This is part 2 of a four-part mini-serial. You can read all episodes as they become available by going to the “Releasing Cora” page.
“Releasing Cora” Part 2, by P.J. Kaiser
 Michael and Patsy went to their car in the parking lot and stripped off their street clothes, leaving them clad in only their swimsuits. Patsy wore a pink bikini. Michael tucked their clothes into the trunk of the car, and pushed on sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. The pair made their way over the sand dune towards the beach, digging their toes in deeply for a foothold. The distance to cabin number thirteen was far shorter by foot than by car, so Michael knew they had plenty of time to get there before Christine arrived. They landed on the harder beach sand and walked towards a sand dune positioned near the cabin. The dune offered a birds-eye view of the front porch.
Michael said, “Now, sweetheart, you know what to do. Don’t make eye contact. Just stare at the horizon. Look as ghostly as possible.” Michael snickered. “She’s going to scream and run away the moment that she sees you.”
“Okay, Dad.” Patsy turned and shuffled towards the cabin.
Michael shouted after her, “I love you. This is going to be a great vacation, sweetheart.”
Patsy just waved her hand as if pushing his words away. She walked the remaining fifty yards to the cabin and sat on the edge of the porch step. She leaned up against the brown wooden railing, hugged her knees, inhaled the salty ocean breeze and stared out at the water.
While Michael waited, his mind wandered to their last trip to these cabins six years ago. The three of them spent a fabulous week on this beach. Patsy was just four years old and was just learning to swim. She wore her water wings and loved it when Michael and his wife – now ex-wife – took her into the water. The memory of those happy days was now crowded out by custody battles, arguments and bitter tears. Michael couldn’t quite figure out why he always seemed to find himself on the losing end of the conflicts. But this week, it was just the two of them and Michael was determined to make the most of it.
Seeing motion out of the corner of his eye, Michael turned and saw Christine Jones slowly making her way over the sand dune on the opposite side of the cabin. She dragged a small red suitcase behind her. She slid the last few feet coming off of the sand dune and it took her a few moments to regain her footing and gather her bag which had been tossed in the sand.
As Christine stood up, she looked towards the cabin and stared at Patsy on the front porch. Michael practically giggled with the anticipation of what would happen next. But she simply trudged onwards towards the cabin, tugging on the handle of her bag.
Michael furrowed his brows and squinted to try and see the expressions on her face but she was too far away to get a clear read. She approached the cabin porch and left her bag down in the sand. The woman went over to Patsy, grasped her hands and sat next to her.
Squinting even more and craning his head forward, Michael still couldn’t see any facial expressions, including Patsy’s, but it appeared that the woman was doing most of the talking. After a few minutes, she let go of Patsy’s hands and she seemed to settle into her position on the porch. Michael could see Patsy responding at times and the woman continued talking.
Christine turned her head and looked down the beach. Michael couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or if she was just looking around. His stomach churned and he pulled his hat down lower on his head.
Christine removed the necklace she wore and placed the large evil eye pendant in Patsy’s hand. They continued to chat for a long while. Michael looked for a few moments out at the waves. When he looked back at the front porch, his eyes bulged upon seeing a crowd of six people wearing swimsuits standing on the porch behind Christine and Patsy. There were three men, two women and one girl who looked to be around Patsy’s age. The girl wore a pink bikini. Patsy turned and looked at these people. Where did they all come from? They certainly didn’t get there from outside, as Michael would have seen them approaching the cabin. They couldn’t have come from inside – the unit wasn’t unlocked and the receptionist assured Michael the unit was available. Besides, he hadn’t seen the door open. The pink bikini-clad girl unnerved him but he told himself there was a logical explanation. The ghost story about Cora was of course just a story, right?
The whole group was talking, there seemed to be some argument taking place. One of the men standing on the front porch seemed to be stepping forward as the leader of the group. More conversation ensued. He gestured towards the others to follow him and he stepped off the porch onto the sand. Patsy handed the pendant back to Christine. The girl in the pink bikini took Patsy’s hand and the group walked across the sand towards the water.
