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Jess Butcher

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An American Christmas (Lexington Avenue Express Book 36) Kindle Edition

by Jess Butcher (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.5 15 ratings

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An American Christmas (a Lexington Avenue Express short story - 1,350 words)

"Sometimes, I hear her crying in the night," he says as he reaches for the salad bowls on the shelf above the sink.

"What did you say?" his young bride smiles as she shouts over the din of clanking tableware and the roaring garbage disposer.

"The old lady next door; sometimes I hear her crying in the night," he repeats, speaking now to the salad bowls as he strains to reach them.

"Maybe it's just the television you hear," she says, drying her hands on a dish towel, her smile vanishing as she becomes suddenly serious. They'd only been married for three weeks; the subject of the elderly lady who lives in the apartment next door hadn't come up before.

"No, she doesn't have a television," he replies, "just piles and piles of books. I went in there last year to help the building-super move a piece of furniture. Until then, I didn't even know her name—“

His comment is interrupted as a bowl slides from the shelf and plummets downward. With skill and a bit of luck, he grabs it in midair just before it crashes into the sink.

"Nice catch!" she smiles, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek as the subject of the old lady lightens. "Don't worry about her; the world is full of lonely old ladies," she says and turns back to the salad waiting on the counter.

"It's Anna," he said, opening the refrigerator.

"What?"

"Her name; her name is Anna," he answers.

*****

"Merry Christmas Eve, my friend," Anna says, resting her wrinkled forehead against the broad, rough trunk of the Oak. A sparse group of brown leaves claw at the December breeze above her, melancholy husks, yearning for another season. A passerby glances warily at the old woman then continues walking south on Krenshaw Avenue. Anna takes no notice of the man's puzzled look.

"We've been friends such a long time haven't we?" she whispers, her fingertips tracing the grooves in the rough bark. A familiar, searing pain in her stomach causes Anna to cry out softly and gasp for breath. The pain eases and she resumes her caress; it is her custom to allow her friend ample time to answer before she picks up the empty shopping bag and begins the last leg of her trip. Clutching a worn woolen coat about her, Anna braves a sharp north wind as she traverses the two blocks to Mr. Heinemann’s grocery.

The old woman has been shopping at Heinemann's for nearly sixty years. Eight times eight is eighty-eight, Heinemann would grin as he poked his stubby fingers at the long curved keys on the noisy cash register, take 'em away for seventy-five!

When she was just a little girl, kindly Mr. Heinemann always made Anna giggle. He often asked her to sing for him and she would oblige him with a happy children’s tune:

All around the cobbler’s house,

The monkey chased the weasel.

The monkey stopped to pull up his sock, … Mr. Heinemann always chimed in for the chorus …

POP goes the weasel.

As always, the ancient bell above the door greets her but no Mr. Heinemann today. Ali Jama purchased the store when the old grocer passed away two decades ago. Though always polite, Mr. Jama never jokes with Anna, his electronic cash register hissing as he passes her purchases across the scanner. But Jama's eyes are kind, dark but honest eyes. Anna still feels comfortable in the old store, safe between the rows of cereal boxes and canned vegetables. She always stops there on the final leg of her bi-weekly orbit; library, park, Heinemann's.

Print length

21 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

October 31, 2011
File size

146 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Not Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Thank you for considering this Lexington Avenue Express short fiction title. Most LAE titles range from 1,500 to 3,500 words in length (6-14 pages). This title is included in Volume I of Butcher's short fiction collection, Final Thoughts. The Final Thoughts anthology includes twenty-six Lexington Avenue Express titles and is available on Amazon in both print and eBook format.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0062A0VDI
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (October 31, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 31, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 146 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 21 pages

Customer Reviews:
3.5 15 ratings

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Jess Butcher

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JESS Butcher is the author of three Mike Bishop novels, SUN DOG, SIDEWINDER REQUIEM, and MULESHOE. In addition, Butcher has published FINAL THOUGHTS and 17, short fiction anthologies that feature titles from his Lexington Avenue Express series including Fortress Falls, Mile-Marker 148, Big Head, and The Sentinel's Wages.

Butcher's titles are available in Kindle e-Reader and paperback format; unabridged audio versions of MULESHOE and SIDEWINDER REQUIEM are also available at Audible.com.

Contact Jess Butcher at:

www.jessbutcher-author.com.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5

15 global ratings

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Wanda Tillman

Not a happy story

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2013

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If you are looking for a bright and cheerful Christmas holiday story, keep looking, this is NOT the story you are looking for. I have now read several of Jess Butcher's stories and have found all of them well written but disturbing of my mental equilibrium. After reading one of them I need to reflect for a while and then seek out a happier (even though it may not be as realistic) reading adventure. And that is the problem with this story, it is almost too real and will break your heart.

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2014

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Excellent book, must read

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2011

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I can't believe I bought this "book" and it is now in my junk folder on my Kindle. It is 21 pages of disillusionment....and that's all. I guess I should have read the fine print.

3 people found this helpful

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Black Pearl

Sounds very interesting, I would like to finish reading it.

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2014

Verified Purchase

Sound good. I would love to finish it, I would like to know if Jama killed the old woman. I will make the purchase.

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2012

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I thought htis would be a cute little story when I started reading it, now I think the writer is a nut case.Don't waste your kindle space to buy it.

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J. Pettifer

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

Good read worth getting

Lanthanium

Traurige Weihnachten

Reviewed in Germany on September 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

Die Kzrzgeschichte “An American Christmas“ von Jess Butcher erhielt ich kostenlos und las sie in zehn Minuten. Dem Autor gelingt es darin sehr gut, durch realistisch klingende Dialoge der Personen und Beschreibungen, was diese Personen sehen, hören, fühlen und denken Emotionen im Leser zu wecken. Ich empfand Mitleid mit der alten Frau, die offensichtlich dement wird. Die Geschichte ist zwar sehr kurz gehalten, hat aber ein überraschendes Ende. Meisterhaft geschrieben.