Saving the Planet
By White Feather
When the time came, young Albert approached the girl with whom he was infatuated. She was 16 years old and he was 15. The opportunity presented itself on a hot July day at a Dairy Queen restaurant. He was coming in to treat himself to an ice cream cone. She was sitting alone at a table reading a book, the remnants of a sundae at her side.
Despite a shyness that was crippling at times, Albert managed to gather the courage to invite himself to her table. His thinking process had not advanced beyond that, though, so he was dumbstruck when she readily invited him to sit. So he sat and began eating his ice cream cone. After a few licks, he suddenly felt odd eating the ice cream in front of her, so he stopped and looked into her eyes. She looked back, and hard.
They had only spoken three times before. Albert remembered each time distinctly. The first time was way back in junior high school when they sat next to each other in a class. The entire year she spoke to him only once. Albert did not remember what they spoke about, but he sure remembered the brief encounter. That is around the time his infatuation with her began.
The other two times occurred during the previous school year. Once they talked in the cafeteria line and once they talked at a football game. If Albert had been a little surer of himself he would have made those talks longer, but as it was, they were all short encounters. Albert was actually very glad that she even recognized him.
Little jolts of electricity coursed through his body when she closed her book and leaned forward on the table, her arms crossed in front of her. She kept looking right through his eyes.
After an incredibly long awkward moment, she spoke, "You were in my dreams last week.”
Now, Albert was really dumbfounded. He could not say a thing, and was growing nervous.
"You were some kind of astronaut or something," she continued, "You were going up in a space ship to help save the Earth, and I was standing there watching you go into the space ship, and I watched it take off. I was really hoping you would survive."
"Just before you left, you told me something that I was supposed to tell the others. But I couldn't remember what you told me and I didn't know who the others were. So after the space ship took off, I went and looked for the others but I couldn't find anyone."
Albert remained speechless. Another long awkward moment ensued as Albert could feel the ice cream slowly melting and running down onto his fingers.
"So what do you think?" she finally asked.
After gathering his thoughts, Albert replied, "Well....uh....I never wanted to be an astronaut. I'm too mechanically-challenged. Saving the planet doesn't sound too bad, though." This last sentence he said with a smile.
Her face quickly became very solemn. "Wow, that's the one thing that I really want to do in my life; is help save the planet in some way. I don't normally tell anyone that, though, cuz they'd think I'm weird. Would you really want to help save the planet?"
"Oh, sure. Hey, this planet is..." Albert choked back the cuss words he normally would have used, "This planet is messed up!"
"But what can we do?"
"Oh, I have no idea. There's gotta be some way anyone can help."
She turned to look out the window, "Yeah, I don't know how I'm supposed to help, either, but I feel like I have some mission or something."
The amperage of the electricity running through Albert jumped suddenly. That is exactly how he felt.
"You're dripping."
"What?"
"You're dripping ice cream onto the table."
"Oh!" Albert set his tongue to work mopping up the flow of ice cream over the edge of his cone.
She looked back out the window. As he continued mopping up ice cream, Albert stared at her face. What was it that she was looking for? Normally, the future was too uncertain for him to think about, but now he was thinking about it, and it was because of her. Did he really have a mission, too? And what on earth could it be?
While still looking out the window, she continued, "We all have a role to play in this great mission and each of our roles are different. I worry that we won't remember our missions and nothing will get done." She turned back to him, "Do you feel like that?"
"Well....uh....I do worry that I'll never figure out my part."
"See, that's what we've got to do. Those of us who are doing similar missions need to meet so we can help reawaken each others' memories. We've got to work together. It's a matter of recognizing our mission mates. I never meet many, but I just knew you were one somehow."
"Really?" Albert was getting nervous again.
"Yeah, then that dream cinched it. Now, talking to you, I just know I'm right."
Suddenly, she started packing up her stuff and getting up. Albert never got around to asking her out and he had no idea what to say now.
"Gotta run," she said as she stood. "Good luck saving the planet." Smiling, she walked off.
Albert sat there for a long time staring into space, trying to assimilate what just happened. The ice cream cone was soon finished and Albert's hands were very sticky. He got up to go to the restroom to wash up.
Albert never went out with her and he only talked to her briefly two more times before the end of high school. He never saw her again.
When the time came, young Albert approached the girl with whom he was infatuated. She was 16 years old and he was 15. The opportunity presented itself on a hot July day at a Dairy Queen restaurant. He was coming in to treat himself to an ice cream cone. She was sitting alone at a table reading a book, the remnants of a sundae at her side.
