The Pawn

Like a chess game the pawn becomes valuable when the queen falls and other pieces fall after her. A small boy, innocent and mistreated. A dad who loves his son and those around them that have their own opinions.

I'd like to thank Jill M. I. for editing this story for me. Read and enjoy.

The Pawn
JIll Micayla

My life is not what I thought it should be.

I was a small boy in a small town.

My dad worked three jobs just to put food on our table. My dad wasn’t the brightest star in the sky. He had a learning disability that kept him in mediocre jobs. However, he was one of the most loveable people I knew. If I make a mistake he admonishes me with words and lets me know I did wrong and when he did that I felt sorrow inside for what I had done.

It was just me and my dad when things went really bad. Mom was in jail for child abuse and attempted bank robbery and the murder of a bank guard. Suddenly the chief of police was found with a bullet in his head and a note with misspelled words.

The police began to blame my dad saying he had tried to make retribution for my mom being in jail. Dad may have had a learning disability but this was one time when it was in the background. We left town on a freight train after midnight. Dad said that they would be looking for the two of us, but he had a plan.

“Son, when we get off the train we are going to hitchhike to a place where no one will know us and even our pictures on the news will not be looking like us.”

“How are we going to do that?”

“I got it worked out in my head. They will be looking for a man and his son, but not a woman and her little girl.”

He had it figured out I was going to be putting on dresses and so was he. I really thought my dad had finally lost the last living brain cell in his mind. To me my dad’s learning disability meant that he didn’t always think right and it seemed like this was one of those times.

“I can’t be a girl, I don’t know nothing bout being a girl. What will people think of me?”

“Nothin', girls don’t get looked at until the go through puberty.”

I knew what puberty was, but for me it meant a growth spurt, muscles and playing sports. I just couldn’t imagine myself suddenly becoming a muscular boy while trying to live as a girl. I was going to be in a world of hurt.

We got off the train in Mitchem, a fairly large town in the middle of nowhere. It was still dark when we approached a house.

“My friend Missy lives here, she’s gonna get us taken care of.”

The door opened a woman called out. “Sam is that you and your son?”

Dad hurried to the door. “Missy it’s me and the boy. We are here to be changed by you.”

“Oh he’s so cute; he’s going to be adorable as a girl.”

She never even said hello, she just automatically decides I’m going to be a cute girl. How did she know? I’ve never been in girls’ clothes before.

We hurried in and closed the door.

“You two take a bath and a shower. I’ll get rid of your clothes, and then my sister and her niece will be here.”

Another woman and her daughter are coming here; oh no she’s going to think I am a weirdo for letting them dress me in girls’ clothes.

The look on my face must have said it all.

“Oh sweetie, it’ll be okay. You and your daddy are going to be my sister and my niece.”

Dad showered while I bathed in the master bedroom.

I was soon joined by Missy who immediately began to wash my hair. “It’s important for a girls’ hair to be shiny and well taken care of. After you are in your nightgown I’ll teach you how to brush your hair so it will maintain a nice shine.”

A nightgown -- and brushing my hair. I’m a boy, or so they told me I was.

“Ashley is a nice name for a boy but as a girl it will fit you perfectly, but I will probably call you ‘princess’ because you look so regal.”

I went from boy to princess, all of this just from taking a bath with girls soap and shampoo. What’s in this water?

I was soon dried off and powdered. Then came a pair of pink panties with a bow in front. I had to admit they felt better than the holey tighty-whities I used to wear. The nightgown was also pink. At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to let her put me into it, but after it slid down over my body and I shivered I didn’t want her to take me out of it.

What’s wrong with me? I like being in a girls’ nightgown.

We sat and dried my hair and then Missy showed me how to brush it. She said the camel hair brush was mine and was to be used only when I brushed my hair each night -- one hundred times.

I liked the attention I was getting and when dad walked into the room in a woman’s nightgown I heard Missy gasp.

“Sam you are just as beautiful as when we first met.”

This isn’t the first time dad’s been dressed as a woman. What’s going on that I should know about?

“Ashley, this fine woman is my cousin Melissa, when I was a boy we would play dress up together.”

“Well we played it because your granddad used to call your dad a lazy, sissy boy.”

“Why would a dad do that?”

“Your grandpa, my uncle wasn’t sure why your dad was so slow-thinking. People used to call it ‘laziness’. Your dad was made fun of and left home so he wouldn’t mess up the fieldwork.”

“Dad, your dad called you a sissy?”

