by Penelope Anne Bartotto (Night~Challenge~Last)
Wednesday, it was always on Wednesdays. The challenge he faced came to slap him in the face every
Wednesday, rain or shine, day or night. He was beginning to wonder if he was cursed. If he had pissed off the Gods, or even demons. No man should have to face the horror he faced every Wednesday since he last saw her.
They had married young. They were in love, deep soul mate, passionate love. They had dreams that included each other. They had the future ahead of them, a ribbon of highway waiting to take them anywhere they wanted to go. Their parents were furious. Their friends were incredulous. Their teachers disappointed. Eighteen and married the week after graduation. Their honeymoon, a cross country trip in a battered old VW-Bug that they lovingly christened Herbie. A year on the road and then they would decide on a place to settle down and call home. A year and then they would go on to college, they promised... their parents and teachers, and each other.
The trip was no cake walk, they had car troubles more often than not. The money disappeared faster than water down the drain. Their patience dwindled more and more as the days went by, and the problems increased. Their love was all that kept them moving forward and together.
He loved her with every minute ounce of his heart and soul. He couldn't believe he was the lucky guy who had captured her heart. He felt complete with her in his life, like a puzzle sitting with a missing spot for years suddenly reunited with that mysterious lost piece. His love was more than physical, not that she wasn't the most beautiful creature on God's green earth. His love was transcendental. He fully believed there were no binds his love for her could not break.
They had finally reached California, after months of travel, they wanted to spend some time chilling and feeling the glorious vibes of free love. Haight-Ashbury became their haven. They met people that were cool, crazy, and clearly cuddly. They were having the time of their lives, life was good. There was always a place to crash, food to be had, and the drugs flowed freely. They had found a cool group that allowed them to have a room in the huge flat that they were renting. Everybody did something to contribute to the group - work, cook, clean, sell drugs, obtain the drugs...whatever was needed someone took care of it.
It was in the wonderment of this wonderland that she discovered they were going to have a baby. His excitement was incredible, and the reality check hurt like hell. This was not the world to bring a baby into, no matter how much they liked it. He put on his walking shoes and found himself a job. He helped pay the bills to keep them safe with a roof over their heads, and he squirreled away what he could to get them back home. He worked long hours, days or nights, taking any shift he could. Thankfully there was a lot of work at the docks to be found. He quit the drugs, and begged her to as well. She said she would, she promised she would, when the lay together. He would see the glassy shine in her eyes and doubt her, and he hated that. He felt pain in his heart, the pain that love could cause.
The time was coming close that he would be able to afford the trip back home. He had checked Greyhound bus ticket prices and had enough saved for the two tickets. He wanted to get another hundred banked for the necessities they would need along the way, like food. He decided it was time to broach the subject with her straight on as his unsubtly dropped hints had not sunk in. He lay in the bed staring at the water-stained ceiling dreaming of how life would be when they were settled, as he waited for her to wake up. She snuggled into his side and smiled at him, the smile that won him over.
He took her out for breakfast at a diner he knew would not be busy. He also made sure that none of the gang would be there. They sat down, grabbed the greasy menus from the stand and quietly decided what they wanted to order. After the waitress took their order and returned with a cup of coffee for him and a large orange juice for her, he laid out his plan for her. He expected joy, maybe a little trepidation, but never the anger.
She was livid, her screaming drawing unwanted attention. The owner of the diner rushed from the kitchen and told us to leave, now. I tried to calm her down as I threw a few dollars on the table for the food we weren't going to get to eat. She stormed out of the diner and I had to run to catch up with her. She told me I was being selfish that I was thinking of her needs. I argued that I was totally focused on her, and that was why we needed to go home. She stopped suddenly and I stumbled into her. I tried to hug her, but she pushed me away, forcibly. She told me simply that she needed time to think. As I watched her walk away, I never realized that would be the day.
That had been twenty years ago on a Wednesday morning. She haunted my dreams, my nightmares. I didn't see her again until almost a year later. She was dirty, and screaming at a camera as the police drug her away. She had been living at a place called Spahn Ranch with a group calling themselves The Family. Some crazy-ass dude had built himself a cult, and she had fallen for it, hook-line-sinker. Shortly after that the dreams began.
He would be back in California, wandering the Haight-Ashbury district. He could hear her voice calling out to him, then screaming to save the baby. The world turned to chaos and he was always running to find her, to save her and the baby. He never did in the dreams, nor in reality.
His challenge seemed simple enough at first, find her and then find the baby. Her arrest had happened due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The children on the Ranch had been taken into protective custody, but most had been returned to their mothers. The trail had gone ice cold there. Nobody knew what had become of her. The friends they had lived with only knew she had left and moved with a gal named Patricia Kerwinkle, before the arrest. They had never heard from her again. Nor had he.
Somewhere was his baby waiting for him? Was she out there still? He didn't know. So he would continue to face the challenge every Wednesday. He had to have hope.
