This is a collection of my short stories that I've written about people, their relationships and the common problems that they face every day. Issues like marriage, divorce, murder, betrayal, seduction and deception, as well as other topics, like the human condition and the many things that affect it. Mainly, these stories are for adults. If you want to preview a couple of my short stories online, you can visit my blog (by "Annie") at: http: //annie-myshortstories.blogspot.com.

My Short Stories

AuthorHouse

Contents

A Marriage Made In Heaven................................1A Muskoka Tragedy........................................5On the Road Again........................................8Mystery of the Missing Stripper..........................13Sex Addict...............................................17Road to Nowhere..........................................22The Trust Factor.........................................26It's a "Scam" Shame......................................30A Murderer Among Us......................................34Till Death Do Us Part....................................37Let the Judge Be the Law.................................40Working Woman............................................43Voice of an Angel........................................51Cold Shock...............................................54Earth Angel..............................................59Anatomy of a Swarming (The Prologue).....................65Anatomy of a Swarming (The Epilogue).....................67Hero of the Team.........................................70The True Cost of Murder..................................75What's "Love" All About, Anyway?.........................78I Got You, Babe..........................................81Headed for Hell..........................................84Photos...................................................91The Girl We All Loved....................................101A New Age (Part A).......................................106A New Age (Part B).......................................109Concerns of a Single Mother..............................112My Memories of "Saz" (a.k.a. Sandy)......................115A Call for Help..........................................118The One Who Never Quits..................................123To Win or Not to Win.....................................127Water....................................................132The "Ideal" Woman........................................136He Said, She Said........................................142Emancipation.............................................145When Staying in Paris....................................149Too Little, Too Late.....................................153Bet Your Bottom Dollar...................................157A "Freak" Accident.......................................160Dream a Little Dream.....................................165

Chapter One

Todd and Cheryl was a young married couple I met in the summer of 1995. He was a worldly, handsome man of 35 and she was a lovely 19 year old nymphet. Still, in every way, they seemed ideally suited to each other. He was a professional engineer and she was a natural-born homemaker and they got along very well. After two years of marriage, Cheryl discovered she was pregnant for the first time and, in due course, they welcomed the arrival of their first-born, a baby girl they named Janie.

After Janie's birth, Todd continued to work very hard to support his newly-expanded family. He was a dedicated husband and father who never missed a day of work, paid all his bills on time, and was devoted to his wife, Cheryl. For her part, Cheryl was equally dedicated to her family, raising their adorable little girl, cleaning their large and modern home in the suburbs until it sparkled, and faithfully going to the gym three times a week. She knew what pregnancy could do to women's bodies and she wanted to keep her body trim because she loved Todd and wanted to please him. They were, indeed, a happy family.

Todd, Cheryl and Janie lived near the city of Boston, Massachusetts, since Cheryl's immediate family lived in downtown Boston and she was very close to them. Her mother, father and two brothers all thought Todd was the perfect husband. Cheryl regularly took Janie with her to visit them, partly to show Janie off and partly to convince them that she had been right to marry at such a young age. If they were concerned about her, it was only because they thought that Todd might be too old for her, but their concerns seemed unfounded. It was obvious that Todd and Cheryl had a solid, loving marriage and that they considered themselves fortunate to have found each other.

Todd's immediate family, on the other hand, was not nearly as close to him, either geographically or emotionally. They lived in Seattle, Washington. They liked Cheryl, however, and admired her devotion to her husband and baby but, somehow, they were not as convinced as her family about the solidity of the marriage. After all, sixteen years separated them in age and Todd's family felt that this was no small gap. However, none of their surmising made any difference to either Todd or Cheryl and the marriage continued on, as strong as it had ever been. When Janie turned three, the couple decided to expand their family even further. About a year later, Trisha was born to them and they felt that their family unit was now complete.

As before, Cheryl stayed at home raising the girls and making a comfortable home for Todd. But, this time, she found it more difficult to get out to the gym as often as before. She found she was just too busy and tired to look after herself as she would have liked. There was just no extra time to do this kind of thing for herself — not with her husband absent from home so much, working so hard.

Todd was more ambitious than ever; in fact, his career was becoming a major focal point of his life. Consequently, Cheryl was rapidly becoming the primary caregiver for their two daughters, a task which was very demanding on Cheryl's time and energy. Unfortunately, Todd couldn't always be at home to give his wife a much-needed break from her demanding daily routine.

However, life continued on for another year in this way. Every day, Cheryl would look at herself in the mirror only to see a woman whose dull-looking hair was becoming quite brittle and falling out, whose nails were chipping and cracking, and, whose body was filling out at an alarming rate. As a result, she became quite depressed and wondered if Todd had noticed what was happening to her, or if he even cared. She finally decided she needed to get out of the house for a while on her own, so she phoned a babysitter who was a good friend of hers to come over one day, as she felt she just might go crazy if she stayed "cooped up" there any longer. In fact, she considered asking Todd to hire a regular babysitter (a nanny) for that very purpose.

Meanwhile, Todd's career was growing at an accelerated rate. He had recently gotten a hefty raise and a promotion to plant manager in just the last six months. Despite the fact that he was now much busier as a result and spent even longer days away from home, he enjoyed his work because of its challenges and the increased status he now enjoyed among his colleagues. It had never once occurred to him that a large part of his present success was, no doubt, due to Cheryl's efforts at home. Ironically, Todd did not think that he should be paying more attention to his family. In fact, he acted as if they were becoming a relatively insignificant part of his daily life. In addition, he was getting a lot of flirtatious attention from other women. These developments caused him to become even more immersed in his work and less interested in his family life. It was such a gradual process that he hardly knew how it had all happened.

One day, while Todd was at work, Cheryl got the phone call that would...