The Curse of 1977 (Book 2)

Saint Joseph's Women's Shelter

It wasn't a particularly big building, but it was sizeable enough to temporarily house 76 women and children. But it just had to be on such an evening, an evening where the temperatures were into the eighties past 9 p.m. , that the beloved air-conditioner would end up going on the fritz.

All around inside the large room where everyone was gathered were twin sized beds where mothers, black, white and Hispanic, were all fanning themselves while either trying to keep control of their wandering children or watching one of the two televisions that was playing. The smell of the room consisted of underarm odor and soiled diapers. It was stuffy and humid, and the shrill noises of little ones crying and whining only made the already miserable situation all the more excruciating.

Clear in the back of the room, next to the kitchen, was one older, black lady, Audra, one younger, white woman, Meredith and an old, black man, Clyde. All three were huddled at the fuse box. Both Audra and Meredith were gawking at the various switches, while Clyde, with his flashlight, kept flicking switches from left to right in an attempt to revive the ill-fated cooling system.

"Maybe there's something downstairs that blew out." Audra suggested while taking glances back and forth from the fuse box to the increasingly impatient crowd in the other room.

"I don't think messing with those fuses is gonna help much of anything." Meredith moaned.

Without giving her so much as an eyeball, Clyde continued doing what he was doing while irritably saying, "Woman, I served in Iwo Jima for two years! I can handle this!"

Audra and Meredith just gave each other the most nonchalant stares as if to say the old man were more off his rocker than first believed.

"You were a cook in Iwo Jima, Clyde." Audra twisted her lips.

"I still served!" Clyde fired back before pulling away from the fuse box. "I'm going downstairs to see something!"

Audra and Meredith just sniggered as Clyde turned and stormed away down into the cellar. "Is it me or does he get more cantankerous with every passing day?" Meredith laughed out loud.

"Child, that man was born that way." Audra laughed back as she began for the living area with Meredith following in behind.

Both women stood at the threshold and observed with concerned eyes the gathered humanity that seemed to be on the brink of melting down at a moment's notice. All Audra could do was shake her head in dismay while fanning her face.

"And all that mayor of ours wants to do is build a subway." She griped.

"Today it's a subway system, tomorrow it'll be football stadium." Meredith glumly stated.

masses before she patted Meredith on the shoulder and said, "Why don't

"You think we should get

to ration what we still have left." Audra then reached over to the wall where a tablet was hanging by a single nail. She took the tablet and began reading off names that were listed from top to bottom on the page. "I think we'll skip roll call for tonight." She studied the page. "But I am curious

"Who

and her three kids. She signed out about eight this morning, and she knows good and well that those

an extra room for her and the kids.

there's Lynnette

a rush to get out of here that she

dismal fashion. "Hmm, that poor little thing, she

she did." Meredith added before going out into

Audra studied the tablet a bit longer before placing it back onto the wall and taking a long gander at the weary

that being inside an overcrowded shelter was to be their final resort caused Audra to feel even more remorse for them,

her eyes scanned before she caught sight of a little black girl being knocked to the floor by

"There, there now." Audra soothed the girl. "Let

of hers that knocked her

Carefully scooting the girl back over to the bed where her mother

you hurt yourself,

banged my knee."

to stop

Audra placed the bandage on the girl's knee. She then happened to glance at one of the two televisions that were playing in the area. The one set that was nearest to them

thought he really was dead

Audra protested. "It's too bad we only

when they replace characters like that. They did the same with

on before Audra extended her hand and stated, "My name

youngest, Andinika. Her brothers are runnin' around here