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    Last Chance
    Last Chance
    Last Chance
    Ebook59 pages51 minutes

    Last Chance

    By Betty R. Anderson

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Last Chance is a book of short stories about ordinary people who must take the circumstances of their lives and decide what chances they are willing to deal with in order to survive.
    Lilly Mae must live with the past bravery of her mother-in-law and face her worst nightmare with her husband and their children in The Hallway.
    Rosemary, in Typewriter for Sale, must decide how to free herself and her children from an abusive situation.
    A lonely man and a bitter young boy take their chances as they share a park bench, where Charles realizes that maybe he did miss having a son in The Park Bench.
    All the stories in Last Chance will challenge you to stop, listen, and maybe look at life from a different perspective.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateMar 22, 2013
    ISBN9781481725194
    Last Chance
    Author

    Betty R. Anderson

    Betty R. Anderson is a retired schoolteacher whose hobby down through the years has been to write poetry, short stories, and articles for local newspapers. She wrote her first magazine article for Today’s Christian Parents. Her first poetry book, Reaching for the Beauty and Facts of Life, was published last year. She is a current reviewer on Fan Story. She lives with her husband in Westville, Illinois. They have four grown children.

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    • 4/5
      I am pleased to feature a local author in today’s review. Betty R. Anderson is a native of Vermilion County and will be attending Danville Public Library’s Authors Fair October 14, 2017. Stop by and say Hello to her.This collection of short stories is very aptly titled, for all of the stories involve people who are at a crossroads and need to make a decision to right wrongs or otherwise better their circumstances. Sometimes they take the chance to help others in need. Most of the main characters are strong black women, who though they may have suffered or shown weakness in the past, are now prepared to create a better life for themselves and their families. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more short fiction from Anderson.

    Book preview

    Last Chance - Betty R. Anderson

    © 2013 by Betty R. Anderson. All rights reserved.

    No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

    Published by AuthorHouse 03/18/2013

    ISBN: 978-1-4817-2520-0 (sc)

    ISBN: 978-1-4817-2519-4 (e)

    Library of Congress Control Number: 2013904023

    Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

    and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

    Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

    Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

    Contents

    The Hallway

    Fried Chicken and the Coffee Hour

    Typewriter, for Sale

    Last Chance

    The Dinner Guest

    The Park Bench

    Paul Hudson

    The Red Rose

    About the Author

    About the Book

    23484.jpg

    The Hallway

    That old hallway has many tales hidden somewhere in those old boards. I remember one night, I was leaving the kitchen to go across the hall to the bedroom, when suddenly I heard something fall at my heel. I didn’t take the time to see what it was, but the next morning, we found this large brick right where I was.

    My mother-in-law, Mama Hamilton, was telling stories again about that old hallway. There were no doors at the east and west end of the hall, and I didn’t care for that cold dark space. Sam’s mother told tales about how the hall had a good and a bad side. The hall was once a place where colored folks would wait while trying to get away and move up north to Chicago. They would hide in the hallway, and when it was dark enough, they would head for the woods, where someone would be waiting for them.

    Sam loved the land and would do all he could to hold on to it for our children—T. J., fourteen, Henry, twelve, and Bessie, ten. In the early forties in Mississippi, not many colored folks owned land. We felt the Lord had been good to us. The story was that Sam’s great-great-great-grandfather was white and had left acres to the colored side of the family. Some members of Sam’s family had sold their land for almost nothing. He was the only one left in his family who still owned his land.

    Sam often said, Lilly Mae, we are going to hold on to this land, you hear me?

    There were times I believed Sam felt I would never be as strong as his mother who, with the help of Sam and his brother Jay, had chased members of the KKK off their land. I heard that story at every family gathering.

    One chilly fall afternoon, Sam said to me, It’s cold outside. You and the children better think about getting the smokehouse clean so we can stock it up.

    We started already. I see that old shotgun of yours is still standing by the door. You need to trade it off for a new one, I replied.

    I got a funny feeling in my stomach like something bad was going to happen. Mr. Larry and Mr. David Taylor were usually sneaking around trying to force colored folks off their land. They were the nephews of Mr. Jim Taylor. Mr. Jim lived up the road from us in the big white house. He was a fair man, and his mean nephews feared him. However, Mr. Jim was gone a lot in Chicago, visiting with one of his sons and his only grandson, Mr. Scott. He loved that boy and brought him to stay at the big white house often.

    Sam, maybe you should worry more about the Taylor brothers’ threats.

    Lilly Mae, don’t you go worrying about those Taylors. Mr. Jim will take care of them.

    Sam’s mind must have gone bad on him, for Mr. Jim was gone so much, he didn’t have time to worry about those crazy nephews of his. He had two more sons who cared for his land.

    Sam was determined to keep his own land, and no Taylor or anyone else was running him and his family away

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