The Vast Empire: And Other Short Stories

By Mary E. Mullin

Book One

The book is about two girls, their lives, loves, and divorce.

Book Two

The Aliens is about a man who dreams hes in Mars.

The Vast Empire is about a family who is poor and becomes wealthy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504958776

Mary E. Mullin

Mary E. Mullin lives at Lake Isabella, Michigan, with her Chihuahua dog, Dazy. She spends her winters in Zephyrhills, Florida.

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2013 Mary Mullin. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/27/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-5878-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-5877-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Book I

Love and Betrayal

The Aliens

Book II

The Vast Empire

A Cabin by the Sea

Book I

Love and Betrayal

The Aliens

In memory of my beloved husband, Donald Edward Mullin, and also my children and my grandchildren

Love and Betrayal

Prologue

A nnie Marie Peters was a senior in High School. Her best friend was Rachael McMillen. They worked on many projects together including the year book. They both had a steady boyfriend. Rachael was athletic and excelled in basketball, softball, and soccer. Anne was a cheerleader and was really limber, so she was the best. Rachael went onto college after High School. Anne became a waitress and she planned on getting married and raising a large family.

Chapter 1

G race Peters called upstairs. Anne Marie Peters always used her given name when she was excited. It’s time to get out of bed and get to school. It’s getting late she said. Anne hurried and got dressed and grabbed a Carnation breakfast as she kissed her mother on the cheek and ran to her car. Her Grand Prix was 10 years old, but she loved it. It was the only car she ever had and it took a long time to save enough money from her wages from the waitress job she worked at after school. She picked up her best friend Rachael McMillen who lived a mile from her. They had been friends since kindergarten and loved each other. They were both seniors in high school and were working on the year book. Rachael was athletic and excelled in basketball, softball, and soccer. She expected to get a scholarship from sports. Anne was a cheerleader and she was so limber she was the best one. Her enthusiasm passed onto the other girls. Both girls were very pretty. Annie had red curly hair, fair complexion and a spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Rachael was dark with black fair she wore in a page boy and eyes so dark they were like deep pools.

Anne lived with her mother, Grace, and elderly grandparents, Emma and Louis. Grace gave birth to Anne when she was 17 years old. Anne never knew her father as he deserted them when she was born. They were poor and lived on a small farm. They grew their own vegetables and got milk from their cow and eggs from the chickens. Anne worked very hard in the garden and on the farm. Rachael was the exact opposite. Her Dad, Ben McMillen, was an M.D. Surgeon and her Mother, Renalda, was a registered nurse. Both girls had steady boyfriends. Anne’s boyfriend, Josh Allen, was 6ft tall, blond, handsome, and very athletic. Rachael’s had black wavy hair, good looking, and caption of the football team. His name was Tad McPherson.

After they graduated, Rachael went off to pursue her career as a nurse. Anne decided not to go to college much to the protest of Rachael. Anne told Rachael there was no need to go to college as she planned on getting married and raise a big family. She loved children.

Anne’s grandparents were getting on in age. Her grandmother died at the age of 92. Her grandfather died one year later at 93 of a broken heart. They had a long and fruitful life. Anne was heartbroken as she loved them very much. They had a large funeral and were buried side by side. Anne and her mother mourned for a long time. Grace started a catering service that was very successful. Anne helped her when she could but she was very busy with the waitress job.

Rachael was now an R.N. at the local hospital. Tad and Rachael planned on a big outdoor wedding. She was beautiful in a white satin gown with lace and pearls down the bodice. Anne was the matron of honor and Josh was the best man. The weather was beautiful for a backyard wedding. There were lilies of the Valley everywhere and white doves flew around. They ate and drank and danced till dawn. Everyone had a great time. Anne was looking forward to her own wedding she was planning in a year.

A few months later, Josh was beginning to act distant and didn’t phone her very often. It was Anne who did all the phoning. When he broke a couple of dates with her she started to worry. She decided to go out with a few girlfriends instead of waiting for him. They went to the local bar and she was dancing with one of the boys from high school that always had a crush on her. Suddenly she spotted Josh dancing with a pretty tall blond. She confronted him about it on their next date. He laughed it off and said she was just a friend. Anne was so relieved. She was so in love with him she thought she would die if anything happened to them. They had a movie date the next night and got along exceptionally well. Josh suggested they go to his place after the movie for a drink. He said his parents weren’t home and they could stay up late and watch t.v. After watching t.v. for a while Anne got sleepy. Josh kissed her tenderly and told her how much he loved her. He suggested she lie down on his bed for awhile. She went upstairs and lay down. He followed her upstairs to kiss her and one thing led to another. Afterwards, he told her he was sorry. He said she could stay all night as his parents were going to be gone for the night. Josh and Anne fell asleep in each other’s arms. The next morning Anne woke up feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. She looked up and Josh was gone. She hurried into her jeans and T-shirt and went downstairs. She could smell bacon frying in the kitchen.

