The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 10

The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 10

My father related the story to Officer MacAdoo. Mom and the kids were out, and dad was home alone. About an hour earlier, four Frenchmen in black and white striped shirts, red neckerchiefs, and black berets had barged in demanding to know where Reginald was. They all...
The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 9

The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 9

I was really starting to get the hang of this car—starting, stopping. We cruised along with the wind in our hair at double the posted speed limit but there was no one around to notice. My anxiety began to turn to joy feeling the intoxication that driving an extremely...
The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 8

The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 8

The engine roared to life like a rampant tiger. Birds fled screaming in every direction. Barn cats darted into holes and their blind kittens were sent tumbling. Even the trees wanted to pull up their roots and run, but instead just shivered in horror. All nature...
The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 7

The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 7

Ringo picked up the kerosene lantern from the table and signaled Dimity and me to follow. He strode over to a storage vault in the dark interior regions of the barn, an area so cloaked in shadows that I had not noticed before. Rotting wood planks partitioned off a...
The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 6

The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 6

First, a word about my darling girl because, well, I was fourteen and every moment swirling around in a maelstrom of hormones. The look of fear and the tears streaming down Dimity’s face momentarily brought about a seismic collapse of my basic motor skills. I was...
The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 5

The Saragossa Bottling Company – page 5

Uncle Ringo stiffened but said nothing as the two men approached. When they came into our lamplight I saw that the taller one, his upper body approximating a rain barrel, was in a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up and somewhat comically sporting a black...