Three Short Stories: Death by Rabbit the Unexpected Selling God: Death by Rabbit, the Unexpected, Selling God

By Matt Allman

The stories in Three Short Stories are offshoots of the two novels To Bind Fast and Four People on a Marsh. The three stories are about the further experiences and growth of the two main characters in those novels as they search to make sense of the world in which they find themselves. They never find their universe to be without surprises, sometimes horrendous, and sometimes delightful; but they continually find that universe to be very quiet, perhaps silent, when it comes to values and directions for living. And they wonder if it isnt more hostile than friendly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 17, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450043854

Matt Allman

The author lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with his dog and his books. He also is surrounded by endless water, and countless birds, as well as the boundless other creatures that thrive in that fertile environment.

Book preview

Three Short Stories

Death by Rabbit

The Unexpected

Selling God

Matt Allman

Copyright © 2010 by Matt Allman.

Library of Congress Control Number:         2010902083

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Dedication

To the Descendants of the goddess Athena,

and their sometimes wily half-sisters,

who inspire, thrill, and enlighten.

Author’s Note

The author has taken certain liberties with certain elements of punctuation such as ellipses, in order to indicate pauses in a character’s dialogue or the protagonist’s or storyteller’s thoughts. The traditional dot-dot-dot is not used. Instead, any number of dots can occur, without spaces between the dots; and a larger number of dots means a longer pause in speech or thought. Most often in the novel, ellipses occur before a sentence, usually indicating a very brief pause in conversation, or indicating that the speaker is thinking before he or she speaks. Sometimes the ellipses just indicate that the speaker is changing the subject. Ellipses at the end of a sentence usually indicate that the speaker has been interrupted by another party. ….The author has also taken some liberties with capitalization by capitalizing a particular word some times, and not doing so at other times. This was done for effect, and for better presentation of an idea or concept. Finally, please note that every line that is indented is dialogue to which the protagonist or storyteller is privy. Every line not indented is what the protagonist or storyteller is thinking or narrating. There is at no point in the stories an Omniscient Narrator. There is nothing all-knowing about any of these stories.

Preface

These short stories are off-shoots of two novels that precede them in publication: To Bind Fast and Four People on a Marsh. The stories provide more data with regards to the thoughts and deeds, experiences and growth, of the two main characters—Mark and John. Hopefully, they also will provide stimulation and enjoyment for the reader.

Contents

Death by Rabbit

The Unexpected

Selling God

Death by Rabbit

To John—he knows who he is!

DEATH BY RABBIT

The young boy followed the man. The boy carried one of his family’s rabbits. He was told that the rabbit was sick, but the rabbit didn’t look sick to the young boy. In fact, the boy had played with the rabbit most of yesterday on the lawn, hand-feeding the rabbit grass. It was unusual for the rabbit to be out of its pen. The family kept the rabbits penned in separate pens next to the chicken house. The boy had always enjoyed collecting grass and feeding it to the rabbits in their pens; but he enjoyed playing with this rabbit in the yard even more. He wondered why his parents didn’t let the rabbits out of their pens more often.

The name of the man that the young boy was following was Rowe. Rowe worked for the boy’s father at his father’s Diner. Rowe was carrying a shovel and a 22 rifle. ….When they got around back of the family’s detached garage, Rowe leaned the rifle against the garage and started digging a hole with the shovel. The boy set the rabbit down in the grass and started hand-feeding the rabbit grass, just as he had enjoyed doing yesterday. The boy had his back turned toward Rowe. When Rowe had dug a certain size hole, he reached over the boy and picked up the rabbit by the scruff of its neck, and gently placed it in the hole. The boy scurried on his hands and knees to the hole and saw the rabbit trying to get out, but the hole was too deep, and perhaps the rabbit was too weak. The boy was reaching for the rabbit when a 22 shot rang out. The boy jumped back; his ears were ringing and he smelled smoke. …When the boy regained his equanimity, he looked at Rowe and then into the hole. The rabbit’s blood was oozing from its head; and the rabbit didn’t move. The boy reached into the hole to touch the lifeless rabbit.

Leave it alone, John! It’s dead!

The boy didn’t say anything. He pulled back his hand, and watched Rowe fill the hole with dirt. He couldn’t see the rabbit anymore and that made him less anxious; but he missed the rabbit and felt the desire to remove the dirt so he could see the rabbit again. ….But he didn’t dare, because he felt sure that Rowe wouldn’t like it.

Mr. Rowe? Why did you do that?

The rabbit was sick, John. And he could have made the other rabbits sick.

But he wasn’t sick yesterday. I played with him. …..Mr. Rowe, when will I see Whiskers again?

Let’s go get some lunch, John.

Rowe’s eyes were starting to glisten. He sniffled twice and rubbed his nose with his index finger. ….Rowe took the boy to his father’s Diner and told the waitress to make John a hotdog with fries.

Your mom and dad are in the back kitchen, John. I’ll go tell them that you are here. You sit at the counter and enjoy your lunch.

