Liberty #66: 76th & Long

The car was found at the corner of 76th and Long Streets. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was parked legally and the owner once lived at the brownstone it was parked in front of. The out-of-state license plate caused the call to the police after the car hadn’t moved in two days. The intersection of 76th and Long hadn’t changed in the three years that Edwin Pierce had left. The brick church remained the same. The brownstone he had grown up in remained the same, although all of the windows had been boarded up and the neighboring brownstone looked like it had caught on fire. Adjacent to Long Street was Division Avenue, a massive bridge that completely bypassed the neighborhood. The only way into the neighborhood was either from the south on Winding Street or the north from Gordon. The Avenue was built in 1983 and left the neighborhood destitute and desolate in a matter of years. Those who were able to get out were considered lucky and told never to come back.

Edwin Pierce was one of those lucky ones. Smart, almost gifted, his entire life, he was able to get out and far away. What was he doing back in the neighborhood was the question the police should’ve been asking but they weren’t.

“Anything illegal in the car?” one of the officers asked.

“Nope. Nothing,” another one said. “Not even a speeding ticket in the glovebox.”

“He left his phone and his keys in here,” the other officer said. “Let’s see if we can find out who he called last.” The phone was an older flip phone and wasn’t locked. Edwin’s recents easily gave away who he had been talking to.

The most recent was Deray Ross but the cops were more interested in the third name on the list, Devontae Simms. Devontae was a noted drug dealer and gang member. The police had had him in their sights for years but had yet to catch him on anything. Devontae and Edwin went to school together from Kindergarten until their sophomore year when Devontae dropped out. Devontae lived in what should have been an abandoned apartment building. The building had bricks falling out, broken and missing windows, and there were holes in the floor and ceilings. About two dozen other people also lived in the building including three families.

“They should demolish this place,” the first officer said.

“Where would the residents go?” the other asked.

“That’s not my problem.” They got to Devontae’s apartment and pounded on the door. “Simms, open up!”

Devontae slowly opened the door and looked at the officers. “Is it time for my monthly apartment raid already?” he asked.

“That’s next week,” the other officer smiled. “We’re looking for someone. Edwin Pierce. Have you seen him?”

“Why?”

“We found his car at 76th and Long. His stuff was still in it. You were one of the last people he talked to on his phone.

“We did talk on the phone. Briefly. He also came by and we talked for a bit. That was about mid-morning two days ago. I don’t know where he went next. He mentioned wanting to see his ex, Jaiden, and Deray.”

“They are also listed in his phone,” the officer said the other. “What did you two talk about?”

“Old times,” Devontae sneered. “We talked about college and the neighborhood.”

“College? You aren’t in college,” the officer chuckled and looked at the other one.

“Nah, but Eddy does. He’s smart. Had the sense to do good and get the hell out.”

“What was he doing back here then?”

“As far as I know, he just wanted to say hello to some old friends.”

“Did you sell him anything?”

“Eddy doesn’t do that. Like I say, Eddy has sense.”

“Mm-hmm,” the officer grunted. “We’ll be in touch. Don’t leave, we may want to talk to you later.”

“You know where I’m at,” Devontae said.




“I don’t understand why you are asking me where he is,” Deray Ross said, calmly, as he and the police officers sat in his living room. “He came by, we talked about the neighborhood. He seemed upset or tired. Then he left.”

“Anything specific about the neighborhood?”

“He wanted to help change it. Eddy has always been under the impression that everyone here was as smart as him. If we just applied ourselves or took chances, we could be a force for change and good.”

“You don’t believe that?”

“Nah. We need more than just smarts here. The Avenue needs to come down. Our schools need to be treated better. Police need to realize that they are not in charge.”

The officers looked at Deray. Deray didn’t take his eyes off of them. He had seen too many of his friends and neighbors gunned down--many were unarmed and just walking down the street. Only one, that he could think of, actually had a gun and committed a crime. The gun had not been used, the crime was robbing a convenience store. For that someone should have their body riddled with seventeen bullets?

“Was he high or drunk or anything? Could you tell?”

“Eddy doesn’t do that.”

“Yeah, we know. He’s smart and has sense,” the officer rolled his eyes. “Don’t leave town or anything. We may want to talk with you later.”

“I won’t,” Deray sighed and stood to walk the officers out of his apartment.




Jaiden Benfer worked at a convenience store, not the one that was robbed by Deray’s now-deceased friend, but another one. It had also been robbed but the criminal hadn’t been caught yet. The two police officers came into the store and walked up to the counter. “Jaiden Benfer?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Drop the attitude, sweetheart. We just want to talk to you about Edwin Pierce.”

“Can we talk outside? Our customers don’t like it when the employees talk to the cops,” Jaiden untied her apron and laid it under the counter. “And don’t call me ‘sweetheart.’”

Outside, in the alley, Jaiden lit up a cigarette. Her and the police officers stood on the other side of a trash bin, unable to be seen from the street. “So, Edwin Pierce? Did you see him the other day?”

“Yeah, I did. I wasn’t expecting him. He called and asked if he could come over. I haven’t seen him since he left for college so it was nice to see him. We dated in high school.”

“Did you two talk? What did you talk about?”

“We talked about our relationship. He talked about college a lot. I wanted to hear about it. It’s nice to live vicariously through a good life than what I have.”

“How long was he over?”

“An hour or so.”

“What did you do when he left?”

“I put my kids to bed and went to my second job.”

“What’s your second job?”

“What I do in the privacy of my own house is none of your business,” Jaiden said. “Anymore questions?”

“Do you where Edwin went after he left your place?”

“No, I don’t. I wish I could help,” Jaiden threw her cigarette on the ground and walked back into the store from the back.

“Let’s get back to the precinct,” the other officer said.




Edwin’s parents weren’t around anymore. His father, disappeared after learning that the cute McDonald’s cashier he chatted up after ordering a number 4, large size, with a Dr. Pepper, was suddenly pregnant. He ran off to New Jersey or Los Angeles or, maybe, Detroit, either way, Edwin’s mother was fine with him not being around.

Edwin’s mother worked hard her entire life for Edwin. She always made sure that he had a roof over his head. They lived with her mother in the brownstone at 76th and Long for the first two years of his life when his grandmother unexpectedly passed away. Edwin’s mother had to work even harder after that. There were nights that she went hungry but Edwin was always fed. Edwin’s mother passed away shortly before his graduation of an undetected heart condition. It’s hard to detect heart conditions when you can’t afford to go to the doctor. Edwin finished out his last couple of weeks and was allowed to move into the dorms of his college early. His childhood home had been empty ever since.

“Maybe he had a hotel room or something,” the other officer said. “We could call around to the hotels in the area and ask.”

“If you want to do that much extra work, go for it. I’m thinking Simms had something to do with this. Him or the girlfriend. Poor bastard has no family in the area anymore. No family anywhere from what I can tell.”

“He used to live at the house right there at the corner. Wouldn’t it be funny if he was just in there the whole time?” the other officer chuckled.

“No. It wouldn’t. Let’s go check it out,” the officer pushed himself out of the chair.

The brownstone was in a decent part of the neighborhood, probably because it was so close to the Avenue. It was across the street from a simple but beautiful red brick church. No one in Edwin’s family was particularly religious but the church was a symbol of hope for Edwin, all churches and schools were, a symbol of hope surrounded by hopelessness.

Whoever had boarded up the old Pierce home did a good job but the boards were clearly an afterthought since when you went inside there were holes knocked in the walls, doors were ripped off their hinges, the carpet was torn away from the floor.

The officers went through the house, looking in every room and closet, even in cabinets and where the furnace and water heater went--both had been hauled away. “There’s no one here,” the officer said. “There have been people here,” he scuffed around some ashes that were on the floor “but no one here now.”

Most of the memories Edwin had in that house were happy. His mom barely dated when he was growing up so there wasn’t a rotation of guys going in and out like at a few of his friends houses. She liked to have fun but she rarely brought guys home and rarely did any guy she seriously saw became a permanent fixture in their lives.

When Edwin went to school, his went mom went to work. When he went to bed, she went to her second job. This continued from Kindergarten to third grade until she got a better paying job and could quit her second job. After that, she had more time. They would go walking together to the park or farther to the school. They would play catch, or hide and seek, or tag. Until middle school when Edwin would rather stay out with his friends. They still had dinner together and talked about their day. That was a tradition they kept up until the day she died.

