Title: Pressed Pennies
Author: Steven Manchester
BLURB supplied by Author
Rick and Abby grew up together, became best friends, and ultimately fell in love. Circumstance tore them apart in their early teens, though, and they went on to lives less idyllic than they dreamed about in those early days. Rick has had a very successful career, but his marriage flat-lined. Abby has a magical daughter, Paige, but Paige's father nearly destroyed Abby's spirit.
Now fate has thrown Rick and Abby together again. In their early thirties, they are more world-weary than they were as kids. But their relationship still shimmers, and they're hungry to make up for lost time. However, Paige, now nine, is not nearly as enthusiastic. She's very protective of the life she's made with her mother and not open to the duo becoming a trio. Meanwhile, Rick has very little experience dealing with kids and doesn't know how to handle Paige. This leaves Abby caught between the two people who matter the most to her. What happens when the life you've dreamed of remains just inches from your grasp?
Pressed Pennies is a nuanced, intensely romantic, deeply heartfelt story of love it its many incarnations, relationships in their many guises, and family in its many meanings. It is the most accomplished and moving novel yet from a truly great storyteller of the heart.
Now fate has thrown Rick and Abby together again. In their early thirties, they are more world-weary than they were as kids. But their relationship still shimmers, and they're hungry to make up for lost time. However, Paige, now nine, is not nearly as enthusiastic. She's very protective of the life she's made with her mother and not open to the duo becoming a trio. Meanwhile, Rick has very little experience dealing with kids and doesn't know how to handle Paige. This leaves Abby caught between the two people who matter the most to her. What happens when the life you've dreamed of remains just inches from your grasp?
Pressed Pennies is a nuanced, intensely romantic, deeply heartfelt story of love it its many incarnations, relationships in their many guises, and family in its many meanings. It is the most accomplished and moving novel yet from a truly great storyteller of the heart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steven Manchester is the author of The Rockin' Chair, as well as the #1 best seller, Twelve Months (2013 San Francisco, DIY & New England Book Festivals award winner). He is also the author of A Christmas Wish (Kindle exclusive), Goodnight, Brian (2013 Southern California Book Festival award winner), and Pressed Pennies (due out May 2014). His work has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CBS's The Early Show, CNN's American Morning and BET's Nightly News. Three of Steven's short stories were selected "101 Best" for Chicken Soup for the Soul series. When not spending time with his beautiful wife, Paula, or his four children, this Massachusetts author is promoting his works or writing.
AUTHOR LINKS
Visit: www.StevenManchester.com
Nook & Paperback
EXCERPT
EXCERPT
Pressed Pennies
A mix of playful conversation and
alcohol set the night’s happy mood. Rick was tipping his third beer at the
season’s final bash when he looked up and saw her. He nearly choked on his drink. She was his age, pretty with an
athletic build. She had gorgeous wavy chestnut hair with beautiful dark eyes
that matched. She had a mysterious confidence about her and a smile that men
would die for. Rick swore she had an aura from her head to her feet. At that
moment, he thought, I have to meet her.
His mind filled with questions that needed answers: Who does she know at the party? Who can I get her background from? Who
can introduce us? As his mind raced, Carol walked over with the beauty. And
as they got closer, it hit him. “Oh, my God!” he said.
“Rick, this is…” the friendly hostess
began to introduce with a smile.
“Abby!” Rick interrupted. “I can’t
believe it.” It was her. It was Abby Gerwitz, his
childhood sweetheart. He searched her eyes and a thousand memories—happy
childhood pictures—flooded his mind. And then he recalled the pain he’d felt on
the day they were forced to say goodbye.
After an unforgettable summer, Abby and
the neighborhood gang received the terrible tidings. Rick—then known as
Richard—gathered the gang in his backyard. He felt ready to cry. “I’ve got some
bad news, guys,” he said.
“Oh, God,” Tracy blurted.
“Yeah?” asked Vinny.
“What’s is it?” Grant asked.
Richard looked at Abby. She was frozen.
“My dad was promoted to lieutenant, and
he has to transfer to another prison across the state.” There was a long,
painful pause. “We’re going to have to move away…next week.”
It was a lie. They were moving, sure
enough, but Richard’s dad hadn’t been promoted. The hospital bills from his
mom’s car accident—where a drunk driver had stolen away her life—had finally
broken them. It was a matter of money or more precisely the lack of it. Richard
silently vowed that he’d never be put in the same position—ever. No matter what I have to do, he swore to
himself.