Chapter 2

H e made a good breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. Anne was so happy, but she had to hurry home for her mother would miss her. When she got home her mother questioned her for she had been very worried. She lied and said she stayed with a girlfriend all night. She knew her mother would scold her if she said she stayed with Josh. Grace was making good money in her catering business. Anne was working as a waitress and they were getting along fine.

Rachael had her first baby, a boy, and he was so cute with black hair and looked like his dad. Rachael and her husband, Tad, were so happy. Rachael still worked as a nurse and Tad was a surgeon. They bought a nice ranch house that Rachael decorated in very good taste. She could have been an interior decorator. They wanted to have more children. She was going to stay home a year and take care of Michael, the baby. And then go back to her nursing job.

One morning Anne felt nauseated when she got up. She ran to the bathroom and heaved. She decided to go to work anyway as she thought she would feel better. She felt sick till lunchtime and after she ate she felt better. After feeling nauseated for a week she started to get suspicious and looked at her calendar. Sure enough she skipped her period. She was frantic and decided to see a doctor. She told herself to stop worrying it could be the flu. She made the appointment and the receptionist told her she could come in the next morning before work. She got up the next morning still nauseated and sick to her stomach. She went to the doctor and she was still very worried. The doctor confirmed her fears. She left the doctor’s office in tears. All day at work she was quiet and sad. Her co-workers would ask her what was the matter and she would say nothing. She cheered herself up by thinking they could just speed up the wedding a few months, but that was far from the truth. She called Josh and told him. I have a big surprise for you. He said good, I’ll stop by and see you tonight. When he got there they went for a ride and went to the park bench and Anne was very excited. Josh said, well, what’s the news? Anne replied I’m pregnant. He said what? I can’t believe it. We were intimate only one time. Anne said that everything will be okay. We can just get married sooner. Josh said I can’t marry you. Anne looked hurt and said why? He answered because I am going to marry Sara soon. She is also pregnant. Anne could not believe it. Is it the tall blond you were dancing with the other night? He said yes it is. We have been dating 4 months and I love her very much. With this Anne slapped him hard across the face. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she screamed I never want to see you again. Josh with his hand over his burning cheek said, don’t you want a ride home? And she answered. No! I’ll walk before I ever ride with you again. When she came home her mother could tell she’d been crying. Grace said, what is wrong dear? Did you and Josh have a fight? Anne said yes and ran up the stairs to her bedroom.

The next morning with her eyes all puffy, she went to work. She was quiet all day. Her co-workers wondered what was wrong. One of the workers, Karen, asked her what was wrong and Anne said, oh nothing really. I just didn’t sleep well last night. That night Josh called her and wanted to talk to her. She was angry and said, I thought I told you I never wanted to talk to you again. He said I have a plan that might work out. I’ll come pick you up at 6:00. Anne finally agreed with him. So when he came to her house and saw her, he said you do not look well and she replied what did you expect. He said, you look very pale and like you haven’t been eating much. You had better go back to the doctor. She said, don’t worry I can take care of myself. Josh suggested she get an abortion. She got very angry and said, never! I am a good catholic and you are catholic too. You shouldn’t even think of that. I think you better take me home and don’t come around me anymore. When she got home and went to bed she had a hard time getting to sleep. She got up and took 2 sleeping pills. When she finally got to sleep she had a strange nightmare. She dreamt she was cut open and the baby was taken from her and thrown in a trash can. She dreamt the doctor had a dirty white coat on and he ordered her to get up and get the hell out of there. She woke up in a terrible sweat and her throat was dry and parched. She went to the kitchen and got a glass of cold water and then she went to bed and finally drifted off to sleep.

In the morning she hurried and got dressed as she overslept. She grabbed a carnation breakfast and drove fast in her Pontiac to work. When she got home from work Josh was waiting for her in his car in the yard. Anne said What are you doing here? He answered; I came to talk to you. Anne told him to come into the house; my mother is out delivering food on her catering job. They went into the house. The house was hot and stuffy. Anne turned on the air conditioner to cool things off a bit. She got some ice tea and they sat in the living room. She looked at Josh and thought how handsome he looked. After they sat awhile, Josh said I know a doctor who will perform an abortion on you. I can drive you there. It’s about 50 miles from here. Anne was alarmed and replied, I don’t think I can do such a thing. It’s against my religion. It would be killing another human being. Josh argued with her. You are only three months along it’s not the same as if it was already born. Anne thought for a while and said she would think about it and give him her answer tomorrow.

Chapter 3

T he next day Josh was waiting for Anne after work. She got in his car and he sped away. Anne was very quiet and then she spoke. I guess I’ll have to go through with it and I am so scared. Josh said, don’t worry. It’ll be alright. I will pay for it and we can go right now. You will be back home tonight. Anne said do you love me Josh? He put his hand over hers