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#Post#: 54--------------------------------------------------
The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: April 12, 2012, 3:37 am
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Just thought I'd post what I've been playing with the last few
days. It may seem kind of blah. If you'd like to be written in
(I feel it's only right since you sparked the idea and got the
ball rolling.) please by all means let me know. I've put it in
the PG area for now because there's some very mild language.
Please forgive the formatting, if it looks a little odd it's my
word processing system and I will try to monkey with it so it's
more reader friendly. Cheers, thank you, and I hope you enjoy!
Author's Note : *Disclaimer* - Please know that this is a work
of pure fiction. I'm but a humble writer and I don't make a cent
from these works, I just write them for my own and the enjoyment
of others. I do not mean in anyway to infringe upon the famous
individuals/characters that are mentioned within the work. I
only own the original characters unless otherwise stated. If you
would like to post my work please contact me and I will gladly
grant permission as long as my name is mentioned and the
disclaimer (above) is posted along with the piece. I don't bite,
I promise. :-)
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There are times in your life when things can look so down that
you barely want to move in the morning. You just wish the world
would just stop turning. Well, today was one of those days or so
I'd thought. I hurried out the door of my dingy little hole in
the wall I called home and made a wild run for my beat up little
Chevy. Only after getting behind the wheel did I discover that
the gas gauge was in the red on "E".
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all to hell!"
I beat my fists against the steering wheel which let out a
series of honks that sounded like a dying goose. I shoved the
door open and narrowly missed being hit by passing the junk heap
on wheels that looked like it was in worse shape then my own
beat up car. I sighed, tightened the grip on my purse and apron
and trudged over to the sidewalk and started to walk in the
direction of O'Lunney's Pub, my third part time job of the four
I worked just to keep a roof over my head and basic staples in
the kitchen cabinets. I'd no sooner just walked through the
door when I heard Lou the manager bark at me from behind the
bar.
"You're late, McGuire! Ten bucks off your pay check."
I set my jaw and bit back a rather sharp retort and ended up
saying "Sorry, Lou. Somebody syphoned the gas out of my tank
again."
Lou barely looked at me as he polished a beer stein and said "
Well, maybe if you go an alarm installed on that junk heap of a
car you wouldn't have that problem."
I glowered as Lou walked off to chat up one of the better
looking female regulars by the pool tables. I went about wiping
down the rest of the bar and emptying out ashtrays for a good
twenty minutes until the bar room door swung open and a loud
whoop was heard.
"Guess who got paid today?! The drinks are on me tonight!"
I turned from straightening the bottles behind the bar to see a
very excited tall gangly mass of hair and leather plop himself
down in front of me. I'd seen this guy around my cousin Stevie's
place quite a bit and heard his name, Jackie Flannery, whispered
among certain circles.
"Well, who do we have here? You ain't Lou, unless you're him
after a sex change and a favor from God himself."
Hmm, he's quite the catch. Nice eyes, sweet smile. Kind of puts
me in mind of Gary Oldman. Ahh, crap! Don't talk to him! That
little inner voice said to me as I tried to keep my wits about
me. I failed, big time I couldn't help but laugh as I set a
complimentary bowl of pretzels in front of him and said "I'm
Maggie McGuire."
My inner voice was going nuts Stupid! Now he knows your name why
don't you just give him your address already?! Jackie let out
another whoop and reached across the bar to pull me into a one
armed hug.
"Stevie never told me he had a cousin as sweet as you! Well,
Maggie baby, I'm Jackie Flannery and I'm dying for a beer. Can I
get a Heineken, please?"
I was struck off guard by the manners and said "Uhh,sure." I
reached into the cooler at the other end of the bar and felt his
eyes on me the entire time, watching my every movement.
I set the beer down in front of him and he said "So, what's a
pretty girl like you doing working in a place like this?"
