Night of Dreams: Nighttime Stories

By Anthony Pezzula

A collection of short stories, a bit offbeat, in the zone of twilight perhaps, or just on the edge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthony Pezzula
• Release date: Nov 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311679123

Anthony Pezzula

I live in upstate New York with my wife in our now empty nest. I worked for many years for the State of New York, and now write short stories and plays. I've had stories published in various print and on line magazines, and several of my plays have been performed in upstate theaters as well as theaters in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego and Tampa. I received a Meritorious Achievement in Playwriting Award from the Theater Association of New York State (TANYS) for my play Home Again.

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Night of Dreams

Nighttime Stories

By Anthony R Pezzula

Copyright 2013 Anthony R Pezzula

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A Day At The Movies first appeared in the August 2006 issue of The Writers Post Journal

Making Friends first appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Midnight Times.

The Office Worker first appeared in the March 2009 issue of Aphelion Magazine.

Old Spice first appeared in the April 2011 issue of The Fringe Magazine.

The Hygienist first appeared in the January 2012 issue of Suspense Magazine.

Previously Loved first appeared in the March 2013 issue of Aphelion Magazine.

Kiosk first appeared in the May 2010 issue of Down in the Dirt Magazine.

Edited by Kathy Bakes

Cover art Night Dream by Robert Gullie.

See more of Bob’s art at http://www.robertgullie.com.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Day at the Movies

Making Friends

The Office Worker

Old Spice

The Hygienist

Previously Loved

Kiosk

About the Author

A Day at the Movies

Ezra had no idea if and when the asshole’s body would be found. In fact a week later he barely remembered the incident at all. In a month’s time it would be a distant memory mixed in with other incidents from his life and from movies he’d seen, one indistinguishable from another.

Ezra loved to go to the movies. He really did. To sit in the darkened theater and be lost in the action on the big screen was the highlight of his otherwise uninteresting life. Ezra was not the brightest guy in the world; the gene pool just wasn’t there.

Ezra’s Dad didn’t finish grade school. He dropped out and started working whatever jobs he could. The main incentive his Dad had to work in the first place was to make enough money to buy the drink. Drinking was the highlight of his Dad’s life, and he enjoyed that highlight whenever he could. Even sober he was a miserable person who never got along with anyone, but drunk, he was just about unbearable. He went from odd job to odd job, picking up a few bucks here and there. No one steady job, but he worked enough to support the drink.

Ezra’s Mom was not much better. She finished high school, but barely. She liked to drink too, but added smoking pot to her leisure activities. Because she finished high school she was able to find a steadier job than his Dad and worked as a cashier in the local supermarket. Although she was constantly in danger of losing her job, either because she was not very good at it when sober, or because she was bombed too often, she managed to hang on.

Ezra was never quite sure how his Mom and Dad got together, but he imagined it was at some bar or other. If Ezra could think that deeply, he might wonder why they decided to have a child in the first place. Truth be told, they didn’t. Ezra’s Dad would never think to have protected sex. It would just never occur to him. Besides, it would interfere with his pleasure, which was uppermost in his mind. One night of drunken passion, his Mom forgot to use her diaphragm, and the result was Ezra. Unwanted and resented by both.

Ezra was not sure when his Mom and Dad got married, or even if they were. All he knew was that his childhood was something he did not like to think about. When Ezra’s Dad even acknowledged his existence at all it was to berate him. Or when his dad was really drunk even beat him. His Mom was not much better. There was some maternal instinct there that made her feel she had to take care of him, but it didn’t go very far. There was some care when she was most sober, feeding, buying clothes, etc., but it was mostly from a sense of obligation rather than any love. When she was as bombed as his Dad, she pretty much treated Ezra the same way as he did, either ignoring him, or doling out some punishment. Altogether it was not a very pleasant life for a little boy.

The best thing his Mom ever did for him was to take him to the movies. This was not an act she did for his pleasure, or to bond or some such thing, but something she did for herself. One Saturday when he was six years old, she took him to a local theater, which was across the street from one of her favorite bars. She plopped him down in one of the seats, threw some popcorn in his lap, gave him a Coke, and told him she’d be right back. He was scared at first when she didn’t come back right away, but then something started to happen on the big screen in front of him. To this day he can’t remember what the movie was, just that it was some Disney cartoon feature. All he knows is that it took him away from his Mom and Dad, from the beatings, being hungry, dirty and bored, and put him in an exciting world of adventure and ultimately happiness. Ezra was hooked. When his Mom came