After her death, Edwin stayed home. He packed what he wanted and sold everything else. What he didn’t want or couldn’t sell went in the trash. When he got permission to move into the dorms early, he left the brownstone and never came back.

“He didn’t leave much to go on,” the other officer said, locking the door behind him.

“Probably doesn’t want to be found. Until we have evidence of something suspicious or a body, I say we lean on the drug dealer. If anything, maybe he’ll slip up and we can get another dealer off the street.

The other officer followed behind and paused to look back at the brownstone.




There was a knock on Jaiden’s door. “Shit. My first appointment is early. Shawniah, take your brother and go to bed. Remember to lock the door and turn on your music.” The four-year-old girl took the small baby into the bedroom. Jaiden heard the locks on the bedroom door then went to answer the front door. “Deray? What are you doing here?”

“I want to talk about Edwin.”

“Do you have any news?”

He shook his head. “I’m assuming you haven’t.”

“He came to see me a couple days ago but after he left, that was it.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Life. He was all bragging about college,” she smiled. “I listened because it was nice to hear something like that from someone who lived here.”

“So you just got caught up? That’s all we did, too.”

“I wanted to do more,” she smiled bigger and looked down at her lap. “But he said that he had to get going. Nothing I offered could get him to stay.”

“I didn’t do any of that but I wish you would’ve succeeded. Maybe Eddy would still be here.”

Every morning, when Edwin would walk to school, he would wait for Deray, who lived on 70th Street, closer to the next street east, Irving, next to the green street sign marking the intersection of 76th and Long. He always waited for people by that sign. He could see to the north, south, and east. A support pillar of the Avenue, which stood 20 feet above the sign, blocked his view to the west. A tall chain link fence bolted to the bridge kept people from going underneath the Avenue.

Edwin and Deray would meet at the sign and head off to school or the park or a convenience store or wherever and talk. Deray was also smart, not like Edwin, but still smart. He could’ve gotten out of the neighborhood too if his father hadn’t gotten sick. Deray had to work which hurt his grades. Even though he never showed it, he was bitter about it. But Deray loved living and working in the neighborhood and showing the next generation that they could be something more than what the neighborhood offered.

Edwin and Jaiden started dating early in their sophomore year of high school. They had known of each other since second grade and began dating after going on a group thing after an early school dance. Jaiden had decided that she wanted to date a nice guy for once and Edwin wanted a girlfriend. Within a few short months, their relationship blossomed into a love that everyone thought would last beyond high school. When Edwin got his acceptance letter to college, Jaiden had a dream that he would take her away with him. Instead, they agreed to break up. Jaiden began seeing other guys, almost immediately getting pregnant with Shawniah.

“I never should’ve broke up with him,” Jaiden wiped a tear from her eye. “When I saw him at my door, I wanted him to take my hand and take me away with him. If he said so, I wouldn’t have even taken my kids.”

“Eddy would never say something like that,” Deray sighed.

“I know. I would give anything to see him at my door again.” As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. “That is probably my first appointment.”

“I’ll get going then,” Deray stood up. “It was nice seeing you, Jaiden. Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Same to you,” she said.

Deray left the apartment, passing by a guy waiting at the door. Jaiden began with some pleasantries and then invited the guy into her apartment. Deray went downstairs, out the front door and he began walking home.

Epilogue

The sign at 76th and Long was installed in 1983 after the Avenue was finished. All street signs were replaced with this style between 1981 and 1985. The sign that Edwin waited with for most of his life marked that important intersection of his life for decades. It was one of the last signs of that style still in the neighborhood. Most had been replaced either due to construction, vandalism, or theft. About a month after Edwin’s disappearance, a city crew was at the corner. Two workers were installing a new street sign on the light pole at the corner next to the church while two other workers were removing the old sign from the ground.

Liberty #65: The Original of Cassandra, Part Two

5.

I bet Adam got an amazing welcome home last night, I wrote on the paper I tossed into Cassandra’s cubicle.

What do you mean? she wrote back.

You were pretty in the mood when I left. I’m assuming you did something to take care of business, I wrote.

The paper came back over. No. Adam was too tired. Besides, like I told you last night, I want you inside me and the sooner, the better.

If time-off is offered, take it.




We both died a little that afternoon. We stayed, for as long as we could, intertwined in each other’s arms in my bed. We marveled at how perfect we felt to each other. Seeing her completely naked body made me love her more. While behind her, I traced the light stretch marks on her lower back and butt, occasionally making her giggle. When I was on top of her, I memorized the jiggle of her torso and breasts made with each of my thrusts.

By chance, we both climaxed simultaneously and I didn’t want to leave. I stayed inside until neither of us could keep me in. Immediately I missed it but rolled off of Cassandra but took her in my arms.

“Worth the wait,” I sighed.

“A perfect end to a perfect couple of months,” she said.

“They have been really good months,” I replied. “I’ve never been happier, Cassandra. I can’t believe I get to do these things with you—kiss, date, make love—I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

Cassandra giggled. “Hmm. You and Adam.”

“Well, I don’t see Adam here so right now, I am the luckiest guy in the world,” I said. “How long have you been waiting for this?”

“About two weeks. You?”

“Since I saw you walk down the aisle to your cubicle. I’ve wanted you ever since. I still want you and I just had you.”

She hugged tighter. “This isn’t going to end well,” she said with a hint of warning in her voice.

“You keep saying that but all I’m seeing is things getting better. And I told you that I don’t care. I’m willing to take that chance so that I can be with you. I love you so much, Cassandra,” I rolled over and ran my hand over her check as I looked into her eyes.

“I love you, too, Brian and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re not going to hurt me. This is all on me. I know what I’m getting into.”

“You say that now,” Cassandra sighed and rolled over to get out of bed. “We should’ve grabbed lunch first and then came here. I’m starving but it’s after two.”

“We can get something small or have something delivered,” I sat up in bed. “We could order sandwiches and you can just order a half one.”

Cassandra began getting dressed. “I could do sandwiches,” she agreed.

I got out of bed and joined her in getting dressed. “What do you want?”

“Italian. Where are you ordering from?”

“The Cheese Shoppe. Best subs in town.”

“Never had them.”

“What? How is that possible? I’ll go order. You want an Italian sandwich? They should have something like that.”

I ordered our sandwiches and they were delivered within the half hour. We sat down next to each other on the couch and ate them while I flipped through channels on the TV.

“I never watch television anymore,” Cassandra said, her mouth full of sandwich. “My evenings are overrun with kids’ movies and shrieking, annoying characters on Nickelodeon or Disney. Sometimes I think the whole point of those shows is to see how loud the voice actors can scream into the microphone.”

“Calm down, Andy Rooney,” I patted her head. “I love watching cartoons. There’s just something simple about cartoons. You can just enjoy them and you don’t have to think. I mean, I love my hardcore dramas but sometimes I just want to be numb.”

“Numb. That’s how I feel when I watch Nickelodeon,” Cassandra agreed. I reached my arm around her chest to hug her. I quickly stole a fondling of her right breast. “Watch it,” she warned, jokingly.

She finished her sandwich and we watched some movie together. After an hour, I slid my hand down between her legs and began to rub the warmth between her legs with my fingers. As I rubbed, she went perfectly still, her eyes staring and her mouth slightly opened.

Soon she relaxed, closing her eyes and leaning into me. I had slid my hand into her pants and slid a finger inside her as I rubbed. She her eyes tightly and began making a noise like a dog crying. She gasped and shook, letting out a long breath.
For our second time, my shirt and her bra stayed on and we cuddled closely on the couch. She rubbed my arm while I rubbed her stomach. “I need to go,” she said and rolled over to look at me.

“I know,” I kissed her and squeezed the side of her belly. We both got up and I helped her pick up her clothes that I had just tossed in various directions while in the heat of the moment. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work?”

“Of course,” she smiled as I escorted her out of the door.

“Love you, Cassandra.”

“Love you, Brian.”

6.

Adam worked for his brother’s construction company. Actually, Adam and his brother were the construction company. They would hire day laborers from a job placement center, usually Mexicans, they’d have one day of work and then hope they could get work the next day.

