Paulie
By
M.A. Myers
Copyright 2012 by M. A. Myers.
License Statement
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, as well as businesses and or organizations is purely coincidental or for literary effect.
To my wife and son for their love and support.
And to my mom for scaring the hell out of me with this story years ago.
About the Author
M. A. Myers lives in North Carolina with his beautiful wife and son where he enjoys the full time job of being a stay at home dad. He also enjoys taking breaks from reality to imagine a multitude of worlds that he hopes to share with his readers.
A cold October night gust whistled as it blew over a solitary farm house on the outskirts of Pittsburg, New Hampshire. The house creaked and groaned from the light push of the elements, causing Alice to shift uncomfortably as she focused on making dinner. Having moved up here from New York, she was used to the hustle and bustle of a city that several million people called home; not the near constant silence that living in near solitude could bring. The farm house, once belonging to her husband's grandparents, had willed him the property after passing away a year ago. Since the house had been paid off years ago, and with plenty of room to raise a family in, they immediately moved out of their small overpriced apartment. Although the house needed some fixing up, and the quiet was unbearable at times, she was glad that she let Dennis talk her into moving here. The kitchen was a good size, much larger than the kitchen they had back in their apartment in Brooklyn. With newly installed marble countertops and steel appliances, it had become her dream kitchen. She still could not get over the fact that their new home sat on twenty acres of land. Although it was peaceful and quiet here most times, it did get unsettling as the nearest neighbor was a quarter mile down the road from them.
The house creaked eerily as it shifted again, causing the petite redhead to tense for a moment and start humming a random tune. She quickly glanced at the utensil drawer where she kept the revolver that her husband had gotten her, and started calming down immediately. Not liking the idea of leaving her home alone with the kids without a way to protect themselves, Dennis had taken her out to a local gun shop and had her pick out the gun. A small smile crossed her lips as she remembered when he trained her how to safely use it.
Thinking of her husband, she glanced at the kitchen clock to see what time it was, wondering why he wasn't home yet; when movement outside caught her eye. Looking out through the kitchen window, she narrowed her brown eyes before spotting a large raccoon scurry across their driveway until it ran out of sight behind their barn. Alice sighed, hoping the live trap they set earlier would work. Dennis had told her that his grandparents had trouble with raccoons breaking into the barn where they kept bales of hay and bags of bird feed. Shortly after moving in, they found how troublesome the small critters could be, as they ransacked the barn nearly every night. Dennis was nearing his wits' end, telling her that if the live trap failed one more time he would simply shoot them.
The gas oven on her right beeped loudly; notifying her it reached had the desired temperature, bringing her out of her thoughts. Chuckling to herself about getting startled from the oven, she finished seasoning the raw chicken breasts set on the countertop before popping them into the oven. That done, she walked to the pantry and looked at the selection of canned vegetables. As she glanced through the choices an explosion sounded from the living room, quickly followed by a groan of protest. Deciding on green beans, she grabbed two cans, closing the pantry door with her foot as she turned back towards the counter. As she opened the cans, the sounds of her kids playing on the television could be heard easily from the living room. The music and sound effects of the video game combined with the loud jeers and complaints coming from her children caused quite a ruckus, which only a mother with three kids could manage to easily ignore.
Emptying the green beans into a bowl, she popped them in the microwave before glancing again at the antique clock hanging on the wall behind her. Where is he? She thought, wondering why her husband hadn't called to let her know that he was going to be two hours late. Having told her he'd be home by four thirty at the latest, the clock was now showing a quarter to seven. Taking her shoulder length hair, Alice quickly tied it into a messy bun as she walked towards the kitchen telephone mounted below the clock. Picking up the receiver, Alice started to dial her husband's cell when her youngest child of ten years, Paulie, called out to her.
"Mom! Charlie won't give me the controller."
"That's because you suck." said Charlie, Alice's eldest. The sixteen year old always finding an excuse to annoy his little brother.
"But it's my turn."
"You can play the next round."
"You said that the last time." complained Paulie.
"Here, you can take my controller. I'm getting bored anyway." offered Julia, the middle child of fourteen years who was always willing to compromise.
"But I wanted to play with you. Charlie always wins when I play against him."
"That's why you suck."
"Charlie, let your brother play." called out Alice, listening to an exasperated sigh from Charlie before she finished dialing her husband's number. After the first initial ring she got his voice mail, his deep voice droning in her ear.
"You've reached Dennis Borenit with North East Heating and Air. I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks." Alice hung up, and then dialed his number again, getting his voicemail once more. Sighing loudly, she pinched the bridge of her nose before the beep.
