Boxwood and Rosewood

by Nikki Little

Chapter 1: "The One I Didn't Publish"

In all my years as a journalist, there is only one story that I didn't submit to my editors for publication. When you hear my story, you will surely agree that no newspaper would have published this one – both for its own benefit and mine as well. It all started when two gentlemen whom I had never seen before showed up at the town's tiny chess club on a Saturday night.

It was late spring in 1988 – the tail end of the Reagan era. A time before cell phones, personal computers, laptop computers, and tablets. It was a time when video games were found in arcades. The two gentlemen chuckled when they saw me sitting at a table waiting for an opponent. Everyone else was already engaged in a game when I had entered. I remember noting how unusual it was that they carried no chess equipment with them. No chessboard. No chess pieces. No chess clock. Empty hands.

They introduced themselves as "Mr. Boxwood" and "Mr. Rosewood." I couldn't help laughing at that, but I quickly stopped laughing when "Mr. Boxwood" started a game against me. It was clear that he was a skilled chessplayer.

No one else in the club seemed curious enough about the two newcomers to wander over. They glanced over and then continued their games. I guess we weren't really a very sociable bunch.

We were in an open area of the second floor of the town's public library where there was a collection of tables and chairs. The library closed at midnight. My apartment was within walking distance and the streets of this small town were still fairly safe late at night. You could walk from one end of town to the other in twenty minutes if you didn't stop along the way.

End of Chapter 1