Despite a shyness that was crippling at times, Albert managed to gather the courage to invite himself to her table. His thinking process had not advanced beyond that, though, so he was dumbstruck when she readily invited him to sit. So he sat and began eating his ice cream cone. After a few licks, he suddenly felt odd eating the ice cream in front of her, so he stopped and looked into her eyes. She looked back, and hard.
They had only spoken three times before. Albert remembered each time distinctly. The first time was way back in junior high school when they sat next to each other in a class. The entire year she spoke to him only once. Albert did not remember what they spoke about, but he sure remembered the brief encounter. That is around the time his infatuation with her began.
The other two times occurred during the previous school year. Once they talked in the cafeteria line and once they talked at a football game. If Albert had been a little surer of himself he would have made those talks longer, but as it was, they were all short encounters. Albert was actually very glad that she even recognized him.
Little jolts of electricity coursed through his body when she closed her book and leaned forward on the table, her arms crossed in front of her. She kept looking right through his eyes.
After an incredibly long awkward moment, she spoke, "You were in my dreams last week.”
Now, Albert was really dumbfounded. He could not say a thing, and was growing nervous.
"You were some kind of astronaut or something," she continued, "You were going up in a space ship to help save the Earth, and I was standing there watching you go into the space ship, and I watched it take off. I was really hoping you would survive."
"Just before you left, you told me something that I was supposed to tell the others. But I couldn't remember what you told me and I didn't know who the others were. So after the space ship took off, I went and looked for the others but I couldn't find anyone."
Albert remained speechless. Another long awkward moment ensued as Albert could feel the ice cream slowly melting and running down onto his fingers.
"So what do you think?" she finally asked.
After gathering his thoughts, Albert replied, "Well....uh....I never wanted to be an astronaut. I'm too mechanically-challenged. Saving the planet doesn't sound too bad, though." This last sentence he said with a smile.
Her face quickly became very solemn. "Wow, that's the one thing that I really want to do in my life; is help save the planet in some way. I don't normally tell anyone that, though, cuz they'd think I'm weird. Would you really want to help save the planet?"
"Oh, sure. Hey, this planet is..." Albert choked back the cuss words he normally would have used, "This planet is messed up!"
"But what can we do?"
"Oh, I have no idea. There's gotta be some way anyone can help."
She turned to look out the window, "Yeah, I don't know how I'm supposed to help, either, but I feel like I have some mission or something."
The amperage of the electricity running through Albert jumped suddenly. That is exactly how he felt.
"You're dripping."
"What?"
"You're dripping ice cream onto the table."
"Oh!" Albert set his tongue to work mopping up the flow of ice cream over the edge of his cone.
She looked back out the window. As he continued mopping up ice cream, Albert stared at her face. What was it that she was looking for? Normally, the future was too uncertain for him to think about, but now he was thinking about it, and it was because of her. Did he really have a mission, too? And what on earth could it be?
While still looking out the window, she continued, "We all have a role to play in this great mission and each of our roles are different. I worry that we won't remember our missions and nothing will get done." She turned back to him, "Do you feel like that?"
"Well....uh....I do worry that I'll never figure out my part."
"See, that's what we've got to do. Those of us who are doing similar missions need to meet so we can help reawaken each others' memories. We've got to work together. It's a matter of recognizing our mission mates. I never meet many, but I just knew you were one somehow."
"Really?" Albert was getting nervous again.
"Yeah, then that dream cinched it. Now, talking to you, I just know I'm right."
Suddenly, she started packing up her stuff and getting up. Albert never got around to asking her out and he had no idea what to say now.
"Gotta run," she said as she stood. "Good luck saving the planet." Smiling, she walked off.
Albert sat there for a long time staring into space, trying to assimilate what just happened. The ice cream cone was soon finished and Albert's hands were very sticky. He got up to go to the restroom to wash up.
Albert never went out with her and he only talked to her briefly two more times before the end of high school. He never saw her again.
* * * * *
Albert moved away from his hometown after graduating from high school. He wanted to be in a place where a lot was happening, so he ended up moving from one large city to the next for many years. When he was in his mid-thirties, he found himself living in a large city in Texas. He had been working for several years as a computer programmer.
