Baked Beans

Awarded Honorable Mention in NYC Midnight’s 500-Word Contest

I stopped answering the door a long time ago. Around here, the only inquires I get are to ask if I found Jesus. But there’s no ignoring a knock on your home office window. Lifting the blinds, I found Officer Miller and my daughter, Evelyn.

I sprinted outside, and was handed a can of baked beans.

“Caught her shoplifting, Luke,” Officer Miller said. 

I looked down at my twelve-year-old, who refused eye contact.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“You know, maybe it’s time to find a womanly influence for Evelyn. Girls need mothers.”

My fingers constricted around the can. Ever since my husband, Brad, left for a new job and a new man, everyone in our small desert town viewed it as an opportunity for me to do the next relationship “right.”

“Anyway,” he continued, “I got no time for petty theft with half the town in hysterics after claiming they saw lights flashing in the sky last week.”

“Yes, I’ll handle it,” I said, and led my daughter into the house.

***

That evening, I went to the market to apologize. I arrived just before close, filling my shopping cart with random items, as I worked up the courage to speak to the owner, Harrison.

“You planning on stealing too?” Harrison glared from behind the register.

“I want to apologize and pay for whatever my daughter took.” I set my items on the counter and Harrison rang me up.

“She only steals baked beans,” he stated. “Is that some gay thing?”

Seething, I turned back to the shelves, grabbed a can of beans, and slammed it down on the counter.

“For our gay thing,” I said.

***

The house was dark when I arrived home. Setting the bags of groceries in the kitchen, I noticed Evelyn outside in the back, heading to our shed. Using my phone’s flashlight, I marched through the yard, my eyes glued to the ground for scorpions.

“Dad!” Evelyn yelled in surprise.

Looking up, I shined my light on her and froze. There, peeking out from behind the shed was…what?

It stood about a foot tall, with long, grey arms. Multiple eyes wiggled atop its head from antennae, and drool dripped from its round mouth. Empty cans of baked beans lay scattered on the ground, and I realized that this, thing, was what my daughter was shoplifting for.

“I found him after the bright lights in the sky,” Evelyn said.

“Get away from that thing,” I choked out.  

The creature babbled like a newborn and reached out to Evelyn. She picked it up, and it nuzzled into her neck.

“It’s okay, Dad. Don’t be afraid just because you don’t understand.”

I watched my daughter cuddle the creature. It was the happiest I’ve seen her since Brad left.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, and headed towards the house to grab the canned beans.

Together, we sat under the moon as the creature sloppily ate. Maybe one more outcast was exactly what this family needed.