Line Crossing

Hey, all. It's Brillig. You know, Brillig. It's kind of.... um... my first.... um.... attempt at... um... fiction. Yeah...

My assignment was submitted by my dear friend Jenn in Holland and was as follows:

Story idea:

Long time, committed couple living, working, creating in ______________.

Characters:

Jade- artist, passionate, embraces life, quirky

Sam-professional, detail oriented, grounded, analytical, bright.

Dr. Branson- uh, yeah, the doctor

conflict:

Jade gets diagnosis of a terminal disease.

*********************************************

Emma Branson reprimanded herself as she realized that she was primping more than necessary before her hospital shift. Sam wasn't going to be there to see her, after all. But it didn't matter, she couldn't stop. Just thinking his name made her heart flutter, and she couldn't help but scrutinize her face one last time before grabbing her keys and heading out the door.

Emma absently attended to her morning rounds, keeping a close eye on her watch. Finally it was 12:30---Sam would have arrived by now. He always cleared his lunch hour on Thursdays to be at the hospital. Berating herself, realizing that she'd purposefully held off on checking in on room 432 until she knew Sam would be there, Emma headed down the hallway. She paused as she reached to open the door. "Keep it professional, Dr. Branson," she whispered to herself. She put on her thick-rimmed glasses, as though they would remind her to be the doctor, and not the woman in love.

These feelings that she had for Sam were completely inappropriate, especially considering that Sam's longtime girlfriend, Jade, was Emma's patient. Jade had melanoma, and by the time she had been diagnosed, the cancer had spread to her lymphatic system. Even though Jade was only 29 years old, there was no stopping the cancer now. Bit by bit, Jade's body was shutting down. She only had a few weeks left, if that. It was Emma's job to make sure Jade was as comfortable as possible through these last days.

Emma walked into the room, and was greeted with the unmistakable smell of nail polish. "Purple today?" Emma couldn't help but smile.

Sam glanced up from his attempt at a pedicure and said, with a grin, "yes, alternated with green. She was very specific today."

These days, Jade was heavily sedated and often unconscious. Emma looked at the limp body, realizing that Jade wasn't even aware of them right now. But when she woke up, she would see Sam's labor of love on her toes.

Emma tried to picture what this odd couple had been like together. She felt like she knew Sam well by now--- he'd spent hours here every week for the last six months. He was young, 30 years old maybe, fun and had a great sense of humor, but mostly he was very business-like: responsible, professional, analytical. From all evidence, Jade was the opposite--- artistic, passionate, quirky. Both had obviously had to compromise, but they also seemed to embrace their differences. Emma realized that part of the reason that she admired Sam so much was because here he was, an important and dedicated lawyer, who made time every Thursday to come and paint Jade's toenails. It was his love and respect for this free-spirited woman that Emma found so very attractive.

Emma cleared her throat, as though that would clear her thoughts, and moved towards Jade to do a simple examination, listening with her stethoscope to Jade's heart and lungs. "Has she been awake at all since you got here?" she asked Sam.

"Just long enough to instruct me on her toenail polish." He smiled sadly. "It won't be long now, will it." It was more of a statement than a question.

"No, it won't be long. Have you made all of the arrangements?" Emma asked quietly.

"She made them. I think she was afraid that I would make it too boring. She was probably right." He laughed. "For instance, she's already made up the invitations for the funeral, leaving a blank space for me to fill in with the date and time. She wants her funeral to have a Hawaiian theme. All of the guests have to wear Hawaiian shirts and tourist-length shorts, though the women can wear mumus if they prefer. There will be a luau complete with hula dancers and ukulele music and a roasting pig, though the pig will be made of tofu, of course."

"Of course." Emma giggled. She couldn't picture Sam in anything but his perfectly pressed suit and starched shirt, carrying his briefcase full of important corporate law documents. A Hawaiian shirt? Emma hoped, though doubted, that she would get an invitation to this funeral.