Walking home from work one brutally hot July afternoon, Albert reflected on his life thus far. He liked the routine he had established for himself. He liked living alone and playing on his computer. He occasionally dated, but he really hated the dating scene. In no hurry to be tied into a relationship, Albert was on a quest to understand himself and his role in life. He was happy and comfortable, yet felt unfulfilled.
Loosening his tie, Albert waited for the crossing signal to change so that he could cross the avenue in front of the office building in which he worked. Disparaging remarks had been made by some coworkers on occasion regarding the fact that Albert walked to and from work. He only lived two and a half blocks from his job; why should he drive? One particular coworker, who lived in the same apartment complex as Albert, drove to work each day. Several times Albert noticed that he was leaving for work at the same time as this coworker. After the coworker had arrived at work (through two red-lights), then found a parking space, and then walked from the parking space to the building, Albert was already ahead of him.
To Albert, the walk to and from work was very important. In the morning it was almost like a meditation, preparing him for a day of work. The walk also got his body and mind going. To Albert, it was better than a cup of coffee.
The walk home is how he unwound after work. It was a way to slowly shift his state of mind. It was better than a beer.
On that day, though, his walk home turned into a dramatic epiphany.
Walking home from work one brutally hot July afternoon, Albert reflected on his life thus far. He liked the routine he had established for himself. He liked living alone and playing on his computer. He occasionally dated, but he really hated the dating scene. In no hurry to be tied into a relationship, Albert was on a quest to understand himself and his role in life. He was happy and comfortable, yet felt unfulfilled.
Loosening his tie, Albert waited for the crossing signal to change so that he could cross the avenue in front of the office building in which he worked. Disparaging remarks had been made by some coworkers on occasion regarding the fact that Albert walked to and from work. He only lived two and a half blocks from his job; why should he drive? One particular coworker, who lived in the same apartment complex as Albert, drove to work each day. Several times Albert noticed that he was leaving for work at the same time as this coworker. After the coworker had arrived at work (through two red-lights), then found a parking space, and then walked from the parking space to the building, Albert was already ahead of him.
To Albert, the walk to and from work was very important. In the morning it was almost like a meditation, preparing him for a day of work. The walk also got his body and mind going. To Albert, it was better than a cup of coffee.
The walk home is how he unwound after work. It was a way to slowly shift his state of mind. It was better than a beer.
On that day, though, his walk home turned into a dramatic epiphany.
* * * * *
As Albert crossed the intersection he was filled with an enthusiasm that was the result of good news he had heard that day. It was double good news actually. Not only did he find out that he had been hired for a new job--a new job that paid significantly more than his current job--but he also gave his two-week notice at his current job. There were two reasons to celebrate, Albert thought. He had been working at his current job for almost three years. That was too long for the restlessness that seemed to hang over him like a fog. Change is good, he thought, and as he thought that, he smiled.
Albert walked through a parking lot then entered an alleyway. Why walk alongside a busy street, enveloped in carbon monoxide when you can walk down a quiet alleyway? The alleyway was lined with garbage dumpsters and wooden fences concealing the backyards of a middle-class neighborhood. It was peaceful and mostly quiet. There were the dogs, of course, behind those fences that greeted him with barking as he passed them. They knew his footsteps, and he knew their barks.
Suddenly, Albert stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned completely around. About thirty feet behind him was the yard where honeysuckle vines were billowing up over the fence and down towards the ground. Albert had been stopping to smell the honeysuckle on each of his walks for the last couple of weeks since the honeysuckle came into full bloom. He was so caught up in the euphoria of his impending life change that he walked right past the honeysuckle without even noticing. He walked back to the honeysuckle and put his face right into it, taking a deep whiff. Then he took another, and then another. Filled with joy, Albert turned around and resumed his walk home.
He only had a little over a block to go, but halfway through that block is when it happened....
Albert walked through a parking lot then entered an alleyway. Why walk alongside a busy street, enveloped in carbon monoxide when you can walk down a quiet alleyway? The alleyway was lined with garbage dumpsters and wooden fences concealing the backyards of a middle-class neighborhood. It was peaceful and mostly quiet. There were the dogs, of course, behind those fences that greeted him with barking as he passed them. They knew his footsteps, and he knew their barks.
Suddenly, Albert stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned completely around. About thirty feet behind him was the yard where honeysuckle vines were billowing up over the fence and down towards the ground. Albert had been stopping to smell the honeysuckle on each of his walks for the last couple of weeks since the honeysuckle came into full bloom. He was so caught up in the euphoria of his impending life change that he walked right past the honeysuckle without even noticing. He walked back to the honeysuckle and put his face right into it, taking a deep whiff. Then he took another, and then another. Filled with joy, Albert turned around and resumed his walk home.
