Friday, December 2, 2016

Christmas Coda 42


FADE TO BLACK: Ghost and Gene


Off-season they were both broke--that was the reality of island living--so Ghost offered yet again to fix that blowout tat he’d carved onto Gene’s chest twenty years earlier, and Gene declined yet again for sentimental reasons, but this time Ghost put up a fight.

“Yeah, okay dude, it’s part of you now, but that would be the cool thing about this. I’d be building on the past, but it would be something totally new. It would be about…flying into the future. Together.”

That was probably the most romantic thing he’d ever said to anyone ever, and he actually got a little choked up on the word future. Because for someone whose life philosophy was based on the conscious decision of living one day at a time -- of neither borrowing trouble nor putting off till tomorrow -- it was pretty damned close to a vow of commitment.

Terrifyingly close.

Maybe Gene saw it because after a moment he cocked his head like a thoughtful rottweiler and shrugged. “Okay, G.”

He didn’t like to call Ghost “ghost” and Ghost didn’t answer to Gordon--was deaf to the name, in fact--so Gene called him “G” which was funny since it was his own initial too. It was actually pretty typical of the way they were together. Goofy, sure, but easy. Very easy. In fact, Ghost had never been with anyone as easygoing as Gene.

So for Christmas he replaced that monstrous evil-looking stapler on Gene’s chest with a vintage China Clipper. It was really gorgeous. One of the nicest bits of art he’d ever done. Gene was flatteringly surprised and complimentary.

“Flying into the future together,” he quoted, preening bare-chested in front of the mirror on the closet door.

Ghost got very red hearing that aloud and in daylight, but Gene kissed all the embarrassment away. 

On Christmas day Gene took Ghost for a private helicopter tour of the island, a long, leisurely flight. The kind of thing tourists paid for. He’d been floored when he’d learned Ghost had never had an aerial view of the place he’d lived for fifteen years.


It turned out to be a rougher ride than expected--a storm was blowing in from the south--but Gene remained cool and capable, and aside from a little bit of queasiness from being tossed up and down in what felt like a tin can, Ghost found the whole experience kind of exhilarating.

As a matter of fact, he found life with Gene in general kind of exhilarating.

Safely back home they had one of those little turkey loaf things with Stovetop Stuffing and mashed potatoes and frozen corn (only not frozen, of course).

They split a six pack of Corona and Ghost said, “Should we toast to something?”

Gene grinned, gold incisors showing, and clicked the bottom of his bottle to Ghost’s. “Here’s to our next fifty Christmases together.”

“God bless ‘em, every one,” said Ghost.


Fade to Black is part of the charity anthology Magic and Mayhem. Which you can purchase here in print. And here in Kindle.  

33 comments:

  1. I had hoped he get a new tattoo! Thank you, Josh!

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    1. LOL That would drive any artist crazy, being stuck with a daily reminder of your worst work.

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  2. Awww! These two G's complete each other so perfectly! I was hoping they'd get their own Coda. :-)

    I'm sure they'll be truly happy together on that island — I mean, who wouldn't be?! ;-) It does have a healing, soothing effect... island living.

    Thank you, Josh. I hope you're having a lovely day.






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  3. Very sweet! A lovely vignette!!

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  4. Aah, cute story for Double-G. Thank you for the lovely coda, Josh. :)

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  5. I put this antho on my to-read list in July but this prompted me to finally go buy it. No kindle version though?

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    1. I thought there was a Kindle version at one point -- but as I'm checking, I don't see it either. Hmm.

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    2. It's being re-upped to Amazon. It's just taking a couple days. Publications was switched from one "owner" to another. Sorry for the wait! :O

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    3. Great! Thanks! I was hoping it was something like that.

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  6. Thank you! These are always so special. "Flying into the future together." I love that.

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  7. Squee! Happy birthday to me!
    I bought this (Kindle version) right after GRNW and Fade to Black was the first story I read. I loved these guys and hoped they'd be okay. Thanks for giving Ghost and Gene a lovely coda and *toasting with my second cuppa coffee* here's to fifty more years together.
    ~Judy S

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  8. I'm happy to see Gene and Ghost get their own Coda. :) Their's was a very sweet story. I'm glad Ghost was able to convince Gene to let him touch up his tattoo. With a line like "Flying into the future together", how could he say no? :) <3

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  9. I purchased M&M on Barnes & Noble which says it won't be available until 12/4, so I'll have to come back to this. :(

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    1. Okay. So I heard from the publisher. The project changed hands and the ebook will soon be up again probably around December 11th.

      Here's the Smashwords link
      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/680743

      And I'll let you know as other links become available.

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  11. Of course I had to go back and re-read Fade to Black before reading the coda. I am always in awe of how much you can pack into a short story (and also a coda!). Thank you!

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    1. Seriously, Josh is the queen of short stories in this genre. Thanks, Josh!

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    2. Thank you for saying so! I love short stories. It breaks my heart that there's so little demand for them these days.

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  12. Love these two!!! And yay for the new tattoo, lol :-)

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