The Object Lesson
by
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He started spending his few non-working hours out in the world looking for something but he wasn't sure of what it was. However, being a young man rejected from his wife's bed, he thought it was sex and he found it, by God.
Actually it was easier than he'd expected. One night a pretty buxom blond picked him up in a bar and showed him a real good time. They got drunk and went across the road to the park where she couldn't wait to get his pants down. Of course, he had insisted on using the sheath that he carried, just in case. Back in his own bed alone that night, he told himself that there was no harm done because they both had gotten something they wanted.
The next night he was back in the bar buying Helen more beer when she looked up and changed her sweet expression. "Uh, oh."
He followed her gaze to the skinny girl with wild hair who was charging toward them.
"Let's go," the strange one demanded.
Helen looked sheepish and started to get up.
"Just a damn minute." He didn't like this at all.
Shelby had looked at him with complete disdain. "You'll have to find another victim for tonight."
She was so damned superior.
"Aw, Shel," Helen begged, "I ain't doin' nothin'."
The weird girl softened a little. "Come on dear, he doesn't have anything for you."
"You can just go and mind your own business." Horace wasn't giving up that easily.
She had fixed him with a ball-crushing gaze that he could remember to this day and told him flatly that her friend was indeed her business. Then she took Helen by the wrist and dragged her outside.
The other men in the bar were having a great time jeering at him and making remarks about his manhood. Was he a man or a boy? Would he let a scrawny witch take the buxom blonde beauty away from him? When he slammed his beer mug down on the table and stood up, they cheered him on to go and fight for the honor of all mankind.
Outside he quickly caught up with Helen and her bodyguard and hollered after them. "Friend, you call yourself her friend, forcing her to do what you want? Maybe some girls like to have a little fun."
Shelby turned and looked at him incredulously and asked, "are you an animal, a dog to follow us down the road so you can use this girl and leave babies to go hungry?" Her aim had been as accurate as if he had worn a sign with an 'x' showing her his weakness and telling her that he'd never been a wanted child.
He was cut, hurt deeply, but still he refused to back down as he yelled after them, "I haven't left any babies anywhere and if I'm a dog, you're a jealous bitch that no decent man would have on a bet. If you ever get lucky in the dark, the guy would have to kill himself in the morning out of shame."
Even though she heard the hint of real pain in his voice and knew that she had drawn blood, she was unmoved by his words. "This jealous bitch is taking her friend home now. You can do whatever you have to do as long as you don't bother us." She turned her back on him and the two young women disappeared into the darkness, leaving him standing alone in the road.
That night he went home and drank whiskey until he got sick to his stomach on his hands and knees in the bathroom. He drank some more and started swearing out loud. "That bitch looks like a fucking servant. Who is she to treat me like shit?" He roared and banged at the wall to his wife's room. "I'm sick over here! I never hurt nobody, nobody at all." He would never forget his first encounter with Shelby Potter.
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About the Book
This short book takes a pragmatic look at a young man's dilemma. In 1930, as Samuel is about to marry, Hattie, the daughter of his godparents, he learns that he is illegitimate. As he contemplates his paternity, he starts to obsess about his mother's relationship with his fiancée's father. He worries about the depth of their relationship but, most of all, he worries about the longevity of their relationship.
As you read about Samuel's mother, you understand why this young man starts to unravel. She is irreverent and secretive by nature and does not feel the need to explain herself, not even to her son. But could she have kept this secret while Samuel grew up in love with Hattie?
The lusty characters in Samuel's life are always up to something, which of course, is the cause of his problem. His extremely horny godfather is enough to make the neighbors hide their womenfolk in the cellar.
Everything is a clue to the truth, or it's not. You can trust your instincts but be careful about what you assume. If you're looking for more meat and less filling, read The Object Lesson.
About the Author
Ms. Courter seems ordinary enough as she goes about her day- to-day duties but in reality, she is an evil genius hatching plots and playing with the lives of the people she creates. Unbeknownst to those around her, she has put her pragmatic nature and over-active imagination to work to create her first fictional novel just for your entertainment. But beware, she is just impish enough to lay a false trail or play on your assumptions: she just can't help herself. So don't get too comfortable as you read The Object Lesson.