Alternate Ending
Written by Beata Leighton
"My sweet little blue-eyed girl," he said in a half-sung sigh that had
nothing to do with her brown eyes but was taken up just the same by
the vast sunlit reaches of the land behind him and on all sides of him
—so much land that Connie had never seen before and did not
recognize except to know that she was going to it.
Arnold Friend escorted Connie to his car, opened the door for her,
and admired her from behind as she climbed inside. He exchanged
glances with Ellie and they both chuckled slightly.
Connie sat lightly on the leather seat, with her hands folded gently
on her lap and her legs pressed tightly together. A chill came over her
as Arnold took his place in the driver’s seat and started up the car. He
backed slowly out of her driveway and tears rolled down Connie’s
face as she stared at her home.
“Come on. Don’t cry!’ Arnold said as a grin came across his face.
“Your family’s going to be fine. You made the right choice.” Connie
turned her head to the side in some attempt to hide her fear from
Arnold. She felt an elbow jab her in the side.
“Hey. I said don’t cry. You don’t want Ellie to think you’re a baby do
you?” Connie started to roll her eyes, but as Arnold’s fist clenched, she
decided it was in her best interest not to.
Almost an hour had passed since Connie entered the car. The
sunset was beginning to spread across the sky and her parents would
be returning home soon to find her missing.
This story is an alternate ending to the
original short story, "Where Are You
Going, Where Have You Been?" which
was written by Joyce Carol Oates!
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