He only had a little over a block to go, but halfway through that block is when it happened....
* * * * *
First, Albert heard some screaming, then a gate in the wooden fence behind a home came crashing open and two people came racing out of it. They were only a few paces in front of Albert, but were oblivious of him.
The first person out of the gate was a young woman. She was followed by a large burly man who was screaming obscenities at her. It was quickly obvious that the man was chasing the woman. The woman barely made it across the alley before the man caught her and threw her down to her knees.
In shock, Albert froze.
The man stood over the woman and savagely beat his fist into her back, yelling, "You stupid bitch! Did you think you could steal from me and get away with it?! Now I want the money or the drugs and I want it now. I trusted you with the stuff and you just snorted it all up, you whore!" The man then rammed his fist into her back again. The woman was crying profusely.
Albert was in shock as this scene played out right before his eyes. For a moment he simply could not move, unsure of what to do. But then something happened. Albert seemed to shift into a completely different consciousness. He was no longer thinking the way he normally did, in fact he was no longer thinking, but acting. He found himself approaching the man.
Albert was an extreme pacifist. He had managed to go through school without ever getting into a fist fight. The truth is that he had never been in a fist fight in his entire life. He had always managed to avoid violence, and he surely never walked right up to it. But he felt compelled to do something.
Stepping up to the man, Albert placed his hand on the man's shoulder. The man quit his tirade to turn and look at Albert. The man's eyes were like those of a wildcat.
Albert then spoke, although it seemed to him that it must be someone else speaking through him for he never spoke in such a commanding voice before, "What are you so mad at her for? She's just a junkie. Why are you letting her get the best of you? Is she really worth going to jail or prison?"
The man's eyes grew larger and he threw his hands up, "Hey man, I'm not going back to the joint; no freakin' way!"
Albert stepped closer to the man and looked him square in the eyes, "Can't you see that if you lose it over some junkie, then you're no better than the junkie. I can't believe you can be that mad at her. What are you really mad about?"
With this the man's eyes grew even larger and his jaw dropped. He began gesturing with his hands and he looked like he was trying to say something, but he could not get it out. Finally, he waved his arms, turned around, and walked off.
Albert just stood there for a long moment watching the man walk away and wondering what it was that enabled him to fearlessly walk up to him and do what he did. Thinking back on the words he had spoken, not only did Albert wonder where those words came from, but he wondered how those particular words that came out were able to diffuse the monster. As his heartbeat started slowing, he realized that he was covered in sweat and his hands were shaking a little.
And then he looked down and around and realized that the girl was gone. Turning he saw her walking away further down the alley in the opposite direction. Albert ran after her.
Catching up to her, he saw that she was sobbing profusely. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? How can I help?"
She kept walking and sobbing.
"Can I take you to the hospital? Are you in pain?"
Finally, she stopped and turned to face Albert. This was the first time he actually looked into her face. Her face was covered with tears. There was a scar under her left eye and there was a fresh scrape on her chin. But when Albert looked into her eyes, he was overcome with a strange indescribable feeling. Although he had never seen her before, it felt as though he recognized her; as though he knew her, or at least felt a strong kinship with her. This made no sense to Albert.
She wiped tears off her face with her hands. Sniffling and looking straight into his eyes, she said, "You called me a junkie!" With this, she turned and continued her walking and her sobbing.
Dumbfounded, Albert froze for a moment and then ran after her again. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I had no basis for saying that. I don't even know you. I just said it to get him off you. I really don't know what I was saying. The words were just spewing out. I'm really sorry. I didn't say that to hurt you, I swear. I only wanted to get him off you, so that is what came out of my mouth--God knows why--and it worked. But I really didn't mean it."
She stopped and faced Albert again, "Don't you get it? I've been a junkie for five years now but I never in a million years would have admitted that to anyone--not even myself. Anyone could have told me I was a junkie and I wouldn't believe it. Not until you called me that did I finally listen."
She wiped more tears with her hand then wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She was a mess. As her sobbing diminished she cracked a smile and held out her hand, "Hi, my name is Sheila. I'm a junkie. What do you do?"
Then she turned and started walking and sobbing again. Albert caught up with her and began walking beside her. They walked in silence for a few minutes while she slowly stopped crying.
