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Human Trafficking

Goodbye Mom

                                                                     

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Joann, Me, Jane, Lucy, Mike, Mom

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Today we buried my Mom. It was her second funeral.

 

 

She died on New Years day and I went to Napa California to help my sister Jane with the funeral.

 

 

Jane and I during summer visit.

 

 

After the viewing and funeral there, I took Mom's ashes home with me.

 

 

 

Uncle Mario is the only one left now and I hope he and Aunt Rose stay with us for a very very long time. He was my mother's younger brother. Aunt Anna, the oldest, had died many years ago. My mom and her siblings were born in Benevento Italy.

                                   Uncle Mario, Mom, Aunt Rose and cousin Rickie                                     
                                                                     
                             
My mother was fifteen when she moved to America with my grandparents, her sister and brother, which was a good thing because her childhood home was bombed during World War Two, and her cousins who were living in the house, all died.
                                                      

My Mom moved to Napa when Jane and I were in our late teens and Lucy and Michael were around 12 and 13 (long story, too much drama and I really don't want to dwell on it) Napa is a fine place to live if you can afford it. When we were older, my siblings and I would try to visit whenever we could get our hands on some extra money or Mom would drive down with her new husband in their Winnebago, whenever possible.
                                                                                                                      

We tried to get her to move back East, but Mom loved Napa (I don't blame her; it is beautiful) and refused to come back to the snow and slush.

My sister Jane the one that I tried to do away with since her birth, moved to California and never came back. She met a guy, they married, and had two sons. When Mom died, I was the only able to go out and although we fight like cats and dogs; this trip brought Jane and I closer to each other.

Jane is afraid that I won't visit as often because Mom is no longer there, but she's wrong. I will go when I can and as often as I can...remember I owe her a visit with the Fudgie Wudgie man.
                                                   

It took Forty something years, but Mom is finally back home with us kids and we can visit her more often.

                          Although, we would have preferred it not to be at a cemetery.

                                                              Love you Mommy.

Episode Fifty-one of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                       

                                                           

While Rita was going over the details of his cover, two people entered the room. The older man went straight to Lilith and greeted her, while the younger man who looked about 17 walked up to Edward and extended his hand. “So you’re the man from the past, cool! My name is Scouter.”

Edward put out his hand and said, “So you’re the one that’s stuck with me on this project, nice to finally meet you.”

“Nice accent and good to meet you too, but you’ve picked a lousy time to visit.”

“It wasn’t by choice,” Edward replied and nodded towards Lilith who was still speaking with the other man. “Who’s he?”

                                                        

“That’s Doc. He’ll be doing the touch up to your face,” Scouter replied. Scouter then moved closer to Rita and made a big production of rubbing her huge belly. “So when is the sumo wrestler gonna come out?”

                                                          

“When he’s good and ready, now get your grubby hands off me,” Rita snapped, but Edward could tell that she wasn’t at all upset with Scouter.

“Edward,” Lilith was now standing at his side. “This man will be doing the procedure on you.

He could smell her blood and for an instant, thankfully a fleeting instant, Edward wanted nothing more than to bite into her flesh. He stepped back so quickly that he almost knocked over Scouter. He could see the alarm in her eyes. Would he never be able to hold her in his arms?

                                                                   

“They call me Doc, but I was a plastic surgeon for the rich and famous and now…I mend the broken bodies of our resistance fighters, or try to.” The older man's introduction had brought Edward back from the danger zone.
 

“I hope you won’t have too much work to do on my face,” Edward said and then put his hand out.

“Not too much, but we’ll need to get started,” Doc said as he took Edwards hand in his and gave it a strong shake. “Lilith has a way of persuading people to join her cause, but thank you for coming to the rescue.”

 “I’m good with electronics and computers, if you’re wondering what my specialty is,” Scouter said as he and Edward followed the Doctor from the room. As the three men walked along the underground tunnel, some of the smallest children began to follow them.

                                                          

“Will you bring us something to eat, Outer?” the girl who looked to be about four asked. Apparently this was her name for the young man.

                                                         

“I’ll try short stuff…I’ll try.” Scouter glanced at Edward and whispered under his breath, “If we don’t get eaten first.”

                                                     

I'm Back!!!

                                                                              I'm back!

                                                                

and I'm now making plans for a memorial for my Mom for the East coast family.

                                                                  

Sounds like the mob, doesn't it? No just that most of our family lives this side of the country.

                                                                            

I'm spending the day catching up on all my writing assignments and also scheduling for the book promotion for our writer's group anthology, Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey.

                                                                        
                                               New Jersey never looked so good to me.

                                                              

                                                                           

Episode Fifty of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                             

“You’ll see in the documents that I handed you, that Captain Brandish is a widower, with no surviving family for you to worry about. He’s in charge of overseeing several of the prisons behind enemy lines and he has a reputation for his brutal treatment of prisoners,” Rita told Edward.

                                                                         

“So…he was a monster and deserved to die, but he also had friends. What’s the cover story on how I…Captain Brandish managed to escape?” Edward asked. Lilith this whole time had remained seated and silent, which was fine with Edward. He didn’t want to divert his attention away from the facts that needed to be memorized.

“That’s where Scouter comes in. When he delivered your meal to your cell, you attacked him with a weapon that you put together. You used him as a shield to escape.” Rita then pulled open a map of Philadelphia. “This was once a Naval Base but now it’s a prison for people who fight against the power of the Illuminati.”