“He sure did, but your dad didn’t know what a sissy was. So I took it on myself to show him. Well he liked it so much we spent every summer being girl cousins when no one was around. Then when we got out of school your dad went to a school that helped him and he got a good education. But his reputation as a boy kept him from getting the good jobs. Your grandpa died and the money and farm were split up. That’s when you dad hired an attorney to ensure he got his fair share of the property.”

“Well I did have to give a third of it to the attorney, but it gave me enough to buy the house we just left.”

“So how are you going to prove you’re innocent?” she asked.

“Well I did hear Karen’s brother talking about shooting the chief of Police. He said something about ‘the dummy will take the fall’.”

It’s funny hearing Mom being called ‘Karen”.

“Do you know who Karen’s brother was talking to?”

“It was my brother, Hank.”

“I talked to the chief and told him what was being planned. He said he would make it look like he was murdered and then I could leave town so they could get Albert and Hank for conspiracy. He said it would make me look like I was guilty and the two would most like volunteer to hunt me down.”

“But the chief really was killed, so no one knows that there was a conspiracy. So how are you going to get Albert and Hank?”

“You know I may be learning disabled, but I ain’t stupid. I also contacted the FBI about the conspiracy.”

“So why are you hiding?”

“I was told to keep low until the trial starts, they were going to arrest Hank and Albert, but they think that there are a few more involved.”

“What about Karen? Did you know she was going to rob the bank?”

“Had I knowed she would never have gotten out to do it.”

There was a knock on the door. Dad and I headed to the bedroom while Missy went to answer it.

Missy opened the door and there stood my other uncle.

“Hey, Missy, has the dummy been here? He skipped town and they arrested Albert and Hank. I know for a fact he killed the cop ‘cause his wife was locked up.”

“You’d say that about your own brother?”

“Hell, he’s dumber than a box of rocks; he don’t know any better. Has he been here?”

“No one here, but me and a friend and her daughter. Wanna come and meet em?”

“Nah! I gotta find the dummy before he kills someone else.”

It got quiet after the door closed.

“Sam,” Melissa said hurriedly, “you need to call the FBI and ask them to investigate your two brothers. I think they were in on the robbery and the killing. I get the feeling they’re trying to set you up.”

“I’m going to leave for a few days, take care of Ashley. I’m not going to call I am going to visit the FBI office and tell them what I heard and have them search the house for evidence of the plans for a bank robbery.”

“When did you get so darn smart?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your brothers may think you’re a dummy, but are they in for a big surprise.”

I woke up in the morning knowing this was going to be my first full day as a girl. I was looking forward to it. I was going to be able to walk places and not have to hear bad things about my dad. I really didn’t want my aunt to know I wanted to be a girl, or at least for the moment.

What if I like being a girl? Can I live like a girl? I don’t think I could take guys pawing all over me, but girls went through that as they grew up and they learned how to stop it. I think if a guy touched me right now I’d scream.

We were in a dress shop when I saw a beautiful yellow dress with a satin ribbon and bow. “Aunt Missy, can I try on that yellow dress?”

“If you want to, I don’t want you to unless you really want to.”

“I really want to, I want to try it on and if it fits -- buy it for myself.”

“Oh and where did you get all this money for a fancy dress?”

“I don’t have any, but I truly do love that dress.”

Missy knelt down to me. “Is there something I should know before I say yes?”

“What do you mean?”

“I remember a boy who came to my house and never had been in girls’ clothes.”

“I don’t think he is coming back. I think he has flown the coop.”

“We’ll get the dress if you want it, but you have to promise me that the little boy you know will not be back for a long time.”

“How long are you talking about?”

“It depends on how much my new niece likes her girly ways. Remember clothes do not make the girl.”

If I had known being a girl was this exciting I would have tried be a girl sooner. I knew I had a lot to learn. I learned that when we arrived at a house later for deportment classes. I liked the way I was taught to sit and move. The teacher said that I was very natural as a girl and fine tuning would make me more feminine.

When we got home I got on the computer with my aunt. She brought some things up for me to read. She told me that most boys just don’t take to being in girls’ clothes. I told her that I had been afraid until the nightgown went on.

“Maybe we can get some medical test done while your dad is away? If I’m correct, I know why your mom was abusive towards you.”

I certainly was not upset about suddenly being in dresses and girls’ clothing. To me it felt as though I was supposed to be a girl. I was actually feeling very comfortable in my new identity. Ashley the girl; I liked the sound of that.

“Ashley it’s time to get ready for bed.”

***

Sam managed to ride another freight train to another major city. It was there he made his way to the FBI office. He saw the time and hoped someone was still there.