Wednesday, it was always on Wednesdays. The challenge he faced came to slap him in the face every
Wednesday, rain or shine, day or night. He was beginning to wonder if he was cursed. If he had pissed off the Gods, or even demons. No man should have to face the horror he faced every Wednesday since he last saw her.
They had married young. They were in love, deep soul mate, passionate love. They had dreams that included each other. They had the future ahead of them, a ribbon of highway waiting to take them anywhere they wanted to go. Their parents were furious. Their friends were incredulous. Their teachers disappointed. Eighteen and married the week after graduation. Their honeymoon, a cross country trip in a battered old VW-Bug that they lovingly christened Herbie. A year on the road and then they would decide on a place to settle down and call home. A year and then they would go on to college, they promised... their parents and teachers, and each other.
The trip was no cake walk, they had car troubles more often than not. The money disappeared faster than water down the drain. Their patience dwindled more and more as the days went by, and the problems increased. Their love was all that kept them moving forward and together.
He loved her with every minute ounce of his heart and soul. He couldn't believe he was the lucky guy who had captured her heart. He felt complete with her in his life, like a puzzle sitting with a missing spot for years suddenly reunited with that mysterious lost piece. His love was more than physical, not that she wasn't the most beautiful creature on God's green earth. His love was transcendental. He fully believed there were no binds his love for her could not break.
They had finally reached California, after months of travel, they wanted to spend some time chilling and feeling the glorious vibes of free love. Haight-Ashbury became their haven. They met people that were cool, crazy, and clearly cuddly. They were having the time of their lives, life was good. There was always a place to crash, food to be had, and the drugs flowed freely. They had found a cool group that allowed them to have a room in the huge flat that they were renting. Everybody did something to contribute to the group - work, cook, clean, sell drugs, obtain the drugs...whatever was needed someone took care of it.
It was in the wonderment of this wonderland that she discovered they were going to have a baby. His excitement was incredible, and the reality check hurt like hell. This was not the world to bring a baby into, no matter how much they liked it. He put on his walking shoes and found himself a job. He helped pay the bills to keep them safe with a roof over their heads, and he squirreled away what he could to get them back home. He worked long hours, days or nights, taking any shift he could. Thankfully there was a lot of work at the docks to be found. He quit the drugs, and begged her to as well. She said she would, she promised she would, when the lay together. He would see the glassy shine in her eyes and doubt her, and he hated that. He felt pain in his heart, the pain that love could cause.
The time was coming close that he would be able to afford the trip back home. He had checked Greyhound bus ticket prices and had enough saved for the two tickets. He wanted to get another hundred banked for the necessities they would need along the way, like food. He decided it was time to broach the subject with her straight on as his unsubtly dropped hints had not sunk in. He lay in the bed staring at the water-stained ceiling dreaming of how life would be when they were settled, as he waited for her to wake up. She snuggled into his side and smiled at him, the smile that won him over.
He took her out for breakfast at a diner he knew would not be busy. He also made sure that none of the gang would be there. They sat down, grabbed the greasy menus from the stand and quietly decided what they wanted to order. After the waitress took their order and returned with a cup of coffee for him and a large orange juice for her, he laid out his plan for her. He expected joy, maybe a little trepidation, but never the anger.
She was livid, her screaming drawing unwanted attention. The owner of the diner rushed from the kitchen and told us to leave, now. I tried to calm her down as I threw a few dollars on the table for the food we weren't going to get to eat. She stormed out of the diner and I had to run to catch up with her. She told me I was being selfish that I was thinking of her needs. I argued that I was totally focused on her, and that was why we needed to go home. She stopped suddenly and I stumbled into her. I tried to hug her, but she pushed me away, forcibly. She told me simply that she needed time to think. As I watched her walk away, I never realized that would be the day.
That had been twenty years ago on a Wednesday morning. She haunted my dreams, my nightmares. I didn't see her again until almost a year later. She was dirty, and screaming at a camera as the police drug her away. She had been living at a place called Spahn Ranch with a group calling themselves The Family. Some crazy-ass dude had built himself a cult, and she had fallen for it, hook-line-sinker. Shortly after that the dreams began.
He would be back in California, wandering the Haight-Ashbury district. He could hear her voice calling out to him, then screaming to save the baby. The world turned to chaos and he was always running to find her, to save her and the baby. He never did in the dreams, nor in reality.
His challenge seemed simple enough at first, find her and then find the baby. Her arrest had happened due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The children on the Ranch had been taken into protective custody, but most had been returned to their mothers. The trail had gone ice cold there. Nobody knew what had become of her. The friends they had lived with only knew she had left and moved with a gal named Patricia Kerwinkle, before the arrest. They had never heard from her again. Nor had he.
Somewhere was his baby waiting for him? Was she out there still? He didn't know. So he would continue to face the challenge every Wednesday. He had to have hope.