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It’s A Wonderful Life 1.5 free porn video
Annie stared at the button amongst the point-of-sale choice next to the register, her look half-puzzled and half-disgusted. An L with a red circle and a line through it?
She shook her head and muttered under her breath, ‘I don’t get it, and I don’t care.’ She glanced at her watch and made a mental note of the lunchtime errands she had to run at the mall: EB Games gift card for her nephew, lotion set from the Body Shop for a thank you gift, and one more thing that she’d probably remember after she got back in her car to dash back to work.
‘No L,’ the cashier said, turning her attention briefly to Annie as the customer at the front of the line mulled over the intricacies of Hallmark’s Frequent Buyer Program as if engineering the merger of two multinationals.
‘Are you talking to me?’ Annie replied, instantly putting two fingers to her mouth. She was afraid she’d sounded like DeNiro in Taxi Driver. Still fairly new to the South, Annie was self-conscious about her Long Island accent despite all the fellow Yankees she’d met since she and Vince had moved down.
The cashier cocked her head toward the display. ‘Yes, ma’am, I am. The button you were looking at…No L…NOEL!’
Annie rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘Hard to believe the Christmas displays are already out. The World Series just finished and it’s not even Halloween…’
‘I think you’ll see the advantages of the program right away, ma’am. Anything else today?’ The cashier had already turned back to the customer, flush with the excitement of getting every fourth greeting card for free.
‘I’m sorry, ma’am, what was it you were saying?’ the cashier asked Annie once it was her turn.
‘Oh, never mind, and no, I heard all about the program, and I don’t care to sign up.’
‘That’s perfectly fine, ma’am.’ Annie was almost disappointed the cashier didn’t seem to mind. ‘Would you like a button?’
‘No, thanks, I can’t even start thinking about Christmas shopping until Black Friday.’ And it’s all gonna be online, that’s for sure, Annie thought, feeling a sense of dread at the prospect of maintaining some semblance of mirth as fellow shoppers elbowed each other over piles of Santa sweaters.
‘Anything else, ma’am?’
Annie, wondering if she was feeling a bit oversensitive, was slowly becoming convinced that ma’am was a euphemism for bitch. ‘No. Thank you.’
‘Have a nice day.’
********************
Hey there, Delilah was playing when Annie got out of the car earlier and was playing again as she drove back to work. All Delilah all the time, Annie thought. Just don’t ask ME what it’s like in New York City, I wouldn’t know at the moment, popping in a CD to rescue herself from the dearth of area radio stations and reminding herself to sign up for XM, whenever she had the chance.
If she’d ever have the chance!
‘Damn it,’ she said out loud. ‘Vince’s iSkin!’ God, he’s gonna kill me! Actually he wouldn’t. He’d smile genuinely, tell her it was all right, and that he’d pick one up next time he was by the mall. Annie tapped the brakes, and had just decided to turn around to the mall when her phone went off.
‘Hi, Jason…I thought the meeting was Monday…They moved it up? Why? 2:00? As in, uh, 20 minutes? …Yes…Yes, all the scenarios are complete, I emailed it to the group…him, too…yep…hold on…’
‘Hi Vince, I got Jason on the other line…that’s great…I can’t really…can you tell me about it later…I’ll call you after my…OK…OK…OK…you too bye.’
‘Hi, Jason…Jason?…Shit!’ Annie thumbed through her call list to call her boss back, slamming on the brakes to avoid ramming into the car in front of her. ‘Jason, this is Annie,’ she said, getting voice mail. ‘I think we covered it all. Sorry we were cut off. I’ll see you right before the meeting.’ Annie exhaled, checked her makeup in the rearview mirror, and ran through the points she’d need to make at the top of the hour.
********************
‘What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary,’ George Bailey said.
‘I’ll take it. Then what?’ said Mary.
‘Well, then you can swallow it, and it’ll all dissolve, see… and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair… am I talking too much?’
‘YES!’ Annie said, curled up on the couch. ‘Yeah, yeah, why don’t you kiss her already, yeah, yeah, youth is wasted on the wrong people.’ Annie picked up the remote and thumbed the OFF button, pointing the weapon directly at the TV while it wasn’t even necessary. With a huff she blew a wisp of her auburn hair out of her eyes and stared at the blank TV screen.
‘What’d you do that for?’ Vince said, taking off his overcoat and tossing it onto a chaise as he walked into the den. Annie started to glare at the coat draped over the chair but caught herself.
‘You startled me. Didn’t hear you come in.’
Vince bent over to kiss his wife. She looked up and turned her head slightly as he caught half-lip half-cheek. ‘Sorry I’m so late. I know we were going to watch the movie tonight.’
‘Why didn’t you call me?’
Vince held up his cell phone. ‘Ran outta battery, sorry.’
