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    Goodbye To Mr. Fluffy
    Goodbye To Mr. Fluffy
    Goodbye To Mr. Fluffy
    Ebook50 pages46 minutes

    Goodbye To Mr. Fluffy

    By John McDonnell

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    About this ebook

    The stories in this book are sweet, sentimental, and they tug at the heartstrings. From a mother who's saying goodbye to her only son as he goes off to college, to a father trying to make contact with his daughter as he's dying of cancer, to an old man who is saying goodbye at the grave of a silent film actress, these stories will touch your heart in unforgettable ways. Take a moment and read some fiction that celebrates the ways of the human heart, the connections between people that never go away, and the power of the human spirit.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn McDonnell
    Release dateMar 1, 2012
    ISBN9781452482156
    Goodbye To Mr. Fluffy
    Author

    John McDonnell

    John McDonnell is a British Labour Party politician who was appointed the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in September 2015. He became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington at the 1997 general election, and has retained his seat from then onwards.

    Read more from John Mc Donnell

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      Book preview

      Goodbye To Mr. Fluffy - John McDonnell

      GOODBYE TO MR. FLUFFY

      By John McDonnell

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2012 John McDonnell

      Discover other titles by John McDonnell at Smashwords.com

      John McDonnell's Fiction Blog

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      GOODBYE TO MR. FLUFFY

      WINTER INTERLUDE

      A TROPHY FOR INEZ

      WHEN DRAGONS RULED

      LIGHT ON HER FEET

      ONE KISS

      TRANSIT POINT

      GOODBYE TO MR. FLUFFY

      By John McDonnell

      No tears, remember, Mom? he said.

      No tears, she said.

      Annie had promised him that on the drive here, and she knew she had to keep the promise. He would not want her crying on his move-in day for college. She had to hold herself together, no matter what.

      He was standing there with the sunlight in his tousled hair on this brilliant day in late August, at the edge of the green quadrangle, with students and their parents going to and fro, and his chin was jutting out the way it did when he was being obstinate.

      She wanted to say so much.

      I’m sorry for being so emotional. I didn’t think your leaving would affect me this way. I pride myself on being strong, self-reliant, but right now I feel like I’m falling apart inside. Do you remember that old Teddy Bear you had? Mr. Fluffy is what you called him. Do you remember I washed him once, just because you had carried him everywhere for years, and he was dirty and smelled bad? And because I put him in the washing machine a part of him ripped and some of the stuffing came out? You cried and cried and said, Fix him, Mommy. Fix Mr. Fluffy!? I had to sew him back together, remember? I feel like Mr. Fluffy right now, all soft inside, with my stuffing falling out.

      But I can’t tell you that.

      I guess it’s time to go, he said. He was looking at the tops of his sneakers, the way he did during awkward moments.

      Are you sure you packed everything? Do you have your allergy pills? Your eyedrops? Your--

      I have them all, Mom. He rolled his eyes.

      You’ll call, right? You’ll call tonight and let me know how it’s going?

      I’ll call.

      When he was a little boy he would come into her room when he had a nightmare -- this was after his father had died and she was alone in the bed -- and she would wake with a start to him poking her in the arm.

      Had a bad dream, he would say. Can I get in bed with you?

      She would move over and let him climb in next to her, and in seconds he would be asleep, with Mr. Fluffy cradled in his arms. She could never get back to sleep very quickly, and she would lay there for a long time listening to his breathing, smelling his little boy smell, and realizing that her heart was so full it could almost burst.

      It’s a new chapter in your life, she began. She had rehearsed a whole speech, all about how he was going to meet new people, have all sorts of new adventures, and embark on some of the best years of his life. It was a very rational, reasonable speech, very high-toned and inspirational.

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