James Scott Bell writes suspense thrillers, but his short story, Golden, is a pleasant surprise for readers valuing character-driven fiction.
The Kindle cover sets a relaxing mood. It is blue with layered mountains in the background and a silhouetted boy running to his father. But the story delves deeper than the cover’s appearance indicates.
A Look Inside
Plot-driven stories grab you by the jugular. But literary pieces take a subtle approach. Bell’s first sentence starts, “We were at the park, Terry and I when the dog ran up.” It is quite a turn from the opening line in his novella, Framed, “It’s not every day you bleed to death.”
While Golden starts with a father and son, the story centers on a simple event that triggers a memory the father regrets. The regret motivates the father to seize a teaching opportunity with his son. After all, he wants the boy to grow to be a better man than himself.
Bell’s Storytelling
Bell weaves backstory without getting lost in it. The young father is a former college football star whose dream didn’t pan out at the professional level. He returns home, partners in a car dealership, and hangs out with his old buddies — and drinks.
It’s no surprise. He’s divorced with a custody arrangement with his former wife.
“Mary and I reached an amicable settlement on custody, mainly because I didn’t want to fight her anymore. Her family is well off and were not shy about retaining the biggest shark tank in L.A.”
By pulling back the curtain and using a relaxed narrative voice, Bell draws me into the character and the story. In two sentences, we know how he talks and thinks and something about his relationships.
Bell also reveals how the young father lacked a model to follow. The father says, “Auto mechanic he was (his father), and a darn good one. But in the machine shop of fatherhood, he was all thumbs.”
The young father wishes to do better. “I was determined not to be that to Terry.” But can he? An event at the park triggers a memory he can’t put behind him. The father says, “Which is part of the shame I carry to this day.” It presents an opportunity, too.
While no one can rewrite the past, the future remains open. Will he be the father to Terry that he didn’t experience from his father? Will he teach his son the difference between right and wrong? Could it strain the father-son relationship by diminishing his golden standing in the boy’s eyes?
Bell’s storytelling and scene-building come together in Golden to create a touching story of vulnerability and redemption.
For Further Thought
I find it interesting that the father remains nameless throughout the story. Did Bell intend this? Does this make the father a representative of all of us? Do all of us live with regret at some level? Read the story and let me know what you think in the comments.