Rowe disappeared into the back. That was the boy’s first encounter with death. Up until that day, the young boy only remembered playing and fighting with his two brothers. He was four years old.

_______________________________

Grandmommy, why is Pastor Price yelling at us?

Shhh, quiet, John, until he is done.

John waited until the choir started to sing, which meant that the Pastor was done speaking—or yelling in this case. He asked his Grandmother again.

Grandmommy, why was he yelling at us?

John, he was telling us that we need to be better Lutherans, and that we sin too much. And if we don’t stop sinning, God will send us to burn in hell.

But, Grandmommy, I learned from you and in Sunday School that God loves me. Why would he want to burn me?

You’ll understand when you get older, John!

……..Grandmommy, you told me that you loved me.

Yes, Dear, I love you very much. Now be quiet and listen to the choir sing their beautiful music!

John wondered if his Grandmother, who loved him too, would also burn him. He didn’t understand why God and his Grandmother would want to hurt him. He didn’t hear much of the choir’s beautiful music because he was fixated on that disturbing thought. He was five years old.

_______________________________

John was standing on the bench on one side of the kitchen table. His mother was fitting him with a new pair of jeans. They were stiff because of the sizing, and way too long and even bigger around the waist. John felt uncomfortable. It didn’t help that his mother was so impatient and rough.

They’re too big!

You’ll grow into them! Now shut up and be thankful you have pants! …..OK! Let’s go!

Where are we going, Mommy?

To the food store.

The boy preceded his mother out of the house and got into the passenger’s seat of the car. His mother and he didn’t talk to one another, which was fine with him. He didn’t get along very well with his mother. When she usually spoke to him, it meant that he was in trouble, even if he hadn’t done anything wrong. So he preferred silence! ….When they got to where they usually turned into the food store parking lot, the boy’s mother kept driving straight.

That was the food store, Mommy!

I know.

Where are we going, Mommy?

You’ll see.

About a block down the street, the boy’s mother pulled into a parking lot in front of a large wooden building, and stopped the car somewhat sideways in a parking space, overlapping two spaces.

Get out and follow me!

John obediently followed his mother into the building and immediately noticed that it was full of kids about his age. He hadn’t been around kids his age very much, because his brothers were older than him, and he mostly stayed at home with them; or John went to his parents’ Diner and played and worked around the employees who were his parents’ age. ….He looked around this room full of kids and was fascinated by their animation. He turned to point out this animation to his mother, and just barely caught a glimpse of the back of his mother’s red coat as she was leaving the building. He cried out Mommy, but she didn’t turn around. So he ran after her, but was caught around the waist by a very old woman.

Oh, no you don’t!

Mommy! Mommy! …Where is my mom going?

You just settle down, Young Man!

Mommy! …Let go of me. I have to get my mother! She won’t like you grabbing me! My father will yell at you.

You just sit down, Mister, and don’t move or I’ll spank your bottom! I swear I will!

As soon as the very old woman let go of the boy, he took off for the door. But he was stopped by another woman, not quite so old. The very old woman came over to him and swatted him four times on his rear-end, and then shoved him down on a chair. The boy began to cry, but quickly stopped, and became angry at the old woman, and his mother who had betrayed him! …..He wasn’t allowed to leave the chair. A few of the other children came over to him and asked him why he was bad. He said that he wasn’t bad. But the other children insisted that he must have been, otherwise he wouldn’t be sitting in that particular chair facing the Corner. …After a couple hours of squirming in the chair, the one not quite so old woman came over and offered the boy an apple and some milk. The boy shook his head no! After some more time squirming, a buzzer sounded and the other children put on their coats and headed toward the door. The very old woman came over to the boy and said you can go now; I hope you will be a better boy tomorrow! The boy ran out the door and saw his mother sitting in her car. He started to cry again. He ran to the car and got in. He leered at his mother with tears in his eyes and on his cheeks, and he realized that his mother was not reliable!

Look at that look on your face, Young Man; and those eyes! I’m going to call you Horse Eyes!

The boy did not take his new nickname to be one of endearment. His mother and he did not come from the same cut of stone! He had always felt that he couldn’t rely on her, but this was one of the worst things that she had ever done to him. He decided that he would go home and tell his father. His father would yell at her for what she had done. …Or maybe not. He may punish the boy if he is in a bad mood because of work. ….This had been the boy’s first day of Kindergarten. The next day he would silently get out of his mother’s car and go into the building, and do whatever he needed to do in order to avoid the wrath of the very old woman, whose name he never cared to learn. …He was five and a half years old.

_______________________________

John loved kickball, and that’s what they were playing at second grade recess. His team was ahead by one run and he was playing between second and third base when the ball was kicked to him. He caught the ball and chased the runner on third to tag him out before he reached home plate. John reached home plate before the runner and waited for him. But seeing that he would be tagged out at home plate, the runner ran over to the teacher just as the bell ending recess sounded; so John ran toward the teacher as well and tagged the runner out.

You’re out!

No, I’m not; I’m touching Mrs. Boyle, so you can’t tag me out.

