A Story for My Husband

My husband is a slow reader. As such, when he sees a long story of mine he runs and hides. So here is a story just for him.

A man in his early thirties walks into a dimly lit cabin. He is dusty and worn, a tattered cap sits crooked on his head. He takes it off and beats it against his thigh as he closes the door. An old man sits in a chair by the fire even though it is nearly 100 degrees outside. He is gnarled and shrunken with age, but he focuses on the younger man with eyes steady and alert.

"Did you find it this time?"

The young man shakes his head, the old man slumps in his chair. For forty years he'd been looking for the lost treasure he'd buried in desperation right after the Civil War. He'd been so sure he'd know where to find it. For forty years he'd felt like a first class fool.

The young man takes a gold coin from his pocket and flips it through the air to land on the old man's lap. He stares at it in awed wonder. With tears forming in his eyes he looks at the young man for explanation.

"Don't thank me, the coons found it. They just can't resist anything shiny."

The old man turned his head to stare at the far wall. It was lined with raccoon hats and the pelts of hats-to-be, his only means of survival these last forty years.

The old man started laughing and didn't stop until his heart gave out.

Hope you like it, hon.