Michael stood and ran towards the water. His scream echoed down the beach and across the waves, “PATSY!” But Patsy didn’t look back. The group walked into the waves and vanished.
 Thanks to all the readers and writers who joined us this week for #TuesdaySerial! We had a new record week with 27 stories, including four debuts from Anthony Deaver, Tessa Bazelli, Aheila and P.J. Kaiser.
We also have some wonderful news to share from Isabel Joely Black – her new e-book “Amnar: The Execution” is now available as a free download from Smashwords!
We also have four writers who are completing their participation in “Web Series Writing Month” (#WeSeWriMo) over at EpiGuide. These writers are Gracie Motley, Isabel Joely Black, Cecilia Tan and C. Janelle Tuma. Be sure to stop by and give them encouragement for their #WeSeWriMo quest as the month draws to a close. To find out more about #WeSeWriMo, check out the week 13 #TuesdaySerial report.
Late-breaking news: We have another writer who participated in and completed #WeSeWriMo: Kira Lerner!
Tell all your reading and writing friends about us – we’ll be back for more next week! 
So, here is the final list of all of this week’s participants. Happy reading & writing!
ps Writers, if your story is missing, please leave a comment on this post with the Title, author and a link. Readers, be sure to check the comments for any late additions.
- Dead Again, part 19 of Broommates by Valerie Valdes
- About Schuyler Falls, #4. 50, by K. Lerner: Beware Green-Eyed Monsters!
- Shattered Remnants of a Dream #150 by Dan Luffey
- The Courage of Others (Part 5 of 10) by Jason Coggins
- Rock the Baby – Episode 9 – Break Away by Tim VanSant
- Anvil of Tears, by E. D. Lindquist. Chapter 24: Reaping Tears | page 2.
- Amnar: Part 35: The Execution – Isabel Joely Black
- Pt 29 of The First Tale by Icy Sedgwick, from Tales From Vertigo City
- The case of. . . , Part 1 by Anthony Deaver -The pet detectives– DEBUT
- A Shoebox IV – by Brainhaze, a slice of life story
- MADAME BLUESTOCKING, PART 20: Taking a Fall, by Monica Marier
- Closing Time – Episode 13 by Noelle Pierce
- Releasing Cora, part 1 of 4, by P. J. Kaiser DEBUT
- Gathering, pt 19 of Fire and Water by Gracie Motley
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- Boundaries – 11 and Counting by J. M. Rich
- Two Sisters – Part 1 by T. S. Bazelli – DEBUT
- Pas de Chat, Ch. 15 pt. 1 by Katherine Nabity
- Darons Guitar Chronicles Ch 109 by Cecilia Tan (rock and roll life)
- Thorvalds Wyrd 46, A Heros Tale in 100-word bites by Lance Schonberg
- Black Alice: 17) More Than Meets The Eye | Marci Sischo, James Agle
- Bike Mechanic: 14. Local Deliveries – by Aaron M. Wilson
- Wrenge (15) by Louise Dragon
- The Capybara, part four by Mark Kerstetter
- Monument Minders, Episode 3 by Cecilia Dominic. Sci fi/mystery
- Unforeseen Dives – 31b – Dissolution by Aheila – DEBUT
- The Tree and Other Bad Ideas – Crooked Fang
- Snatch and the Missing Mother | Edgar Snatch story | by Elijah Toten
This linky list is now closed.
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My Story “Ditz Alert” was selected by Michael Solender for publication in his chapbook “Dog Days of Summer 2010!” 100 submissions, 80 stories selected. Each story has exactly 101 words and includes the words “summer” and “heat.”
The grand prize winner of the contest was Sam Adamson and Michael is featuring an interview with the winner over at “The Not” today. So, check out Sam’s interview and then you can download the chapbook yourself and check out all the literary goodies. Read ‘em fast, though, before they spontaneously combust, heh heh.
Be sure to check out my story on page 43 and then let me know what you think of my story in the comments below!
