Shorty Dawkins
February 27th, 2012, 12:11 AM
This is a part of The River Heals. It is a series of stories that become a narrative. The stories wind together.
Shorty
The American Dream
What goes around comes around.
“I had a visit from some heavy hitters in the Republican Party today. They want me to run for Governor.” Mason Sheffield said to his wife, Marianne, as they had their usual cocktails before dinner.
Mason Sheffield was an important person in Riverside. He owned the Sawmill and Lumberyard, and he was one of five owners of the local bank. He owned lots of property in and around Riverside, and he was a State Senator; had been for three terms. Mason had married into money, Marianne's money, and he had become somebody as a result. Marianne was the perfect trophy wife. She was beautiful, poised, and charming. She had fallen in love with Mason because of his good looks, his wonderful speaking voice, and his excellent business mind. They lived in a beautiful house on twenty acres beside the river, had a son and a daughter, both now on their own, and were rich and respected throughout the community. In short, they were the personification of the American Dream. The only trouble was that it was all a lie. Marianne had come to realize how pathetic a man Mason was. He was a womanizer, and she had just learned that day, from a private investigator she had hired, that he was involved in business dealings of a criminal nature. Their daughter, Janet, hated her Father and had run away from him as soon as she could make her own way. Tom, their son, was terrified of his Father, who always demanded more from him than he could provide. The American Dream was really a nightmare, at least for Marianne and her children.
“So now you want to be Governor, is that it, Mason?” Marianne asked, then sipped her Manhattan.
“Why not? They have offered support and money. It should be a relatively easy election to win. You could be the new First Lady of the State.”
He was always trying to throw her a bone, while he took the better portion for himself. That was his way. It was all about Mason, never about anyone else.
Marianne looked at him. She knew it was over, completely and irrevocably over between them. She wanted him out of her life and she wanted him destroyed. He was nothing but a smooth talking phony who had married her for her money.
“The game is up, Mason.” She said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you are finished. It means you will leave this house tonight. It means we will be divorced. It means you will get nothing except a chance to stay out of jail. That's what it means.” She stared hard at him.
Shorty
The American Dream
What goes around comes around.
“I had a visit from some heavy hitters in the Republican Party today. They want me to run for Governor.” Mason Sheffield said to his wife, Marianne, as they had their usual cocktails before dinner.
Mason Sheffield was an important person in Riverside. He owned the Sawmill and Lumberyard, and he was one of five owners of the local bank. He owned lots of property in and around Riverside, and he was a State Senator; had been for three terms. Mason had married into money, Marianne's money, and he had become somebody as a result. Marianne was the perfect trophy wife. She was beautiful, poised, and charming. She had fallen in love with Mason because of his good looks, his wonderful speaking voice, and his excellent business mind. They lived in a beautiful house on twenty acres beside the river, had a son and a daughter, both now on their own, and were rich and respected throughout the community. In short, they were the personification of the American Dream. The only trouble was that it was all a lie. Marianne had come to realize how pathetic a man Mason was. He was a womanizer, and she had just learned that day, from a private investigator she had hired, that he was involved in business dealings of a criminal nature. Their daughter, Janet, hated her Father and had run away from him as soon as she could make her own way. Tom, their son, was terrified of his Father, who always demanded more from him than he could provide. The American Dream was really a nightmare, at least for Marianne and her children.
“So now you want to be Governor, is that it, Mason?” Marianne asked, then sipped her Manhattan.
“Why not? They have offered support and money. It should be a relatively easy election to win. You could be the new First Lady of the State.”
He was always trying to throw her a bone, while he took the better portion for himself. That was his way. It was all about Mason, never about anyone else.
Marianne looked at him. She knew it was over, completely and irrevocably over between them. She wanted him out of her life and she wanted him destroyed. He was nothing but a smooth talking phony who had married her for her money.
“The game is up, Mason.” She said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you are finished. It means you will leave this house tonight. It means we will be divorced. It means you will get nothing except a chance to stay out of jail. That's what it means.” She stared hard at him.