Come on, Children, recess is over. Nobody’s out! Nobody won!

But, Mrs. Boyle, I tagged him out.

John, nobody won. Now get inside!

But the rules are………

Forget the rules. The rules are what I say they are, and I say Tommy wasn’t out. Now get your mean little heart inside, John, or I will stand you in the corner for the rest of the day.

Whether or not John had a mean little heart had nothing to do with it. John knew what rules were, and what they meant. He had learned about them from his brothers, and from watching baseball on TV with his brothers. He would not forget the rules. They meant too much to him. His teacher was the mean one, and it made him angry that she called him mean. He wanted to tell someone—maybe his mother or father. But when he thought about it some more, he figured that they would just yell at him for making his teacher mad! …He was now seven years old.

_______________________________

I don’t want to give her a Valentine! She’s stinky!

OK, we won’t make her one.

John’s mother didn’t dispute his right to refuse Anna a Valentine. John was relieved about that. Anna sat behind John in their third grade class and liked him very much. John didn’t like little girls liking him. It gave him a very strange feeling when they wanted to hold hands with him. …And his teacher made the kids hold hands when they walked two by two down the hall to and from the cafeteria everyday. Anna was always jumping the line to be next to John. But John really didn’t like the feeling of being identified with another person; and holding hands made him feel that way. …..In addition to Anna wanting to hold hands with John, there was also that one incident when Anna asked the teacher if she could go to the bathroom, and for some unknown reason the teacher refused her request. Ninety seconds later, John heard a classmate yell out.

Teacher! Teacher! Look what Anna did!

Anna had peed herself. And the puddle was working its way around the legs of John’s chair. A custodian came in and mopped up Anna’s surprise. But the floor under John’s chair and desk was sticky for the rest of the day. The next time that Anna requested a bathroom break, the teacher quickly acquiesced. …The teacher never forgot about Anna’s surprise. Neither did John!

The kids were now celebrating Valentine’s Day with a class party. The teacher had the desks pushed together in the center of the room to make one gigantic table that the kids could sit around and see one another. Some of the kid’s mothers had brought in cake and other treats for the party. The Valentines that each child was to make for their classmates were in piles on the teacher’s desk. The kids were to go through and find the Valentines with their names on. ….Everyone was excited! Everyone was having fun!

John, I can’t find the Valentine you made me!

This caught John off-guard. It was Anna’s voice. He turned and looked at her. The self-righteousness that he had felt when he decided not to make a Valentine for Anna was crushed by the innocence and excited anticipation in Anna’s face. He didn’t know what to say. His body became hot and he didn’t want to tell her that he didn’t do one for her. …At that moment, she was so sweet and happy, and he felt that he had no right to ruin that moment.

Keep looking, Anna! …It must be here somewhere!

OK, John. I’ll look some more.

Anna ran back to the pile of Valentines that were setting on the teacher’s desk. …This was by far the worse that John had ever felt. His visceral response to Anna’s innocent inquiry was excruciating for him. It is the first time that he remembers that he felt like a coward, and that he knowingly lied.

I know I did one for you, Anna. It must have gotten lost. …I’ll bring you one in tomorrow!

OK! Thank you, John! …I’m going to get some more cake, John.

Anna glided gracefully to the other corner of the classroom where the cake was. John noticed for the first time that Anna had red hair. John saw that she was so happy! John was moist from perspiration. He was scared because he was so angry with himself for not giving Anna a Valentine. How could he be so stupid and mean towards someone who only wanted him to like her? He promised himself that he would never let that happen again. He was now very much aware of empathy and would never forget the awful feeling that he had at this moment. To hell with self-righteousness! He would, from this day on, always err on the side of empathy. …The rest of the party was not as fun for him. He couldn’t get his shortcoming out of his mind. ……..John did indeed bring a Valentine to Anna the next day; and he held her hand without fail everyday on the way to and from the school cafeteria, although he still didn’t like holding hands. Actually, John was very kind to Anna until the last day of the school year, which was also the last time he ever saw Anna. The only home that he had ever known was taken away by the Federal Government in order to build a Highway. His parents moved to a farm, forty miles away, in a different county, and a different school system. ….The boy was now eight years old.

_______________________________

During the summer that his family moved, his father decided to have a crab feast for their new neighbors and new church friends. The farmer who farmed their land had just harvested the wheat so they had a perfect field on which to whip-up a softball game. John loved baseball and softball, and he was good at them. His brothers and he played any chance they got. But now they were playing with a bunch of adults. And his father was on the opposing team. …Now, John had played football with his father, and catch with his father; but he had never really seen his father run. His father had had polio when the man was a child, and even though he regained his ability to walk, his one leg drew-up to be two inches shorter than the other. In order to compensate for the difference in leg length, John’s father’s one shoe was built up two inches. This solved the one problem of standing relatively straight, but John’s father really couldn’t run—it was more of a hop and stumble.

Anyway, John was playing shortstop, and his father had just hit the ball to the third base side of John. As John reached the ball, he figured that the batter, his father, had already made it to first since it was a hard grounder to field—any