Due to their method of running the company, there was a lot of work that Adam felt needed to be done. His brother would go home at a normal time while Adam would stay and record the work and workers for the day.

Adam hated it and always came home tired and stressed which would melt away when he would get home to Cassandra and Emily. Cassandra had been sleeping with me for just over a month although it was hard to find the time between work and her other life, and she tried hard to keep them separate. During those first few weeks where it was clear that she loved me more, she barely greeted Adam with a ‘hello’. He would come home, give her a kiss on the cheek or neck and then be called away to Emily’s room or to take a shower.

Cassandra refused to have sex with Adam if she had sex with me earlier in the day, and vice versa. During the week, it was difficult for Cassandra and me to get together but we would occasionally find times or places. Shortly after our month anniversary, Adam came home and went into the kitchen where Cassandra was preparing dinner. He wrapped his arms around her midsection and squeezed while leaned down and began tenderly kissing her neck.

She giggled and attempted to squirm out of his hold. “Stop, I need to get dinner going.”

“Come into the bedroom with me. I want to tell you something,” he whispered into her ear.

Cassandra and I had made love in her car after work a block from where Emily’s daycare was so she was leery about being near Adam in the bedroom. “Not right now. Can’t you tell me out here?” Adam lifted Cassandra up onto his shoulder. “Adam! No! Put me down! I’m warning you,” she screamed, in-between her laughs.

Adam carried Cassandra to their bedroom and flopped her down on the bed, her shirt riding halfway up her torso. Adam got on top of her and smiled. “I have a surprise for you.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen your surprises, Adam. They aren’t surprising anymore.”

“I’m cutting back my hours at work.”

“What?”

“I told Brandon that I am going to start working eight to five and that’s it. If he wants to keep his company afloat, he is going to have to do more work around there. I told him that it is his company, not mine.”

“Why did you do that?” Cassandra asked as she ran her hand over Adam’s beard stubble.

“I want to spend more time with you and Emily. I’ve spent too much time at work and not enough time with the people who really matter, Cass,” he tenderly rubbed Cassandra’s cheek with his finger.

She teared up and they started making out and soon were removing clothes. “Do it fast,” Cassandra panted. “And quiet because of Emily.”

As they got redressed, Cassandra asked “What if the business goes under because your brother is a terrible businessman?”

“Then I’ll find something else. Working for Brandon has given me a lot more experience,” he answered. “I do want to talk to you about, if you want, quitting your job.”

“What?”

“I know you don’t like it and you’d be able to be a stay-at-home mom to Emily.”

“I like working though and Emily needs to be around other kids. I’ll keep it in mind though. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Cass.”




It started out with Cassandra missing two days, usually Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday. She then began missing work whenever it was raining since Adam was always home from work when it was raining. In the five weeks this went on, Cassandra and I only made love once.

As I started feeling left behind, Adam and Cassandra were moving forward quickly. After being engaged for two, nearly three, years, they finally set a wedding date for over a year from now. Cassandra started planning and when I would get a glance of her computer at work, if it wasn’t on our database, it was on a site with wedding dresses or decorations. She refused to skip work with me or see me for even a few minutes after work. “Cass, I was wondering if you’d want to go out this weekend,” I asked, catching up with her at her car after work. “And Emily can come. Have you seen the movie Teacher’s Pet? It’s animated, about a dog who pretends to be a boy. I’m seeing it tomorrow at 7 if you and if you and Emily want to come, my treat.”

“What would I tell Adam?” she asked.

“Say that you’re going with Kerry—a girl’s night out.”

“I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”

“Okay, well, I’m seeing it away so not a problem if you don’t come.”

“Okay,” she smiled uneasily. “I’ll see you Monday,” she said as she got in her car.

“Unless we see each other before then,” I laughed but felt stupid for saying it.

I bought the tickets and waited as long as I could, checking my phone often for a text from Cassandra. As the lights dimmed and the movie started, I gave up on waiting.

Adam had sent Cassandra out for a mani- and pedicure along with a haircut while he and Emily stayed home to clean and cook dinner. “You are so beautiful,” Adam said upon seeing Cassandra enter the house with shorter brown hair that had some blonde streaks combed through it. “Of course, you were always beautiful.” They kissed and Cassandra hugged Adam tight.

“You made dinner?”

“Emily helped,” Adam shrugged. “Also, I got us all something this morning. Just a sec,” Adam went into the garage and emerged a few seconds later with a puppy in his hands.

“A puppy!” Emily screamed, running toward Adam.

“Really, Adam? A dog?” Cassandra tried to be upset but seeing the dog and Emily’s reaction to it kept her from being too angry. “What made you want to get a dog?”

“My brother mentioned that he had a friend whose dog just had puppies. I thought it would be nice to get Emily one. A little responsibility wouldn’t hurt either,” Adam explained.

“What’s going on with you?” Cassandra smiled at Adam.

“What do you mean?”

“You seem different. More attentive.”

“I was taking you and Emily for granted. I felt you drifting away and I didn’t want to lose you. Or Emily,” Adam said.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere,” she leaned in and softly kissed him on the lips. “So what should we name her?”

“Lucy!” Emily shrieked.

Cassandra laughed. “Lucy it is.”




After the movie, I tried three times to write a text to Cassandra. Nothing I wrote sounded right. I grabbed dinner and drove around, wanting to talk to her or see her. I drove by her house which was completely dark. I wondered if she and Adam made love but didn’t want to think about it.

I returned home, masturbated, and got into bed. I grabbed my phone and quickly texted ‘It was a good movie. Sorry you missed it. I’ll see you at work. Love you.’ I sighed, deleted the message and rolled over to fall asleep.

7.

Cassandra and I had stopped seeing each other but we didn’t talk about it nor did either of us really acknowledge it. We both knew it was over but it was really the beginning of the end.

“I should have proposed when I had the chance,” I shook my head.

“Do you think she would’ve accepted your proposal?” John argued. “I mean, she already has one fiancée she’s not sure about, why would she want two? And what if you aren’t the father? Could you really help raise Adam’s kid?”

I had thought about that a lot. I had always thought of myself as a guy who could raise another guy’s kids but with that reality a true possibility, my opinion had changed. “I don’t think I could. I barely want Emily around and her father isn’t even in the picture. Ugh, that sounded bad. I’m just not a guy that wants children.”

“But you’re hoping that the woman you had an affair with is pregnant with your child so she will choose to be with you?” John said. “Yeah, that kid won’t have any issues.”

“I love Cassandra and I’d love any kids that we would have together, it’s just that I don’t think I’m ready for that responsibility yet,” I explained. “I also want to have a little time to ourselves before we throw kids into the mix.”

“You realize that you are making an argument against being with Cassandra, right? Cassandra wants more children and I think she wants them with Adam. You were a fun distraction for a while but she has invested a huge part of her life in Adam and you can’t compete with that.”

“What about the time that she invested on me?”

“You two went on, what? Three actual dates? All you did was hang out at work, hang out with Kerry and me, and fuck. That’s not much investment compared to dinner, sex, child-rearing, and engagement over the last four years,” John said.

“We still care about each other and love one another. It’s not our fault that we couldn’t get any time alone together.”

“But it is. She could’ve left Adam when she realized that she loved you or never started anything with you in the first place. You also didn’t have to pursue Cassandra and respected her and Adam’s relationship. This is all on both of you so you have no one to blame but yourselves,” John lectured.

I was silent but stared intently at John. “You’re right,” I shrugged. “You, Cassandra, Kerry, all warned me. I was the one that was going to get hurt but I didn’t want to listen. I didn’t want to lose her.”

“You’re losing her anyway,” John said.

“But I never really had her, did I?”




“I’m not pregnant,” Cassandra said to Kerry. “I thought I was because I was over a week late with my period but I got my period yesterday so no worries.”

“So why are you worried?”

“I’m not but can you imagine if I was pregnant? I don’t know who the father is. Is it my fiancée or the guy I’m using on the side? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have another baby and when I first missed my period, I was kind of happy but then I realized the mess I was in. I told Adam and Brian that I missed my period but I was going to wait a few days before taking a pregnancy test or going to the doctor and they both reacted so differently. Adam teared up and kept hugging me while Brian seemed angry and frantic.”

