That Day

By Winston Picket III

Four childhood friends, idling away their last days before heading off to their respective colleges, suddenly find themselves in a situation well beyond typical teenage, male hijinks. After a venture out to a rock quarry just outside of town, they must make a split-second decision that will haunt them the rest of their lives. Follow Paul, Tommy, Avery and Watson, Old Raleigh boys, as they deal with the aftermath of that day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728343723

Winston Picket III

Winston Pickett III is a married, father of three. His day job is a civil engineer and transportation planner, he writes in his free time. He spends his time between his houses in Raleigh and White Lake, NC and Union, Me. His debut book was entitled Novel Summer released in 2004. Stay tuned for more works to become available.

Book preview

© 2020 Winston Picket III. 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 01/21/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-4373-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-4372-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020901148

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

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.

that day is

dedicated to those

who just love a good story

42466.png

B randi was excited about starting her new job that evening. She really wanted this one to work out. It had too. Earlier she had laid her outfit out on the bed; her little white top that tied in the back, yellow short-shorts and leather sandals with the beaded thongs that matched her favorite necklace. She had tried it all on several times, twirling in front of the mirror over and over. She did her makeup too; bright red lips to match her fingernails, eye shadow with just a tint of blue, long mascara and the right amount of blush to show off her high rosy cheeks. She curled her hair, rewet it and then did it again. She finally had it just how she wanted it, and it was perfect. Brandi looked foxy and she knew it. If looking good was part of the job, little Brandi had that covered.

If you’re not going back to school, you have to get a job! Brandi had heard over and over from her Aunt Kelly. You ain’t gonna just lay around and do nothin’, was another. Aunt Kelly had been on Brandi for quite some time, several times each day she’d remind her of how much she did for her; I feed you, I wash your clothes, give you a place to stay, give you money for cigarettes, drive you all over the place… If it weren’t for me, you’d still be up in Ohio, living with your sorry ass, good for nothin’ mama. Her aunt’s boyfriend Mike wasn’t much better, probably worse. He wouldn’t say anything. He’d just give her dismissive glances of disgust while shaking his head.

Aunt Kelly had been good to her and Brandi knew it, but she didn’t want to have to rely on her anymore. Brandi was just as frustrated as her aunt and Mike. She felt like a loser. In less than a year she’d be eighteen, an adult. If only she could keep a steady job, she could save up and move out on her own. She wanted to prove to Aunt Kelly and Mike, and more than anything, to herself, that she could support herself and be independent.

Kelly Pearce had taken her young niece in basically off the street. At first everything was fine. Aunt Kelly loved having her sister’s teenage daughter living with them. She doted on her and enjoyed riding around town to show her off. Kelly took her to church, grocery shopping and the movies. Somedays they’d even ride into Raleigh. Kelly never had any children of her own and when Brandi showed up in her life, she was elated.

It didn’t take long for the newness of the arrangement between aunt and niece to wear off. Ever since Brandi dropped out of school her junior year at Bunn High, things got tense around the house. She hadn’t made many friends. She had had jobs, perhaps a dozen, but they all would end even before she’d get her first paycheck. Brandi didn’t like hard work; she didn’t like being told what to do and she didn’t like how much they would pay her. $2.90 an hour might have been minimum wage, but that wasn’t enough to buy anything. And once they took out taxes it was even smaller. Brandi was sure they were cheatin’ her. It took more hours of working to buy a ticket to the movies than it took to watch it.

Without a job, any friends to hang out with or something to keep her occupied, Brandi would just sit idly around the house, watching soap operas and game shows, eating potato chips and drinking orange sodas. Like most kids her age, things like a full laundry basket or kitchen sink seemed to go unnoticed. Her room was a disaster with clothes piled high and wet towels strewn around. The bathroom she shared with her aunt was gross. There toothpaste stuck all over the sink, hairs in the tub and the ever-overflowing trashcan. Understandably, this created a lot of tension between the two of them.

Brandi knew her aunt was right. She could sense her mere presence in her aunt’s home was taking a toll on their relationship. They no longer smiled and laughed together. Every conversation seemed tense and almost businesslike. The newly unwelcoming atmosphere made Brandi feel worthless and frustrated with herself. Each night she would cry herself to sleep, wondering what her purpose in life was. She had no idea what she wanted to do. She knew she was better off in North Carolina than she was in Ohio, but she thought it would be easier. She wanted a job, a real job so she could be a responsible, independent adult. With her own money, she could get her own place, make her own rules and be a grown woman.

One day Brandi was sitting at a table outside the Tastee Freeze in downtown Bunn. As was typically the case she didn’t have any money, but nevertheless she liked to pass the time smoking cigarettes and watching people. Out of nowhere a guy, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, pulled into the parking lot in a Pontiac Trans Am.

