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Dragonsnort: The Continuing Story of Brooke Nescott
by Devon Pitlor
I. A cigarette outside an airport
 B
rooke Nescott Albritton stood outside the small airline terminal inAristock and watched the little jets take off for Philadelphia, theironly destination. Her mother's remains were somewhere on one of theplanes. Brooke looked into the sky and smoked a cigarette. She couldnot see the logos on the planes, but she knew that her mother's flightwas due to take off within the hour. It would land in Philadelphia,and Brooke's mother's casket, already decorated, would betransferred on board a larger flight to Milwaukee. Brooke inhaledher cigarette and thought about her mother. They had always beenfriends, but when, at age 49, her mother had suddenly been strickenby a cerebral aneurism and had died suddenly, Brooke stopped feelingas if her mother were actually real. Because she wasn't, Brooke knew.Her mother was dead, and only an artificially preserved remnant of her was on the plane and headed for some family ceremony inMilwaukee. Brooke had no desire to attend nor to accompany hermother's body anywhere. As far as Brooke was concerned, hermother was still in Aristock, if only in memory, and perhaps in spiritas well. Attending a funeral full of weeping relatives was notsomething Brooke planned on doing. She had never been inMilwaukee in her life, and she had no plans to go there now.A heavy mist obscured the departing aircraft, and Brooke, out of somekind of respect, decided to stand a little longer outside the airport and
 
have another smoke. Then she would go home, and anothermisguided drama would occur with her husband Adrian. Brookeknew she had a specific role to play in this drama and was preparingherself theatrically. She would need to act first surprised, then sad,then consoling. She would need to assure Adrian that everythingwould be all right, which it probably would not be for Adrian, butthings were, however, going to be more or less all right for Brooke.And that was the problem which would require some acting skills.A lull in take-offs came, and Brooke finished her last cigarette, tossedthe empty pack in a trashcan and planned for the hundredth time toquit. She knew that before seeing Adrian, she would have stopped ata convenience store and bought still another pack. In all her years of smoking, Brooke had never bought a carton, though that would havesaved her much money. She purchased cigarettes pack by pack, everytime with the intention of the new pack being the last pack, which itnever was.Brooke wondered if she should have shown more respect for hermother and not smoked or maybe accompanied the body northwards,but she checked the thought. There was nothing one could do for thedead, and she barely knew her Milwaukee relatives, and didn't wantto start weeping along with them now. Besides, she had a role to play.II. The tears of Adrian AlbrittonBrooke and Adrian had been married since 1998, and that made threeyears. It was now 2001, and a sense of recklessness seemed to hangover the country. The new president, a son of a previous president,had just that month come into office, and while Brooke did notparticularly pay attention to American presidents, there was
 
something about this one that provoked her immediate dislike. Therewas something that rang of jocular cowboyism in his very manner. Helooked like he was itching for a war or some chance to order someoneto shoot a gun on his behalf.In the years since her marriage to Adrian, there had been prosperity,and Brooke had found a job somewhat suited to her degree inmicrobiology. She had become a licensed histotechnologist and sat allday in a lab slicing and dying samples of diseased or mortified humantissue, often announcing the imminent onset of tumors and other life-threatening ailments to those who would inform total strangers thatthey were soon going to die. It was a detached enough job, andBrooke, albeit having other plans for herself, did not seem to care,that is, as long as she didn't have to confront the unfortunate onesherself. And she didn't. All she dealt with were their tissue clippings,and those could have come from a Frankenstein monster for all shecared.On that windswept late January day, Brooke sensed that theprosperity of her early adulthood was rapidly coming to an end.Some vague, impending catastrophe leaked out the corners of this newpresident's smile. The world as Brooke had always known it wasgoing to change, and the somber snow clouds which hung over theAristock airport seemed to signify that a new and darker era hadbegun.Her husband, Adrian, for his part, had been happy enough also---orat least in matters that concerned his better than average job as a junior partner in a law firm that dealt mostly with very dull insuranceclaims. He had successfully passed the Pennsylvania bar the yearbefore and had no trouble in finding a position. But a black shadow---
of 00

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Devon_Pitlor

Okay, I may bring Brooke back. Thanks for reading and discussing. I'd love to be in on these discussions.

reply01 / 13 / 2010
Carson89

Library rdg. group discussed this one today. Loved it!! Hurrah!! More Brooke -- please.

reply12 / 01 / 2009
Devon_Pitlor

Thanks. Can you tell me more about this reading group? You have seen most of my 30 stories. I really appreciate your reading.

12 / 03 / 2009
Devon_Pitlor

Read and loved your comment and insights. I answered you there due to space limitations here. More in coming PM this week. Thanks again.

reply12 / 01 / 2009
Smartblonde27

I've already put my entire comment over at PWR. Excellent story again Devon! Still loving the way Brooke thinks. Heidi

reply11 / 30 / 2009
Chris V.

Nice continuation of character. I liked this and would like to see more.

reply11 / 30 / 2009
Devon_Pitlor

Thanks. I will most likely bring Brooke back for an encore. Appreciate your reading.

12 / 03 / 2009
Devon_Pitlor

Thanks, Dani!! I suppose Brooke's indifference to everything is going to ruffle a few feathers, but so what? Glad you liked the story and were first to comment here.

reply11 / 29 / 2009
Dani89Z

A strange tale even coming from you, but I liked it because I share some of your bleak outlook on the world. Some of the descriptions here are nothing short of classic. This story may really get some people quite angry. I'd get ready for that. Nice work.

reply11 / 28 / 2009
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