Eventually, Albert spoke; "I work with computers."
She stopped and turned to him again, "What?"
"You asked me what I do. I work with computers. I work in that building way over there." Albert pointed, realizing that walking with her he was heading back in the direction of work.
"You don't look like a computer geek."
"Thank you very much. And you don't look like a junkie."
With this, Sheila began laughing. "Well, I'm sure I don't look very good right now." She looked down at the ground, then back up at Albert. "I am a junkie, though, and you made me realize that. And for a computer geek you sure stood up to Jake. Jake is a real bad-ass and he's a lot bigger than you. He could have beat the living tar out of you."
"Yikes," was all that Albert could manage to say as tingles raced through his body.
"So do you like working with computers?"
"Yeah, I guess. You know what? I just got a new job that I'll be starting in a few weeks. It's on the other side of town but the pay will be worth the move, even if it’s just temporary."
"Temporary?"
"Yeah, it's just a one-year subcontracting job for NASA."
"Oooh, NASA. You gonna go up in the Space Shuttle?"
Albert laughed, "Oh no, I'll just be doing computer stuff."
Just then, Albert was overcome with a haunting feeling. The memory of his encounter in the Dairy Queen so many years before came creeping back into his consciousness. Albert stood with his mouth open as he remembered how that girl in the Dairy Queen had dreamed about him working for NASA. He had not remembered that until now.
"What?"
Albert came out of his reverie. "Oh nothing. It was just a big deja vu."
"Well, listen, I've got to go."
"Is there anything I can do for you? I really would like to help if I can."
A big smile erupted on Sheila's face. "You've already helped more than you can imagine. Thank you." With this, she stepped forward and kissed Albert lightly on the lips. And then she walked away.
Albert watched her disappear around a corner and then he stood there transfixed for several long minutes trying to make sense of what just happened. He also thought long and hard about the memory of that Dairy Queen encounter that resurfaced. There was obviously some kind of unseen connection between that event so long ago and the one that just transpired, but Albert could not put his finger on it. This was something that would have to soak in.
Finally, Albert turned and began walking back in the direction of home. He had not gotten far when he realized he was passing the honeysuckle again. Smiling, Albert walked up to the honeysuckle and took some more deep long whiffs.
Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. This short story is excerpted with permission from White Feather's book, The Whooping Crane Saga and Other Stories. Visit White Feather's website here: WritingsofWhiteFeather.com
The first person out of the gate was a young woman. She was followed by a large burly man who was screaming obscenities at her. It was quickly obvious that the man was chasing the woman. The woman barely made it across the alley before the man caught her and threw her down to her knees.
In shock, Albert froze.
The man stood over the woman and savagely beat his fist into her back, yelling, "You stupid bitch! Did you think you could steal from me and get away with it?! Now I want the money or the drugs and I want it now. I trusted you with the stuff and you just snorted it all up, you whore!" The man then rammed his fist into her back again. The woman was crying profusely.
Albert was in shock as this scene played out right before his eyes. For a moment he simply could not move, unsure of what to do. But then something happened. Albert seemed to shift into a completely different consciousness. He was no longer thinking the way he normally did, in fact he was no longer thinking, but acting. He found himself approaching the man.
Albert was an extreme pacifist. He had managed to go through school without ever getting into a fist fight. The truth is that he had never been in a fist fight in his entire life. He had always managed to avoid violence, and he surely never walked right up to it. But he felt compelled to do something.
Stepping up to the man, Albert placed his hand on the man's shoulder. The man quit his tirade to turn and look at Albert. The man's eyes were like those of a wildcat.
Albert then spoke, although it seemed to him that it must be someone else speaking through him for he never spoke in such a commanding voice before, "What are you so mad at her for? She's just a junkie. Why are you letting her get the best of you? Is she really worth going to jail or prison?"
The man's eyes grew larger and he threw his hands up, "Hey man, I'm not going back to the joint; no freakin' way!"
Albert stepped closer to the man and looked him square in the eyes, "Can't you see that if you lose it over some junkie, then you're no better than the junkie. I can't believe you can be that mad at her. What are you really mad about?"
With this the man's eyes grew even larger and his jaw dropped. He began gesturing with his hands and he looked like he was trying to say something, but he could not get it out. Finally, he waved his arms, turned around, and walked off.
