Coming Soon

COMING SOON

Family Plan
A Novel
by
Bob Liter

Many thousands of single mothers face extreme difficulties in raising their children. One of them is Nora Alexander who is trying to raise her nine-year-old daughter, Becky. She faces complications that make her struggle more difficult than most.

FAMILY PLAN is the story of Nora’s battle to raise her daughter while fighting alcohol addiction. She is on the run from her ex, Herman Brink, who seeks custody of Becky, even though he is not her father, to exact revenge on Nora because of the divorce.

Nora and Becky use a false last name to worm their way into renting a room from Henry Dodd who doesn’t realize Nora is his estranged granddaughter. Nora gets a job as a waitress and reluctantly falls under the influence of Lance Arnold who owns a tavern, The Lazy Hour.

He romances her and talks her into becoming a waitress at his tavern. Her ex-husband finds and kidnaps her. She escapes and later is accused of murder when a man dies while trying to rape her during a snowstorm. She finally is exonerated. Custody of Becky becomes a court issue. The judge gives Nora another chance as long as she marries Lance, a recovering alcoholic.

The author, Bob Liter, is also the creator of several romances published by Renaissance E Books, including the best seller, DANNY BOY.

CHAPTER ONE
Of Family Plan


Windshield wipers on Nora Alexander's 12-year-old Geo whipped back and forth as she turned into the driveway of a white bungalow and parked. Her nine-year-old daughter, Becky, stretched and said in a voice heavy with sleep, “Are we there?”
“Yes, kiddo, finally. Now remember. Our last name is Johnson.”
Nora looked in the rearview mirror at her own tired face. She brushed hair back from her forehead and thought, Will this work? It has to.
“Are we going in or not? I gotta pee,” Becky said as she pressed her hands between her legs. Nora nodded and said, “When the rain lets up.”
She fussed with her daughter’s hair until the girl said, “Mama, what good will that do? We’ll get soaked when we get out of the car.”
Nora’s hands went from the girl’s hair to her own. She combed it with her fingers and said, “Maybe this will be better. The rain I mean. We’ll look more pathetic.”
“My name is Becky Johnson,” the girl recited.
Nora hugged the child and said, "You're a real trooper."
"Yeah, a real trooper," Becky repeated.
"Remember the plan now," Nora said and added, “Okay, let’s go.”
They struggled out of the small car and ran hand-in-hand to the cement stoop at the front door.
“Now don’t forget,” Nora said.
Becky nodded.
Nora rapped gently. After a minute or so she rapped harder. The door opened. A man thumbed suspenders over a faded blue shirt, hitched up baggy pants, rubbed bleary eyes, glanced at Becky and Nora and said, “What do you want?”
Nora placed a hand on Becky’s shoulder and said, “I understand you have a room to rent.”
She shook water from her auburn hair. Becky shook her head and wiped water from her face.
“A room to rent? What gave you that idea?”
“Didn’t you advertise in the paper? I threw it away, it got so wet.”
The girl said, “I gotta go potty, Mama.”
“Just pee your pants, Becky. What difference will it make? You’re already soaked.”
Becky stamped her foot. Water splashed onto her short, white socks and dripped into worn canvas shoes. Her eyes flashed disgust as she said, “I won’t.”
The man smiled, stepped back, and opened the door wider.
“You can use the bathroom, young lady. It’s down the hall to the right.”
Becky dashed past him. Nora said, “She’s so impetuous. She’ll drip water all over your house.”
“I’m impetuous too when I have to go. Come in, water won’t hurt this old carpet or anything else in the house. Want some coffee?”
The woman looked directly into his pale blue eyes and said, “That would be heaven.” She followed him into the kitchen.
“Feel better?” He said when Becky joined them. She sat next to Nora and lifted the coffee cup, put it to her lips, and sipped.
Becky handed the cup back to Nora without a word.
“I’m Henry Dodd,” the man said. He extended a callused hand toward Nora.
She took it, returned his firm grip, and said, “I’m Nora Johnson and this is my daughter, Becky.”
"I don't rent rooms," Henry Dodd said.
Nora broke the silence by saying, “I must have the wrong address. We need a place to stay. I’m looking for a job.”
Henry stared.
“Sorry,” he said. “I just thought, that is, you remind me of someone. Hope you find a place to live. And a job,” he added as he stood.
Nora slid her chair back and glanced at the linoleum flooring. It was clean, the red and green pattern still clear and bright under the shine. Water had puddled around her feet.
“Got a mop?” she asked.
Henry nodded, opened the basement door, pulled a mop up from the first step, and swiped up the water. After putting the mop away he stood at the back door and looked out.
“Still raining like hell. You could stay until it stops, if you want.”
“Can I watch television, Mama, can I?”
“Why not,” Henry said. In the living room he handed Becky the remote. She glanced at it and quickly found a cartoon show featuring a large talking dog. Henry returned to the kitchen and offered more coffee.
“Thanks, sorry to bother you,” Nora said.
She checked out the kitchen. It would be heaven to have such a place permanently. The cupboard doors where smudged here and there with dirt and bits of dried food. Stuff that would easily wash off. She wondered what food was inside.
“No bother, just sittin’ around sleeping and watching it rain and glad I wasn’t out in it. Still a little cool to be dancing in the rain. You want a towel?”
Henry stood, walked through the living room, opened a closet door across from the bathroom, and removed a bath towel from a stack. He examined it, looked at the others, kept the one in his hands, and returned to the kitchen.
“It’s kinda lost its fuzz, but it will dry you some,” he said.
“Thanks.” Nora stood and dried her face and arms. She leaned over, shook her hair loose, flipped her hair back and wrapped the towel around it.


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