This is part 1 of a four-part mini-serial. You can read all episodes as they become available by going to the “Releasing Cora” page.
“Releasing Cora” Part 1, by P.J. Kaiser
Michael sat on the stool behind the receptionist’s desk. He craned his neck to see if any cars were approaching. Nothing yet. He began to regret how he had imagined pulling off this vacation. The air conditioning in the “lobby” – the small yellow building at the base of a sand dune in Melbourne, Florida – had apparently malfunctioned the week before, according to the receptionist. Having so many cabins in the resort – 45 in total – Michael had figured it would only be a matter of an hour or so until the next guest would arrive. He had paid an extra $1,000 to the receptionist beyond the cost of the cabin for the privilege of sitting in this sweaty office for six miserable hours, and counting. His daughter, Patsy, waited in the back room of the reception area and watched TV.
Michael listened to the waves crashing on the other side of the sand dunes and imagined the ocean breeze. A fly landed on his hand. His feet stuck in the sweat. He pulled his other hand back and prepared to smash the fly when he heard a car pull up. He shook the fly off and turned towards the computer to make like he was busy.
A young woman adorned in loose layers of tie-dyed fabric swept into the lobby. “Hello. I have a reservation – under Jones. Christine Jones.”
Michael looked her over. This would be easier than he thought. “Yes, Ms. Jones.” He pulled a folder out from behind the desk with some papers and a room key. “You’ll be in number thirteen. That’s the only unit available at the moment. Is that all right?” He tried to add an ominous tone.
Christine shrugged and leaned on the counter. The pendant hanging around her neck knocked against the hard surface. “Sure – why wouldn’t it be?”
Michael gazed at the pendant: a large blue evil eye. He lowered his voice. “Well, no reason. I just thought maybe you’d heard the rumors -”
Wearing an expression part amusement and part curiosity, she said, “What rumors?”
He put on a contrived smile. “Oh, it’s silly, really. There’s a rumor that it’s haunted. There was a drowning a few years back – a young girl by the name of Cora. They say that her ghost wears a pink bikini and she sits on the front porch of cottage number thirteen and gazes at the horizon.”
Christine smiled more broadly. “Ghosts, huh? I’ll take it.”
Michael pushed the key towards her and gave her directions on parking and finding the cabin.
Christine walked back to her car.
Michael turned and knocked on the door to the back room of the lobby area. He heard a snort over the sound of the television and then, “Yeah?”
Pushing the door open, Michael stuck his head through the opening and saw that the receptionist - a very large, sweaty guy – had been sleeping on the ratty couch. “Somebody has taken the cabin, so I guess we’ll be off now.”
Patsy rose from her chair in front of the television. She stretched her arms over her head and arched her back with a wide yawn.
The receptionist pushed himself up to sitting and shook his head. “I have never in my life heard of such a scheme to get a vacation cabin, but I am more than happy to take your money and have a nice snooze. Good luck to you.”
Michael said, “Well, this is our first vacation since Patsy’s mom and I got divorced, so I just want to make it extra special. We came here six years ago when Patsy was just four years old. When you said you were sold out, I felt I had no choice.” Patsy rolled her eyes.
The receptionist waved his hand. “Just make sure you drop off your room key here when you check out next week.”
“Will do!” Michael said over his shoulder and strode out into the sweltering sunshine with Patsy shuffling to keep up.
Tell all your reading and writing friends about us – we’ll be back for more next week!
So, here is the final list of all of this week’s participants. Happy reading & writing!
ps Writers, if your story is missing, please leave a comment on this post with the Title, author and a link. Readers, be sure to check the comments for any late additions.
- Darons Guitar Chronicles by Cecilia Tan–Episode 105: Once Bitten
- Sucker – Crooked Fang
- A Waylaid Message, pt 17 of Fire and Water by Gracie Motley (Fantasy)
- About Schuyler Falls Ep. 4. 49 by Kira Lerner – DEBUT
- Anvil of Tears: Chapter 23, page 8 by Lindquist and Christensen. Maeve doesnt want help.
