ACCIDENTAL HERO

Accidental Superhero


We tired of the city life and only wanted to hide in the woods. We bought and acre in Hillsborough, New Hampshire and decided to build a small home to have some peace in. It made perfect sense for him and I to build it ourselves and take out no loans. No mortgage and no loans to pay back, we would be creating a cushion so to say. Paying only utilities and taxes would allow us to afford car payments and Christmas presents, even in the economy we were all crashing in. It took us what seemed like a million years and what should have been the most wonderful day known to us, moving day finally came.
“Good morning, coffee?”
I stared at him wondering what this sound was coming from his lips. “Really?”
He poured me a cup of coffee and smiled as he placed it on the table. “I am so sorry. No stupid questions in the morning of my wife.”
I gave him thumbs up and fell into the chair and begin sipping on my steaming hot coffee. “Is there a way to plug this into the truck? I want to go right now but I cannot walk out on my coffee.”
He poured himself a glass of milk and sprinkled cinnamon into it. He did this every morning and would only have coffee on the road from the donut shop. It was one of those traits of his that always left me puzzled. “I am just letting you know that I am laying out the rules for you before we get there. They are really easy to understand and all you have to do is everything your told. No arguments.”
Sipping my coffee and not even looking at him, I sat in silence. He waited for a moment more and then dropped to the mercy of my silence. “Well, have you got something to say?”
“Yes indeed. I do.” I placed my cup down. “The reply to your rules is a very simple one. No. You’re not even close to big enough pal.”
He laughed and chugged away some of his spiced milk. “We need to get going.”
“Don’t you start rushing me, I will have mess you up so bad your childhood will have a new story to tell.”
He again laughed and chugged the rest of his milk. He put the glass on the table and walked into the bedroom to put on his boots. Joe was an early bird that showered and was halfway out the door before I even opened my eyes. “I will take care of your glass for you.”
He must have heard the sarcasm and had no appreciation for it. I could almost hear his eyes rolling into his head. “Yup thank you.”
I showered and dressed as fast as I could after that because I was so excited. We had already filled the house with new furniture and had the interior designer come through and do some magic. If Joe was to decorate, our house would look like a combination hall of fame for classic music and museum of history. I am not throwing him under the bus alone neither as I can jump under it with him. If I was to decorate the house would be a museum of cheap Native American art and turtles. We both wanted something that spoke for out new lake side home but didn’t scream I am at the beach all the time. The only thing we needed to do was bring food home. We stopped at the Market basket here in Manchester and bought some meals, drinks and snacks. This is where our story really begins.
As I was placing the bags into the back of the pick up truck, a woman approached me. She looked like a character out of a comic book in every way. Her fire engine red hair flowed down from her head. Her lips were the perfect plump. Her eyes were greener than the grass in Georgia and her hourglass figure had been wearing what looked like a painted on solid blue body suite. She wore platform boots that matched her yellow gloves. Her lashes reached her eyebrows and she gleamed a smile that I can swear heard ting like an old toothpaste commercial when she flashed it.
I froze in my spot. I wanted to say something but my mouth would not form the words and she looked into me so hard, I felt my soul react. I was thinking about how Manchester had it’s share of rather unusual but this was even unknow to anyone under twelve with an imagination. She begin talking and this was just nonsensical in all forms.
She put her hands on her hips, like the superheroes do in the books. “Have you called?”
I tried to look around for Joe, but I couldn’t see him with the ability to move my head. I did note that I was not the only one frozen in her spot. All the people in the lot were still like a drawing. I wanted to ask what was going on. I wanted to know what she was and what she wanted but I couldn’t.
She tapped me on the arm. “Why don’t you answer? I have no time for this.” She then realized she had frozen time and that included me. “I am so sorry.”
“What the hell? What is going on? Who are you? What do you want?” I was now at full ability but time was still all over.
“Well Chedda, you called.”
“How do you know that name? And what do you mean I called? I don’t even know you, why would I call you.” Chedda was a nick name from school in eighties also known as a tag. The name stuck to the point that my friends children would call me Aunty Chedda to this day. For a stranger to know your name at all is scary let alone your nick name.
“You called me when you pressed on your head device.” She felt my head in search of proof of what her words were saying.
“Get the hell away from me!” I started to get angry at the point of contact where most of us would draw the line. I was reluctant to punch her in the throat even.
“Oh by the power of the Great Healy, you don’t even know you are a superhero!”
I looked around again twirling around to view the still time. “Are you looking for help? You need money? Just tell me already. I will give you a few dollars if that means you’ll go away.”
“I will return. You have so much to learn about what happen to you and what you have become because of it. I need to go for now but I will return as you begin to figure out that you are more than you think.”
And just like that she was gone. Everyone around me continued their lives at the grocery store. I felt as if I had been drugged and wondered deeply if I had. Joe would not do that to me. I watched him get back into the truck and waited for his reaction. He acted like nothing had just happened outside the normal. I climbed into the passenger side and closed the door. “Joe?”
“Yes?” He lit a cigarette.
“Did you see that?” I prayed.
“See what?”
If he had seen it, he would have been out of his mind over it. Joe was not the pretend to be calm type. I was so I decided to let it stay inside. As we drove to Hillsborough I questioned my mentality over and over again. That costume on this woman clearly meant superhero, but where did this moment come from? That could not have actually happened. I believe in some things in this world that others may find a bit silly like Astrology, but this?

TO BE CONTINUED…