June

 Welcome to The Spot Writers. The prompt for this month is ‘June’.

In April, 2024, Phil published The Body on Karli’s Beach, the third book in his Barrettsport Mysteries, a series of soft-boiled mysteries set in a fictional South Shore Nova Scotia town. For information about these books, and The Road to Environmental Armageddon, his trilogy about the hazards of ignoring human-induced climate change, visit his website: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

 

 

June

by Phil Yeats

 

Jason hated June. He considered it an untrustworthy, chaotic month. Some hot and sunny days, a happy reminder that summer is just around the corner. Others cold, wet, and foggy, often with snow and threats of overnight frost. More like late winter than anything else. How could anyone plan anything with such chaotic weather?

He was a scholastic success and a social failure. By his second university year, he’d chosen to focus on his studies and ignore student society. That gave him a structured life that suited him. It led to a well-paid job in the IT field and success investing in high-flying stocks. By 27, he had a large net worth for someone so young. His disparaging parents provided none of it. He invested in a small house on a large lot in the city’s trendiest suburb, one with a bohemian flair.

He lived there as a happy camper until June 4, 2021. That’s when June, a young woman, not the month, upset his structured lifestyle.

It started innocently enough. He was riding home on a cold, rainy afternoon. A rusty banger drove by at moderate speed, giving him adequate space on the deserted road. Seconds later, as he followed the slowly departing car, he heard the loud crash as the banger came to an abrupt halt with its right front wheel in a deep and steep-sided pothole. There were no other cars or pedestrians in sight, so he slithered to a stop and offered to help. Not that he could do much, but he could give her his name and phone number in case she needed a witness.

She ignored him for several minutes as she took photos of the damage and entered a rather long text message. She smiled when she looked up. “Thanks for the offer, but everything’s under control.”

After giving her his name and phone number, he hopped on his bike and peddled on. He hoped he’d never see her again, not because he had anything against the young woman. He was just a very private person, happier on his own.

It wasn’t to be.

Three weeks later, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, she stood outside Jason’s door. She invited him for coffee at the coffee shop a few blocks away. The shop, especially its outside tables, would be too crowded for Jason on this summery afternoon. He invited her in for a cup of tea on his back patio.

It wasn’t too bad. She seemed upset by the behaviour of her boyfriend, and thought he could help. He didn’t know what he should say or do, but after two cups of tea and a short walk around his back garden, she went away looking happier than when she arrived.

She returned two weeks later looking for sympathy after another tale of woe. The pattern repeated through the summer and early fall. Their commitment grew from cups of tea, to walks with visits to the teahouse in a nearby park, to supper at his place, and eventually, as one could expect for a young couple, to adventures in bed. Jason was both appalled by the developments, because she’d destroyed his simple, well-structured life, but also intrigued because he’d never had a sexual relationship.

Then she stopped visiting, and he didn’t know if he should be relieved or despondent. He had his well-structured life back, but he missed her dreadfully.

When she returned on a miserably cold and windy Saturday in June of the following year, he knew his life would become as turbulent as a typical June. She was obviously pregnant, with a story about having nowhere to go. He couldn’t refuse to take her in.

 

*****

 

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/