While the rest of his friends hung their
heads and complained, Abby burst out crying and ran for her house.
As Rick recalled, it was well past midnight when he finally surrendered to the
tossing and turning. Rolling out of bed, he maneuvered past several moving boxes,
stepped up to the window and pulled back the curtain. Wilbur Avenue was
deserted and silent. From left to right—as if he was branding the picture into
his mind forever—he carefully scanned every detail of the place he could no
longer call home. Although one good memory after another played out before him,
a sharp pain pricked his heart. No one was watching, so he allowed the tears to
flow. Once he’d arrived at the farthest reaches of his vantage point, he forced
his swollen eyes to work their way back and absorb more of his past. “Why do we
have to leave?” he muttered. “Why?” Before long, his shoulders rocked back and
forth to the rhythm of his quiet sobs.
The very next
morning, gray clouds hovered over Wilbur Avenue. Richard’s dad and grandma made
their goodbyes quick and waited in the overstuffed station wagon for Richard.
Richard had never
said goodbye before. The pain was alien. It hurt something awful to face Abby.
Overwhelmed with emotion, it took him a while to speak. It was the hardest
thing he had ever had to do.
“Well, I guess…” Richard muttered, and
choked on the words. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled the curled brim of
his ball cap down further over his eyes.
Through sniffles,
Abby finally said, “You can come back and visit, right?”
“Sure.” Richard was
fighting to be strong and dared not speak more than a word.
Abby lifted the brim of his hat. “Goodbye, Richard,” she whimpered.
Richard placed his
hand on her shoulder and shook his head. “No Abby…I’ll be seein’ ya,” he
whispered, and with one surge of courage kissed her on the lips.
While Abby’s eyes went wide, he pulled
his baseball cap back over his eyes, jumped into the family station wagon and
never looked back. One cruel moment later, the Giles family drove away.
Though Richard and Abby promised to keep
in touch, frequent phones calls and detailed letters gradually became an
occasional event until adolescence rearranged priorities and their
communication ceased altogether.
Back in the present,
Abby gasped. “Richard? Is it really you?”
Rick grinned. “It’s
Rick now,” he said.
Her smile turned
mischievous. “Okay, Richard.”
He stood to meet her
embrace and squeezed her tight. “My God, it’s been so long. How have you been?”
She pulled away to
peer into his eyes and, without a word, returned to their embrace.
While they hugged over the unexpected
reunion, Carol was clearly pleased with herself—as if she’d known there was
history between them. “Abby just moved into the neighborhood, Rick…three houses
down from us. It appears that you two have a lot in common, so I’ll leave you
to it.” Carol smiled widely before strutting away.
“So you’re living on Freedom Avenue
now…near these crazy people?” Rick asked. He couldn’t believe it, but his palms
were actually sweaty. He looked into her sparkling eyes and experienced
arrhythmia for the first time in his life.
“I am,” Abby said before looking down at
his left hand and then back into his eyes. “You’re not married?” she asked,
blushing slightly over the impulsive question.
“Happily divorced,” he answered.
“Then you must have a creep for an
ex-husband too?” she teased. Her tone was gentle and there was a soft light
playing around her eyes.
“I do,” Rick said. “His name’s Rose.”
Abby chuckled and took the seat beside
her old friend. Her laugh was absolutely contagious.
For a few moments, neither spoke a word.
And then Abby’s face blushed again when Rick caught her staring. She looked
away. Rick was thrilled over the obvious chemistry between them.
Rick cracked open a fresh beer and
offered it to her. His hands were almost trembling. No one has ever had this effect on me, he thought. No one. He was legitimately nervous.
She shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t
like beer,” she said, and then stared straight into his soul. “So you did the
divorce thing too, huh?”
He shrugged. “I did. Seems like the ‘in
thing’ these days.”
“Any kids?” she asked, shifting from one
hip to the other.
Rick’s eyes lit up. “Zachary…the love of
my life. He just turned two.” He took a swig of beer. “I’m thinking about
getting him a bigger bowl.”
Abby’s eyebrow rose in confusion.
“Zachary’s my gold fish,” Rick
explained, chuckling.
Even through the laughter, Abby kept
staring. At one point, she slid closer to him.
Her presence felt so comfortable and
familiar to Rick. “And you… any kids?” he asked.
