Free A Smudge of Gray by Jonathan Sturak

acquaintance’s hand. “This is my sister, Helen.”
    “Hi, nice to meet you,” Helen said,
waving her hand.
    “It’s nice to have Kevin on our team,”
Anne Marie continued.
    Kevin, Jonathan, and Katie ran on the
court like three kids in a toy store. Helen focused on the kids, and then ran
with them like an alcoholic in a liquor store. Laura and Anne Marie watched
like two old maids in a jewelry store.
    “We wanted him to get involved in a team
sport, something where he could jump. He fell in love with a trampoline my
husband bought for the kids,” Laura revealed.
    “Oh, you’re married?” Anne Marie said.
    “Yeah, my husband, Trevor, was here,
but he had to run out for his consulting job. I hope he can come to all of
Kevin’s games when he’s in town. What about Jonathan’s dad?”
    “My husband, Brian, is so busy with his
job. I’ve been pestering him to come to at least one game.”
    “What does he do?” Laura asked.
    “He’s a police detective.”
    Laura’s pupils dilated. “Oh, very
respectable.”
    “I want him to quit and push papers,”
Anne Marie chuckled.
    Laura laughed. She saw Jonathan walk up
to his mom and give her a hug. Then, Laura felt four hands grab her waist. She
knew it was her own kids without even looking.
    “You have a natural ability out there,”
Laura said as she smiled at Jonathan.
    “I have every basketball game for the
new Nintendo,” Jonathan said shyly.
    “Whatever works, keep it up,” Laura
offered.
    “Well, it was very nice meeting you. I’m
sure I’ll see you at the next game. Hopefully, my husband will make it. I’m
sure he and Trevor would enjoy meeting,” Anne Marie said.
    “Yes. I’m sure they’ll meet soon enough…
Bye,” Laura replied.
    “Come on, kiddo,” Anne Marie said to her
son.
    Then like that, the Boise family, minus
their keystone, skipped out of the gymnasium toward the front doors. The Malloy
family, lacking their breadwinner, shifted toward the back exit. As two
custodial members swept the gym over the murmur of the scattered crowd, a
breeze blew in, a cold breeze.

 
     
     
    Chapter 12
     
     
    The cold wind blew a soda can across a
downtown sidewalk. Cars flowed through the streets like rats through the intestines
of a subway. It was still early enough for shoppers to fill the downtown
businesses, not afraid of the creatures that the shadows had vomited. Nestled
at the corner of empty cross streets, a sign ignited the night sky—“Al’s
Natural Foods.” The store was a place for the healthiest of healthy people to
shop, especially those trying to rid their bodies of unnatural components that
could cause premature death.
    The door opened. A chime filled the
night air. Out strolled a woman in her thirties, a future cougar wearing a
fabulous white coat. She was a bubbly black-haired lady, the kind with the
French manicure, whitened teeth, and sculpted eyebrows that tickled the
attention of men no matter what their class. Her name was Janice Davis, but the
storeowner inside “Al’s Natural Foods” knew her only as Janice.
    “Thanks. I’ll see you next week,” Janice
said as she used her butt to prop open the door.
    “Wait. You forgot your Kombucha,” Al, the
gray-haired owner, said.
    Janice scurried back in. “Oh, thank you.
I’m always forgetting something.”
    The owner dropped the bottle into her
bag. “No worries, dear. How do you like the taste of it?”
    “It’s an acquired taste to say the
least.”
    “It promotes long life. Drink it with a
positive state of mind.”
    Janice smiled, and then fought to open the
door, the bags weighing her down. “Thanks again.”
    “You okay, dear?”
    “I’ll be fine. Thanks,” Janice said with
a smile as she juggled both sacks.
    The woman in white entered the
brisk air as it flowed through her business suit and touched her moisturized
skin. She set the bags down, and then bundled up, sealing off the invading air.
She picked the bags back up, and then embarked on her walk