The roar of the car immediately got her attention, it was identical to the one Burt Reynolds drove in Smoky and the Bandit. She fell in love with that car after she saw the movie. It was big, black, shiny, loud and fast. Burt Reynolds was so cool racing it from Texarkana, Texas to Atlanta, just ahead of Sheriff Justice. This was the first time she had seen one in real life.

Brandi took a one final draw of her cigarette before flicking it on the ground and turned to stare at the young man getting out. He was tall and handsome and just as cocksure acting as the Bandit himself. She wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. Instead she just gave him a big smile. He smiled back and gave her a little finger gesture that resembled shooting a pistol at her. She was hoping he’d stop and flirt, but he just continued to the counter.

Brandi alternated looking at the car and the young man whose back was turned to her. After he paid and accepted a bag from the window, he turned to go back to his car. Brandi took a few deep breathes to work up the courage. She spun around in his direction and crossed her legs and comfortably relaxed her arms on the table behind her. She then managed out a nice ride.

He smiled back at her but continued about his business, fully aware he had Brandi’s attention. He opened his door, settled himself and his food inside before finally turning around to look back at her. He then reached over and opened the passenger door.

Get in, if you’d like to take a ride, he said to Brandi.

Without hesitation, she shot up and ran over to the hot rod, yelling, hell yeah! The young man smiled at her as she jumped in.

Well there, it looks like I’m going to take a little drive before I get to eat my Big T Burger and drink this here Strawberry Shake, he said chuckling at her spunk.

He then extended his strong hand and said, Hey there cutie, I’m Billy, and you are?

Oh me, I’m Brandi, Brandi Pearce. Is this your car? Do you own it?

Nice to meet you Brandi, the bank actually owns it, but I’m making payments every month.

Really? I love it! It’s so, so, it’s real nice, I really love it.

He chuckled at her wonderment. He then turned the key and revved up the engine, pumping the gas for emphasis. She turned around to see if every or anyone was watching. He then backed out of the space, put it in gear and took off down the road, kicking up gravel, his tires made a little screech sound as he got onto the solid pavement.

After they got out onto US 401, Billy turned down the radio and asked her if she wanted to test this baby out.

Honest like, you’d let me drive it? she responded in near disbelief.

Sure! he said with a smile.

She was expecting him to pull over to the shoulder and switch seats, but instead asked, Do you remember that part in the movie where Bandit let Carrie drive?

She thought for a minute before realizing what he meant. Her eyes widened, before blurting out, Ya mean like when she climbed over him and he slid to the other seat, all the while they were drivin’? Brandi was completely beside herself at the thought of recreating that scene.

That’s exactly what I mean, he answered back.

Billy reached over and grabbed her left hand and placed it on top of the steering wheel.

You got it?

Yeah.

Hold on tight, and just keep her steady and straight.

He then reached behind her placing his hands on both sides of her hips. In one motion he picked her up and set her down in his lap. The car made a quick curve, then corrected just as fast.

You ready?

Brandi’s heart was beating so fast she couldn’t answer but managed to nod her head affirmatively.

Alright Captain, she’s yours.

Brandi pushed down on the accelerator and screamed in delight.

With Brandi getting up to nearly ninety miles an hour, they reached the Town of Louisburg in no time. When they got to the big rock on the right-hand side that welcomes all into town, the young man, tapped Brandi on the shoulder, telling her to pull over. She complied and then climbed over to the passenger seat.

Billy turned the car around and headed back to Bunn. As they pulled back into the lot and parked. Brandi reached over to give him a thank you kiss. He quickly recoiled and stopped her. This startled her, she wasn’t used to a man deflecting her.

You’re certainly welcome young lady, but I don’t touch my girls, he said with that same devilish grin that was quickly growing on her.

Wait, your girls? I ain’t one of your girls…am I? What do you mean by that? she said curiously.

I want you to be, I mean, I want you to come work for me if you’d like to. You’ a pretty young lady and I think you’d do real, real well.

No way, I ain’t going to be doin’ no hookin’or making money on my back, you can just forget about that. I left mama’s to get away from all that mess.

Good, good, good. I don’t want you to, ‘sides it’s illegal. Nobody will lay a finger on you. I can promise you that. Fact is, I have some pretty tough fellas that will make sure no one does.

What do I have to do then? she continued.

Dance. That’s all you have to do. You just smile real pretty like and then dance. You do like to dance, don’t ya? You’ll have to be wearing your bathing suit or your underwear, worse you’ll have to do is take off bra, but just your bra, nothing else…, he said with stern look of assurance, …you can make a whole lot more. It’s all up to you. You’d come out for four different sets, doing about three songs each time and the customers will throw money up on a stage. After each set, you gather up your cash and that’s about it. I’ve got girls that make $500 dollars in a night. The girls don’t have to touch none of the fellers or be touched.