“Paige,” Abby answered, with the same
twinkle in her eyes. “She’ll be nine next week…just old enough to be
brokenhearted.”
Rick nodded. “Boy problems?”
“No. Daddy problems.” She shook her
head, the twinkle gone. “Her father hasn’t made a whole lot of time for her
lately,” she explained.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” As a light drizzle began to fall, Rick leaned into Abby’s
face. She smelled as good as she looked.
Abby nodded, but quickly changed the
subject. “So how long have you known Carol?” she asked.
“Too long,” Rick answered with a smirk.
“Actually, I met Danny in college and met Carol after their first date. He was
my business colleague for a while. He and Carol have been together for almost
three years now. She’s great. She loves Danny’s two boys like they’re her own.”
“Business colleagues?”
“Investments. Stocks, bonds… really,
really important stuff like that,” he added, sarcastically.
“You two still together?” she asked.
“Nope. Danny and I have broken up. I
recently discovered that I liked sunshine a little more than fluorescent
light.” He thought for a moment. “I just started doing some consulting work, and
I write a little now.”
“You do? That’s great!” Abby said. She smiled
like an angel. “I’d love to see some of your writing.”
Rick’s skin tingled over the suggestion.
Beneath a wet sky,
the rest of the night was spent getting caught up. For Rick, it felt like old
times—even though he had no idea who Abby was as an adult.
They reminisced first about Rick’s grandma and father. “So how are they?” Abby asked. “I
always loved them, you know.”
He smiled. “Dad lives in New Hampshire
now, working with delinquent kids.”
She smiled, her head cocked. “Did he
ever remarry?”
“No. He’s never stopped loving my mom
enough to pursue another woman. I guess in his own way he still grieves her
death.”
Abby’s mouth twisted slightly, forming
itself into a frown; she was clearly touched by the undying love the man had
for his wife.
“I think Grandma’s right,” Rick added.
“When my dad passes, I’m betting that he and my ma will spend eternity making
up for lost time.”
Abby nearly cooed at the sweet
sentiment. “I’ll never forget his dog, Roy,” she said.
Rick took a sip of beer and chuckled.
“Believe it or not, he actually has Roy’s grandson now—Ray.”
She shook her head and laughed. “Roy and
now Ray. What was the dog’s name in between?”
“Screw Up.”
Abby was sent into a state of hysterics.
Rick shrugged and laughed along with
her.
“And Grandma?” she asked, regaining her
composure.
Rick nodded. “Still
spry and spunky…just a really cool person. You know her motto: ‘The body doesn’t wear out, it rusts.’
She’s still listening to her music and raising holy hell.”
Abby smiled at the
familiar phrase.
“And she got
married,” Rick said.
“Married?”
“Yep. His name is
Bill Stryker and they’re perfect for each other.” He took another swig of beer.
“She still makes me sit for dinner every Sunday.” Rick then asked about Abby’s
parents.
There was a sad
pause. “My mom passed away,” Abby said, “from a lack of purpose, I’d say. And I
haven’t spoken to my father for a few years now.” She tried to shake off the
pain. “We no longer share a relationship… just some
really bad memories. I imagine he’s still committing
suicide the long way.”
“Drinking?”
“Yup, still doing
laps in his bottle.”
Rick put his beer on
the table and quickly changed the subject.
“Have you heard from
any of the old Wilbur Avenue gang?”
Abby’s smile
returned. “From what I hear, Vinny became an attorney and is living with his
wife in Vermont.” She thought for a moment. “I don’t know how anyone could stand to live with him.”
Rick laughed.
“Tracy became
a psychologist and moved to Utah.”
“Married?” Rick
asked.
“A-sexual, I think.”
They both laughed.
Rick couldn’t stop staring at her great smile and adorable dimples.
“Actually, I heard
she lives with her lesbian lover and goes by the new
name Cheyenne.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Abby shook her head.
“Good for her,” Rick said.
“But I haven’t heard
anything about Grant,” Abby added.
Rick leaned forward.
“You’re not going to believe this, but the first day I walked into
college…there was Grant talking to some pretty, unsuspecting freshman.”
Abby shook her head.
“I still see him every Tuesday night,” Rick said. “We shoot a little pool and a
whole lot of bull.”
She was shocked.
“How is he?”
“The same…emotionally amputated; socially challenged.”
As the laughter
continued, she asked, “Do you remember the last time your dad brought us all to
Lincoln Park? Believe it or not, I still think about that sometimes.”