“Not surprised by that,” Kerry rolled her eyes. “So you told both of them, did you have a preference as to who you wanted the father to be?”

“Not really but Adam is so much more of a father to Emily and I know it’s because she’s around him more. Brian could never seem to get in the door with her. Brian isn’t really a kid person. Adam is so attentive to mine and Emily’s needs, but the main reason I started sleeping with Brian was because my relationship with Adam was becoming stale and Adam seemed to be drifting away. Brian loves me and cares for me and wants to take care of me. He opened me up to new things and made me feel comfortable in my own skin. But that’s not something he can extend to Emily or even his own children. Not yet anyway.”

“It sounds like you know who you want to be with,” Kerry said.

“Yeah, I think I do.”

8.

We began our night in the hotel room against the door with my head between Cassandra’s legs. It had been awhile so I took my time before we went to the bedroom to finish up. We cuddled together for several minutes before she got out of bed.

“I’m going to take a shower before dinner,” she said and kisses me.

“Want me to join you?” I asked.

“You don’t have to,” she smiled.

I watched her as she walked away then got out of bed myself. I put on my underwear and went out to the couch in the front room and turned on the TV. I found an old black and white TV show and watched that. I heard the water shut off and a couple minutes later, Cassandra came out wrapped in a towel. She sat down next to me and we sat quiet for several minutes watching television.

“You smell nice,” I said. I turned to look at her and saw that she was still pretty wet. “Needed to get my stink off of you?”

“No,” she laughed. “I just want to look nice for our dinner.”

“Will you mind if I start making out with you?”

“I was hoping you would.”

We made out. I ran my hand over her wet stomach and breasts. Her towel fell away and I pulled off my underwear. She immediately reached down, took me in her hand and began stroking. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I love you so much.”

“Fuck me,” she whispered back.

We made love again on the couch then got ready to go to dinner. The restaurant was fancier than either of us was used to with small portions, dark ambiance, and candles on the table. Cassandra seemed nervous as I pulled out her chair.

“This place is named for the guy that founded the first hotel in the city,” I said, trying to start a conversation. “The hotel we’re staying at was where his hotel once stood.”

“Interesting,” she said softly.

A waiter came by and asked if we wanted wine. I happily ordered us some. Cassandra seemed to get more nervous. “Hope you like wine. I just assumed,” I said.

“No, I do,” she replied.

“I’m a huge history buff,” I said. “Especially local history.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah and I’m trying to start a book about the history—mainly ghost towns and cemeteries but it’s been slow going.”

“Why have you never told me this?”

“It just never came up. We didn’t exactly start out having a normal relationship. We barely knew each other’s name. What is your middle name?”

“Ann. Yours?”

“I don’t tell people that,” I said.

“No fair. You have to tell me. I told you mine.”

I picked up my glass of water and rolled my eyes. “Fine. It’s Travis. Happy?”

“About you telling me, yes. But not about your terrible middle name.”

“We’re going to name our child Travis.”

“Over my dead body.”

“If it’s a girl, Travisina. No, wait. Travisann.”

“I hate you.” Our wine came and Cassandra immediately took a sip. Her lips slightly puckered and her eyes went wide.

“Are you okay? Is it good?”

“Very good. I see why you ordered it. So you could get me drunk and take advantage.”

“Since when do I need to get you drunk to take advantage?”

“True,” she replied and burped softly. Behind us, a piano started playing. Her eyes widened and teared up. “Holy crap. I think this just became the most romantic night I’ve ever had.”

“I’m…sorry?”

“No,” she suddenly said, loudly. “Don’t ever apologize for treating me this way. I should apologize to you for the way that I handled everything with you and Adam.”

“Cassandra, it’s fine. Let’s just enjoy the night.”




After dinner we walked hand-in-hand through downtown and got some ice cream, continuing to walk through the large city park at the south end of downtown.

“Crane Park was once four separate parks. It was cut into quarters by Market Street and 13th. During the fiftieth anniversary of the city in 1909, they removed 13th Street and renamed the parks for a former mayor who fought in the Civil War,” I told Cassandra as we walked down Market Street through Crane Park.

“I need to remember to bring Emily to this ice cream place. It’s really good.”

“Best ice cream in a two-county radius.”

“We should head back to the hotel,” she sighed. “The wine is starting to wear off.”

For the night, we cuddled together. She fell asleep on my arm and I stayed awake listening to the muffled sounds of downtown five stories below. When she rolled over onto her other side, I followed, wrapping my arm around her stomach and gently rubbing it. She sighed contentedly and we slept.

I awoke to a gentle hand around my penis. When Cassandra saw that I was up, she went down on me. I gasped and exclaimed as her head bobbed up and down. I warned her that I was about to cum but she kept her lips around my shaft along with one hand and I finished inside her warm, wet mouth.

She laid back down next to me, circling my stomach with her finger. Her eyes kept moving from my eyes, to my mouth, to my penis.

“What was that for?”

“I wanted to end this date focused entirely on you,” she said. “Get dressed. I have to leave for the baby shower.”

We got dressed and walked down to her car. I took her hands as we stood in the parking lot. “So when are we doing this again?”

“Brian, there’s a reason I wanted last night and this morning to be special. I’m choosing Adam. We’ve loved each other longer and because of Emily…She loves him so much and I just…”

“I thought that you chose me which was why you wanted to do this.”

“It’s a thank you. I break your heart and you get some amazing memories of me,” Cassandra smiled, holding back tears. “Find someone else. Find someone not already in a relationship.”

“At least we’ll always have work,” I faked a smile.

“My last day was Friday,” she replied. “We need to cut each other out of our lives completely. Just rip the Band-Aid off.”

“But I usually just leave the Band-Aid on until it becomes a disgusting, useless mess and falls off in the shower. So this date was all a sham?”

“I wanted to give you…us, one last amazing memory before we parted ways.”

I nodded. “Just so you know, if Adam ever leaves you or, God forbid, dies, I will be back,” I said.

She smiled and touched my arm. “I look forward to it. In the meantime, move on. Find someone special. I love you, Brian.”

I had said ‘I love you’ to her several times but those words just weren’t coming out right now. This would be last I would ever hear it from her and I wanted it to sink in. “You should get going to your shower,” I said and opened her car door. “It’s a two hour drive. Be careful.” I closed the door and we waved to each other. She backed out of the parking space and drove away. I waved to her again. “I love you, too,” I said, to no one in particular.

Liberty #64: The Original of Cassandra, Part One

1.

I had just received the call when I saw her being led down the aisle to the cubicle next to mine. I saw her name tag go up earlier this morning and was intrigued from the start. Cassandra was a name you saw only in stories, not in real life. I was curious to see this mythical creature.

She was short with long raven hair, her round face held big, saucer eyes, a small nose, tiny pursed lips, and a strong yet soft chin with barely a hint of a divot in it. The way she walked also caught my attention—it was almost like she was floating but the curvy parts of her body—hips, stomach and breasts—jiggled sensually.

I turned back to my computer screen when she got closer, I was distracted by her and was messing up on my phone call. I quickly and professionally completed the call then dialed some buttons on the phone to go into a break. I stood up and looked over the cubicle wall. Cassandra was putting on her headset and logging into her computer.

“Hi,” I began. “Welcome to work. I’m Brian.”

“Cassandra,” she said sweetly and smiled when she looked at me. She got a couple of pictures and some pins out of her purse and hung them on the cubicle wall. One picture was of a cute, blond girl who was almost an exact copy of Cassandra. The other picture was of a tall man with the same girl in his arms and he was giving her a kiss.

“Who are they?” I asked, but already knew the answer.

“That’s my fiancé and my daughter, Emily,” Cassandra answered. She began dialing into the phone so she could begin taking calls. I also dialed back in. “Adam and I have been together a little over two years. He proposed on our two year anniversary.”

“How old’s your daughter?”

“Emily is three.”

“Is Adam her dad or…?”

“No, Emily’s dad wants nothing to do with her. Adam’s been a great father to her though,” her phone lit up and a call came in. “Thank you for calling…”

I sat back down and a call came to me. As I answered, I grabbed a piece of paper and began writing on it: Cassandra, I’m just going to say it because otherwise it is going to get awkward but when I saw you walk down the aisle to your cubicle, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I know you are with someone so I hope that you won’t just write me off without considering the way I feel about you. Brian.

