Sample Saturday: Happy Halloween #4

Welcome to Sample Saturday. It's Halloween! Here's the last snippet from my short story, Happy Halloween. Mary Beth has just gone off the diving board at her new apartment and belly-flopped into the water.

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“You looked like you knew what you were doing until you left the board. What happened?”

“Lack of practice. I left Phoenix during high school, and I haven’t dived since then.”

“That’s too bad.” He leaned back in the chair, snaking the towel off his neck and dropping it to the deck. Not satisfied with the position of his chair, he half rose and turned it so he could more easily watch the shallow end of the pool as well as talk with Mary Beth.

She turned her gaze to follow his, encountering the two small children who had been hiding behind his legs. The little girl, blonde like Linette, sat on the edge of the pool and kicked her feet in the water. Her brother, a younger boy with brown hair, stood near her in the pool, jumping up and down and scooping up hands full of water to throw on her. They laughed and squealed. Mary Beth looked back at the man.

He watched the children carefully, his eyes betraying the caution that his eased muscles denied.

“They’re cute. Are they yours?”

He broke away his intent gaze to look at her. “Yes. Amy and Jon Daniel. We call him J. D.”

She waved her hand in the direction of the pool. “Sam and Linette. I’m Mary Beth Larson. We just moved in from Colorado. Well, by way of Chicago.”

“Glen Hampton. Pleased to meet you.” He leaned over to offer his hand.

She shook it, wondering a little at the formality of his gesture. “Are you from around here?” Her wave took in the whole Valley of the Sun.

“I’m a native. My folks still have a farm out beyond Gilbert.”

“That’s really out in the sticks.”

“Not any more. If you’ve been away for long, you missed the big housing boom. My folks have subdivisions of homes on every side of them. Dad’s thinking of selling out and moving to Payson.”

“Payson! Oh golly, I haven’t been there for years. We used to go camping up on Tonto Creek.” She smiled at the memories and made a mental note to take the kids north to the mountains for a Sunday drive.

“Payson’s filling in, too. You wouldn’t know the place anymore.”

Mary Beth’s brow furrowed. “Is it spoiled?”

“Not yet, but the country surely does get used a lot. If the doggone Easterners would just stay east—” He stopped in confusion. “I’m sorry. I forgot you’re just in from the East.”

She laughed. “Chicago’s the Midwest, but I have lived in Colorado since I was married.” She stopped, pulling herself up short before telling her whole life story to this stranger.
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Thanks for visiting. If you enjoyed this scene, comment below so I know all my work on the blog is worth doing. Then go buy the story.

Mary Beth Larson emerges from the fog of loss in a new location with two young children, determined to start her life again. Glen Hampton and his little kids have already survived their own tragedy. Maybe this Halloween means something besides Trick or Treat. A "Misty Moments" short story.

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