“Are you kidding?”
Rick said. “I could live a hundred lifetimes and never forget that day!” And
without his permission, his mind immediately raced back to the smack of screen
doors and the echoes of foolish, barefooted children running toward the future.
As a going away gift to Richard and his
friends, Jim Giles announced, “I’m treating you all to Lincoln Park.” It was a
local amusement park that was famous for its epic Easter egg hunts and The
Comet—the largest and most feared roller coaster on the East Coast. The park
also had the reputation of hosting some lifelong memories from early spring
until late fall.
Jim Giles pulled the
station wagon into the front of the park and shut off the ignition. From sheer excitement,
the back doors flew open and Richard, Abby, Grant, Tracy and Vinny piled out
like a trained circus act. They waited. Jim Giles never opened his door.
Richard ran around
to his father’s window. “Aren’t you comin’, Dad?” he asked, still resentful
over their upcoming move.
Jim handed his son
some money and winked. “This is your day,” he said, and then looked at Abby
beside Richard. “Stay together, all right?”
They both nodded.
“Absolutely,” said Richard. “I’ll be seein’ ya.”
“We will,” Abby
promised.
Richard’s father
smiled. “Meet me back here at six,” he said, and drove away from the curb.
The gang watched as
the wood-paneled wagon disappeared into traffic. They looked at each other and
smiled. They’d been set loose for one last hoorah. This
entire day was going to be their last great adventure together. Past the roller-skating rink and bowling alley out front,
they sprinted toward the ticket gate.
Murals of smiling clowns holding
balloons and lollipops beckoned them inside. A hand stamp cost five dollars and
fifty cents and allowed them to ride all the rides for the day. Once paid, the
land of thrill seekers, big crowds and long lines opened up to them. “That’s
expensive,” Richard blurted, while Grant discreetly talked Tracy into paying
his fare.
Three steps in and a slew of stimuli
nudged them into a frenzy of squeals and high-fives. Flashing lights, carnival
sounds and joyous screams filled the park. From popcorn to vomit, the smells
were overwhelming. A world of vivid colors—dark reds and yellows and
blues—covered everything. One look around, and it was clear that romance could
blossom here, as well. Richard glanced over at Abby to find her staring at him.
Smiling to himself, he turned, waved his friends toward him and ran for the
rides. “Come on!”
Everyone took chase.
The gang worked its way through the
park. Hidden speakers spouting the moans and wails of ghouls and mutants soon
had them standing before The Monster Ride. “Looks like Old Lady MacDonald’s
place,” Richard said and everyone agreed. Those who dared to ride were greeted
by gaudy, lurking statues of hideous creatures with horns, sharp teeth and
insane eyes. Of course, to the older, more discerning eye, the giant plaster of
Paris knick-knacks were no less than absurd.
Richard led his friends toward the
unknown. Tracy wouldn’t hear of it. “Come on, Scaredy-Cat,” Grant taunted. It
didn’t matter. No matter how much teasing they heaped on, Grant and Vinny were
forced to share a car. Abby had already jumped in with Richard.
From the moment the car hit the double
doors and entered pitch darkness, Abby shut her eyes and never opened them.
While hideous mannequins waited in the shadows, the car took jerky turns on a
squeaky track. “Eeeek,” Abby squealed, while Richard did his best not to laugh.
Through all the screaming, the smells of the midway wafted in, while several
rays of sunlight streamed through the cracks in the old, wooden boards. Though
these reminded everyone that his or her plight was surreal and only temporary,
it still didn’t matter in the belly of the beast. At one point, Abby placed her
trembling body against Richard’s.
He’d never felt such warmth. His whole
body tingled and he instinctively tightened his grip. It was almost a hug. A
swarm of butterflies fluttered in his guts, but even in the blackness he
couldn’t bring himself to kiss her. He just couldn’t do it.
As the car came crashing through another
set of double doors and back into reality, Richard and Abby released each
other. Through squinted eyes, they exchanged a grin. The crush was their little
secret.
Once Rick returned
to their conversation, he looked hard into Abby’s eyes
and his Adam’s apple took forever to travel south. “Those
were definitely the days,” he said.
She nodded. “Find a penny, pick it up and all that day you’ll have good luck.”
“As long as it’s heads up,” he added,
with a grin.
Between the conversation and shared
laughter, the entire night seemed to last all of three seconds.
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