I felt myself turn beet red as I finished refilling pretzel and
peanut bowls and said "Well, I can give you a short answer and
tell you that I'm in desperate need of money or the long version
of how my ex boyfriend screwed me over and skipped town on me,
leaving me to make a go of it alone."
Jackie sipped his beer and said "Well, I've combined those two
versions and come to the conclusion that your ex was an **** and
that you're in need of a guy that can take care you."
I chuckled as I set up another beer in front of Jackie and said
"If I didn't know better I'd say you were coming on to me, Mr.
Flannery."
Jackie shot me a wicked grin and swept his hair to the side.
Needs a wash but I'm sure you could help him with that. The
cheeky side of my inner voice said and I fought back yet another
blushing bought.
"What if I am? What would you do?" Jackie said as he winked at
me as he accepted the beer and took a swig. I felt myself
blushing for the second time and said "Well, I'd have to thank
you and then ask you why you'd be interested in a girl like me."
I went to work pulling pitchers for one of the larger poker
tables that were in the back as Jackie mulled over his answer.
"Because you seem like a sweet girl who needs a guy that
wouldn't play games and gives you his heart. Ask Stevie, he'll
agree with me."
Before I could say a word or back into the safety of the back
room Jackie flagged down my cousin. Oh for the love of
God...he's either persistant or really desperate for a person
like me.
"What's going on, Jackie?" Stevie said as he ambled over and set
his beer down on the bar.
He glanced over and gave me a grin and a nod. Jackie sat back
and looked at Stevie and said "Your cousin here is having some
second thoughts about going with a guy like little old me. Am I
a stand up guy or what?"
Stevie's eyebrows went up for a second like he was going to
figure out Einstein's theory of relativity
"Well, I'd have to tell her yeah, you're a stand up guy,
Jackie."
Jackie looked at Stevie and grinned. "I rest my case. Now, just
to show you I'm some horrible person would you like to maybe
grab a beer with me after your shift ends?"
I thought it over what's the harm in having just one beer with
this guy?
"Ok, I'll meet you out front then."
How was I to know that one drink was going to turn into a few
too many and the end results were going to change me entire life
in the blink of an eye.
#Post#: 58--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Dracula's Wolfy
Date: April 12, 2012, 6:32 am
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I love this story! aww, it's a shame it ended so soon though :D
I enjoy reading stories of writers who know what they're doing,
and, love picturing scenes in my head ;)
#Post#: 60--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: April 12, 2012, 3:48 pm
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Aww shucks you made me blush! I'm glad you like it, I can
promise that you're going to get another bit sometime tonight or
into the weekend. You may just make just pop up yourself. ;D I
meant to put a "not" in the one sentence but it slipped by me,
haha. Thanks for the help with the formatting, I really
appreciate it.
#Post#: 66--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Dracula's Wolfy
Date: April 13, 2012, 3:10 am
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You're very welcome! it is a great story thus far and I can't
wait to read more of it. I love being able to picture scenes
like that playing out, this one is full of them. About the
formatting, what I tried to do did not work at all so I'll see
if I can try one more time. Hopefully it works :D
#Post#: 104--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: April 13, 2012, 9:39 pm
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"Alright, McGuire, you can leave. Your check's there on the bar.
Tell Jackie to have a good night, will ya, Kid?" Lou said as he
turned over the last chair on the corner table.
I finished up with the last of the ashtrays, grabbed my check,
and said a quick farewell to Lou.
I noticed that my usual fifty dollars had been upped to two
hundred. I was utterly confused given the fact that I was still
under the assumption that I was being docked ten dollars for my
being two minutes late and Lou being the tightwad that he always
was would never give me this amount of money. Hmm perhaps the
lovely Mr. Flannery has something to do with this. I thought to
myself as I walked to the door. After clawing my way up from the
gutter of despair that had previously been my life I learned to
turn a blind eye to most things and not to ask questions. I
grabbed my bag and headed out of the bar for the night. I
breathed a sigh of relief as fresh air hit my face and blew my
hair back off my shoulders.
