The Between Years

looks from passersby, or even some more amusing notes in the mail. Don't think I haven't turned those gems in to the police, friends and neighbors. I have spent much of this text talking about moving on, and as soon as I finish this sentence, I plan to shut down my computer, and follow my own advice.

    Make a promise keep a promise.

    Thank You!

    I’m Derek Clendening and I just want to thank you for reading The Between Years . I would love to hear from you, so please drop me a line at [email protected] . I respond to all email personally. I would be honored if you check out further works by me. Stick around here for the bonus short stories, “Open Doors, Closed Doors” and “Family Ties”.

    Also, be sure to check out my blog at www.thehorrorofderekclendening.blogspot.com

    Other Kindle Titles by Derek Clendening

    Novels
    The Between Years (Ghosts)
    The Breeding (Zombies)
    Collections
    Clock Strikes Two and Other Stories

    Short Stories and Long Fiction

    Two Little Dead Girls
    The Lonesome Child on Wysocki Street
    The Business

    Young Adult
    The Vampire Way (Vampire Way Series Book #1)
    Blood Promise (Vampire Way Series Book #2)

    Open Doors, Closed Doors

    Rosemary clenches her rosary when she stops before the door to the Tea for Two café on the corner of Central and Garrison. Her legs ache from the long trip.
    The ‘open’ sign buzzes, and the awning is torn at the seams, but the inside is packed with people she used to know. These people pay her no mind now.
    She checks her watch.
    Have to get back soon, she thinks. One chance left and I can’t blow it.
    Have to get back.
    She sucks in a breath of morning air and forced herself inside. A bell tinkles and Colbie Colliat’s “Start at my Toes” is almost drowned out by the cacophony of voices. She stomps the snow off of her feet and everyone ignores her, just like she expects.
    She sees a woman in a house dress sitting alone in the corner with her hands folded on the table. She isn’t what Rosemary expects. There are no beads, funny-colored hair, candles or even a crystal ball.
    Frozen at the empty chair that’d been pulled out for her, she doesn’t move until she is told to sit.
    I’ve been expecting you, the woman says.
    Rosemary wants to know how she knows that she was coming. Does she know how far I’ve come? Rosemary wonders. She would spill every secret to this woman at her command.
    Unsure what to say, Rosemary digs into her pocket for a wad of bills and peels off a twenty. Twenty dollars buys cans of Campbell’s soup, Dempster’s bread, Nielson milk and Crest toothpaste, she thinks. She checks her watch. Answers come at a price.
    Have to get back.
    Name’s Elizabeth, the woman says. I have no control over your life. Please forgive me if what I’m about to tell you isn’t what you want to hear.
    Rosemary bites her lip as Elizabeth shuffles a deck of cards then slides them across the table. Tempted to push them away, Rosemary decides that she can’t refuse the answers at her fingertips.
    Elizabeth smiles and tells Rosemary to turn the first card.
    Rosemary reveals The Chariot. Elizabeth turns over The Magician, The Tower, The Fool then sorts the rest in a square pattern. These pictures mean nothing to her and she refuses to believe them. Still . . . .
    Life hasn’t been easy for you, Elizabeth says. Not that it’s all bad. You have Christ on your side but you still feel forgotten and discarded.
    Rosemary squeezes her rosary until the beads leave marks on her palm.
    You have two children, Elizabeth says.
    No, I don’t.
    Yes, you do.
    Listen to me, I don’t have any children.
    Want your answers or not?
    Yes.
    You have two boys.
    Is that in the cards?
    Your whole life is in these cards.
    Then you know why I’ve come so far to see you?
    No parent can be with their child every waking moment to make sure they’re making the right choices. Most would kill to find out what their kids are hiding . . . some are just more intrusive than others.
    Rosemary’s hangs her head then forces herself to face Elizabeth.
    You’ve had some terrible wrongs done to you, Elizabeth says.
    It’s not the boys’ fault, Rosemary says. The lies they’ve been told about me . . . .
    Ever hurt them?
    Never . . . not intentionally. They’ve had so many problems and I just wanted to help them.
    The older boy has attempted suicide, Elizabeth says.
    Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, Rosemary whispers under her breath.
    She wants to