Albert just stood there for a long moment watching the man walk away and wondering what it was that enabled him to fearlessly walk up to him and do what he did. Thinking back on the words he had spoken, not only did Albert wonder where those words came from, but he wondered how those particular words that came out were able to diffuse the monster. As his heartbeat started slowing, he realized that he was covered in sweat and his hands were shaking a little.
And then he looked down and around and realized that the girl was gone. Turning he saw her walking away further down the alley in the opposite direction. Albert ran after her.
Catching up to her, he saw that she was sobbing profusely. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? How can I help?"
She kept walking and sobbing.
"Can I take you to the hospital? Are you in pain?"
Finally, she stopped and turned to face Albert. This was the first time he actually looked into her face. Her face was covered with tears. There was a scar under her left eye and there was a fresh scrape on her chin. But when Albert looked into her eyes, he was overcome with a strange indescribable feeling. Although he had never seen her before, it felt as though he recognized her; as though he knew her, or at least felt a strong kinship with her. This made no sense to Albert.
She wiped tears off her face with her hands. Sniffling and looking straight into his eyes, she said, "You called me a junkie!" With this, she turned and continued her walking and her sobbing.
Dumbfounded, Albert froze for a moment and then ran after her again. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I had no basis for saying that. I don't even know you. I just said it to get him off you. I really don't know what I was saying. The words were just spewing out. I'm really sorry. I didn't say that to hurt you, I swear. I only wanted to get him off you, so that is what came out of my mouth--God knows why--and it worked. But I really didn't mean it."
She stopped and faced Albert again, "Don't you get it? I've been a junkie for five years now but I never in a million years would have admitted that to anyone--not even myself. Anyone could have told me I was a junkie and I wouldn't believe it. Not until you called me that did I finally listen."
She wiped more tears with her hand then wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She was a mess. As her sobbing diminished she cracked a smile and held out her hand, "Hi, my name is Sheila. I'm a junkie. What do you do?"
Then she turned and started walking and sobbing again. Albert caught up with her and began walking beside her. They walked in silence for a few minutes while she slowly stopped crying.
Eventually, Albert spoke; "I work with computers."
She stopped and turned to him again, "What?"
"You asked me what I do. I work with computers. I work in that building way over there." Albert pointed, realizing that walking with her he was heading back in the direction of work.
"You don't look like a computer geek."
"Thank you very much. And you don't look like a junkie."
With this, Sheila began laughing. "Well, I'm sure I don't look very good right now." She looked down at the ground, then back up at Albert. "I am a junkie, though, and you made me realize that. And for a computer geek you sure stood up to Jake. Jake is a real bad-ass and he's a lot bigger than you. He could have beat the living tar out of you."
"Yikes," was all that Albert could manage to say as tingles raced through his body.
"So do you like working with computers?"
"Yeah, I guess. You know what? I just got a new job that I'll be starting in a few weeks. It's on the other side of town but the pay will be worth the move, even if it’s just temporary."
"Temporary?"
"Yeah, it's just a one-year subcontracting job for NASA."
"Oooh, NASA. You gonna go up in the Space Shuttle?"
Albert laughed, "Oh no, I'll just be doing computer stuff."
Just then, Albert was overcome with a haunting feeling. The memory of his encounter in the Dairy Queen so many years before came creeping back into his consciousness. Albert stood with his mouth open as he remembered how that girl in the Dairy Queen had dreamed about him working for NASA. He had not remembered that until now.
"What?"
Albert came out of his reverie. "Oh nothing. It was just a big deja vu."
"Well, listen, I've got to go."
"Is there anything I can do for you? I really would like to help if I can."
A big smile erupted on Sheila's face. "You've already helped more than you can imagine. Thank you." With this, she stepped forward and kissed Albert lightly on the lips. And then she walked away.
Albert watched her disappear around a corner and then he stood there transfixed for several long minutes trying to make sense of what just happened. He also thought long and hard about the memory of that Dairy Queen encounter that resurfaced. There was obviously some kind of unseen connection between that event so long ago and the one that just transpired, but Albert could not put his finger on it. This was something that would have to soak in.
Finally, Albert turned and began walking back in the direction of home. He had not gotten far when he realized he was passing the honeysuckle again. Smiling, Albert walked up to the honeysuckle and took some more deep long whiffs.
Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. This short story is excerpted with permission from White Feather's book, The Whooping Crane Saga and Other Stories. Visit White Feather's website here: WritingsofWhiteFeather.com