‘You could have stopped and used a payphone.’ Annie wasn’t being serious.
Vince was. ‘Didn’t have any change. I’m really sorry.’
‘It’s OK.’ From any other man, that excuse would have sounded like total crapola. She smiled thinly at the thought of Vince fumbling through the change holder in his car for a quarter.
‘Well, let’s watch the rest of the movie.’
‘No thanks. Not like we won’t have a jillion other chances. Besides, you’ve got it on DVD.’ Annie huffed again. ‘I can’t believe this is on in OCTOBER!’
‘Eaten yet?’
‘Yeah, you go ahead. I’m not really hungry.’
‘That’s OK.’ Vince took a spot next to his wife on the couch. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and played with her hair. As he leaned in to kiss her cheek, Annie felt herself tense up. She hated when she did that. ‘Anything wrong, sweetie?’
‘No, sorry, Vince, it’s just your palm’s still cold from being outside.’ But they both knew otherwise.
Vince settled for another quick peck. Leaning back he asked, ‘So how was your day?’
‘It was a day,’ Annie said. ‘Kinda like the day before. And the day before that. And the day before that.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Oh, I almost forgot. I didn’t have time to get your iSkin at the mall today. Got a call about a time change for a meeting…’
‘Shh, it’s all right,’ Vince smiled.
‘Why is that?’ Annie demanded. Vince looked dumbstruck. ‘You’re not mad.’
‘Why should I be? Did you not do it on purpose?’
‘No. But you should still be just a little annoyed. This is like the third time I forgot.’
‘It’s no big deal, sweetie.’ Sweetie was starting to sound like ma’am to Annie.
‘I just don’t know why you don’t ever get mad.’
‘Are you trying to make me mad?’
‘NO! God, just forget it.’
‘Forget what?’
‘Stop asking me questions.’
Vince was exasperated. But he still wasn’t mad. ‘Annie, what is it? Have I done something?’
‘I don’t know, Vince, have you?’
‘No.’
‘Does it bother you I don’t really feel like having sex with you lately?’
Vince could spot a loaded question at twenty paces, and wasn’t about to walk into what appeared to be brewing as Hurricane Annie. ‘I’m going upstairs to take a shower.’ Vince hopped up from the couch and grabbed his coat, wondering if the entire conversation might have been different had he just hung the damned thing up.
‘You didn’t answer the question.’
Vince turned around at looked at his wife, thinking how pretty she looked despite how awful she felt. The first time he’d laid
eyes on her he actually thought she was Jennifer Aniston. He almost asked for her autograph but instead, asked for her phone number. To this day he couldn’t believe he got it. ‘I love you, Annie.’
‘The Beatles were wrong, you know.’
‘That’s right, sweetie. It’s not all you need. But it’s a good place to start. And it never changes.’
As he turned to go up the stairs Annie thought about screaming ‘Don’t turn your back on me!’ but found she didn’t have the energy. Probably just as well. She flipped the TV back on and changed the channel to CNN. She felt her eyes getting heavy as she realized how tired she was, and she figured the latest presidential candidate news was enough to put her out completely.
********************
‘Angel SCRIPT. Thanks for coming on such short notice.’
‘That’s OK, CLOCKMAKER.’ Clarence had insisted everyone adopt code names ever since he’d gotten on his Tom Clancy kick several years back. ‘What have we got?’
‘You know how hard it’s been for you to get your wings.’ Clarence got a dreamy look in his eyes, thinking fondly of the man he’d helped that first time. ‘I’ve been there and I’ve done that. But I think I’ve got one for you.’
‘Suicidal?’
‘Oh no, nothing like that. Not even close. She’s discouraged, for sure. More like a general malaise. Maybe a bit of a rut. To be honest, I don’t know what to do with her.’
‘A woman, then?’ SCRIPT confirmed. ‘Married?’
‘Yes.’
‘Kids?’
‘No.’
SCRIPT thought for a moment. ‘Guess I’ll just need to see it for myself. She’ll need an extra dose of my charm, I take it?’
CLOCKMAKER shook his head. ‘You’re incorrigible. Yes, I suppose that wouldn’t hurt. Just don’t forget the objective.’
‘Which is?’ SCRIPT asked.
‘That’s for you to find out.’
‘Have you picked up Huck Finn lately?’
‘Oh, no, no.’
‘What’s that you’re reading now?’ SCRIPT peered around Clarence and looked at his terminal screen. ‘Varian? Who’s that?’
Clarence turned beet red. ‘You don’t want to know, SCRIPT. I think it’s best you pretend you never saw that. I’d kind of like to keep working here.’
SCRIPT beamed. ‘You’re secret’s safe with me, CLOCKMAKER.’
‘Get on down there.’
‘You got it.’
