Story Fire

By Billy Dean

Some stories are just an entertaining way to escape reality. But some are a powerful way to change reality because you found something psychologically valid and emotionally realistic about yourself. The story becomes more true than if it had really happened because it’s loaded with clues for shaping and navigating the sticky web of real life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Billy Dean
• Release date: Jan 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005731946

Billy Dean

Billy Dean is a free-lance writer with degrees in English and Engineering. He has written articles for trade journals, been a newspaper columnist, performed poetry at open mic events, and had his essays, memoirs, poems, stories and how-to guides published with on-line magazines and e-book distributors.

Book preview

« Story fire »

by Billy Dean

Copyright 2023

Smashwords Edition

Please don’t sell this e-book or give it to others. If you want to share it with others, refer them to My Author’s Page or purchase a copy for their use only. The illustrations in this e-book, included the cover, were created by the author or derived from illustrations released to the public domain under Creative Commons Zero (CC0).

Tonight, when the sun slips over the horizon, go outside and sit down around a campfire with your friends. Call it your Story Fire. Look up and see those other story fires. We call them stars, but imagine a planet like ours orbiting the one you are looking at, and somebody like you sitting around their story fire with their friends looking down at yours. Choose a story from this book and let it carry you and your friends to once upon a time in a place beyond the stars.

Table of Contents

An Acorn Day » a man deals with heartache at the end of a marathon.

Brandy » you’re a fine girl, what a good wife you will be.

Dear Jonathan » Jack helps Jonathan become an amateur scientist.

Deja Vu » never is longer than forever, which is only now.

Don't Call Me Dad » Alida brings Alex's past up close and personal.

Emily Gets a Ride » Eric saves Emily from Jimmy the jerk.

Four Aces » Paul and Penny share fear and fun finding her father.

Game Over » Barbara is hot in bed but Beverly is friendship on fire.

Helmet & Ring » Brad gives up his helmet and Brenda gives up her ring.

Homer Slept Late » Tobe takes Faulkner's A Rose for Emily on the road.

Lucifer’s Lions » Liam helps Linda get rid of the bikers in her town.

Nautilus » a Man and a Martian share more than a walk on the beach.

Only Pa I Ever Had » Uncle Clem helps his nephew Clay become a man.

Ribbon & Lime » a man finds the courage to do his last race in the desert.

Somebody to Call Home » Mike and Linda discover that other place called home.

Someone Special » Jim and Jean find romance in a post apocalyptic world.

Sonrise to Sonset » Chuck and Cheryl struggle to cope with their son’s death.

Strawberry Luck » Jennifer is naughty, then screws Joe out of his strawberries.

Texas Hash » the kitchen is no place for a man—not even the dog would eat it!

The King of Mars » the Martians really are watching us… and our elections!

The Popsicles Are Blooming » Emily has an out of body experience!

The Trouble with Time » Nick & Nancy let go of the past to embrace the present.

« An Acorn Day »

You run through the finish line and stop. The ecstasy of no longer moving washes over you—an odd mix of pain and pleasure.

When you started up the mountain this morning, the other runners were your soul mates. The same rugged miles waited for you and them in the high-altitude wilderness ahead. The same demons waited for you and them in those last humbling miles.

Now, watching each runner shuffle through the finish, they are strangers, not soul mates. You and they faced those miles and those demons alone. And if you hadn't finished, you would feel like a stranger to yourself, always wondering what part of you had betrayed the others.

You walk to the grass at the edge of the lake and sit down. It's soft, like a bed of feathers. You let yourself sink into the smell and feel of it. Satisfaction puts a smile on your face. You broke that five-hour barrier. You punch a hole in the sky with your fist and an ecstatic Yes!

Something else is broken, and it kills the smile on your face. You punch another hole in the sky, this time with your middle finger aimed at Heaven. Wasn't enough to kill your son. You had to kill mine too.

A gust of wind whistles through the leaves. You look up, then laugh at yourself. No thunder or lightning aimed at you. Just popcorn pillows playing hide and seek through the trees above. Blasphemy–a victimless crime. You'll never again let heaven or hell, devils or angels dance in your head.

You stand and begin the long walk to your car, knowing you can walk away from this finish but not the one that finished him. You'll always be struggling up that mountain. When you see a man and his son running in a park. When you watch the moon bloom and sliver. When the sun rises and sets. When you look up at the night sky and wonder, as he did, what's it all about.

Near the car you see an acorn the squirrels missed among the trash scattered around the parking lot. You pick it up. Sorry, little fella. He was left to die in a parking lot too. All his tomorrows gone. Forever.

You put the acorn in your pocket, unlock the door of your car, and sink into the warmth of the sunbaked seat. You glance at the rear view mirror, remembering the way things used to be. When you touch that acorn, you'll remember who your son was and why you loved him more than life itself.

You turn the key and begin the long drive home, knowing you've also begun a long journey toward accepting his place in the scheme of things–grand or otherwise. You accept yours too, because you know that one of your tomorrows will bring you to the finish line of your life.

« Brandy »

I steered my Hummer into the parking lot of Harbor Lights, a popular nightclub by the bay. I’d spent many a night there drinking, dancing and listening to the Starboards playing a mix of old favorites, blue grass, pop and rock and roll.