"Got the beer. Your place or mine, babe?" I opened my eyes and
saw Jackie's car idling at the curb in the front of me.
I recognized the car as the one that almost splattered me across
39th street earlier. That little voice in the back of my mind
was back again, this time waxing poetic about fate. Well, if
that isn't a sign of something bigger then the two of you I'm
not sure what is.
"Well, my place is just up the street. There's always a clear
parking spot next to the building in the alley so you're free to
park there."
The passenger door squeaked open as Jackie leaned over the
center console. "Sometimes the door sticks if you open it from
the outside."
I bit back a chuckle as I noticed Jackie's cheeks starting to
color a bit. I slipped into the passenger seat and clipped on my
seat belt. We eased out into the street which was all but dead
silent at 2 in the morning.
"Which way am I going?" Jackie asked as he shook out a Marlboro
from the all but empty that was perched on the dashboard among
stray bullets and old scraps of paper.
"You're going to go up onto 39th street. I'm the fourth building
on the left. Next to the old Carfax shirt tail building."
As we went up onto 38th Jackie looked over at me, ran a hand
though his hair and said "So, this ex of yours what was his
name?"
I sighed and said "Bobby Shay. No good jerk...Made my life
miserable. Screwed around on me every chance he got and didn't
think I'd find out. When I did the jerk cleaned me out of house
and home and took off. Ugh I'd rather not talk about him.
Anyway, weren't you going with some Irene girl or something? I
remember Stevie saying something about her once or twice."
The car turned into the alley by my building and Jackie sighed.
"Stevie can't keep his mouth shut can he? Irene, wasn't the girl
for me. I wanted kids, she didn't. She wanted to move to Jersey,
I didn't. I thought I wanted someone that would let me screw
around and then still make pancakes on Sundays before mass. I
found out that that kind of thing wasn't for me. I don't want my
kids wondering who the hell I am and why I'm not home with them
and their Mom. That might work for Frankie but it doesn't work
for me. His wife Maureen knows he's screwing around and she
still stays with him. I've got roots here, I may be the last
Irishman in Hell's Kitchen but I want my kids to know where they
came from. Where my family came when they got off the boat after
the famine. I don't want to turn into some suburban Jersesy
asshole like my brother. Maybe Irene ought to meet Bobby, huh?"
I laughed and said "They might get along, hell maybe they have
met and we're the last ones to know? C'mon I'll show you up to
my place."
After trudging up seven flights of stairs Jackie looked like he
was going to pass out. "How the hell do you do this everyday?"
He wheezed as he took a beer out of the bag he was carrying as
passed it to me and then took one out for himself.
“Well, after living here for four years with no hopes of
building manager actually fixing the elevator one adjusts.
Cheers darling." We clinked bottles and kept walking finally
making it to my apartment door.
"There's always an upside to being the only person living on the
top floor. It's coming home to a quiet apartment." I switched on
the floor lamp next to the couch as Jackie set down the case of
beer on the table.
"You can't tell me that coming every night to a quiet apartment
is nice. It's got to get lonely after a while."
I took a swig of my beer and sat down on the couch. I looked
over at Jackie and motioned for him to sit down. "It does, I'm
not going to lie. But, when you're alone for as long as I've
been you get used to it.
Dad was always working at the shipyards right up until the day
he died. I personally think he died from working so hard but
what do I know? My mother and I aren't on the best of speaking
terms. The closest thing to a brother I've got is Stevie and
he's not much in the brains or luck department but he's got
heart."
Jackie nodded and grabbed a second beer. "Is that a diploma I
see on your wall or are these beers getting to me?"
I laughed and set down my beer. "No, that's a diploma alright.
I've got a masters in English Education and I'll be damned if I
can't find a job. I ended up spending $150 to enroll in beauty
school and become a
certified beautician. It's not like I'm bitter or anything. "
Jackie fished out another pack of cigarettes and said "So, if
you don't mind me asking what do you do to get by? I mean,
besides working at O'Lunney's?"