He entered the office and asked to see Agent Kline. He was told to sit and the agent would be with him shortly.

“Hello Mr. Curtis,” a man said coming out to meet him, “Glad to meet you. Chief Richardson briefed me two days before he was killed. He said you had let him know there was a conspiracy. We did a handwriting analysis of the note compared it to your handwriting and found it to not be your writing. You’re no longer a suspect.”

“Thank you. I want to offer up my house to be searched to see who was with my wife in the bank robbery. I think things are all tied together.”

“We’re ahead of you. Your house has been sealed and we have a team going through it as we speak. We’re also going through the other two suspect’s houses.”

“What do I do?”

“Go back to where you were safe. Pay attention to the news and newspapers. We’ll let you know when it is clear.”

“I think my other brother is involved also. He came looking for me blaming me for shooting the chief of police.”

“We’ll look into it. I’m sure it has some relevance. Do you have any idea of what this may be about?”

“Well I did get an attorney to ensure the will of my dad’s was properly executed. I was told I would pay dearly for doing what I did.”
***

Sam Curtis started back to his son, but never got off the freight train in Mitchem. His body was found when the train reached its final destination.

***

“Ashley, you look sweet. Your dad would have been proud of you. Be as still as possible at the funeral so no one will know who you are. Your uncle Frank was arrested last night so he will not be here.”

At the funeral home it was just me and Missy for an hour so I could say goodbye to my dad. I cried and fussed. I missed him already and I was going to grow up without him or my mom.

The crowd came in as Missy and I sat in the back so we would not be noticed. A lot of people who knew my dad came in to pay their last respects. There a short disturbance as the police escorted my mom in so she could say “goodbye”.

Mom was smiling as though she had gotten something over on Dad. She spoke over Dad’s body, loud enough for me to hear. “You stupid son of a bitch, you got what you deserved. Sure hope they killed the kid before they killed you, that ‘s the way it was supposed to go down.”

She was escorted out.

She wanted me dead? So much hate. I saw my real mom just like she was when she was in the house with Dad and me.

We did not go out to the cemetery. The FBI came to talk to me at the funeral home. There was another conspirator and he or she was still at large.

“It could be my mom’s friend Eileen, she usually came over while I was tied to the bed and the two would have sex in front of me.”

“What is this Eileen’s last name?”

“If you look in my bedroom you’ll find an ID card of hers. I hid it in a shoe in my closet.”

“Was she at the funeral?”

“No, she hated my dad, she always told my mom he was worthless and useless and they needed to get rid of him.”

Missy grabbed me and held me as I bawled until all I could do was gasp for air. “Sweetie, you will never be put through that again. Your dad loved you and you can take that to the bank.”

My aunt would spend her spare time writing letters. I don’t know who she was writing to, but each day they went out to the mailbox.

Finally I decided to be nosey and asked if I could drop the letter to the post box.

The letter was to a Samantha Curtis in Indianapolis. Dad’s name was Sam, but he would never let them call him Samantha. I remembered the address and that night I wrote to Samantha telling her how my dad was named Sam and how he had been murdered by his two brothers and a brother-in-law. I told her how there was another conspirator and that hopefully the law would find her before she found me.

I did not know that I was inviting disaster when I dropped that letter into the mailbox.

Three days later I heard a car pull into the driveway. I saw Aunt Missy suddenly jump up and head to the door.

“You kept him here, he’s not dead? We’ve been looking all over for him and you have him here?”

I heard the gunshot and headed toward the back door. Luckily I was out and well hidden when I saw Eileen with a gun in her hand slowly looking around.

“Little boy, come out and I won’t kill you. You’re worth lots of money to me now. Come out little pawn.”

I remained silent and stayed where I was until well after dark. I then made my way back into the house called 911 and reported my dead aunt. I gathered some money and a light coat and headed away from the house.

I had the FBI agent’s card and called his cell phone number. I told him who I was and that my aunt was part of the problem and that the other lady had killed her. I gave him the address in Indianapolis and said she was probably heading back there.

He wanted to know where I was. I told him I was going to go someplace safe and then call and have the FBI come and get me. I hung up and walked toward the train station.
The tears in my eyes were from the disaster that had left me homeless and without anyone to care for me. In a matter of a year I had lost my dad, my mom and my relatives. I knew that someplace there would be a haven for a child like me.

I couldn’t wait any longer so I placed another call.

“FBI Office, Chicago, how may I help you?”

“My name is Ashley Curtis. I am at the corner of fifth and Jabbip. I want to talk to Agent Parsons.”

The End