                                                                         

Edward studied the map, but it felt odd to be looking at a base that was operational back in his time, but here and now, was a place of torture and death. “Rita, how am I to find your husband and Lazarus? This isn’t a small complex.”

“With this,” she replied and handed him a small ear piece.

                                                                            

“How does it work?” Edward asked as Rita positioned it in his ear. “Ouch, don’t push so hard,” Edward exclaimed, thinking that Rita was pushing it past his eardrum.

“It has to go in far enough not to be seen. It will pick up  signals from the implants on Roger and my husband as soon as you’re near to their location.”

                                                                         

“What’s your husband’s name?” Roger asked.

“His name is Tom and you better bring him back to me.”

                                                                         

“It was foolish to allow yourself to become pregnant in this time of evil,” Lilith said in a smug tone from the other side of the room.

                                                                                    

Edward had forgotten that she was there, she had been so quiet. “Haven’t you also made bad choices?” Edward asked. When Lilith didn’t reply, he returned his attention to the soldier in front of him. “I’ll do my best to bring them all home.”
                                                                       

Sister Love

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                              Me, my sister Lucy playing referee, and Jane
                                          

Even though my parents had four children, my sister Jane and I have always had this love/hate/love relationship that would rival that of the biblical Cain and Abel.
I’m the instigator for most of the arguments as I have been trying to do her in since the first day my parents took her home from the hospital, going as far as trying to give her away to the Fudgie Wudgie Ice Cream man at the Wildwood seashore.

                                                         

                                                                                          

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Jane very much, but we’re only 18 months apart and this closeness in age, apparently became the catalyst for all our squabbles our entire life.  

                                                               

                                                     

Jane and I have a younger brother and sister, but our disagreements with them were far and in between and consisted mostly of whose side they were on when Jane and I fought.

                                                            

                                                                                                                    

I was the firstborn and the little princess for our extended Italian family. My father took me everywhere and my mother made the prettiest dresses for me and my grandmother doted on me. I was, for lack of a kinder description, spoiled rotten.
                                                            

Then Jane arrived. Who was this interloper that dared to take all of my mother’s attention? Where did she come from? And better yet, how could I send her back? Remember I was only 18 months old, but I knew that this was a threat to the throne that had to be dealt with. I remember and have been told by older family members that I would try to give her away to anyone who came to visit. Fortunately for her, there were no takers.

                                                                                                                                              

My sister Lucy was and is today the peacemaker, always stepping in whenever the “War of the Planets” was about to begin. Lucy tends to be, middle of the road, live and let live, you’re both wrong, type of girl. And even now that Jane and I are both in our early sixties; Lucy often has to play the part of the “United Nations and send in the peace keeping troops.”
                                                                                           
My brother wisely keeps out of the battles, thinking we’re all nuts.

                                                                                                                                               

With my sister Jane being hard core Tea Party and I a hard core Democrat.

 our younger sister Lucy has to play referee, but I did give Jane fair warning that the Fudgie Wudgie man still exists and can still be found selling ice cream on the Wildwood beach.

                                                                      

                                                                           

Episode Forty-nine of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                            

“I told you to leave,” Edward repeated.

Tzaddik slowly removed his gaze from Lilith and stared at Edward. “You’re in no position to give orders here,” the old man countered.

                                                                          

Edward walked over to Lilith, who was barely dressed, and purposely blocked Tzaddik’s view. The tension in the room was palpable as the two men stared each other down. “I think it best if you leave, now,” Edward warned Tzaddik.

Just then, Rita entered the room. “I was able to scrounge up tea for his majesty and some bread…? Quick to pick up on the situation, she asked, “What’s going on now?”

“Tzaddik was just leaving, weren’t you? Edward replied, but the man remained where he was.

                                                                             

Honestly, Lilith? Don’t we have enough problems without having these two tomcats acting up?” Rita chided. She placed the tray on the table and said to Tzaddik, “Don’t be a ball breaker. Let him eat.” Grabbing the old man’s hand she pulled him to the door.

But right before he left, Tzaddik turned to Edward and said, “She doesn’t belong to you.”

“Stop teasing him,” Rita said to Tzaddik and pushed him out the door.

Finally alone with Lilith, Edward asked, “Why do this to me? Why flaunt your body for all to see?”

                                                           
Edward wanted to hold her in his arms, but he was too afraid that the blood lust would return, so instead, he picked up the metal cup and drank the weak tea.

“Men are like children, fighting over what doesn't belong to them,” Lilith replied. Something had changed..she seemed different, cold. Taking a seat on the bed, she said, “Finish the food and then we’ll talk about your new identity.”

                                                                           

“Whatever,” Edward replied. This vixen had a hold on his heart and yet she so causally broke it. When this mission was done, Edward planned to return to his own time, away from Lilith and her drama.

Rita had returned to the room with documents and pictures. “Good you’ve finished, now we’ll bring you up to date on the man you’ll be impersonating.” Rita pulled out a photo of the man that Lilith had killed when they had first arrived. “Luckily you resemble the Captain in height and weight. You’ll only need minor surgery to your face.”

                                                                         

Edward looked at the photo. The captain had the same color eyes and hair as Edward and without the bruises from the beating he had endured at Tzaddik’s hands, could have passed as Edward’s brother. The only work needed was on the nose.

                                                                  
Edward’s was too slender. “Okay, tell me what I need to know,” he asked Rita, ignoring Lilith completely. He was angry…hurt and wanted this mission finished.