********************
Annie felt a slight tap on her shoulder. A feathery touch that she brushed aside as she tried to go back to sleep, burying her head into the throw pillow. ‘I’ll be up in a second, Vince.’
The tiny voice answered, ‘I don’t think he’s coming downstairs any time soon.’
Annie lifted her head and blinked her eyes, convinced she was dreaming up the small girl standing in front of her.
‘You see, Annie?’ SCRIPT said. ‘No Vince.’ She shrugged. ‘I think we need to talk.’
Annie felt a shiver down her spine. She swallowed hard, and managed to squeak through chattering teeth, ‘Zuzu?’
SCRIPT beamed, showing off her still missing tooth, rays of light seeming to shoot from her golden curls and freckly face. ‘You know me! I was hoping you would!’
Annie sat up at once, wrapping a blanket around her. ‘Zuzu! My God! What are you doing…are you my…that means…’
Zuzu giggled. ‘Don’t be scared, Annie. I think you’re asking me if I died. It’s OK. Pneumonia. I passed away in 1946.’
‘I thought you were getting better.’
‘I did. For a little while. Then I got sick again.’
‘But your family, they were so HAPPY!’
‘They were.’ Zuzu scrunched up her mouth, looking a little guilty. ‘New Year’s wasn’t a whole lot of fun for them, I guess.’
Annie bit her lip, reaching out to caress the little angel’s face. ‘So young,’ she said, ‘and so pretty.’ Annie felt her eyes well up with tears.
‘It was the time,’ Zuzu said. ‘Nothing a shot of prednisone, quinolones, and regular breathing treatments would have fixed right up today.’
‘Excuse me?’ Annie was flabbergasted.
Zuzu giggled again. ‘You gotta pass all that time somehow, Annie. Medicine is really interesting. I’d be a registered pharmacist, well, if I wasn’t dead. Anyway, I said we needed to talk. But not about me. Look at you, who’s the pretty one anyway?’
‘Are you talking to me?’ Annie said for the second time that day.
‘Your eyes. Like big almonds!’ Zuzu’s own eyes got wide as she sucked in her breath. ‘And your hair. So thick and dark.’
‘It’s a mess,’ Annie protested. ‘I’ve been asleep.’
‘It’s kinda red when the light hits it. Is that your natural color?’
Annie’s almonds narrowed as she eyed her interrogator. ‘I’ll never tell,’ she said, with a small giggle of her own.
‘I knew I could make you laugh,’ Zuzu smiled.
‘Whatever you have now, sweetie, it’s contagious,’ Annie said, noting that her sweetie sounded like sweetie and not anything else. ‘How long have you been watching over me?’
Zuzu was hoping she wouldn’t get that question. ‘Not very long. To be honest, for about as long as we’ve been talking. I guess you could call this an intervention.’
Annie’s shoulders slumped slightly. ‘That bad?’
‘It puzzles me,’ Zuzu said. ‘You have so much. But you seem so unhappy.’
‘I know,’ Annie said with a sigh. ‘My home, my job, my husband. I’m thankful for everything, but…’
‘Are you?’
Annie was taken back by the question. ‘Why, yes, yes I am.’
‘Have you said it lately?’
‘I’m sure I have.’
‘I could check.’
‘You can?’
‘Yep. I’m not sure you’ll like the results.’
‘Well, I don’t have to say it to…’
‘No, you don’t HAVE to. No one really needs to HEAR it. But maybe you’re the one who needs to SAY it.’
‘Why do I need to do that?’
Zuzu looked at her patiently. ‘Who’s the unhappy one?’
Annie swallowed again. ‘You don’t have your wings yet, do you?’
Zuzu’s eyes got wide again. ‘Nope!’
‘You plan on earning them, don’t you?’
Zuzu made long, slow nods without saying a word.
‘And I’m not going to like it, am I?’
‘I was specifically instructed NOT to give you anything you can’t handle. I think you might just surprise yourself.’
‘You’re scaring me.’
‘Good. But just remember, you’re not alone.’
‘Can’t you just write me a prescription?’
‘I did, Annie. Now it’s time to fill it. Close your eyes.’ Zuzu placed her tiny hands on Annie’s cheeks to stop the chattering in her teeth that had returned. ‘You’re not alone, Annie.’
Annie leaned backward as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. A warmth enveloped her, a kind of peace that embraced her soul as she found herself drifting, drifting away from iSkins, emails, voice mail messages, and remote controls, away from errands, to-do lists, and running around, away from Vince, her husband, her friend, away from the rat race, the rut, and the hamster wheel known as her life.
********************
The delightful sound of children giggling roused her. Annie lifted her head to find twenty sets of little eyes staring at her, boys and girls laughing and pointing. She was sitting behind a wooden desk in a chilly classroom. None of the faces looked at all familiar to her.
Except for one.