That all sounds pretty good, my Aunt Kelly’s been all over my behind ‘bout workin.’ I’ve had jobs but nothing ain’t never worked out, Brandi told him.

You say you like this car huh? You come work for me, I’ll betcha you can buy one of these on your own in no time at all.

The thought of owning a car like that, had her hooked. You really think so? When could I start? And where is it?

Billy handed her a business card with the name Peek-a-boo’s and address. It’s just outside of Apex in southwest Wake County. Once you get to Raleigh you just stay on the Number 1 Highway another 20 or so minutes, when you get to 64, you make a right. Keep going and it’ll be on the left; you can’t miss it. Be there tomorrow night and I will get you set up.

She tried to hug him again, but he shook his finger reminding her of his rule.

I’ll be there, oh I’ll definitely be there, she said as she took off towards home.

When Brandi got home, she told her aunt that she had gotten her a job, she didn’t tell her exactly what she was going to be doing, and her aunt didn’t ask. Brandi certainly wasn’t about to tell her that she’d be dancing in front of men in a bar in nothing but a pair of little panties either. Aunt Stacy didn’t need to know all those little details. After all the fussing her aunt had been doing, if Brandi was gainfully employed, all was well.

Brandi Lee Pearce never knew her father. She was raised by her mother, Jessie, with a lot of help from her grandparents, Walter and Sally Pearce, in Conway, Ohio. Conway is in the middle of rust belt country halfway between Columbus and Pittsburgh, PA, just where Interstates 70 and 77 intersect. In the 1970’s it was a small town that was only getting smaller. As more and more factories closed, the natives would pack up and head to the Carolinas or Texas to find a better life. The only people left were the older and unskilled. Jessie and her young daughter Brandi were caught in between. Jessie didn’t have any real job skills. All she had ever done is take care of her mother and father and then when Brandi came along, took care of her too.

Brandi and her grandfather were very close. Pop Pop had worked at the Conway Glass Company for nearly forty years. Her granddaddy was her hero and she loved him more than anything. He was the only person she felt she could ever trust. And Walter Pearce loved his granddaughter just as much. She was the apple of his eye and he was her safety blanket.

Each day young Brandi would walk down the sidewalk in front of their house to greet her Pop Pop as he made his way home. He’d set his lunch pail on the ground beside him and lift her high in the air before setting her on his shoulders. He’d then stoop down and pick up his things and would carry her back home.

When Brandi turned four years old, her Pop Pop gave her a little pink ballerina’s tutu and tiara. Brandi was so excited that she wore it every single day and night for nearly a year. Pop Pop called her his little princess and she embraced the part. Walter Pearce who religiously watched the evening news, would turn off the television when Brandi would come into the living room to dance. He never tired of watching her twirling about the room, and she never tired of entertaining him. Each night after the impromptu ballet recital, she would curl up into his lap as he continued to watch TV.

If Jessie was ever jealous of her father and daughter’s relationship, she hid it pretty well. To her, having her dad entertain and otherwise keep Brandi busy, meant she didn’t have to. Jessie also knew her father was a good man and could teach her daughter things she, and Brandi’s long-lost father, couldn’t. He could teach her how to be proud and confident and respectful.

Brandi’s grandmother, who she called Nana, passed away when Brandi was about eight. Brandi didn’t really understand the dying part, she just knew Nana wasn’t ever coming back. What bothered her most, was how sad Pop Pop became. Before Nana’s death, she’d never seen him cry or even shed a tear. He took it very hard and for days walked around in a deep state of mourning. Each day, he would sit alone and stare out of the window. Brandi would try and try to get him to smile, but nothing seemed to work.

Nana’s funeral was held a whole two weeks later. On the day before it, people began to come by the house, bringing casseroles and cakes and pies. More than anything they brought sympathy and compassion. They’d each share a story or memories of days gone by. With all the guests stopping by, Pop Pop seemed to perk up and break out of his depressive state. He actually began to act like his old self. Seeing Pop Pop happy, made Brandi happy.

At the funeral Brandi couldn’t help but stare at a lady that looked like both her mother and her grandmother. She kept trying to decide which one she looked more like. The lady was younger than grandma, but older than her mother. At the reception, Brandi went up to the lady and asked who she was. The lady smiled brightly and then reached down gave her a big hug.

Well now, look at you! You sure grew up pretty. Daddy, or Pop Pop, as you call him has told me so much about you. I know you don’t remember me, but I’m Kelly, your aunt, I guess your great aunt. I was your grandmother’s younger sister. I am your mother’s aunt. That would make me your great aunt. You can just call me Aunt Kelly. Now, turn around darling, let me look at you.

Brandi flashed a big smile and spun around proudly. She loved it when someone paid attention to her, and her alone. It made her feel like a princess, someone special and loved.

