Working for Aunt Sophie
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

When my mother passed away, I had no choice but to go live with my Aunt Sophie who lived some distance away, separating me from the few friends I had. Aunt Sophie lived in Springfield and ran a small ladies clothing store below her modest home on the floor above. She was an expert seamstress and had an eye for what was truly fashionable and tasteful. She sold some factory-made stock, but she also made clever modifications and she made some tailored garments for discerning clients.

He'd promised his unborn child that, girl or boy, he'd care for them.

A father didn't need to understand his kid to still love and support them every way he could...

Shouldn't that have been enough?

Thirty minutes after I graduated from High School the bitter truth of life sank in as my parents told me that I either had to join the military or move out. This was sprung fifteen minutes after pictures were taken with friends and teachers, while the thoughts of what I had planned to do with my life were just a gleam in my eye, this was sprung on me.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAPUxhz91BM

Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, mid-May, 2016…

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep

Almost alone in the midst of friends, the girl was lost in thought over the lingering hurt that eventually drove her to re-enlist.. She breathed in deeply and decided to join in the banter with her platoon.

“Got any plans?” Of course they all had plans of a sort; futures that most of them planned that included new places and new opportunities. And maybe new dreams; or rather new ways of realizing old, almost discarded dreams?

“I am fairly confident that my future will not include anything remotely khaki or camo,” she said.

“In fact, I’m…” She had meant to say ‘pewter’ and ‘copper’, and ‘jade,’ but her thoughts as well as the thoughts of everyone else were interrupted suddenly and severely...

Totally shocked and devastated by the news that my body was intersex, I moped around in my own grey miserable world for the rest of the day, wandering the streets, stopping for coffees, watching the ducks and geese on the lake in the park, generally hiding away, before I had got myself together enough to face people again.

The Courtship of Cerridwen Circe Whitethorn
Chapter 3: Movie Date

Plaza Twin Cinema located at the end of Main Street is the last of a dying breed, it's one of the few remaining mom and pop owned cinema's. Locally owned and locally operated. It has served Benton faithfully since it opened in the late sixties some sixty something years ago. Anyway if you wanted to see a movie in town this was the place to go.

"You know, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Is that true?" I asked. "I've heard people say that, but is it really true?"

"I don't know," Melissa confessed, "but I do know that men are happier after they eat. If we feed him every night, he's going to associate that happy feeling with you. And that's a good thing."

Allie - The teenage years of Alexander Horten

February 21-27, 2016

It Takes All Sorts

Part Three

Kyle froze when he saw his mother in the kitchen. This couldn’t be right. She wasn’t due home for an hour yet. Had he got the time wrong? A glance at the clock told him he hadn’t. She had come home early. His face paled as he saw the blouse he had borrowed from her and the two lipsticks he had used laid on the table in front of his mother.

“Hello, Kyle. Sit down, please.”

He wanted to say something, but no words would come.

“Please. Sit down. We need to talk.”

I'm posting this early because I have a long day in the saddle tomorrow when I ride from Ulvik to Geiranger in Norway. 240 miles, one ferry, and a tunnel with a roundabout inside! The Arctic Circle is getting closer!

This story is a little different from anything I've written before. I hope you like it.