Sam laughed harder, "Jade made me promise not to tell her family about the funeral plans until after I'd mailed the invitations to everyone, so that they wouldn't have the chance to alter her arrangements at all. Can you picture her mother's face when she hears about this?" Now both of them were laughing so hard that their faces were bright red and tears were streaming down their faces. Emma had only met Jade's mother once, but it was clear from her demeanor--cold and disdainful, and clothing---pressed slacks and a mock-turtleneck with an off-white pearl necklace--- that Mrs. Livingston was not a fan of her daughter's whims.

Somewhere during their fit of laughter, Emma realized that she'd subconsciously removed her glasses and had thrown her arm around Sam's shoulders, and he had put his arm around her waist.

As their laughter petered out, he kept his arm tightly around her and leaned his head on her shoulder. Emma realized that she was rubbing his back gently in a friendly, comforting, and entirely inappropriate way. He lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her in a way that made her heart stop. She knew he was going to kiss her, and for a moment her conscience wasn't going to interfere. He leaned closer to her and...

CRASH!

Emma's glasses slipped right out of her hands and knocked the jar of nail polish over which, in turn, had splattered nail polish all over the table and floor.

Flustered and furious with herself, Emma rushed out the door to find Suzanne, her nurse, who could clean up the mess. She then locked herself in the supply closet and leaned her forehead against a shelf. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she whispered angrily at herself. How dare she let something like that happen--- or almost happen, she corrected herself. The man's true love had been lying, dying right there next to them and she, a focused and determined doctor, had been flirting like a teenager. At only 29 years old, she was the youngest female doctor in this hospital and her whole career had been an uphill battle. She'd finally gained the position---and respect--- that she'd been working towards throughout her whole life and she was now on the brink of throwing it away!

When Emma finally emerged, she went to the bathroom and washed her face, and then found Suzanne and asked if she'd been able to get the nail polish off.

"After a bottle and a half of nail polish remover and three packages of sterile gauze, we got it cleaned up," the nurse smiled. "And Sam wanted me to tell you that he's sorry."

Just with the mention of his name, Emma's head was spinning and her face was hot. She had never felt so embarrassed or ashamed in her whole life. She leaned back against the wall in an attempt to sturdy herself.

"Dr. Branson? Emma? Are you all right?"

"Suzanne, I'm not feeling well. Would you mind calling Dr. Call and asking him to cover for me today? I need to go home."

Emma barely heard Suzanne's "of course" as she grabbed her coat and keys and headed towards the parking lot.

Emma got the phone call that evening. Jade had passed away.

Five days later, a brightly colored floral invitation with an embossed image of a hula dancer arrived in the mail.

(To be continued. Maybe. Or maybe not. Um.... for now let's just say, "The End.")

By Any Other Name

The meeting hall was full. Not over crowded as in standing room only, but certainly teeming with people. Clusters of people engaged in cheerful conversation were scattered throughout the auditorium. Hannah hardly listened to any of the noise around her as her eyes scanned the room. She was aiming for a target, had seen him in the congregation the week before and the week before that and was hoping that this was a three-is-the-charm kind of day. She turned casually as she scanned the faces, hoping that her search wasn’t coming off as desperate.


He was there, across the room, standing with three or four others busy with what looked like friendly banter among good friends. Hannah felt her heart rate increase when she spied him and was mortified to realize that this was shaping up to feel just like a school girl crush. How old was she anyway, 13? It seemed silly to be feeling this way about someone she didn’t even know. She fidgeted with the buckle on her bag for a moment and struggled to make her feet move. Hannah knew her cheeks were flushed and she chided herself for being so shy and so awkward. Thoughts chased in her head like a hamster on a wheel; remember it’s a new year, time for new resolutions! Carry them through! Make a new start she told herself. Reach out and make friends! NO more Hannah the wallflower!

