Free The Day Steam Died by Dick Brown

Alice. She didn’t seem to mind taking care of little Ricky while Ann worked her way into more responsibility at the warehouse.
    “I love little Ricky more than my own life. I wish your daddy’s mind was clear enough to remember him from one day to the next. But you paid the highest price, and I’m sorry I let you down that day. I just didn’t have the strength to face your father. Heaven knows what he would have done. I hate myself for letting him sell your soul to Sam Johnson.
    Ann smiled. “Based on your health and the calm around the house, I’d say it wasn’t all bad.”
    “That Sam Johnson, though. He’s the real snake, making millions from his illegal cigarette business, and nobody cares.” Alice broke into a coughing spasm, requiring her to handoff Ricky to Ann. Even though she’d switched to filtered cigarettes, she couldn’t get rid of her cough.
    “Don’t blame yourself, Momma. You only did what you had to do. You couldn’t fight Daddy and Sam Johnson too.”
    “I’ll blame who I please,” Alice said after she’d recovered from her coughing. “That Sam Johnson raised his boy wrong.” She glanced at Red sitting in his recliner, the TV’s images reflected in his glazed eyes. “I’m so thankful you and your sister turned out as well as you did.”
    “But you’re wrong about one thing. Somebody cares. I’ve learned how to run that office, and Marie confides in me all the time. I know all about the double set of books, the millions of cigarettes he sells illegally, and how he hides the huge profits. I know everything that goes on in Sam Johnson’s twisted world.”
    Her mother gave her a grave glare. “I want you to go back and finish high school then go to college. We robbed you of that opportunity, and now that you’re father doesn’t have a say in it . . .” Alice closed her eyes and sighed. “You need to get out of that place. I’m afraid you’re going to get into trouble.”
    “Don’t worry about me, I don’t need all that now. I have a wonderful son who is my life. I’m making good money and we have a nice house to live in. Jo Lee wants to go to college, and I can help her do that. There’ll be plenty of time to make Tank and Sam pay for what they did to us. I promise you that.”
    “I still worry about you in that place.”
    When Ann shrugged in response, Alice took Ricky once more.
    “I’ll read little Ricky a story and put him to bed. Why don’t you go in and visit with your father a few minutes?”
    “Momma, I’ve tried talking to him. He just stares at the TV and answers yes or no, if he answers at all. He apologized in his own way when he stopped drinking after the move. I don’t expect anything more and I don’t blame him. Let’s just leave it at that, okay? I’ll say prayers with little Ricky after you read to him. I think I’ll read for a little while and turn in early myself. It was a pretty busy day.”
    Winter 1959
    Jerry Blackmon always had a smile and friendly greeting for Ann when he swung off the slow-rolling boxcar. His job was finished after cars were switched onto the spur line, loaded, and picked up on the main line.
    “Good morning, Ann.”
    “Hi, Jerry. It’s freezing out there. Have time for a cup of coffee to warm you up?”
    Jerry was ruggedly handsome and carried 190 pounds packed on a six-foot-two frame. He wore a crew cut even though guys wearing long hair had become the latest style. Jerry stayed in shape by swinging off the bottom step of a boxcar to run ahead and throw the switch to the spur line leading to the loading dock.
    Marie and Jerry were the only people Ann associated with since she came to work for Sam. Jerry worked for the railroad, responsible for cutting cars off the main line onto spur lines at tobacco warehouses in and around Winston-Salem.
    Jerry was six years older than Ann, but she allowed herself to know him well enough to make jokes about the two toes he lost to frostbite in the Korean War. They shared coffee