I folded up the paper tightly and tossed it over the cubicle wall. After a minute or so, while she was still on the phone, the paper flew back over the wall. I opened it up to see her response in a lilting purple ink. Brian, I am very flattered that you feel that way about me. It’s nice to know that I can still make at least one head turn. I would love to be friends if you are willing and able to put your feelings aside. Cassandra.

I finished my call, thought for moment and began writing a response. Yeah, I would love to be your friend but I am not going to put my feelings aside. I am going to be the most caring and loving friend you’ve ever had.

I tossed the paper back over and within seconds it came back over.

This probably isn’t going to end well but I look forward to it.

2.

John and Kerry were in close proximity to Cassandra and me at work so it was, of course, only natural that we became friends with them. Kerry and I didn’t quite get along mainly because she knew that I had ulterior motives to being friends with Cassandra and she did not approve of that.

The four of us were at a bar where an old supervisor of mine’s band was going to play. John and I were playing pool while Cassandra and Kerry watched. I was playing winner after Cassandra had lost.

“I’m going to get another beer,” Cassandra said, setting her pool cue down.

“I’ll join you,” Kerry followed. “I got next.”

After the girls had left, John looked at me. “I can’t believe it, man,” he shook his head.

“What?” I wondered.

“How are you doing this? You and Cassandra are, like, the best of friends now and you are showing no signs of interest in her.”

“I am keeping that pretty tightly locked up aren’t I? Honestly, it’s starting to become harder because I am falling in love with her. I’ve loved having her in my life these last few weeks. We talk to each other about everything.”

“Do you think she feels the same way?” John asked as he played, sinking one of the pool balls into the hole nearest me.

“I think so but she’s also keeping that locked up tight,” I sighed.

“Is Brian still going after you?” Kerry asked Cassandra as they waited for their beers. “I haven’t seen him do anything in a while.”

“I’ve really enjoyed our friendship and that’s the problem. I initially wasn’t interested but the closer we’ve gotten as friends, the more I have been wanting him as more than a friend,” Cassandra explained. “And it’s getting bad. A couple weeks ago, Adam and I were making love and all I could do was think about Brian and it made the sex even more intense. Then, last weekend, I was taking a bath and I started…” Cassandra pointed to her crotch.

“Hot,” Kerry joked.

“And I was thinking about Brian. I was starting to finish when I opened my eyes and saw Adam staring at me. I wanted to explain myself but instead we just did it against the wall of the bathroom.”

“Hotter,” Kerry nodded. “I think you need to make a choice, Cass. Which guy do you want? Which one makes you happier?”

“They both do, just in different ways,” Cassandra said. “I’m glad that we haven’t kissed because I don’t think I’d be able to let go.”




After the concert, Cassandra and I walked together to her car. It was a crisp night but I wasn’t covered up. Cassandra had on a big, fluffy, white coat. We walked close to each other and I tried my hardest not to take her hand in mine. We arrived at her car, parked a block away from the bar along the street.

As she was about to open the door, I turned her toward me and took her in my arms. I pressed her up against the car, despite the coat, I could feel her breasts against my ribs. “Have a good evening?”

“It was pretty fun,” she smiled shyly. “Although I like hanging out with you and John and Kerry. I’m not sure that was my kind of music though.”

“It’s not mine either,” I responded. “But I wanted to support my old supervisor. It’s crap that he was laid off.”

I moved closer to Cassandra, our lips only inches apart. “I should be going,” Cassandra said quietly, her lips parting and quivering slightly. “Adam is expecting me home.”

I leaned in and rubbed my cheek on hers. She gasped and a small moan escaped her lips. I took the car handle and opened the door. I rubbed Cassandra’s cheek with my other hand and she leaned in to meet it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I whispered. “Drive carefully.”

“Yeah,” she panted. “You, too.”

3.

Cassandra started work an hour after I did. Half an hour after she arrived, a note came over the cubicle wall and landed on my desk. We need to talk about last night.

I wrote a response: What wrong?

It’s about last night. I can’t do this to Adam any more. We need to figure out what’s going on between us.

We’re just friends. I wrote back.

“No, we’re not,” she exclaimed when we were in the break room. “We about kissed last night. Because of our friendship, I barely want Adam to touch me anymore because I want you to touch me. I want to kiss you. I want to make love to you.”

“I should go…” John said uneasily as he stood next to me. “I’ll see you at Ericka’s party tonight, right Brian?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you,” I said and went back to Cassandra. “I would’ve been more than happy dating you after I threw that first note over the wall but you chose friendship. You chose Adam.”

“I chose Adam because I am engaged to him. He’s being a father to my daughter. I can’t just throw out what Adam and I have been through, Brian.”

“I’m the one who’s getting hurt. At the end of the day, I’m home alone while you have Adam,” I said. “I can’t be friends with you anymore, Cassandra. I love you too much.”

“I love you, too,” she said quietly.

I left the break room and went back to my cubicle.




Radha was tall and skinny. She could be considered bony as her joints seemed to protrude from her body. Her black, curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail that made her eyes look bigger and made the crook of her nose more prominent.

We were sitting on the couch, he legs stretched across my lap and I was absent-mindedly massaging her feet. “I should go. I still have work in the morning,” I said.

“You should stay here,” Radha said quickly. “You can keep rubbing my feet.”

“I would love to but I have to go.”

“Wait,” Radha spread her legs so that either leg was on either side of me. “Come here,” she opened her arms.

I climbed on top of her and she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me down flat on top of her. We kissed, our tongues intertwining in our mouths. She pushed her hips into mine, grinding herself against the erection pressing against my pants.

She pulled away and looked at me. “You should fuck me,” she said in a whisper.

I’ve wanted to. For a while now and everyone knew it, even her. Tonight was going to be the night but despite the position that I was in, Radha was not the one on my mind. “I can’t. I shouldn’t.” I climbed off her, gave her one last look and sighed. “I’ve wanted to. For so long but…I’ll explain later.”




The next day when Cassandra sat down at her cubicle, I bypassed our usual mode of communication and just stood over the cubicle wall. “I need to talk to you. Can you go into break?”

“I just got here. I should take at least one phone call, Brian.”

“This is important, Cassandra. I need to talk to you.”

Cassandra sighed angrily and dialed herself into break. I took her arm and I pulled her outside. “Okay, last night I went to a party at Ericka and Radha’s. I’ve known Radha since college and we’ve always had a thing for each other,” I began.

“Brian, I…” she sighed.

“Hear me out. So last night we were on the couch and I was about to leave when we started making out and she asked me to stay so we could, you know.”

“Brian, I’m sorry that we’re not together but I don’t want to hear about the other girls you sleep with,” Cassandra sniffled and started to walk away but I grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“But I didn’t. I’ve wanted to for years but I didn’t. You know why? Because I love you, Cassandra. I love you so much,” I said as I pulled her close to me. I then bent down and lightly swiped my lips along hers. I held the back of her head and pressed our lips together. We held each other tightly, lost in each other.

4.

“Are you okay?” Cassandra asked me as we drove through a neighborhood toward Emily’s daycare.

“I’m nervous,” I exhaled. “This is make it or break it time.”

“No, it’s not,” Cassandra said. “There will be plenty of time to do this. You’ll have more than one chance to be around Emily. You have to do this, Brian. You have to get to know Emily and since Adam won’t be home until ten tonight, it’s the perfect time.”

“We might as well break up right now,” I rubbed my hands on my pants, trying to rid them of sweat.

“I’m not going to break up with you if Emily doesn’t like you,” Cassandra tried to reassure.

“You’re saying that no matter how much Emily hates me, you are not going to break up with me?”

“You need to earn her respect, Brian. You need to be father-like to her but she also needs to trust you,” Cassandra said. I knew she was trying to help but I just became more nervous. I was never one who enjoyed being around kids even when I was one myself.

Emily was an exact copy of Cassandra only with blonde hair and bright wide eyes. Cassandra went up to the daycare house while I stayed in the car. Cassandra didn’t emerge from the house with Emily for nearly five minutes. Emily bounded out with Cassandra but her excitement disappeared when she saw me in the car.