Resolved to try, Hannah made her way quietly toward the back of the hall where volunteers were serving coffee and cookies. The after-the-service social hour was always a nice time to fellowship. That’s what the pastor said anyway. Before today Hannah exited the building soon after worship and headed home, feeling all the better for having gone to church in the first place. Maybe today was the day to linger. She picked up the coffee pot and poured the steaming liquid into a styrofoam cup. When she turned she saw him approaching the coffee counter. Still in conversation with someone in the cluster he called out over his shoulder “yeah, sure, two sugars. No problem” He was grinning as he caught Hannah’s eye and she gasped just a little as he turned inward toward the coffee pot. “Hi there” he said to her.

“Oh. Yeah. Hi,” she managed to sputter as she felt her heart leap into her throat again.

He poured two coffees and held them steadily in one hand. With the other he swept through the basket of sugar packets, coming up with four in his fist. He turned again, saw Hannah again, and said “You new?”

“Yes,” she said. “Er…. I’m Hannah.”

“Well, come and join us Anna, you can meet some friends.”

“Oh, right… okay… I can do that.” She stammered. “I’ll follow you.” She hesitated, and then began again. “But my name is….”

“Well, come on then.” He smiled and she melted. “Can you grab some of those plastic stirrers for us?”
“Oh, okay. Yes. Right. Sure.” Hannah awkwardly grabbed a handful of swizzle sticks, knocking the cup over in the process. God. What a wreck I am, she thought. Someone smiles at me and I turn to jello.

Hannah shadowed behind and as they reached the others, she smiled. “Hi, I am…”

“Hey guys, this is Anna. Say hello!”

“Hi Anna, I’m Jami.”

“Hey Anna, nice to meet you, I’m Chase. I think I’ve seen you here before.”

“Yeah, I have come here a couple of times before today. I, uh, think it seems, you know, nice here.” Hannah began. She handed Chase a stick from the stash in her hand. “Just to tell you though, I am….”

“Anna, hi, I have a sister with the same name. I am Troy and it’s great that you’re here; just great.”

“Thanks Troy, but…”

“So, Anna, that’s everyone ‘cept me of course. I am John. I know, I know, not a very original name, but trust me I am a one of a kind.”

The others laughed at that line and chimed in with “that’s the truth” and “hear, hear!” as the giggles turned to smiles.

“Well,” Hannah said. “It’s really nice to meet you all. Really. Thanks. Um… but…er…my name….”

“Hey Anna,” John interrupted. “We generally go eat breakfast on Sundays over at the café on the corner. You want to join us today? We would love to have you along Anna.” John looked at her and grinned again. That smile of his was so genuine and so warm and so… Hannah didn’t know what. She grinned back. Tagging along might give her a chance to clear up the confusion about her name, and would definitely give her the time to get to know this original John a little better.

“Sure” she said.

“Cool, come on then. It will be nice to get to know you better, Anna.” He paused, then added. “Anna. That’s one of my favorite names, you know….”

As Hannah filed out the front doors of the church behind the others, she couldn’t help but smile and thought to herself, that, yes, it might be nice to get to know Anna herself. After all, she was on her way to breakfast with new friends. Who knew just what Anna might do next?

*****************************************

For Jenn in Holland this is the first foray into fiction, in, oh, say about 1000 years. Jenn wants to thank Alex Elliot of Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting for the fun story idea of as the inspiration for this piece. In her words:

Two characters. One guy (or girl) that you have a crush on and yourself. Your crush gets your name wrong etc. and proceeds to introduce you to an entire party of people incorrectly. That was inspired by me being at the grocery store trying to get something for my secret pal (like secret santa) and running into someone who's in the participating group. I was so anxious to get away from her so she couldn't see what I was buying that if she would have introduced me to her husband with the wrong name, I would have agreed.

A big thanks also goes to Jen of A2Eatwrite for creating the game, inciting the challenge and providing the venue for our stories.

