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The Roadside Oasis
The sign would have read “The Snowshoe” but for a burned-out bulb. Inside, a kindly woman greets a traveler. Her tag says Regina. Regina’s tone possesses all the tranquility a weary traveler could hope for. He sags as one might when submitting to another worthy of trust.
“A bit road-weary?” Regina intones. The traveler suffers a lapse in deportment. The consequence is laughter, contrary to humor. “Begging your pardon; did I say something humorous?” Regina maintains her graciousness, though an arched brow betrays what she thought of the traveler’s laughter.
“My apologies,” the traveler cries. “I passed road-weary days ago.”
Regina boasts, “We’ve got a stew certain to revive anyone.”
“Sounds like a bowl of Heaven,” the traveler croons.
Regina’s smile reveals a bizarre irony that unsettles the traveler. Before Regina makes for the kitchen, she asks, as a passing curiosity, “What’s your destination?” The traveler replies, “It’s indeterminate.”
“Destinations can be tricky,” Regina warns.
Scanning the room, something strikes the traveler: The paradoxical look that came over Regina when he idiomatically called her dinner recommendation a bowl of Heaven was apparent on everyone’s face. Next, a man, abandoning a hand of solitaire, rises from his seat and marches toward the kitchen. As he approaches, he wavers, sighs, then disappears beyond the swinging doors.
“Who was that man?” the traveler asks Regina.
“George. He’s been here for years. Had a friend with whom he played chess, but the friend moved on. Lately, George has resigned himself to solitaire.”
“George is permitted in the kitchen?”
“No one is unless summoned by the cook,” Regina explains.
“I didn’t hear George’s name called.”
Assuagingly, Regina warns the traveler, “You weren’t listening.”
The farcicality of The Snowshoe as a waiting room where souls gather before being granted passage into Heaven unsettles the traveler, as does the existential catastrophe of his having failed to survive his journey.
Familiarity lilts in chorus. Was death a shared experience? Some seem too reconciled for their demises to have been recent affairs; they view death as a humorous irony, an escape from a fraught world, while others regard the swinging doors with misgiving. The traveler dispels what he resolves are illusory thoughts and settles on The Snowshoe as a stopover for travelers in need of revival.
Regina reappears with a bowl of stew. The traveler asks, “Why am I the only one eating?”
Regina explains, “You’re the only one who requires sustenance.”
Before the traveler’s twisted expression elicited an explanation, someone rose, tossed aside a newspaper for which they were grateful to no longer feign interest, and marched toward the kitchen.
“Was he summoned by the cook?”
Regina nods.
“Will the cook summon me?” the traveler warily peeps.
“What’s your name?” Regina asks.
“Melcior,” the traveler replies. “I’ve searched for whatever sanguinity a forbidding world affords. I’m following a star.”
“Two came before you,” said Regina. “Caspar and Belthazaar. They, too, are following a star. You’ll meet in Bethlehem. There, you’ll kneel before He who was foretold. Make haste, Melcior, for the day of rejoicing is upon us.”
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As America pivots from embittered passions over her Vietnam initiative to Cold War anxiety, the stars align for three teens seeking independence, encountering the unimaginable.
Set in Philadelphia in the mid-1970s, American Odyssey chronicles the coming-of-age journey of Addison Caldwell, Cillian James, and Joey Brosco. In their quest for independence, the trio encounters the recently widowed Leila Bennett, a former prostitute turned farm owner. For Leila, a sultry summer blossoms into an odyssey of hope and healing; for the boys, work and awakening. Leila—a girl discarded and rescued—teaches the threesome that virtue does not lie in the struggle for independence or what one must sacrifice for its behalf, but in love that reinforces enduring friendship.
Michael DeStefano runs a hairstyling salon, where he has spent the past four decades beautifying the super of Philadelphia. His past titles include the historical family saga “The Gunslinger Companion,” the comedy/tragedy “Waiting for Grandfather,” and “The Bohemian.” You can find these novels and the short stories, “Eternity’s Corridor”, “A Requiem for Oliver Clinch,” and other writing at https://michaelscorner.blog
Buy the book at Amazon.