- Amnar The Inheritance Part 28 by Isabel Joely Black
- The Courage of Others (part 4 of 10) by Jason Coggins
- The First Tale, pt 28 by Icy Sedgwick – adventure thriller
- Shattered Remnants of a Dream #149 by Dan Luffey
- Snatch and the Quiet Quest | A Man Called Edgar Snatch | Elijah Toten
- A Shoebox III by Brainhaze. (Parts 1 and 2 also available) DEBUT
- Closing Time – Episode 12 by Noelle Pierce
- IN THE SHADOW OF HIS NEMESIS chapter 78 by Al Bruno III
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- Not Gold, part 18 of Broommates by Valerie Valdes DEBUT
- MADAME BLUESTOCKING: PART 19, Enter Philomena, by Monica Marier
- Gunslinging 101 – No. 9 of Last One Standing Tall by Joanie Rich
- Guns n Graves (part 16) – Jim Bronyaur
- Thorvalds Wyrd 42, a Heros tale in 100-word bites by Lance Schonberg
- Monument Minders, Chapter 3: Thoms Dreams by Cecilia Dominic
- Rock the Baby – Episode 8 – Lariat by Tim VanSant
- Black Alice 16: You Get What You Pay For, by Marci Sischo and James Agle
- Moonlight and Merlot by Lisa Fox
- Pas de Chat, Ch. 14 by Katherine Nabity
- Bike Mechanic: 13. Resolving Julie – by Aaron M. Wilson
- Wrenge (14) by Louise Dragon
This linky list is now closed.
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“Protecting the Babies” by P.J. Kaiser
Hannah walked to the landing, peered over the railing and saw her housekeeper’s small figure dwarfed by the large vacuum and bucket of cleaning supplies. “Good morning, Lucila.” Hannah went back to preparing her breakfast in the kitchen. She heard puffing as Lucila climbed the stairs. The bucket clunked onto the floor followed by the vacuum. Hannah looked up and managed a smile.
She tried not to be overly friendly with Lucila. The housekeeper had an annoying tendency of prattling on about her troubles whenever she showed her kindness. Hannah had enough worries of her own. Her husband’s company was being taken over by a foreign conglomerate, her son was taking forever to potty train, their dear friends the Easton’s were getting divorced and her father-in-law had recently broken his leg. Each week, Hannah left a nice tip for Lucila in hopes that her house might be a bit cleaner than it would be otherwise and that Lucila might refrain from imparting her stories. The tip was only moderately successful on both counts.
“Okay, kids, let’s eat up our breakfast, it’s almost time to go.” The children sat at the small plastic table in the living room, popped cheerios into their mouths, and drank orange juice with their eyes glued to the television.
“Good morning, Miss Hannah. Where I start today?” Hannah struggled to understand her heavily-accented English.
“Let’s start in Will’s room. If you can change the sheets on the bed, I’ll help you pick up the train tracks on the floor and put them up on the bed so you can sweep. I’ll help you when you’re ready.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lucila carried the cleaning supplies into Will’s room and began changing the linens.
A few moments later, Hannah thought Lucila must be nearly done with the bed, so she went into Will’s room. Lucila pulled the sheet up towards the pillows.
“Lucila, please tuck the blanket under like this.” Hannah pulled on the blanket and tucked it under the edge of the mattress. Lucila nodded her head as Hannah showed her.
Hannah and Lucila each pulled on a corner of the comforter to bring it across the pillows.
Lucila placed her hand on the guard rail. “Ma’am, where did you get this?”
“Oh, I don’t remember. Why?” Hannah closed her eyes as soon as the “why” slipped from her lips, sensing she had unleashed a torrent.
The words gushed from Lucila as Hannah gazed at her. “Oh, ma’am. They coming to our house tomorrow. My grandson already fall out of the bed twice.” Lucila held up two fingers. “My daughter, she don’t do nothing. I keep telling her she has to protect the baby. Don’t let him fall. The DYFS coming to look at our house to see if she can keep her babies.”
