Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Dirt Road, Chapter 3~~A Short Story By Randy Mantovani

3.
 
 
Cheyenne

Five feet six and not an ounce of fat on her frame. A blue eyed blond who was pretty in a relaxed way that required no makeup and very little flare. Her prized possession was a small ring that Alex had given her the day he deployed.
Cheyenne had her eyes set on the old Hunt house which was less than a hundred yards away from her families home. It had been abandoned since Mrs Hunt passed away with no one to leave it too.
John Duffy had bought it and was slowly fixing it up. He planned on leaving the finishing touches to Alex when he got home. The place was not worth much but would be a good place to raise a family.
Cheyenne's entire life revolved around little Alice and getting the house ready for Alex's return in 8 months. Her only goals were the house, getting married and expanding her family. For her no other life existed.
She was brighter than she showed in public. The few times we had talked proved that to me. She was secretly studying the regions that Alex had been deployed to and knew more about geography than her sisters; although she would never admit it.
There was a gentleness to this girl that showed in her care of Alice and the way she approached her family. To Cheyenne family came first in all things and there needs far exceeded her own.
Ferry Road was a place she could live her entire life and never feel that life had short changed her.
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Carol
Named after her maternal grandmother she was intelligent to the core. A straight 'A' student who would graduate at the top of her class.
She was not a particularly pretty girl but had passable looks that made her attractive in a homely sort of way. Nothing mattered more to her than going to college and escaping Ferry Road.
She was in a constant battle to find a scholarship and grant money so she could attended college. It had gotten to the point that her guidance counselors cringed when they saw her coming their way. Computer Engineering was the field she wanted to study. I had no doubt she would succeed.


 
Her jealousy of her sister Anne was evident form the first day that I met the girls. Carol had always felt that things came to easy to Anne. When Anne was offered a basketball scholarship it was the final straw in an already strained sisterly relationship.

Once Carol graduated from college Ferry Road would become a place she only thought about when holidays arrived and a trip home became an obligation.
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Anne

She had a love hate relationship with Ferry Road just like her mother. Family was very important to her but she wanted to put a little distance between her and the Road. If she could figure how to do that and still keep daily contact with her family all would be right in the world.

Basketball was her only love outside her home and a chance to play in college would give her the distance she craved and allow her to pursue her one real passion. Anne was a publicists dream. Talented on the court and attractive off. A player that a publicity campaign could be built around.

Her one real flaw was her inattention, well really gross dislike, of academic life. Both her parents and her new coaches knew from the outset that she would need constant attention to achieve.

Anne would probably live within two hundred miles of home; just far enough away that there would be no surprise family visits but close enough to get home when needed.

She had her athletic plan set. Her academic plan was a total mystery.

These were the Duffy girls. All talented, in their own right, but different as three sisters could be. The one thing they shared was their love of family and their need to improve their situations in their own ways.

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Randy

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