‘Teacher, it’s not nap time yet. Why did you put your head down?’ a freckly face girl with red pigtails said.
Annie knew where she was. And she was pretty sure WHO she was, or was supposed to be. She looked over at the familiar face, wondering if Zuzu had any idea what she had just done. She guessed not, as she was laughing right along with her classmates, her angelic face as bright as ever.
Annie stood up from behind the desk. A boy’s hand shot up. ‘Mrs. Wellllchhh, can I go to the bathroom?’ he asked in an exaggerated nasally tone.
Nothing I can’t handle. OK, I’ll go with it, my little angel, ‘Mrs. Welch’ thought. The sharp pain she felt in her neck suggested that this room full of cherubs was
hardly the worst of her adventure. She steadied herself, realizing she was about five inches taller than she was used to, but she was unable to stand completely straight, prevented by the onset of osteoporosis.
‘Not right now, dear,’ Annie answered, having no idea what the boy’s name was. Having no idea what anybody’s names were. Better fix that in a hurry.
‘OK time to play a little game!’
‘Hooray!’ came the cheers from her newly found tribe.
‘I want everybody to write down your name on a piece of paper. Does everybody have a paper and pencil?’
‘YES!’ came the collective response.
‘When you’re done, please raise your hand.’
Annie opened the desk drawer and found Mrs. Welch’s lesson book. Thank God. Can’t be the quarterback without a playbook, she thought. She’s just opened it when cries of ‘Finished’ rang through the class.
‘OK, now I want everyone to stand up, and get in a line in alphabetical order.’
‘Where do the A’s go?’
Annie didn’t have an answer as she surveyed the chaos that was quickly unfolding, children moving in all directions, pushing and shoving. Directionless.
Shit. ‘OK, everybody freeze!’
‘We’re already freezing. It’s cold in here!’ a dark haired boy said.
‘What’s your name?’ Annie asked.
‘Carl.’ Annie took another look at the boy.
‘Alfalfa?’
‘I thought you said we can’t use my nickname here!’
Unbefreakinlievable, Annie thought. She collected herself and shouted, ‘OK, I want everyone to stand still, or I’ll ask Carl to sing.’
The boys and girls froze immediately. Carl’s eyes narrowed as he looked around.
‘OK, everybody with an A. Raise your hand.’
Anna and Arthur each raised their hand. ‘OK, you two go stand by the door,’ Annie said. ‘B’s?’
‘You know there aren’t any B’s,’ Carl said.
Of course I did. ‘OK, Carl, you lead the C’s then.’ Annie continued through the alphabet until she created a line around the perimeter of the room, ending with Zuzu, who was now standing against the right wall.
‘OK, one by one, starting over here, I want you to say your first name, and your favorite animal, starting over here.’ Annie pointed in Anna’s direction. The tactic was from a teambuilding exercise she’d learned at a conference two months ago, one that she knew would work. The pain down her right arm was excruciating, especially when she pointed.
She looked over toward her desk and saw her own pocketbook sitting beside it.
‘Anna. Ummmm…kittens.’
‘Arthur. Dogs.’
‘Carl. Dogs.’
‘Hold on. Time out everybody.’ The class giggled, unfamiliar with the phrase ‘time out’.
‘First of all, no repeating an animal, even if one you already heard is REEEALLY your favorite, OK?’ Annie was becoming self-conscious over how many times she was saying ‘OK’. ‘Let’s pause for just a moment.’ Annie reached down for her pocketbook, discovering a new pain in her lower back, and checked to see if her meds were inside.
She saw her Lipitor, her prescription strength Motrin, and her birth control pills neatly contained in a Ziploc bag. Nice to have a pharmacist as a guardian angel, Annie smiled to herself.
‘OK, lions then,’ Alfalfa shouted, deciding time was back ‘in’.
The class completed the exercise, finishing with Zuzu and ‘unicorns’, when an older woman clicked her way to the classroom in her high heels, knocked on the classroom door and walked in.
‘Mrs. Welch, may I see you for a moment?’
‘Sure thing.’ The woman made an odd stare at Annie. ‘Oh. Yes, yes of course.’
‘Your husband is here.’ Vince? Annie thought. Somehow I don’t think so. ‘Please go to the office to speak with him. I’ll watch the children for now. The woman leaned in toward Annie and whispered. ‘I’m very sorry, dear, but I think he’s been drinking again.’
********************
Nothing I can’t handle? God, give me the strength. Annie readied herself to meet her husband, but then realized she didn’t know where the office was. She turned toward the direction where the woman’s footsteps had come from, and fortunately, found the office at the end of the hallway.
Mr. Welch was already standing outside the door, pacing furiously. He beelined his way toward Annie the moment he saw her, his face desperate, his brow sweaty despite the drafty air.
Valentina
- 20.01.2021
- 41
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