I went over my mental schedule which was all but etched in stone
in my mind. "Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I work at the Cut
Above over on Hudson and 58th. Wednesday and Friday I work
during the day as a maid/ babysitter to a couple over in
Chelsea. Two little trust fund yuppies. You know the type can't
live without their damn dogs, they end up treating the dogs
better then their own kids. Then nights I work at O'Lunney's.
Saturdays I work part time down at the shipyards answering
phones and filing paperwork up in the offices I also double as
their cleaning service. I refuse to work on Sundays."
Jackie finished off his beer and said "Now, I feel like a jerk.
Here I am keeping you up."
I chuckled and grabbed another beer. "They're planning a strike
so I don't need to show up tomorrow.
By the way, those strings you pulled with Lou, thank you."
Jackie flashed his usual devil may care grin and said "You're
welcome, here's to the start of something beautiful." We clinked
bottles again and settled into a comfortable silence.
Good lord he really is good looking. No! Down girl! Don't do
anything stupid! Inner me screamed at me. The next thing I knew
Jackie and I were each leaning in to take another beer and ended
up in a heap on the floor next to the couch pulling at each
other's clothes.
"Which way to the bedroom?" came the question voiced with husky
need.
"Down the hall on the right." was all I could manage before
Jackie's lips were back on mine as we
manuvered ourselves down the small hallway.
My inner voice pouted. "Don't care!" I yelped as I clawed at
Jackie's back silently thanking God that the closest neighbor I
had, Mrs. Rowling from the first floor was on vacation in
Florida.
#Post#: 106--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Wolfy
Date: April 14, 2012, 12:13 am
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Ooh I hope there is more on the way soon! :]
I love stories about Jackie, they're always so much fun xD
#Post#: 130--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: April 14, 2012, 5:34 pm
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Never fear there will be more! My muse is kicking my behind
today, haha. Enjoy!
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Two Months Later ( August )
"To the left..No, my left. Alright now, on three we're going to
put it down right...here. One...two...it's on my foot! Stevie,
for cripes sake pick your end up!" was what I heard as I came up
the stairwell to the place I now called home with Jackie.
The question of moving in together came up on our third date,
well, get together if you'd rather call it that. I'd accepted
because both of us needed a new start. Here I was, lugging
grocery bags up to the new apartment situated on Eighth Avenue
right down in Little Ireland or rather what was left of it. We
ended up getting the place for a steal because so many people
were moving out and going to Jersey. I suspect Jackie talked the
manager down from the original price but I kept the thought to
myself. Stevie who only lived two floors down from us seemed to
spend more time over at our place then home with his own family.
"Claire's in one of her moods with her Ma being sick and all.
The baby's going through the terrible twos and I'm working
double shifts down at the shipyard." was what we heard every
time Stevie came over and we welcomed him in every time with
hugs and a beer.
"Jesus, I'm sorry, Jackie. I thought you were just gonna set it
down on two..." Jackie was leaning against the wall half pinned
against the chest of drawers I'd brought with me from my
apartment. "Stevie as much a I love you you really surprise me
at times, what the hell do you think we were gonna do? Use the
element of surprise on the damn thing?!"
I shook my head and offered each of the handy moving duo a hug
before ducking into the kitchen to put away the groceries.
Where the hell is it? Please tell me I didn't forget it. After
moving a bunch of celery and some apples I found one of my most
coveted purchases of the entire shopping trip.
"The way you've been chugging Malox worries me. Please don't
tell me I'm giving you an ulcer or something. I know I'm tough
to live with but that just makes me feel like the king of
beasts." Jackie said as he wrapped an arm around my waist and
kissed the top of my head.
"I've got a doctor's appointment next week it's probably just a
bug or something. Is Stevie staying for dinner or no?" Jackie
shrugged as he rummaged through bags looking for something that
only he knew he needed.