Boy oh boy, the fellas are gonna be beatin’ down your door in a few years. If you ever need anything, you come down to North Carolina and stay with me, Aunt Kelly offered with all sincerity.

During the months that followed Nana’s funeral, Brandi’s mother Jessie and Pop Pop’s relationship became strained. Nana had always been a good go-between the two of them, a peacemaker of sorts. Whenever they got into one of their famous arguments, Nana would step in and settle things down. Without her around the two of them fought constantly.

Pop Pop had good reason for his frustrations with Jessie. She was a mess. Jessie never held down a real job and dated a whole slew of losers. She couldn’t handle money, she drank, smoked and carried on with lots of different men, many of which were married. Neither of them had any idea which one was Brandi’s father. But when she got pregnant though, Mr. Pearce took her in and took care of her.

Unfortunately, Mr. Pearce suffered a brain aneurysm and died three years later in the spring of 1975. Pop Pop was at work when it happened. He had passed out on the production line. An ambulance was called, and he was taken to the Hospital in Fort Hamilton. He was pronounced dead on arrival. It wasn’t until several hours later before they were able to get up with Jessie to let her know.

Meanwhile, Brandi, like every other day, sat waiting for Pop Pop to come through the gates in front of the glass factory where the employees would spill out after the shift ended. As she waited, several of his co-workers noticed Walter’s granddaughter, but none of them stopped to tell her what happened. It wasn’t until the last of the men came through before she realized he wasn’t there. Brandi then ran past the gate and the guard shack and into the building itself. She had never been in there, but she had to find her grandfather. Finally, the guard caught up to her and broke the news to her. She fell to the ground in disbelief.

They tried to explain what an aneurysm was, but she couldn’t quite understand it all. All she got out of it was that it had to do with some sort of blood clot thing. Brandi quickly concluded that Pop Pop died of a broken heart. He never got over Nana and stayed sad until his death. That’s what killed him.

It seemed as if Brandi’s whole world died that day as well. She had loved her grandmother and was sad when she died, but with Pop Pop is was different. He was everything to her. For the first time in her life she had experienced a true sense of loss.

Time went on in the Pearce household and Jessie and Brandi began their lives without their patriarch. Out from the Puritanical eye of her father, Brandi’s mother began to change. She began exploring her new-found freedom. She went out more, talking to people her father never approved of, she even began dressing differently.

It wasn’t long before Jessie began to bring men over to the house. Having men other than Pop Pop changed everything in that little house. Pop Pop never let any male visitors over, he was protective of his women.

Brandi was twelve years old when she had her first sexual experience with a man. Jessie had hired a man to do some plumbing work and he brought along his 19-year-old son. Brandi couldn’t take her eyes off of him and he quickly took note. When his father ran to the supply store, he went over and gave her a kiss. Brandi stood there and she let him. It was a feeling like no other.

As Brandi began growing into a young lady, grown men began to notice her as well. In the beginning Brandi enjoyed the attention. Jessie’s male friends would smile and tell her she was pretty. They’d engage her in conversation, compliment her and talk sweet to her. When the comments became more suggestive, they mostly went over Brandi’s head. When Jessie started to realize the attention, they were paying her daughter, she began yelling at Brandi and sent her to her room.

After the men would leave, Jessie would storm into Brandi’s room and yell at her. She’d call her a tramp, a whore, a little hussy and a whole list of other bad things. Jessie would claim Brandi was the one flirting with them, teasing them by wearing shorts and crop top shirts and leading them on. She’d even go so far as accuse her of sleeping with them.

Tension between Jessie and her teenage daughter was often high. They fought over little things like chores and make up and wearing each other’s clothes. When the fights would escalate, Jessie would quickly remind Brandi whose house she was living in. The furniture, the food, the water, the heat, everything, was hers. She’d tell Brandi that she was nothing but a visitor, a guest who was free to leave anytime she wanted.

One night the two of them really got into it. They started yelling and screaming at each other. It quickly went to throwing things. Piles of clothes flew across the room, then shoes and harder objects. Before long it was glass objects that shattered against the walls. They both said things in anger that were wounding and hurtful.

Brandi finally stormed out, slamming the front door behind her. Once outside she began to run down the street. She’d stop here and there to sit down and cry. She’d then get up and continue on, directionless. She didn’t have any friends she could stay with. Jessie always sabotaged any relationships she’d develop.

After an hour or so, she began to get tired and cold. The only thing around was the Conway Pallet Company. At that time of night, the third shift was working, so the front gates were locked. She decided to find a car or truck she could climb into and warm up. She searched around for one that was unlocked. As luck would have it, she was able to climb into an old Ford pickup with a long bench seat. Better still, there was a blanket on the passenger’s side. She curled up and in no time was fast asleep.

The pallet company’s shift changed at six am. It was still dark when the tired overnight workers filed out of the shop to the parking lot. The owner of the Ford was the