Bea Cannon - A Small Gray Dot

The arrangement has worked out nicely. The doctor likes having him around and Terry certainly likes being with the doctor. He brings the boy to the makeshift school the city finally set up in the uptown library. I gave him a copy of my book and told him to let me know what he thought when he was able to read it. The kid is smart so getting his reading up to speed didn’t take long. He liked the book and wants to read the sequel.

Who knows, once things get a little further along and the publishing and printing companies make a comeback, maybe the book will gain a good following and another company will take it up and do a reprint, and, maybe publishing the sequel will become a possibility. It’s a dream but then, where would we be without dreams?

The city also started other schools, all in libraries, because after the years of sitting empty, the school buildings need a lot of work before they’re in useable condition again. The libraries, having been used regularly – without TV, people got back into reading – are some of the buildings still in good shape, and they have plenty of room so they are good places for classes until the repairs on the schools are completed. And we need schools because the world going to shit didn’t stop people from having babies. All those born since the Event are now school age and parents are clamoring to get them properly educated.

To my immense surprise, one day a check arrived for me from the Board of Education. There was an accompanying letter explaining that it was my long ago missing summer pay. Whatever the original problem was has been corrected, and someone is going through old records and locating the teachers who’d never gotten the pay, and any who are still alive are finally receiving their money. As my father would’ve said, “Nothing is lost that comes at last”.

I’m busy these days. I continue to write, and I teach two days a week in one of the temporary schools. Much of my time and money goes to making sure that the kids who need it will have food, shoes, clothing, books, pencils, backpacks, etc. I’m back to doing fundraisers – there are fewer people but you’d be surprised at how many are willing to donate.

I still have the little brown elf magnet and Zoni’s last note to me, and I sometimes take them out and remember. The pain is still there but it’s muted and I can now think of her as she was before the Event. I will never get my old life back, but this one offers some measure of contentment and while teaching was my first love, I’ve found that tracking is something I won’t be giving up.

So, if you have someone you want to locate, I’m still in the small office over the smoke shop. I might be out somewhere rounding up supplies for kids or teaching on those two days a week, but leave a message and I’ll get it. Or, I may be at my laptop working on a new novel but I’ll stop for a possible client.

Just say hello to Lowell and follow the sign that says “Tracker Up”.

*Boucher’s World: Emergent (Book 1 of the Boucher’s World Trilogy)

*Boucher’s World: Transformations (Book 2 of the Boucher’s World Trilogy)

*Boucher’s World: Encounters (Book 3 of the Boucher’s World Trilogy)

*Bridge

*Turner: Bitter Change (Book 1 of the Spaceships and Magic series)

*Turner: World Change (Book 2 of the Spaceships and Magic series)

*Turner: Unexpected Change (Book 3 of the Spaceships and Magic series)

*Turner: Inevitable Change (Book 4 of the Spaceships and Magic series)

*Turner: Deep Change (Book 5 of the Spaceships and Magic series)

*First

*Sower

*Seed

*Swallow And Dove: A Tale From The Turmoils

**A Blankie for Baby (#3 of the Cady and Sam series)

*Raven and C’elie: A Love Story

**Living in the Moment (#2 of the Cady and Sam series)

*Hard Changes

**Interruptions (#1 of the Cady and Sam series)

Moving Day

Why I Started Smokin’ Cigarettes

Adams and Eves

The Other Shoe (#4 of the Cady and Sam series)

A Price to Pay: A Short Story from the Dark Realm

*Available in paperback and ebook

**Also available in ebook and paperback as a collection in A Short Trilogy of Quiet

Bea lives in Charlotte, NC.

In addition to writing science fiction and fantasy (and a smidgen of horror), she enjoys a good read, working crossword puzzles, walking, drawing, and painting.

She is a retired electronics technician and admits to having worked at a variety of other jobs during her life, including being a dishwasher, a busgirl, a housemaid, a motel/hotel maid, working in a fast-food joint, a telephone operator, and a store clerk. There have been other, not-so-glamorous jobs, including picking cotton.

She also daydreams a lot.

You have her heartfelt thanks for reading this book!

Blog: http://pcannon16.wordpress.com/

Face Book Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bea-Cannon/295432397242703

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pbeacannon

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6869960.Bea_Cannon

Email: onlypeal@gmail.com

A Small Gray Dot

Copyright© 2018, Bea Cannon

All rights reserved

Edited by Ainsley Morris

License Notes:

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed herein are imaginary, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

Contains some instances of violence and profanity and scenes not suitable for children.