I looked at my watch. Twenty minutes before 7. My date with Brandy wasn’t until 8, so I went in, found a booth next to a window so I could watch the waves rolling ashore and waved to a waitress who knew me and my usual drink. While I waited for my rum and coconut cream, the Starboards walked on to the stage. Ginger, the lead singer, stepped to the mike and pulled it off the stand.

Welcome to Harbor Lights, the best place on the bay to spend an evening dining and dancing. We’re the Starboards, but tonight we’re on the port side of the bay. That’s Teddy with his sax. That’s Mike with his base guitar, and that’s Red with his drums. I’m Ginger and this is my 12-string guitar.

The Starboards had been playing here as long as I could remember so I figured they must have a permanent gig with the management of Harbor Lights. Mike was tall with hair down to his shoulders. Teddy was short and nearly bald. Red looked like Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s sidekick, and Ginger was eye-popping beautiful from her raven black hair to her long tanned legs.

The audience gave Ginger and her guys a standing ovation. Hoots and hollers rippled around the club. When the cheers subsided, Ginger looked at Red. He gave her a subtle nod and then, not surprisingly, they began playing Harbor Lights.

The Starboards were the main attraction at Harbor Lights. Night after night, sailors and land lovers alike came to hear stories set to music. Ginger’s voice was clear as a bell, and the music never over powered the story. The musicians were there to help Ginger sing the story, not to make their instrument the center of attraction. She plucked the strings of her guitar smoothly, every chord in harmony with her voice. Nobody was sitting there drinking, talking or playing footsie with each other under the table. She had all of us mesmerized.

A minute or so into the song, my phone buzzed.

Bruce? This is Brandy.

Brandy. What’s up? I said, keeping my voice as soft and low as I could.

I hate to spoil our first date with car trouble but mine has a flat tire so I called Uber. I’ll be there as soon as I can.

Hey, that’s no fun. Give me your address and I’ll come over and change your tire, then you won’t have to take an Uber home after our date.

Brandy didn’t want Bruce to come to her house and discover what Phyllis, her totally crazy half sister, had done to her car.

Thanks but… oh, there’s the Uber now.

"Okay. I’m inside next to a window so we can watch the waves rolling in. You know where Harbor Lights is, right?"

I do Bruce. Used to wait on tables there myself. I’ll tell you about that… someday.

***

When Brandy walked in, I watched more than a few heads turn in her direction. She was a tall, shapely woman with emerald green eyes and honey-blond hair. The smile on her pretty face put a smile on mine. She had attached several pictures of her to the emails we had exchanged, but now, in person, all I could say was, Wow.

She sat down next to me and kissed me lightly on the cheek. I waved to my waitress then asked Brandy if she’d like a tall glass of Brandy.

She raised her eyebrows. "A tall glass? You planning to take advantage of me?"

Nah, not on our first date, but on our second date you can take advantage of me… with or without the brandy.

She smiled. Something to look forward to.

The waitress took her order, then I told Brandy I had a surprise for her. When the Starboards got to the end of the song they were playing, I got up and walked to the stage. Ginger leaned over and gave me a knowing smile. Another request, Bruce?

Yeah, my date tonight is a gal named Brandy. Told her your next song would be a surprise.

Ah, then Brandy it is. A good song for Harbor Lights and sailors like you, but maybe not for your date. You know the song Bruce. The sailor Brandy loves says his life, his love, and his lady are the sea.

"Well, you know I love the sea too, Ginger, but I’m hoping my Brandy will be my life and my love, not the sea."

Ginger raised her eyebrows. You planning to settle down, Bruce?

I shrugged my shoulders. When I got back to the booth, Brandy told me she was jealous. You had quite a conversation with that woman. An old girl friend? An ex wife?

Neither, just a very dear friend. Her father and I were in the Navy together. She’s married to the drummer and her music.

Ginger walked to the mike and pointed her finger at me. That sailor over there just asked me to play a song for his lady friend. Some of you older sailors will remember it. A group called Looking Glass made it popular back in the 70’s.

She turned, walked closer to Teddy, Mike and Red and whispered something. All three gave her a thumb up. As they began to play, Brandy turned to me. Oh my god, I remember that song. It’s so sad.

"It is a sad song, but I’m not that sailor and you’re not that Brandy."

A smile replaced the frown on her face. Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your surprise. You’re right. We’re not people in a song.

When the Starboards finished playing Brandy, Ginger leaned into the mike. So that sailor left a woman who knows he’ll never return. But here’s a song about a man who waits for his woman to return from the sea so they can marry and live happily ever after.

Brandy and I fell silent listening to them play Red Sails in the Sunset and other songs about sailors and the sea and the ups and downs of love and life. When they stopped to take a break, I saw a frown wrinkle Brandy’s forehead.

Too many sad songs? Another disappointing date?

No, god no. Being here with you face to face confirms everything I’ve learned about you from our email and phone conversations. But… well, there’s something I didn’t tell you in those conversations, and I need to get it off my chest now, before… well, our next date… if there is one.

I grabbed my ears and wiggled both of them. Hey, I’m all ears.

An ear-to-ear smile chased the frown off her face. "Your sense of humor is one of the reasons I answered your emails at that senior singles