Cassandra helped Emily into her car seat. “Hi, Emily. How was your day today?”

“Fine,” she said quietly. I could barely hear her.

“We’re all going to have dinner together,” I said with faux happiness. “We can spend all evening together.”

She perked up. “Can we watch Finding Nemo?” Emily asked.

“It’s her favorite movie,” Cassandra said. “Mine, too, to be honest.”

“Mm. My favorite movie has swear words and nudity,” I said. I could tell that Cassandra didn’t like my comment. “Sorry,” I apologized.

“We’ll watch Finding Nemo before dinner and then after, you’re taking bath, little missy.”

“No!” Emily cried. “I want Adam.”

“Adam usually bathes her,” Cassandra said. “You need a bath, sweetie. You can take a bath without Adam.”

Emily humfphed and crossed her arms. I didn’t know what to say. Do I offer to bathe Emily or is that inappropriate? I decided against it.

When we got to Cassandra’s house, Cassandra had Emily show me her room while she went to the bathroom, changed her clothes and get dinner started. She show me her toys and then got out a couple of books which I read to her twice. After, we started playing with a dollhouse but everything I did was wrong so Emily would correct me. I started getting frustrated so I began playing with whatever was lying around which riled Emily up and got her to laugh.

Cassandra stood against the door jamb and smiled at us. “Hey, dinner is ready and I got the movie going.”

“Yay!” Emily got up and bounded into the kitchen.

Cassandra and I stood in the doorway and looked longingly at each other. “See? You’re doing fine,” she said.

I quickly kissed her. “Our relationship is still young,” I said.




After dinner, we continued watching Finding Nemo. Cassandra was laying down on the couch with her feet on my lap so we could lay together without being conspicuous. She dozed off as I rubbed her legs. When the movie ended, I shook her awake.

“You missed the ending. There was a twist. They were dead the whole time,” I said.

“No, they weren’t!” Emily exclaimed.

“Very funny,” Cassandra said as she got up. “Come on, Em. Bath time.”

The two of them went down the hall to the bathroom. When I heard the water, I got up and washed dishes. I smiled hearing Cassandra and Emily in there.

“Hey, Brian, come here,” Cassandra called from the bathroom.

I went back and saw Emily wrapped in a towel, a big smile on her face. Cassandra had taken off her shirt and just had on a white tank top. The bottom half of her breasts were wet so the top clung to her and I could see her nipples. “Yeah?”

“Emily wants to know if you would read a couple chapters of Abel’s Island,” Cassandra said.

“Abel’s Island? Is that the book about the mouse lost on an island?”

“Yes, it’s one of her favorite books. Or you can read some from her Delilah book.”

“Delilah?”

“It’s about a magical cat. We just started it.”

“I’ll read Delilah since you just started it,” I said.

“Yay!” Emily exclaimed and she ran off to her room.

“She likes you,” Cassandra said as she came over to me, putting her arms around me. She closed the door and she kissed me. We pressed our bodies together, her wet top getting my shirt wet.

I slid my hand under her tank top and rubbed her stomach, sides and back. “Let’s make another one of her,” I said between kisses.

“Hey, now,” she sighed and pulled away. “Soon though,” she removed her tank top and I took in the view. She put on her other shirt then came over and hugged me.

After I read a couple chapters of Delilah, we tucked Emily into bed and went into the front room. I took Cassandra’s arm and pulled her to me. We kissed passionately but then she pulled away.

“Come here,” she pulled me over to the couch and we laid down to continue making out.

I put my hand under her shirt and went to rubbing her stomach, sides and back again. This time, she moaned and rubbed her fingertips along my back. I undid her jeans and rubbed my hand along her underwear, enjoying the heat from her body.

“You should go,” she breathed. “Adam will be home soon.”

“Fifteen minutes is plenty of time,” I said.

“Soon, love,” she rubbed my cheek. “Don’t worry, this is going to happen,” she leaned forward to my ear and whispered “I want you inside me so much,” then with a normal voice “But it can’t be tonight.”

We got off the couch and adjusted our clothes. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Cassandra said.

“Love you,” I kissed her.

“Love you, too,” she saw me out the door.

Liberty #63: A Whisky Murder

Written by T.A. McNeal; originally published in "When Kansas Was Young", 1922. Capper Publications.

Medicine Lodge never acquired the reputation of being a wild and wooly town in the sense that that name attached to Dodge City, or Wichita in its early days, or Newton or Abeline when they were the end of the Texas cattle drive, or Caldwell or Hunnewell in the days of their pristine glory. Before the railroad reached Medicine Lodge, the day of the cattle drive was passed, and while a bad man occasionally sojourned there for a night, or maybe a week, there was no congregation of killers. Medicine Lodge never had a dance hall such as flourished in each of the other towns, when they were the objectives of of the vast plains of Texas on their ways to the markets of the North and East.

Still there were some tragedies, and this story relates to one which I think had something to do with the fact that in the election of 1880 this frontier county gave a majority for the prohibitory amendment to our state constitution. While there was not so much of it sold as in some of the towns, the quality of the whisky sold in Medicine Lodge was as bad as the worst. I have known men who were ordinarily quiet and peaceable when sober, after imbibing a few drinks of the beverage, to go stark mad for the time being and become more dangerous than Bengal tigers. I know a most reputable man, kindly, law-abiding and in every way a model citizen for many years past, who confesses that he shudders when he thinks of how near he came to being a murderer when crazed by a few drinks of border drug store whisky. But that is another story.

One May day in 1879 a country boy, perhaps nineteen or twenty years of age, rode into town. John Garten had not been known as a "bad man". He was just an ordinary, gawky, green country boy, who had reached the age when he probably thought it would be smart to show off and also an indication of manly quality to fill his hide with drink. It was probably this ambition, rather than any confirmed appetite for liquor, that caused him to take on several drinks. Probably at that, nothing serious would have happened if he had not been filled with another ambition, and that was to carry a gun and acquire the ability to draw and shoot like one of the gun fighters he had heard about.

It was along toward evening of the long beautiful day in the latter part of May, that young Garten mounted his horse, probably at the suggestion of the town marshal, and rode out of town, emitting a few "whoops" as he rode. A few miles west of the Lodge, at a crossing of one of the little tributaries of the Medicine, he overtook two women, a mother and her daughter. They stepped to the side of the road to let him pass. He rode past them a few rods and then with a drunken howl pulled his pistol from its holster and fired two shots in the direction of the women. With a cry of anguish the younger woman, Mrs. Steadman, fell mortally wounded. It is quite possible that young Garten did know know that he had hit either woman, for hte rode on without further looking backwards, stopped at the ranch where he had been working, unsaddled his horse and made no effort to escape. He expressed great surprise when a few hours afterward the tall, gaunt frontier sheriff rode up to the ranch house and said quietly, "John, I want you for murder."

Garten protested that he had just intended to give the women a scare and didn't suppose he had hit either one of them, and quite probably he was telling the truth. The murder aroused a storm of indignation when young Garten was brought into town. An inoffensive, popular young woman had been shot down without any provocation and there was talk of the law of the border. There were mutterings of vengeance and knots of men gathered and conversed in low earnest tones, more dangerous than loud threats or bluster. A few hours afterward the big, lank weatherbeaten sheriff with the prisoner in charge, rode away through the moonless night to the northward and put Garten for safe keeping in the Rice County jail to await his trial. In those days there were only two terms of court in Barber County and before the time for Garten's trial he escaped from jail and, it was believed, fled to the mountains of New Mexico.

The father of the murdered woman was a lean, powerful man by the name of Champion, a typical frontiersman. I think he had come originally from the mountains of Kentucky or Tennesse and if so was born to believe in the doctrine of the blood avenger. Sparing of speech and stern of face, Champion made little demonstration of his grief, though it was understood that he possessed a quiet and deep affection for his children.

When the news came that Garten had broken jail, Champion said nothing, but those who were in his confidence knew that he had gone to New Mexico. For almost a year nothing was heard from him, but there was a persistent rumor that he was playing the part of the avenger of blood; that he had gone on a relentless, tireless man hunt for the slayer of his first born.