As if on que Stevie's head popped in around the corner. "No,
I've got to head home. Claire signed us up for this lamaze
class."
Jackie and I exchanged looks and said "Claire's pregnant
again?"
Stevie beamed and said "Uhuh, about to go into her second
trimester. Doctor says there's a good chance it's twins."
Jackie and I plastered grins on our faces and wished Stevie a
hearty congratulations as he walked out.
"Oh god help the world if Claire and Stevie have one, no strike
that, two more kids. They'll have Claire's temper and Stevie's
smarts." I muttered as I put the last of the canned goods away
and leafed through the mail.
As much as I loved Stevie I couldn't stand his wife. Claire was
one of those women that when she was in a relationship it was
always "mine" never "ours" and it drove me crazy. Stevie was too
love struck to see her for what she really was.
"Hey, we could be in that boat one day. Maybe we'll luck out and
have triplets, why with my go-getter attitude, your smarts, and
our combined good looks they'll take over the world or at least
the state of New York." Jackie said as he reached up on top of
the fridge for his gun cleaning kit.
"I really hope we don't end up eating those words. I don't think
I could stand that amount of pain or that many dirty diapers at
once. Besides, what would you do if I had to work? Put three car
seats in your car if you had to go on a job?"
Jackie looked at me thought for a moment, smirked and said "I
like the way you think, babe." I shook my head as I glanced over
the bills as Jackie went about checking his gun and setting up
the clean solution. I looked at him with concern. I noticed over
the past few days Jackie was taking the time to clean his gun
collection and go over a system to wash his hands to clear away
the gun powder residue.
"I swear to God if that gun has a bullet in the chamber and it
ends up going off I'm coming over there and pistol whipping you,
Jackie. Why can't you do that over at Frankie's or something?"
Jackie shook his head as he lit a cigarette.
"The last time I did that the kids ended up with a fume high and
Maureen gave me the boot. I got the windows open, Maggie."
As soon as that small bottle of Shooter's Choice cleaner was
opened I felt a headache forming right between my eyes and a
wave of nausea wash over me. I broke out in a cold sweat and my
head seemed to be full of sand.
"Oh no.." was all I could manage to say before running down the
hall and slamming the bathroom door. Ten or twenty minutes
ticked by like an eternity as I sat on the cool tiled floor in
front of the toilet with my head cradled on my knees. My stomach
was still turning and the room was still reeling. Well, this
isn't a good sign at all. Remarked that smart assed little voice
of reason in my head.
"Hey, you ok in there, Mag?" I shakily got up to my feet and
opened the door to find a sheepish looking Jackie holding a
glass of water and leaning against the door jamb. "Twenty bucks
says that ain't an ulcer you got, Maggie baby." Jackie said as I
took the glass of water from him and eased myself back towards
the living room and onto the couch.
I sighed and propped myself up on one elbow and found that this
position made my head swim even more. "Thirty and you're on. One
condition though, you go with me to that appointment and sit
through the entire exam." Jack came over to the edge of the
couch and reached for my hand. "Deal, but if you are we're going
to the court house and putting in for a marriage license." I
sighed and thought it over. Why the hell would he want to marry
me? He truly must be a stand up guy. He's my stand up guy.
"Deal. Wait a second, you mean to tell me if I wasn't pregnant
you wouldn't be marrying me?" Jackie laughed as he played with
my hair for a second and said "Ok, let me rephrase that. Will
you marry me? Even if it only turns out to be the flu?"
I sighed and put on a mock contemplative face and said "Hmm,
I'll have to check my schedule but I think I can answer that
with a yes." A whoop echoed in the apartment as the phone rang.
"That'll be Frankie, I'll see you later, babe." Jackie said as
he got up from the arm of the couch and grabbed a bag from the
hall closet and his gun off the table. I got the courage up to
sit up on the couch as much as my body protested.