Lucila’s eyes began to tear and she pinched her lips together.
Hannah had heard pieces of the story before. Lucila, nearly the same age as Hannah, had three children. Her youngest daughter, nineteen years old, had two children with two different fathers. The girl seemed content to stay at home and let her mother, Lucila, work three jobs in order to support the family. Lucila had constant stories of how her daughter neglected her children – Lucila’s grandchildren.
“I need to get railing before tomorrow.” Hannah’s mind shot like a magnet to the extra guard rail leaning against the wall in her son’s closet. They had purchased a spare in case they needed it but found that one rail was sufficient. But she couldn’t give it to Lucila, especially not without checking with her husband.
By this time, Lucila spoke with high emotion and she slipped between Spanish and English. Hannah had a hard time following. Lucila mentioned abusive husbands and boyfriends, both hers and those of her daughter. She kept pounding her thigh with her fist and Hannah realized with horror that she was saying “stab.” Hannah tried to block out the rest of the story.
Hannah gave Lucila reassurances that she was sure everything would turn out fine, in spite of the doubt welling up in her own mind. After lifting the train tracks carefully onto the bed, Hannah escaped to get clothes and shoes on her children. Gathering up her backpack, she left the check and the tip for Lucila.
“Lucila, we’re going now.” Hannah called into the bedroom. Lucila walked out to see them off. “I hope that everything goes well tomorrow.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Me too.”
Hannah picked up her daughter and held her son’s hand as they made their way downstairs to the garage. Strapping her children in their car seats, she thought, “I should stay out of it. It’s none of my business. I don’t want to be an enabler, allowing this irresponsible girl to keep her children.”
The seat belts snapped into place and Hannah seemed to lose control of her senses. She pulled her smartphone from her pocket and was texting her husband: “Our housekeeper desperately needs a guard rail. Can we give her our spare?” Send.
Hannah sat on the floor in the back of her minivan. The kids drank juice and ate snacks. After a few minutes, her son asked, “Mommy, what are we doing?”
“We’re waiting for a message from daddy.”
Hannah’s husband, from a conference room in London, sent back the response. “Yes.”
“I’ll be right back, guys. Just hold on a minute.” Hannah ran up the stairs. Lucila came to the door, wondering what Hannah had forgotten.
“I may have something for you, Lucila.” Hannah strode to the closet and peered in the corner. Sure enough, there was the guard rail in a compact cardboard box. Some assembly required. She leaned over the boxes and toys and pulled the guard rail from its resting place.
Lucila, standing behind Hannah, gasped as she saw the picture on the box. “This is for you, Lucila. Take it – we don’t need it.”
Lucila squealed and wrapped her arms around Hannah. Tears streamed down both of their faces as Lucila released Hannah.
“Gracias, ma’am. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck tomorrow.”
As Hannah descended the stairs, she heard Lucila’s excited voice talking on the cell phone. “No vas a creerlo! La Senora Hannah nos ha regalado un rail …”
Descending the stairs, Hannah smiled at Lucila’s joy. Then she imagined the shiny rail installed that night on Lucila’s daughter’s bed. She found herself wondering whether the glint from the bedrail would blind the eyes of the DYFS caseworker to the plight of the children.
Tell all your reading and writing friends about us – we’ll be back for more next week!
So, here is the final list of all of this week’s participants. Happy reading & writing!
ps Writers, if your story is missing, please leave a comment on this post with the Title, author and a link. Readers, be sure to check the comments for any late additions.
- The Courage of Others (part 3 of 10) by Jason Coggins
- Suspect – Crooked Fang
- Learning, Part 15 of Fire and Water by Gracie Motley: Fantasy
- The Edgar Snatch Story – Snatch and the Hiding Hammer by Elijah Toten
- The Promise and The Stranger – Eleven and Counting Part 9 by Joanie Rich
- Ch. 101 of Darons Guitar Chronicles by Cecilia Tan
- Anvil of Tears – Chapter 25, page 5, by E. D. Lindquist. The Nihilists have found them.
