Excerpt:
GOOD
ADVICE
When the first call
came in that evening, Julia was more than ready. Strategically placed in front
of her, her fresh pile of blank intake questionnaires served as the cornerstone
to an array of pens, pencils, and resource books. Tools of the trade she called
them; open windows to the souls of women crying out for help.
“East Central Women’s
Shelter. May I help you?” she asked, glancing at the ‘panic’ button next to her
desk. So far, no one had ever had to use it, but being thorough, she had it
checked out with the local police once a year anyway, to make sure it still
worked.
The voice on the other
end had a familiar desperation. “I can’t take it any more! He’s going to kill
me!”
Julia assumed her
‘calm’ voice. “First of all, can you tell me your name, address, and phone
number?” Taking the correct information was the key. Never rattle the women
callers and let them know you’re there for them. Above all, make it clear the
shelter is a safe, soothing place.
Continuing, she gently probed and coaxed until she had made complete
arrangements for the woman to enter the shelter with her children by midnight.
“God, Julia, you’re
amazing!” As always, her intern Barbara was visibly impressed. No one could do
an intake like her supervisor. No one.
Julia offered a tight,
modest smile and got up to retrieve some coffee from the kitchenette, moving
slowly, deliberately, like she had all the time in the world.
“How do you stay so peaceful?
I’m so wired when I leave this place,” Barbara admitted.
She enjoyed confessing
to Julia; it was a chance to get good advice.
But tonight, Julia obviously wasn’t in the mood.
“Barbara, life’s not
perfect,” the therapist muttered as she turned back to her work.
The persistent phone
calls swelled into a tsunami of women pleading for their lives. For most
people, it could become oppressive, but Julia took everything in her stride.
Sympathetic, yet suggestive, she never faltered.
By 12:45 a.m., the needy
calls had definitely slowed down. Barbara yawned, and watching her mentor tidy
up, said, “Time to go home soon, no?” She had had enough.
“You go on without me.
I’ve got a couple of things to do yet,” Julia replied, reshuffling papers on
her ultra-organized desk.
In the pitch-black
parking lot, Barbara darted to her car. She would have much preferred having
Julia walk with her, but her supervisor never went home on time, and tonight
was no exception. Sliding into the front seat, her peripheral vision caught
something, but when she swiveled left, there was only darkness. I must be getting paranoid, she thought
as she shook her head, locked her car door, and flipped on the ignition. Suddenly,
images of her comfy bed and a good night’s sleep trumped everything.
Inside the shelter, the
clock read 1:12 a.m., and Julia knew it was finally time to go. But it wasn’t
until two seconds later when she stood up that she heard the hammer click on
the gun.
Pivoting, she faced the
man straddling the doorjamb. “Look at me,” he said softly, coldly.
She tried to shift
towards the panic button, but her legs wouldn’t move.
“Look at me, Julia,”
her husband repeated. They were the last
words she heard.
Blurb:
Curl up and
enter the eclectic world of S. R. Mallery, where sad meets bizarre and
deception meets humor; where history meets revenge and magic meets gothic. Whether it’s 500 words or 5,000, these TALES TO COUNT ON, which include a
battered women’s shelter, childhood memories, Venetian love, magic photographs,
PTSD fallout, sisters’ tricks, WWII spies, the French Revolution, evil
vaudevillians, and celebrity woes, will remind you that in the end, nothing is
ever what it seems.
Reviews for Tales To Count On:
“Brilliant…
I stand in awe of S.R. Mallery’s ability to cobble something riveting out of so
few words. I can’t recommend this book enough!” - Dianne Harman, The Coyote Series, The Cedar Bay Cozy Murder
Mystery Series
"S. R. Mallery takes you
on a truly unique, visual journey through time and place, with her imaginative
tales and unusual endings, stirring up the reader's curiosity and compassion." - Lasher Lane, Deadlight
“Poetic,
startling, S. R. Mallery’s TALES TO COUNT ON will stun you into silence by the
outcome of these inventive stories and their elegant endings with a
twist.” - D.K. Cassidy, Spilt Milk, Curious Reality
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
About the Author:
S.R. Mallery has worn
various hats in her life. First, a classical/pop singer/composer, she
moved on to the professional world of production art and calligraphy.
Next
came a long career as an award winning quilt artist/teacher and an
ESL/Reading instructor. Her short stories have been published in descant 2008, Snowy Egret, Transcendent Visions,
The Storyteller, and Down In the Dirt.
LINKS:
Website/Blog: www.srmallery.com
Twitter: @SarahMallery1
Facebook:
Goodreads:
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sarahmallery1/
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