And so we begin part one. You may get a few surprises with this one!

PART ONE

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Riverside, Iowa

October 1980

It was just after nine o’clock when Jim heard a loud crash out in the front yard of his farmhouse.

He put his hand on Becky’s leg. “Stay here.”

“Probably a racoon,” she guessed. “I’ll stop the movie.”

They’d been watching a VHS tape on the brand new player Jim had purchased last week.

It was chilly out, but Jim didn’t bother with his coat. He did grab a crowbar he kept in a closet by the front door though.

He stepped out onto the porch. Several moths flew around the porch light.

“Who’s there?”

No one answered of course. If it had been a racoon or other animal getting into the trash they wouldn’t have and if it was some person with nefarious purposes they probably wouldn’t either.

He stepped off the porch, crowbar at the ready. Nothing by the trashcans and they were upright. He turned and walked to the front of the house by the picture window. Nothing there either. The pumpkins and scarecrows he’d set out in yard in September were untouched, There wasn’t a sign of anybody or anything. Nothing broken.

Jim pursed his lips and went back into the house. Becky was putting on her coat.

“Well?” she asked.

“Didn’t see a thing. Must be kids playing pranks for Halloween.”

“It’s only October 2. Seems a little early for tricks and treats.”

Jim nodded. “Probably.”

“Racoons,” she said matter-of-factly. “You get Clyde to come over and lay some traps.  That’ll take care of it. Drive me home?”

“Unless you want to stay.”

Becky shook her head reluctantly. “Can’t. Roberta’s coming for me early. Going out on flight to Denver at six in the morning from Iowa City. And from there New York. Speaking of, I’m going to be gone on several shifts over the next several days. Won’t be back for a while.”

Becky was a stewardess for TWA. She was often gone for extended periods of time. She liked it. And it seemed to ensure neither of them ever got tired of whatever they had going between them.

Jim grabbed his coat and keys and they made their way out to his Ford Escort.

Becky only lived a few blocks away and they were at her apartment in no time. He leaned over to give her a lingering kiss.

“Tell me how the movie ends,” she said, wiping her lipstick from his lips.

“Okay. And safe travels up there.”

“Jim, when I come back we need to talk.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

She smiled. “Nothing that bad. But it’s time we decide about where our relationship is going. What are the next steps for us.”

“I see,” Jim replied with a nod.

“You love me, don’t you?”

“Of course.” But the response was automatic with no real feeling behind it and Jim couldn’t even say why.

But she didn’t seem to notice or care.

“That’s why we need to talk. Riverside’s great but—”

“My family’s lived here for a lot of years.”

“I know. But it doesn’t mean you have to stay here forever. People sell places and move on all the time. The point is, Jim, I’ve been offered to transfer to the Denver area as my main hub. It’s got a lot more going for it then this Podunk town and you can find a teaching position there, you know you can. It would mean a big promotion for me. And if we moved there we could get married and start a family. Just…think about it. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

She leaned in to kiss him again, then opened the car door, got out and ran into her apartment building.

Jim sat there in the car for a moment considering. He didn’t want to move. And something…was off. But he had no idea what.

With a sigh, he put the Escort in gear and drove back home.

Once he parked and got out he started to head for the front door. But as he glanced toward the scarecrows and pumpkins he thought he saw glowing red eyes.

“What the hell?”

He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

Nothing.

Jim went into his house and locked the door. He didn’t bother watching the rest of the movie. He just went to bed.