Unaccepted

Unaccepted
by S. Ferguson 1-22-11


In the remote farmlands west of Morton Texas lies a house with a family of three, along an old County Road. Fertile lands where, in the Fall bears tall growths of corn, and yields green endless fields of Broccoli. The year had been plentiful for the Adams as it had always been. It was an old farm. Hand carved Victorian ornaments hanging from the eaves told of its age.

Summer was very hot.

Sunrise.

Barnabas, the brother-in law, in field clothes stained in soil, sat at the breakfast table in the kitchen with newspaper in his callused hands as water on the porcelain stove came to a boil. The wife with little more than a tattered sleeping gown made her way from her bedroom to the kitchen where grabbing a rag to handle the hot water, fills a cup prepared with a teabag, for her, on the table. Her husband, angry, makes his way into the small room maneuvering around her on his way out spit on the floor and commanded,

“Have my supper ready when I get back.” then let the door slam behind him. The women sat down without reaction quiet before her tea, coughed then lifted the cup to sip as the older man, Barnabas, still sitting spoke.

“A little joke to lift your spirits Abby”

Her eyes rolled up toward him with a squint of mistrust. He ignored the look and began,

“A new teacher upon stepping into her classroom saw Chickens, Pigs and Goats all running around the room. She immediately gets a broom and begins to shoo the chickens and pigs from the room. Why does she let the goats stay?”

Abby corrected her posture, paused, coughed again then answered,

“ I don't know why. Why did she?

He laughed, “They were Kids. She was there for the kids.” Her eyes followed him as he left the table.

“Gotta go Abby.” When the door slammed behind him she half chuckled over the joke then leaned over and began filling her cup with her tears. She thought, how cruel of him. Along side her bed lay, a crushed, rejected and discarded doctor's report stating, 'Mrs. Abby Adams, was a healthy woman'.

Outside Cain and his brother had finished loading their tools for the day's work when he turned to his brother. “What did GOD want from me? The land bears fruit and in return I am given a barren woman.” “You'll soon have another”, said the brother. Smiling, Cain then turned to his work.

Meanwhile, Abby was jarred to attention by a phone call. Wiping her eyes she answered it.

"Doc. Lazarus?"

"Abby, Don't drink any more tea!”

“Why, What's wrong with the tea?”

"Listen one of my cat's is dead and Atlas my dogs sick at the Vet's after they lapped up tea which fell from the thermos you left here a couple of days ago. And I just got a report from the Vet. The tea was poisoned Abby."

There was silence.

The Doc asked,"Did you hear me Abby?"

She didn't answer. She hung up the phone and looked across the field at the two men in her life and said with conviction.

“Time to make Supper.”

That evening the men ate. When full they sat on the porch as the sun drew down and listened to the ceaseless screech of crickets well into the night.


At Sunrise, Abby called a cab. She left Cain and his brother sitting on the porch. She smiled and thought they had never looked better. And as the cab pulled off, Abby never looks back.



Unaccepted was written for the NPR Three minute fiction competion round 6. It had to have a joke, a character had to cry, and the story had to be under 600 words. It lost.