Nights of Lily Ann: The Redemption of Carly by Shelton L.L

Author:Shelton, L.L.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shelton Creations
Published: 2020-06-09T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The slight chill in the air required a sweater as the red ball in the sky hung onto the day by a thread. Lily Ann entered the city park and passed the kids in the playground and watched as a group of college students tossed a frisbee in an open field. She made her way over to the tables set up in the corner of a grassy area. Lampposts illuminated the chess and checker players; the concentration appeared on their faces in stone.

Sitting at table number thirty-seven was client number 135, Mrs. Doris Turner, her blueish hair tied in a tight bun on the top of her head. A wealthy widow, she hired Lily Ann to talk about her granddaughter, who was a lesbian. The older woman didn’t understand the lifestyle, but she wanted to be a part of her granddaughter’s life. Her daughter died at forty-four, followed by her husband a year later. Her only living relative was Emily. This meeting was their tenth, always at the same table in the park when the weather gets warmer. They would play a few games of checkers and talk. As usual, Lily Ann would lose the challenge. Doris was a fierce player. They would end their meeting with a brief walk to a bench overlooking the inlet.

“Good afternoon, Doris,” Lily Ann said as she took her seat across from the elder. She smiled. “You look lovely tonight. I’m glad the weather got better and we can meet.” Lily Ann made the first move of the black checker.

“Hello. It’s nice to see you.” Her neck circled as her eyes reached toward the sky. “The spring sprung early this year.” The red checker slid across the handcrafted checkerboard. Repeated moves followed by both players.

“How have you been?” Lily Ann asked.

“Very well, and you?”

“Good. I was glad to hear from you. I miss our talks.”

“Me too, darling. I also miss kicking your butt at checkers.” Doris jumped the black circle and claimed the circular piece.

Lily Ann laughed. “I’m sure of that. How’s Emily?”

Doris moved her checker and sat back with her eyes falling to the wrinkled hands as they twirled around each other. The tips of her mouth lowered into a frown. The blue bun wiggled as she shook her head.

Lily Ann made one more move before her hands wrapped around the fingers that shook. Something seemed off. For the first time, the age of eighty wore on Doris’s face. She could tell Doris’s mind was not on a game of checkers. “You want to end the game and take our seat by the water?” The older woman agreed with a head shake, but not before she jumped three black ones in a row. A cheesy smile followed and Lily Ann’s jaw dropped.

The path to the bench that overlooked the water was getting harder and harder to maneuver for Doris. With no sidewalk, the slight steep hill through brush and twigs became more of a challenge with each meeting. Doris held on tight as her feet shuffled down to the bench.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.