Finally he returned. He said nothing for publication, but there was the look on his face of a man who had accomplished his task and fulfilled the old law, the law still of the mountains, an eye for an eye, a life for a life. No one outside of Champion and his few confidants knew what had been the result of that long year's hunt through the mountains and over the burning desert sands, but Garten was never found by the authorities or returned for trial.

Those who knew the boy never believed that he was a willful and deliberate murderer. His crime was the direct result of the villainous liquor that was sold in the frontier town. At the next election the question was up to amend the constitution so as to make the sale of whisky as a beverage forever unlawful. The rough bearded men riding the range, with ample time to meditate as they rode, considered the case of the boy Garten, the murdered woman, the lean-faced, stern, unsmiling close-lipped frontiersman on his lonely vigils in the mountains, searching with indomitable will and marvelous patience for the man he meant to kill. They considered and voted for prohibition.

Liberty #62: Panda

Her parents met many years ago. No one was quite sure when but they were married a long time before the girl came along. He had wanted a quiet marriage, a quiet life, and he got it. He and his bride moved into this old house shortly after getting married. It was too large for just the two of them but he made it clear that he did not want children. For several years, fate complied with that even going so far as to cause three miscarriages. They were still happy but for her, there was an emptiness.

When she was finally blessed with a little girl, she was told to keep her quiet. She complied as best she could but too many long nights forced her husband to move their daughter’s room into the attic. It was there that a large stuffed panda sat in the window. The girl had received the panda from her grandma, her father’s mother. It was unknown if her mother still had her parents.

Her grandma would dote on her as much as possible. Her mother often gave her too much attention, and her father not enough but grandma did it just right. The girl loved seeing her grandma come through the attic door.

“She seems thin and looks pale,” the grandma said to the girl’s mother. “Have you been feeding her enough?”

“She never gets hungry,” mother shrugged. She could never hear if the girl was crying so she rarely came up to feed her. She was fed only when the adults were. “And we don’t get out like to the park as much as we would like,” mother explained. They had stopped leaving the house because her husband began worrying that someone would take her. Her husband had become very erratic over the last couple of months. She just brushed it off as he was a new father. Everything would be back to normal soon.

Two days before the girl turned three, their phone rang. Both the father and mother could easily hear the phone in the hallway but not the girl screaming and crying right above them. She tried to get out of bed but both her eyes were cloudy and unfocused, a problem she noticed a few months ago but kept to herself. They usually fixed themselves by the afternoon.

He got out of bed and shuffled to the phone, answering it with a gruff “Hello?”

A man on the other end explained that something had happened at his mother’s house and that he should come over. Within minutes, he and his wife we dressed and heading out the door.

“What about…?” she asked, pointing to the door to the attic, but was interrupted.

“She’ll be fine,” he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

They drove across town to his mother’s house. Police tape encircled the front yard and there were a couple of police cars. He and his wife stepped over the tape and went into the house. “What are you doing? This is a crime scene,” an officer said.

“This is my mother’s house,” he said gruffly.

“Oh,” the officer hung his head. “Sorry. We’re thinking it was a robbery. Someone broke in through the side door and your mother was unfortunate enough to still be awake.”

The officer led them to where his mother was, covered with a sheet. He collapsed to the floor and began sobbing. His wife stood over him and gently put her hand on his shoulder.




Over the next few years, they grew more reclusive. Dark shades were drawn on every window except the one with the panda. His mother had left him a small fortune so he no longer had to go to work. They lived meagerly on his inheritance and kept from going outside as much as possible.

The girl was now six and, while skin and bones, still cute with her short, home-styled haircut and freckles dotting the area across her nose under her eyes. Her mother went upstairs every evening before bed to give her food and clean up the child’s toilet that she had been trained to use.

“Hey, there,” her mom would always say. She would never use her name. She may not have even remembered it.

“Ay, deer,” the girl would repeat.

“Here’s your food.”

“Dood.”

The bowl was placed on the floor and she was unchained from an o-hook screwed into the wall. Her mother would clean out the bowl while the girl ate then drop off the clean toilet and a baby bottle of water, take the empty dish and the empty bottle from the evening before, the girl would be chained back up and her mother would leave, locking the door behind her. That was most interaction the girl would get for the next three years.

Downstairs, the girl’s father had moved he and his wife’s bedroom into the living room. He never went upstairs and she only went up to tend to the girl. Everything had been moved downstairs whether they needed it or not. The downstairs of their house became a cluttered mess and he began worrying about thieves wanting his family’s possessions. He kept a gun an arm’s length away all the time.

He spent the days muttering and wandering around the house, making sure their piles of trash were suitable or that their piles of trash were where they were supposed to be. She just stayed out of the way, in her rocking chair, attempting to read through her diminishing eyesight. Then, one day, it was gone. Replaced with a white, cloudy image, her vision never readjusted like it usually did. She carefully felt her way to her rocking chair and sat down, unmoving, untalking, unseeing.

The girl had been crying for over an hour before he finally heard it. “Why is she crying?” he asked.

“She’s hungry.”

“Then feed her. You’re supposed to keep her quiet.”

“I can’t feed her.”

“Why?”

“I can’t see,” she revealed to him.

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t see. It’s like I’m looking through clouds. I can’t get her dinner fixed. I can’t go up and down the stairs. I can’t clean her toilet. You’re going to have to do it.”

“I don’t go upstairs,” he grumbled.

“Then she’ll just cry,” she shrugged.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the girl’s cries clearly drilling into his ears. “Why didn’t you tell me about your eyesight?”

“You don’t want to be bothered by our ailments,” she answered.

The crying deafened him. His wife continued to sit in her rocking chair, acting like nothing was wrong. She could barely hear her daughter but he was being tortured by her screeching wails. The girl couldn’t hear the two gunshots her father used on her mother and himself. They were too far away, the walls too thick, her crying too loud.




The shots did catch the attention of their neighbors who found this the last straw in the family’s oddness. They called the police who came over, saw all the windows covered to keep out the light, and pushed their way into the house. Inside, they found the woman bleeding and slumping in the rocking chair. The man, in his armchair. The police heard the faint screaming coming from upstairs.

Upon breaking into the attic, they found the girl, chained to the wall, her toilet nearly full. Nothing in the room besides a mattress, blanket, and the sun-bleached panda in the window. One of the officers carefully went to unchain the girl while the other radioed in.

“Hi, there,” the officer said kneeling down in front of the girl. “My name is Hal, what’s yours?”

The girl had stopped crying but was still sniffling. “Pa-naa,” she said, but was pointing at the stuffed animal in the window.

“Okay, we’ll just call you that for now. Panda,” the officer said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Liberty #61: Pineapple & Banana

One
This is the city. Redemption City. Built in the Middle East as an apology for western colonization after World War III, there are a million stories in this city and this will be one of them. It was two in the morning and most of the city was asleep but the Northern Karaj Harbor was bustling with activity. In one of the warehouses, two men, one with a handtruck approached a massive crate surrounded by five other men.

“That’s a big crate,” one said.

“Filled with the finest drugs in the Middle East,” the one with the handtruck said. “Let’s take a peek and make sure our cargo is still intact.”

They pried open the lid to the crate and moved the various fruits covering the drugs to the side. “They look safe to me,” the one chuckled. “That’s some big-ass fruit in there.” The man looked away to grab the lid.

“Yeah, like you’re so petite,” a voice said, coming from the crate.

The two men looked down and saw a pineapple and banana pointing guns at them. “You’re under arrest for drug trafficking” the banana said. Other officers began rushing into the warehouse surrounding the men and the crate.

“Good work, you two,” Chief Morse said as he bent down to shake Pineapple and Banana’s hands. “This definitely puts a dent in the Great Pumpkin’s empire.”

“Maybe for a day. Within 24 hours, he’ll have twice as many drugs as this out on the street,” Pineapple said, despondent.

“We’ll get him, Piney. This is a huge start,” Banana said.

“In other cases, there’s one that we would like you to take a look into,” Morse said.

“What is it?”

“A missing person. I’ll give you the details when we get back to City Center.”

“Missing person?” Pineapple asked. “Special Detectives don’t handle missing persons.”

“They do when the missing person is brown,” Morse said as he walked away.