The Brochure

Mandy definitely was a type A personality. Everything had to be perfect. Whether it was her looks, her grades, her job, or even her plants, she wouldn't rest until every last detail had been attended to. She grew up in a wealthy town and had the best education money could buy. She never was lacking for whatever she needed to succeed, whether it was the best test prep courses out there or the best tutors. After completing college at the top notch school of her choice, she began her career as an investment banker in her family's business.

To be fair, Mandy had always joked that if she didn't make it as an investment banker, she would be an acuptunerist. Her family and friends always laughed. Mandy had such a terrific sense of humor. An acupunctinirst. Imagine that! Secretly though, Mandy had always been intrigued by acupuncture. In fact she went to see one after a minor car accident in college left her with some back pain. She felt immensely better. Of course she could tell no one about it. Sitting in the acupunturist's office with the soft music playing and the clean smell of different incense burning, she imagined what it would be like to be an acupunturist. What would it be like to come to work in a place like this instead of the cold sterile classrooms where she spent most of every day. She walked away with her back far straighter and with a brochure that she found in the office for an acupuncturist school in China. When she got home, she shoved the brochure into the back of her top dresser drawer.

At 28, Mandy had a great career, great fiance, and a great future ahead of her. What more could she want? She was restless though. Lately the restlessness had been hitting her just as she climbed into bed for a couple hours of sleep. Maybe it was because that was the only time that she was truly alone with her thoughts. During the day, she could push everything aside as she concentrated on her work. Any free time she had, she would spend with her fiance. Just after she turned out the lights and the apartment was quiet, she could hear the whispers in her mind that maybe her life wasn't so perfect after all. Sometimes, right before she drifted off, she even heard the most quiet of all voices saying that maybe she wasn't truly happy. A voice that reminded her of a crumpled brochure, still in that same dresser drawer that had once sat in her college apartment. She quickly silenced that voice by turning over and falling into a shallow sleep.

Of course two months ago, Mandy received a sign that confirmed that perhaps she wasn't so perfect. A small pink plus sign to be exact, on a test from a box that also sat in that top dresser drawer. But how? She had always been so careful. Her whole life she had always wanted some sort of sign. She was never particulary spiritual, but lately she had been wondering if perhaps there was more to life. Perhaps she was missing out. But what to do about it? When she joked with Brad about being pregnant, he flipped out. He was a lawyer in a ritzy law firm. He loved dedicating 18 hours to his work five days a week and dedicating the evenings on the weekend to going out on the town with Mandy. He was particularly excited to have been offered the chance to set up a new branch of the firm in Las Vegas! A child didn't fit into that life.

That's when Mandy made up her mind. She reached into that dresser drawer, pushed aside the open pregancy test box, and pulled out that old brochure. Then she did it: she applied and was subsequently accepted. She even bought her plane ticket to China. It was her little secret. The brochure now lay on her bare floor next to her sleeping bag, her ticket, and two envelopes. Mandy slept well at night now. Her two secrets comforted her and banished the demons that had haunted her. She held on tightly to her secrets. In the morning, she would hold tightly to the ticket and the sleeping bag, but she would drop the envelopes into a mailbox. They were written for her parents and for her fiance to let them know that she was leaving.

---

This post is part of the Writing Game hosted by Jenn of A2eatwrite. My story plot and characters came from Bleeding Expresso.

Plot: A woman is ready for a change in her life and is looking to become more spirtual, but she is trapped by a culture and a family that aren't accepting of this goal.

Characters:

• Mandy who is an investmeent banker in her late twenties and from an affulent family. She wants to leave her job to become a licensed acupunturist and open up a well-being center. She has just found out that she's pregant but also has a reservation for a trip to China to attend school there.
• Brad is Mandy's finance who is also from a wealthy family. He is a lawyer and isn't aware of Mandy's situation. He is comfortable with his lifestyle and excited to climb the career ladder. He has an opportunity to setup a branch of the law firm in Las Vegas.

Author: Alex Elliot of Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting wrote the story.

