The Woman in the Black Raincoat: Short Stories and Poems

By Elaine Billstrom

This is a diverse series of short stories that span a period from the 1940s through to the 1970s. Among them, In Homeless, a little girls builds a house for herself with very rudimentary materials, and comes to grief with the attempt; a housewife recalls her first memory of snow, which is in short supply in coastal, British Columbia.

In Back to Normal, a young man returns home after a long absence, only to learn his father has become a part of a medical experiment. In Courneys Reunion, a young girl turns to drastic means to reunite her family, torn apart by scandal.

In the title story, Marilyn and George cause curiosity and disdain in their upscale neighborhood. Pigs rout in their lawn; goats stand on their roof, plus chickens are everywhere but most baffling is Marilyns choice of dress. Her only apparel is a shabby black raincoat, which she wears at all times in all weather. A neighbours invitation to her party could lead to some answers!

In Shh, Jake and Jan experience an abrupt change of life style when they switch their careers, from concert pianist and pediatrician to a joint venture in pyramid selling. It leads to a startling conclusion.

The poetry includes The Moonlit Garden. It was written when the author was thirteen, and launched her interest in writing by winning a high school poetry contest. Ad Infinitum was published in The Vancouver Sun when she was nineteen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491705711

Elaine Billstrom

Elaine Billstrom...Currently plays violin in a local orchestra...has completed courses in English and Creative Writing at Douglas College. She has three grown children and resides in Maple Ridge. B. C., Canada.

Book preview

The

Woman

in the Black Raincoat

Short Stories and Poems

Elaine Billstrom

iUniverse LLC

Bloomington

The Woman in the Black Raincoat

Short Stories and Poems

Copyright © 2013 by Elaine Billstrom.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-0570-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-0571-1 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915759

iUniverse rev. date: 08/30/2013

Contents

The Woman in the Black Raincoat

Back to Normal?

Beautiful Snow

Chicken Little

Courtney’s Reunion

Depression Hang-Up

Grandma’s Washing Machine

Homeless

M as in Muddled

Macro and Micro

Mother’s Garden

Pieces of Eight

Poor Jennifer

Shhh!

Lizzie

The Last Man

Ouch!

The Pond

The Stage

The Unknown

Theodosia’s Solution

Why Not?

Writer’s Block

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

The Poems

Ad Infinitum

Ask the Breeze

The Breeze Replies

Broadly Speaking

Contrast

Counterfeit Love

To Cindy

Kittycut

Point of View

Soft Murmurs the Wind

The Dilemma

The Moonlit Garden

The Rooster

This Poem

The Woman in the Black Raincoat

Marilyn and George Woolcott had a strange lifestyle, which attracted the attention of their more refined neighbors.

It’s not that I don’t like Marilyn, said Liz Carmichael to Jen Stevens. But keeping goats around here! Isn’t it against the law?

Not only goats! Jen added. They keep chickens, geese—you name it! That lovely estate is overrun with animals! But you know, I’ve never actually met the woman. What is she like, Liz?

Liz hesitated as she looked through Jen’s French doors towards the Woolcott place. It was barely visible through the trees. There was a goat on the roof of their garage, and a huge, mud-caked sow could be discerned rooting in their rutted so-called lawn. Sniffing disdainfully, Liz said, I do know one thing about her. She wears a black raincoat everywhere—even in hot weather.

How strange, replied Jen. She was thinking to herself, Just because I’ve moved up a notch in the world doesn’t mean I should turn snobby, like Liz. So what if the Woolcotts keep animals and Marilyn wears a raincoat everywhere? I won’t condemn her for it.

She stooped to pick up Floppit, her darling French poodle. Look at this, Liz. Don’t I have an animal?

But really, Jen! What if Floppit was a goat?

So what!

If you approve of them so much, why don’t you invite them to your party!

I certainly will! snapped Jen.

At the Woolcotts’, things were peaceful—until the phone rang. George entered the sewing room, where Marilyn was working, his face beaming. We’re invited out. Think you’re up to it?

Just let me finish this patch, said Marilyn. If it turns out, we’ll go.

"For heaven’s sake! Don’t you