with my sister and the boys next door before we finally ventured all the way in.

   

  To us, when we came upon those hulking gray rocks, they looked like houses. Big, empty structures waiting for inhabitants. It was nature’s playground!

   

  Railroad spikes and blocks of old wood were hammered together and became pretend televisions. Pieces of discarded lumber turned into chairs and tables. Days were spent crafting furniture out of whatever we could scavenge.

   

  I became Roxanne Howl. I was rich with my snow-white mossy carpet and my fine home furnishings. My rock house was the last in the row, and I was sure it was the best. I made my fortune selling Brach’s candies to the others from my store nearby. Instant oatmeal packages became the paper bags used to carry away the purchases. Our currency was pennies and I used mine to purchase Kool Aid from the colony bar keep.

   

  Dad came out to inspect our work. “You’ve got yourselves quite a colony here,” he said, chuckling.

   

  None of us knew what that meant at the time, but we thought it was a pretty good name for our club. We made a sign and posted it at the entrance. ‘The Colony’.

   

  We built a log raft to transport us to and from the main camp, but it sunk on the first trial, so we blazed trails instead. Our chattering voices echoed across the lake as we traveled to and from our hideaway each day.

   

  We led extravagant lives in those woods, among those rocks. We escaped to our made-up world as often as we could.

   

  Back in the days before video games and cell phones, imagination was all we had. It was a valuable tool, taken for granted, but never forgotten.

   

  Whenever I see a boulder, my mind transports me to that time and place, and so I believe my spirit remains like a shadow among the forests of my youth.

   

   

   

  Posted in shortstory, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged 1970, camp, childhood, maine, nature, show

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