"Hey, where do you think you're going? Frankie can wait a
second, gimme a kiss or something before you leave." Jackie
smirked and came over pulled me to my feet, gave me a squeeze
and a kiss and mumbled "I love you, Mag." I grabbed his shirt,
looked up into his eyes and said "Love you too, Jack. Come back
safe or I swear Frankie can kiss his sorry butt goodbye."
"I'll be fine. Frankie ain't gonna let anything happen to me.
I'm his go to guy." One final kiss and he was gone until the
next morning.
One Week Later
"I can't believe they have stirrups and needles in the same
room.." Jackie muttered as he recoiled to a chair in the corner.
"I can't believe they're making us wait this long. It's been
thirty minutes already." I muttered not hearing Jackie's remark
until it was too late.
"Wait, what? Oh these things? Don't worry about them."
I was a little preoccupied with the how long it was taking
someone to actually come back to us. A nurse shuffled in with a
harried smile on her face. "McGuire-Flannery?" Jackie and I
nodded as the nurse took a seat and said "Congratulations! Looks
like you two are ten weeks in to being someone's Mommy and
Daddy."
Her enthusiasm was adorable but Jackie and I were in shock as
we sat there staring each other mouths open lost in thought.
The nurse who sensed our shell shocked state cut through the
silence "I take it this wasn't a planned pregnancy then? We do
have options if you're.."
"We're keeping it." came the reply in unison.
The nurse beamed and checked something off on my charts before
reaching for the doppler wand and a bottle of gel. "Now, if
you'll just sit back and relax you'll get to hear your little
bundle of joy's heartbeat." A towel was put down the bottle was
opened a blob of gel was plopped onto my stomach.
"Oh crap, that's cold! Warn me next time please." I said as the
nurse pressed the doppler wand onto my stomach.
Jackie at this point had traded in his stooped forward stance in
the corner to be by my side. Five seconds later the room was
filled with a thundering whoosh of what sounded like galloping
horses filled the tiny exam room. I've heard that when you first
hear your baby's heartbeat you're sometimes overcome with this
raw emotion and sense of wonder. For me, it was like the flood
gates had opened and God himself was looking me straight in the
face. The nurse kindly passed me a tissue and then motioned for
Jackie to take one.
"How can something so small have such a fast heart beat?" He
murmured as he sniffed back a few more tears and wiped his eyes.
"Good strong heartbeat, now if you'll look at the monitor you'll
see him or her." Our eyes drifted over to the sonogram screen
and we saw our child.
"Now, from what you told us you're due on March 17th." I was
sent off with booklet after booklet on prenatal and infant care
and two scripts for prenatal vitamins.
"If this isn't a sign I don't know what is. If it's a boy we're
naming him Patrick, or James Michael Patrick Flannery Jr. Oh
jeez, what if it's a girl?! I always liked the name Katie or
Molly." Jackie was still rambling on about names as we got out
to the car.
"This is going to be the best St. Patrick's Day gift ever!" I
felt a twinge in my chest as Jackie let out a yelp of joy.
#Post#: 136--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Wolfy
Date: April 15, 2012, 12:39 am
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I'm so happy you have added more to this story! xD and I can't
wait for the next bit. I cried right along with them when they
were listening to the babies heartbeat, such a beautiful moment.
And Jackie's smirks throughout the story so far, I've been able
to imagine the scenes playing before me, it's wonderful! hehe.
#Post#: 149--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: April 15, 2012, 2:05 am
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I so happy you like it :) Didn't mean to make you cry, I do
apologize. I tried to keep Jackie's character as real as
possible perhaps adding a little smidge of a softer edge when
he's around family. I'll be adding more asap for you my dear.
;D
#Post#: 152--------------------------------------------------
Re: The story that at the moment has no title
DIR By: Wolfy
Date: April 15, 2012, 11:20 am
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No worries, only a good story has the ability to do that :D and
I quite liked crying with them haha. I'm sooo happy to hear more
will be added later :D I can't wait to read it.
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