Scott Wittenburg - See Tom Run

Tom pulled onto the road and held his breath as he crossed over the bridge. He could feel the thing sway sickeningly from side to side as the Jeep deposited its full weight upon its fragile rotting boards. On the other side, he saw a ten-year-old blue Honda Civic parked around the back of the trailer and pulled up beside it.

Tom got out and strode toward the small covered patio, aware of a face peering through one of the windows. It was a young boy, about eight or nine, with longish blonde, unkempt hair. Tom had just stepped onto the patio when the inside door opened. The boy stared at him from behind the door curiously, making no effort to open the storm door. Tom smiled at the boy, who suddenly turned around to look behind him. He heard Mindy say, “Let the man in, Jason, for crying out loud!”

The boy grasped the handle and opened the door about a foot. Tom stood there awkwardly, not sure whether to go on in or not.

“Come on in, Tom. My son doesn’t seem to understand English.”

Jason turned and ran away as Tom took hold of the door. He stepped inside, noticing the beige shag carpet and smell of laundry detergent at the same time.

“I’m loading the drier, Tom. Make yourself comfortable and I’ll be there in a minute,” he heard Mindy holler from a room to his right.

“Okay,” Tom replied. He headed across the living room to a sofa and sat down.

The mobile home seemed twice as large as it looked from the outside. The living room was good sized with a couple of vinyl upholstered chairs, a coffee table, an end table and a big flat screen television set. To his left was a spacious kitchen, spotlessly clean and equipped with slightly dated appliances.

He noticed several framed photos hanging on the wall above the television, stood up and went over to examine them. There was one small black and white picture of an elderly couple, perhaps Mindy’s grandparents, hanging beside a much larger framed family photo. Tom drew closer and saw Mindy and a middle-aged man standing directly behind two children sitting in matching chairs: Jason and a girl who apparently was Jason’s older sister of around twelve or thirteen. Mindy herself looked damn good-much better than Tom would ever have guessed. The man standing beside her seemed camera shy and awkward, forcing himself to smile as if he would be elbowed if he didn’t.

Mindy’s father? Tom wondered.

He looked at the remaining pair of photographs on the wall, which were both 8x10 portraits of the two children.

There were no other photos on the wall.

Tom looked around, anxiously hoping to spot a photo of an older child somewhere-an older son or daughter who would be around nineteen by now…

He saw no more family photos.

Mindy suddenly entered the room. Tom was barely able to repress a gasp when he saw her. She looked even better than she did in the photo. She wore tight jeans and a white oversized oxford shirt, unbuttoned a third of the way down from the top. Her hair was tied in a rather loose ponytail, long strands of blonde falling randomly onto her shoulders. Her eyes were large and blue, her skin radiant with just enough age lines to complement her mature good looks. And her full lips were just as pouty and sensuous as they had been on that fateful night.

Mindy was still in fact, a frigging knockout “Hi, Tom,” she smiled, approaching him and throwing her arms around him.

Tom felt her soft, firm breasts press against his chest as he held her close.

“Hi, Mindy.”

They held each other a bit longer than necessary, and Tom felt himself actually regret letting go of her. She stood back and looked him over from head to toe.

“You look damn good, Tom. In fact, you look about the same as you did twenty years ago!”

“Right,” he replied. “Except for this large growth above my belt, which seems to have taken on a life of its own. You look absolutely awesome, Mindy. And I must say, even better than you did twenty years ago!”

She smiled warmly. “Why thanks, Tom. I haven’t been complimented like that in a long time.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Tom said in genuine disbelief.

“I shit you not. Anyway, have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, a beer?”

“Coffee would be great if you have some handy.”

“I just brewed a fresh pot a few minutes ago. How do you take it?”

“Black.”

“I’ll be back in a flash.”

Tom stared at her beautiful ass as Mindy made her way over to the kitchen. He was mesmerized by her looks and wondered why he hadn’t taken this girl a little more seriously all those years ago. Then he recalled the fact that Mindy Conkel really hadn’t been his type. At least not personality-wise. She was much too extraverted if not downright slutty for him to have considered any kind of lasting relationship with her. Yes, she had been drunk and no doubt more forward than usual, but her drink-fueled behavior and blind lust had left Tom feeling zero emotional attachment and little respect for her after that crazy night.

Mindy Conkel had been just what he needed and nothing more: an easy one-night stand.

She returned to the living room, set a mug of steaming coffee on the coffee table in front of him then sat down on the sofa. She leaned back against the arm of the sofa and swung her long legs up, encircling them with an arm at the knees. After taking a sip of coffee, she motioned toward the rear of the mobile home and cast him a conspiratorial smile.

“My son is incredibly shy around strangers. That’s why he hesitated to let you in. He’ll make the scene though soon enough and you then you can meet him properly. He’s as curious as he is shy and literally can’t stand still for over five minutes at a time.”

“I see. He’s a good-looking boy,” Tom said. “Looks a lot like his mother.”

“Thanks. Some people think he looks more like Charlie. I think he looks a bit like us both.”

“I noticed a girl in the picture over there. Your daughter, I presume?”

“Yeah, that’s Josie. She’ll be showing up pretty soon, actually. She’s been over at a friends but just called to say that she was getting ready to head home.”

“What grade are your kids in?”

“Jason’s in fourth; Josie’s in seventh.”

“Well they sure seem to be nice kids,” Tom said, not sure what else to say.

“Thanks, they are. How old are your kids?”

“My girl, Kelli, is seven and Tyler is five.”

“That’s great-isn’t having children a wonderful gift?” she said, eying him oddly.

“Yes, it is.” Tom paused a moment then said, “Um, I’ve been wondering, Mindy, what ever happened to-“

“Our baby?” she interjected.

Tom’s heart skipped a beat as he stared at Mindy, trying hard to read what she was thinking behind those blue eyes. He detected a note of sadness-or was it remorse? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that in a moment he was going to discover the fate of his child. The one he had forsaken so long ago.

Mindy looked away a moment, then turned back and gazed at him intently.

“I had an abortion,” she declared flatly.

Tom was stunned. She may as well have slapped his face.

The child in his dream, his Erin, had never existed. She had never even had a chance…

“You mean, you never had the baby?” he asked lamely.

“Yes, Tom. That’s exactly what I mean.”

“But why not?”

She stared at him reproachfully and Tom realized how stupid his question must have sounded to her.

“You have to be kidding, right, Tom? It’s not like you made any indication that you wanted me to keep the child back then. In fact, if I remember correctly, you didn’t even give it a second thought.”

She was right, of course. He had blown off the matter like batting away an annoying fly. But he had never considered for a moment that she would abort the child. In fact he had Tom looked away from Mindy, trying his damnedest not to let his emotions show. The cold, hard truth reared its ugly head: he had in fact not given any of this any thought back then! He had simply told Mindy to go away and not to bother him with it, not considering the possible consequences for even a moment of his precious time.