Andrew
by
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“The years on the street were not kind to him. His face had the texture of leather, wrinkled by constant exposure to the elements.”
“Reaching into his shirt pocket, he withdrew a faded photo, faced it toward the dim light and gazed at it. The photo revealed a beautiful young teen age girl. She was wearing a mini skirt. Her long blond hair cascading down to the small of her back was braided and adorned with beads.”
Andrew felt apprehensive as he noticed the attendant appeared to be studying him. He shifted nervously as the man pondered him.
“Do I know you?” the attendant queried.
“I don’t think so,” Andrew replied
Marty walked over to him and took the photo. His eyes widened as he studied the picture. Andrew noticed the surprise look on his face.
“Where did you get this?” Marty demanded.
“It’s mine,” Andrew replied, in defense as though being accused of a crime.
“Who’s the girl?” Marty asked in anticipation.
“It was a girl I knew a long time ago,” Andrew replied.
Marty appeared puzzled. “This is a picture of Claire Maxwell. How is it you have a picture of her?”
Evading the main streets, Andrew stepped into an alley. In anticipation, he became jittery, barely
able to keep his hands from shaking. He removed the bottle of wine from his pocket. Fumbling, he almost
dropped the it while taking it out of the bag. With difficulty, he managed to get the cap off.
Andrew slowly opened his eyes. The bright light shining down from above the operating table into his eyes blinded him from seeing what was going on. Someone with a green mask covering their face looked down at him.
“He’s coming to,” an unfamiliar female voice said.
A startled look came to Andrew’s face when she drew nearer to them. He studied her carefully, looking into her hazel green eyes. Her long, blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, shining as though it were pure silk. She appeared uncomfortable as she noticed Andrew studying her every feature. He could not take his eyes off her.
“It can’t be,” Andrew said, finally breaking the silence.
Andrew tossed and turned as he dreamed of Claire. A distorted face would fade between Claire and Andrea.
“Claire!” he cried out.
“Thank you,” he replied. He was about to leave when a woman who had just entered the lobby approached him.
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About the Book
Every major city has them, often considered the scourge of society, the homeless derelict. There are many types; drug addicts, alcoholics, thieves, mentally disabled, con artist, criminals, the list is endless. The question is why do some of these individuals elect to live life in this manner?
This novel is about one such person, Andrew, an alcoholic, and his attempt to become a productive member of society with the help of his former brother-in-law, Marty.
As a one time noted scientist, whom was instrumental in the development of Agent Orange, and realizing the detrimental effects of this chemical if used, he drops out of society leaving behind a wife, who bore him a daughter of which he is not aware.
In his journey to get out of the gutter, he is confronted with, hate, lies, deceitfulness, scheming, rejection, pressure, the very things that caused him to become a derelict in the first place.
Marty, realizing Andrew does not know about his daughter Andrea, has the daunting task of arranging for the two to meet, but his attempts are thwarted by one who does not want Andrew returning into their lives, his former wife, Claire.
About the Author
This author is an avid writer of songs, both lyrics and melody, poetry, full length fiction novels and children’s short stories. He has been writing for over thirty years, and has published songs, and novels. His children short stories are written under the pen name, “Uncle Jim.“
He prefers writing country western tunes as he feels these type songs depict the true feelings of most common folks. His favorite is writing short stories and poems targeted for children, which are usually humorous and often have a moral directed toward the child.