Where’s Julie? (Scenes of Winter: Episode 1)

By Chris McAuliffe

Twenty-six year old Julie has been out of sorts for days. Eric, her boyfriend and two years her junior, has a vague uneasiness that he refuses to unpack. Instead, believing a winter storm has passed, he pressures her to go snowshoeing with him. In the aftermath of a sexual assault—in the shadow of the perpetrator and the resurgence of the storm—a victim and the bystander deal with their inability to communicate with life-altering consequences for them and the world beyond. If Julie survives, where will she go?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris McAuliffe
• Release date: Apr 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463027370

Chris McAuliffe

I'm a long-time resident of Windsor, CT living with Cheryl, who I've known since first grade and been in love with since senior year in high school. We've raised three children: Aaron, Kay and Rose. Raised three children? That's a vast understatement. Together, these four people have given me experiences and insights which have continually redefined how I see myself and the world I live in.Job-wise, I'm a retired mechanical engineer who designed and developed a specific type of machine used in an aircraft system which few are aware of, but all air travelers depend on. At its best, the job was creative and rewarding and payed the bills. At its worst, it’s something I'm grateful to never have to do again. And now I get to write every day!So call me Chris. I use he/him pronouns. I'm a cis-gender heterosexual white upper-middle-class male who respects the power of labels, the freedom of no one to be limited by them, and my own evolving ignorance.

Book preview

Where's Julie?

Scenes of Winter: Episode 1

Copyright 2019 Chris McAuliffe

Published by Chris McAuliffe at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Notes on Scenes of Winter

Where's Julie?

About the author

Other books by the author

Connect with the author

Acknowledgements

Learning how to write has been a never-ending quest, and I would have long ago been lost without the companionship and education provided by the Northern Connecticut Writers Workshop and the Windsor Writers Critique Group. Thank you to all.

Special thanks for help on this short story to Sarah Gilligan, Annalisa Deal and Kay McAuliffe.

Cover art provided by Tom McAuliffe (Contact at @mcletters or mcletters.co)

Notes on Scenes of Winter

Scenes of Winter is linked short stories inspired by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's 2018 hearings on the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. This is not about the hearings, but focuses on how the issues raised--sexual violence, gender roles, racial biases and classism--intersect in our day-to-day lives.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Where's Julie?

Julie crouched behind Eric’s prized Tesla, struggling to secure her left foot into her snowshoe.

A foot of snow in November is a gift from nature. Her boyfriend scrambled on top of the three-foot-tall roadside snowbank and peered into the