Decades ago, when Persia was created from the ruins of war-torn Iran, Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, the constitution included preference to Islam. Persia was split at the Karaj River into West Persia and East Persia. One government controlled the country as a whole but each side had their own governments but appointed delegates for the country to serve as the overseeing government. The chain of command was further complicated by the President and Congress of the United States being very involved despite Persia being a wholly sovereign country. The preference to Islam was given, again, as an apology.

“So who are we looking for?” Banana asked.

“Shanzay Younan. 17-years-old,” Morse handed Banana a picture. “She’s been missing for a little more than a week. Local police has told the parents that they are looking and investigating but the parents aren’t so sure.”

“Local police?” Pineapple questioned. “She didn’t go missing in Redemption City, did she?”

“Nope. Mieville.”

“Is that even in our jurisdiction?” Banana asked.

“We cover all of the District of Wisconsin and Mieville is in Wisconsin,” Morse said. “You are going to have help on this case.”

“Help? Why would we need help?” Pineapple asked.

“Mieville is a small town and they may not take lightly to answering questions from pineapple and banana detectives from Redemption City,” Morse explained.

“Who is it?”

“Caitlyn Bilko. She just transferred from New Assyria.”

“Bilko. Where do I know that name?” Pineapple thought.

“Probably from my father,” a voice said. “His picture is hanging in the hall of heroes on the way to department.”

“Edmond Bilko, of course,” Pineapple said.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Banana said, extending his hand to Caitlyn and using his charming voice.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Caitlyn accepted.

“Here. Let me get you the case file,” Morse said. Caitlyn stepped toward the desk.

Behind Caitlyn, Pineapple smacked Banana on the arm. What are you doing? he mouthed.

What? She’s cute, Banana mouthed back.

Just because you are shaped like a dick doesn’t mean you have to act like one.

Banana was taken aback. How dare you, sir. I did not choose how I look.

“Are you two coming up with a strategy for looking for this girl?” Caitlyn asked, noticing their gesturing and mouthing words.

“Yeah,” Banana said. “Just bouncing ideas off each other.”

Liberty #60: Ben's Last Night

“You’re leaving?” Harry exclaimed to Ben right before shoving a forkful of biscuits and gravy into his mouth. The biscuits were soft and fluffy but the gravy had a thin layer of grease that had congealed around and on top.

“Leaving make it seem like I have a say in the matter,” Ben smiled. “I’m deploying.”

“You’re going to miss graduation,” Zeke said softly.

“Graduation is just a formality. Missing it doesn’t make me less graduated.”

“I know but it flies in the face of all those people who thought you wouldn’t make it, Mr. Peterson,” Zeke angrily growled.

“I think you’re the only person Mr. Peterson said that to,” Ben pointed at Zeke with his fork which had his last bite of pancakes on it.

“Not true,” Harry was scraping the gravy onto his fork. “After catching me with April Tightwater back in September, he asked me how often I’ve had sex and after I told him, he told me that I’m going to get some girl pregnant and end up losing any money I make to child support. So I told him that I can’t produce sperm so he changed his mind to me becoming riddled with various STDs. Basically, he thinks I’m going to be some kind of man-whore. Which is actually a very lucrative job when you think about it.”

“Are you doing anything for your last day?” Zeke asked.

“Hadn’t planned on it.”

“We could throw you a little something. One last blow out with your friends,” Harry said.

“That’d be nice. You know how I love blow outs,” Ben said.

“It won’t be like that. It will be laid back.”

“Sounds good,” Ben pushed away his dishes and leaned back in the booth. “I need to get going to Veronica’s. I need to tell her that I’m leaving,” Ben slid out of the booth. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Okay, man, we’ll see you. We’ll get something planned,” Harry said.

“Later, Ben.”

They watched Ben leave the diner, get in his car, and drive away. “So what are we doing for Ben?”

“I think we could just do some bowling and drinking. I bet my Uncle Don, who owns the bowling alley in town, would discount our games and I bet he’d serve us a few pitchers of beer, especially for a military man,” Harry said. “You want to drive up there with me and see if that will be okay?”

“Sure. I have to work at three though.” After leaving the diner, Harry drove back to his house. “What are we doing back here?”

“I have a couple library books to return,” Harry said. “Plus I want to make sure Cassandra is up. She wanted to find an ensemble for graduation.”

“So you’re obeying Brandon’s stupid request?”

“How is it stupid? She’s becoming a woman. It may be weird because we’ve known Brandon our entire lives but it doesn’t make what she’s going through stupid,” Harry said. “Besides, aside from the pronoun, it’s just a name change. If I asked to be called Chauncey instead of Harry, no one would blink an eye.”

“Chauncey?”

“It’s a name.”

Harry and Zeke went into the house and headed toward Harry’s bedroom. In Harry’s bedroom, Cassandra stood in front of a mirror wearing a black shirt and jeans. She had her hair that she had been growing out since her junior year slightly curled and was wearing bright red lipstick.

Harry’s mouth dropped open as Zeke grimaced. “Brandon?”

“Cassandra, please,” she corrected.

“Ignore him,” Harry waved Zeke off. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you. I’m thinking of wearing this to graduation. I may not be able to get the school to call me Cassandra but I’m at least going to look the part.”

“That’ll piss off Mr. Phillips,” Harry smiled at that thought. “You should trade robes with Lillian, that way you are wearing white like the rest of the girls.”

“Ooh, I like that,” Cassandra bit her lip and smiled. “What’s going on?”

“Not much. We’re heading into town. Ben is being deployed so we’re planning a party for him the night before graduation.”

“What? Oh, no. What do you think you’ll do for his farewell party?”

“Bowling and drinking. We’re heading out now to see if my Uncle Don will let us play and if he’ll skim us some beer at his bowling alley. It’s a special occasion so dress nicely,” Harry said, eyeing Cassandra again.

“Harry,” Cassandra grabbed Harry’s hand and began whispering into his ear.

Harry smiled and pulled away. “Come on, Zeke. Let’s go,” Harry leaned over and grabbed the library books off of his bedside table.

As they left the house and got back in Harry’s car, Zeke chuckled. “Do have a crush on Brandon?”

“Cassandra,” Harry corrected, “and I have a crush on everybody, Zeke.”




The number of times that Ben and Veronica had made love was possibly into the hundreds by now. They had stopped counting shortly after reaching the twenties. Veronica was thinking about all their times together and how they all ended the same way but then she realized that they didn’t. “We should talk about you leaving,” she reluctantly said, quietly.

“Why should we ruin this perfect moment by talking about that?” Ben asked.

“It’s important, Ben. We’ve been together since we were sophomores and this is, when you think about it, our first true relationship test.”

“I know it’s important but there are only two options to decide on,” Ben rolled onto his side and pulled the blanket down to expose Veronica’s breasts. “We either break up or stay together. Both options are terrible in my opinion.”

“I agree which is why we need to talk about them,” Veronica sat up in bed and pulled her legs to her chest. “What did you first think of us when you heard that you were going to be leaving?”

“I didn’t want to do the long-distance thing. It’s not fair to either of us.”

“So you want to break up?”

“No, I love you and thought we would be together our whole lives.”

“So you want to stay together?”

Ben sighed. “Without thinking, what do you want to do?”

“Figure out a way to keep to here,” Veronica looked at Ben.

“I’m guessing that’s an endorsement for breaking up.”

“Why?”

“I can’t stay and clearly you don’t want to do the long-distance thing either which is fine because those things never work and it would ruin our running as the only normal relationship out of all of our friends,” Ben said.

“It’s only fitting that we go out on top then,” Veronica nodded.

The two of them got out of bed and began getting dressed. “Zeke and Harry are throwing me a goodbye party the night before I leave. Will you be attending?”

“I have work that night. Besides, it’d probably be awkward if we were seen together after breaking up.”

“I don’t even plan on telling anyone.”

Veronica laughed. “I wasn’t either. Until you leave.”

“I hope that we can still be friends, write to each other,” Ben said.

“Probably not. You’re going to be all the way on the other side of the world and I’m going to just be getting stuffed by every guy I see.”

“So you’ll be too busy to write?”

“It’s hard to write with a penis in each hand.”

“I love you,” Ben hugged Veronica and kissed her.

Veronica pulled away and smiled. “I love you, too.” They went back to kissing and hugging each other tight.

Liberty #59: Riley & Tyler, Part 2

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