Recently, I decided, after much deliberation, to abandon a story that I’d been working on for over a decade. I realized that while my character was great, I just couldn’t get the plot figured out. So I’ve officially set it aside and begun working on a different story. But as I thought back to the story, there was one scene that I just couldn’t let go of. So I’ve retrofitted it into a short story and shared it below. Although, I spent the last decade working on this story the short story below is all that came out of it, I don’t regret it at all because the process taught me a lot about creating characters, plots and structuring stories. Let me know if you like it or if you don’t like it.
Dallas’ stomach grumbled. He pressed down on his abdomen to quiet his hunger. He shivered as a bitter wind whipped through the buildings of New York City. Surveying the sidewalks, he decided that the morning crowds had already found their desks for the workday, he might as well try and use what little money he’d gathered and the wallet he’d stolen yesterday morning to get some lunch.
He stood and gathered his belongings, and then dug in his pockets for the wallet and more change.The coins rattled in his pocket. Quarters and nickels bumped into each other as he fumbled for them. It was loud. Like it was right next to his ears.
“I’m sorry, honey. I don’t think I’ll have enough.”
A lucent female voice echoed in his ears.
Dallas jumped, looking to his right for the source of the voice. He knew who it belonged to. Her voice had been so beautiful. How many times had he wished that he could hear her sing one more time? Looking to his left, he saw her, standing taller than him, as if he was still a boy. His mother, eyebrows frowning in concentration, was digging through her large leather green purse for change. Her riffling causing a bunch of coins to clank against each other. Two one dollar bills waved in the wind between her pointer finger and middle finger. She gripped them tightly.
“Mom?” Dallas asked. She glanced quickly at him through the corner of her eyes while small snowflakes dotted her mass of curly red hair. “I know babe, I’m looking. I almost have enough.” She reassured.
“Mom. What are you doing here?” He asked. His voice sounded smaller than he remembered. She stopped and looked at him. “You want McDonald’s right?” She asked. Dallas nodded, at a loss for what else to say. How many times had he begged to hear her voice one more time? How many times had he wished that he’d done something to save her?
She dug for a few more seconds. “Got it!” She exclaimed, triumphantly displaying a quarter to her son. “Let’s go get you some lunch.” She said smiling, reaching for his hand. His heart jumped at the possibility of feeling her warm hand around his again, but as Dallas reached for it, her skinny hand with purple painted nails gently faded into the wind along with his cold breathe.
Dallas stared at the spot where his mother had been standing. Snow had started to gather on the sidewalk, but there were no footprints. He looked up at the McDonald’s across the street. The big golden arches stretched past it’s childlike facade. Maybe his mother had already walked into the McDonald’s and he’d gotten distracted by the crowd. He rationalized.
He bolted across the street; ignoring the Don’t Walk sign. A taxi honked at him. Dallas saw the driver throw his hands in the air in righteous indignation but Dallas just shrugged and continued towards the McDonald’s and the hope of hearing his mother again.
He entered the two story fast food chain with red and yellow plastic trim splattered all over it’s interior. The line was so long, he was forced to stand halfway inside and halfway outside. He curled his body as much as he could inside of the building, attempting to steal some of it’s warmth.
A boy with a red and yellow hat that was too big for his forehand, was standing inside of the entrance. He glared at Dallas. His eyes roaming down his shoddy black jacket and to his damaged shoes with frayed edges. “Sir. You have to make a purchase to use the bathroom.” He said, pointing his finger outside. The four bundled people also huddled in the line entrance, turned to look back at Dallas. They rotated back towards the front without saying anything.
“Did I ask to use the bathroom?” Dallas asked. The man snapped his head and hand back. “I tell everyone this sir.” He said. Dallas tilted his head. “Oh really? Excuse me, ma’am. Did the pre-teen with the clown hat tell you that you had to pay for something to use the bathroom prior to you asking if you could use the bathroom, or was that just me?” Dallas asked, staring straight at the bundled overweight woman in front of him. The woman shook her head. So he turned back to the employee. “Interesting. You say you told everyone of your policy. And yet the person directly in front of me isn’t as informed as me. I wonder why that is?” He said, while mimicking the Thinker statue and staring up at the ceiling. A man three people in front of him fought to hide a laugh. Dallas grinned, but managed to maintain his sarcastic composure towards the employee. “Sir, I, if you can’t….” The child continued to stammer.
Dallas placed his hands over his eyes, in an attempt to prevent himself from exploding further. His body began to shake.
And then, Dallas heard a distant and soothing voice. “Calm down, Dallas. Don’t let him upset you.” He took a deep breath. ‘Ok Mom. I’m sorry. I just don’t know why I’m always singled out.” He said out loud. He took another deep breathe and removed his hands from his eyes. Opening them slowly.
The bundled strangers in front of him had stepped two spaces forward. Only the prepubescent child was still staring at him, his mouth slightly open. Dallas locked eyes with the employee. “I intend on buying my lunch.” Dallas said. The boy nodded, pursed his lips and took a step back from the entrance to allow Dallas to pass. Dallas stepped pass the kid, shaking off the rest of the snow from his jacket.
The door chimed behind them, letting in a gust of cold wind from the freezing city streets. Dallas turned and saw a middle aged man dressed in a tailored suit and carrying a briefcase entering the fast food chain. Dallas grinned at the man. “Just so you know, you can’t use the bathroom without making a purchase.”
Thank you for reading,
Lynnette
Closed System 