- In The Shadow Of His Nemesis Chapter Seventy Seven By AL BRUNO III
- Pt 27 of The First Tale, by Icy Sedgwick: thriller
- AMNAR: The Inheritance 21 – Strike Action – fantasy/thriller- IJBlack
- Bike Mechanic: 12. Packing Up – by Aaron M. Wilson
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- Closing Time – Episode 11 by Noelle Pierce
- Shattered Remnants of a Dream #148 by Dan Luffey
- MADAME BLUESTOCKING: Part 18 -The Apogee – by Monica Marier
- Monument Minders, Chapter 2, 3rd Dimension, Earth, Southeast US 1999CE by Cecilia Dominic
- The Letter, segment three – by Elizabeth Flora Ross
- Thorvalds Wyrd Scene 37 by Lance Schonberg (100 words per scene!)
- Moonlight and Merlot by Lisa Fox
- Pas de Chat, Ch. 13 by Katherine Nabity
- Rock the Baby – Episode 7, Flying Saucer by Tim VanSant
- Death of a Clown: Part 5 – (Conclusion) by Clive Martyn
- The Capybara, part three by Mark Kerstetter
This linky list is now closed.
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 The top sixty-seven (according to my count) FridayFlash stories of 2009, through the tireless efforts of Jon Strother and others, is now available in E-Book format from Smashwords! You’ll find my story “Halloween Guests” in this volume as well as stories from some of the very best flash fiction writers anywhere. I’m thrilled to be in this anthology and I am in the very best company imaginable. It will be available in printed format in the future.
So, for all of the specifics as to where to find it, including a fun contest that Jon is running over on his blog, hop on over to his post “We Have Book!“
My story “The Request” has been selected for inclusion in the next Soft Whispers issue in their Pic 1K contest. Here’s the picture that inspired the story:
You can find the story over on their site and it will be available at Scribd when the new issue comes out. Please check it out and let me know what you think!
Oh…right…but you guys already know me. But many of you know me as “Double Latte Mama” on Twitter or from my other blog “Double Latte Mama’s Blog” or from my fan page “Double Latte Mama” over on Facebook … Well, little by little that is all changing…
I’ve been noodling around the idea of switching away from Double Latte Mama anyway and a blog post – “It’s a Pen Name, Not Witness Protection” - by Kristen Lamb convinced me to retire the Double Latte Mama.
When i made the leap into the wild west frontier of Twitter back in April of 2008, I didn’t have a blog to speak of and I wasn’t even pursuing writing at the time. I had a so-called “mommy” blog which has not been my primary focus in recent months. My original Twitter name was “MamaPJ” but then I discovered that somebody else already had a blog with that name. So I did some quick brainstorming and decided to capitalize on my love for lattes.
It worked for me for awhile, it’s always been a nice sort of conversation starter with new folks on Twitter and it’s frequently a source of fun punchlines. Many of you know that I have recently switched to decaf, however, so that sort of makes for an awkward conversation 
So, I’m switching over my Facebook fan page … The new one will be “PJ Kaiser” as soon as I reach the minimum number of fans (here’s the link to the new page so you can help me get there). My new Twitter ID is “@pj_kaiser.” And those are the primary changes for the moment. You can currently reach this blog – “Inspired By Real Life” – either at www.inspiredbyreallife.com or at www.pjkaiser.com. My non-fiction blog featuring the “best of” my posts on parenting, education and other various topics will still be called “Double Latte Mama’s Blog.”
Thanks for bearing with me as all of this shakes out. Per Kristen Lamb’s advice, it’s better to do it now rather than down the road when I have thousands or millions (heh heh) of fans
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Michael and Patsy went to their car in the parking lot and stripped off their street clothes, leaving them clad in only their swimsuits. Patsy wore a pink bikini. Michael tucked their clothes into the trunk of the car, and pushed on sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. The pair made their way over the sand dune towards the beach, digging their toes in deeply for a foothold.