"Hey, Babe. Just wondering where you're at. Call me back. Love ya." She let out a slow breath and hung up.
"Hey, no fair! The controller isn't even on. Mom!"
Her patience wearing thin, Alice quickly walked through the spacious dining room. Shutter windows looked out onto the back of the house, giving the occupants a premium view of the sunsets. A brass chandelier hung from the middle of the room directly above the large oak dining room table that once belonged to her husband's grandmother. Brushing by the table, her slippers swishing across the hard wood floors, as she walked through the French doors into the living room. Hands on hips, she surveyed the scene before her. Sitting on the couch was Julia, her little clone as Dennis called her, since she was the spitting image of her mother. Sitting beside her was Paulie, the oversized night shirt he wore threatening to swallow him whole. His unruly mop of red hair made him look almost comical with his hands and feet barely sticking out of the Yankees shirt his dad had given him. Stretched out on the floor in front of them sat Charlie, his head propped against the edge of the couch, as he stared between his raised knees at the flat screen television they had mounted on the wall. All three turned to glance at her as she walked in, before looking back at the video game they had on. "Guys, remember what I said would happen if you couldn't take turns?"
"Yes." mumbled Charlie.
"What did I say?" Charlie gave an exasperated sigh, handing the controller over his head to Paulie and said, "That if we couldn't share, we couldn't play."
"Correct." said Alice as she walked up and ruffled Charlie's thick brown hair, receiving an annoyed grunt as he tried to pull away. "You plan to grow your hair out?" He shrugged, watching his siblings choose their characters. "Think you should, show off all that beautiful hair you have. You know the girls would go crazy if you did."
"That's all Samantha talks about in class anyway." said Julia, quickly pressing buttons on her controller as she played against Paulie who had his tongue sticking out in concentration.
"Really?" said Alice, intrigued to hear this. "You're going to ask her out?" She could tell
Charlie was embarrassed as he shrugged his broad shoulders in reply.
"She told me that they already exchanged phone numbers." threw in Julia, with a grin on her face as she backed Paulie's character into a corner, beating him mercilessly.
"Hey, no fair!" cried out Paulie after his sister's character threw his out of the ring. "Rematch!" Alice shook her head and grabbed the remote to turn the television off.
"Rematch later. Right now I need you three to get ready for dinner."
"Dinner's ready?" asked Charlie, sitting up. "Thought you just started it."
"I did, but that won't stop you from helping me set the table and wash up, now will it?"
Her kids groaned and they got up to do what they were told. Charlie and Julia followed their mother into the kitchen, while Paulie ran off to the bathroom to wash up. While Alice checked the chicken in the oven, Charlie grabbed five plates and matching silverware. Julia took the glasses into the dining room, and when she came back into the kitchen and reached inside the fridge to get drinks, Alice turned to her.
"Sweetie, could you also put the butter and jelly out for the bread?"
"Yep."
"Thanks."
"Welcome."
Alice timed the microwave for three minutes for the green beans, just as the sound of an engine was heard. She looked outside and bright head lights flashed by the window, causing her to squint from the brightness as her husband pulled in. Having heard the truck, Paulie came running from the bathroom towards the front door. Seeing her husband get out of his truck, she joined Paulie, opening the door after she heard him approach the stairs.
"Hey Love, oof-" said Dennis as Paulie ran into him, giving him a hug. Dennis bent down and engulfed Paulie in a bear hug, before causing him to squeal with laughter as he tickled him mercilessly. Having enough, Paulie managed to wiggle out from his father's grasp and ran back into the living room. Dennis straightened up before wrapping his thick arms around Alice, giving her a lingering kiss. Leaning close, Alice fingered his thick beard and trailed her hands down his broad chest.
"You're late."
Dennis rolled his eyes, giving a long exhale. "Yeah I know, don't remind me." Letting her go, he kicked off his work boots before walking into the kitchen and setting his lunch container down on the counter.
"You had me worried. Didn't help that you had your phone turned off."
"Sorry about that. Had people calling me all day today, asking questions about things they should already know." he said, removing a sandwich bag filled with the remnants of his lunch. "Turned it off before it died in case I had an emergency."
"What happened to your work phone?" she asked, leaning up against the counter next to him.
"Oh, it's in about a dozen pieces. Got hooked on some ceiling grid while I was coming down a ladder. The office is going to love hearing that." he said with a sigh, walking over to the garbage can to throw the lunch trash out. As he did, they could hear the television powering on with a commercial for a new gym opening up in town. Alice poked her head in the dining room, checking that the table was set and ready. Turning back towards Dennis, she walked towards him as he took his company jacket off and hung it up in the closet.
"So what happened today?