Parents are stupid

Parents are stupid. Mom wants to be mayor again. She has been mayor of this hick town for 4 years and she wants more. Dad has a million dollar idea. He wants to remake his flower shop into a music store / studio / flower shop boutique. He'd call it "Mums and Roses". Dad also thinks he can make more money if there is a three story flashing neon sign outside the shop. The Town Council didn't like that idea and Mom didn't want to have an exception made for her family, so Dad wants Mom to lose the election. I figure that he wants Mom home more, and that he wants his friend Bubba to be mayor so Dad can get his sign. Mom doesn't know that Dad was behind the letters to the editor that said she shouldn't be reelected.

Talking about stupid I'm not even going to mention my little brother. Me, I just want a normal life. Fat chance. Oh yeah, and now Mom gotten even weirder. She is not making my life hell! We aren’t arguing anymore. That is very weird. I was telling all this to my little brother when he said "I know why she’s not bothering you. She’s not mom. She doesn't have the big scar on the back of her knee. She cooks better too. And she lets me play video games all day."

As stupid as they are, little brothers aren't always wrong. Mom wasn't likely to make Mac and Cheese ten days in a row. She didn't usually let us out at the grocery store with $100 and shout "get more food." Mom had made it clear for several years that she thought two kids were at least enough but now she was telling Dad "I need more babies. At least five." . It was not like her to have a campaign slogan like "Save money; give me your extra kids." It was not like her to take long walks between 2 and 4 in the morning and say she was "just visiting her friends (don't tell Dad)".

"Ok Smarty, who is Mom if she isn't Mom?"

"You know that sentence doesn't make any sense. You can't be someone if you aren't that someone."

"Nothing in my life makes sense, so just answer the question. So who is she if she isn't mom?"

"You know that meteor we heard about a couple of months ago? The one they couldn't ever find? I bet aliens in it stole our Mom and gave us this new Mom. They must want something. They didn't come gazillions of miles just so we could have more Mac and Cheese. "

Well, Mom had been different for the last couple of months. And she had started wanting babies in that weird way. So if Mom is an alien, then they must want babies. That made a freaky amount of sense. And there is so much stuff about aliens on the Internet that there must be something to it.

Fine, this sucks. So now it would be harder to get babysitting jobs with aliens stealing babies. Just my luck. That iPod I want is starting to seem more and more like a noPod.

Then my little brother pipes up "Ok, we need to do something. I told Mom I was getting sick of Mac and Cheese, and she suggested Spaghetti and Cheese instead. I can't stand the thought of having anymore babies around here, either."

What do you do when your Mom is an alien? You go talk to Dad. Even if he is stupid.

At the store, Dad was trying to put together an order for his wholesaler by pouring over old celebrity magazines trying to figure out what flowers rock stars like. Mom came in just as we got there. Dad said "What are you doing here, Dear?"

"The girl and the boy need to go get more food. Send them." She turned around and was walking out when the radio started its 60's hour. "What is that sound? It is calling to me."

"It's the Rolling Stones, Dear. But you always hated that song ever since it was playing when the police showed up while we .…" He remembered we were there too. "Uh. Nevermind."

"It is telling me to have a meeting here tonight at 6:06 pm. Send everybody away from here then. I will go hunting babies now."

"OK, Dear." He turned to us. "Kids, how long has your Mom been like this?"

"Days, Dad. Days and days."

"Great! Bubba's a shoe-in now. I'll call the newspaper today, and the doctor tomorrow."

That would take care of Dad's problems, but it wouldn't get our old Mom back. For lack of any better idea we decided to hide in the back of the store during the meeting and try to learn something. At 6, Mom came in and sent Dad home. By 6:06 there were 25 people there who seemed just as weird as Mom.

Mom started to talk: "We have been given new instructions. Listen." She turned the radio on-to the Golden Oldies station. It played "Michelle" by the Beatles. After the Beach Boys sang "Good Vibrations" everybody went "aahhhh". The radio then played the Rolling Stones again and they listened intently. After that, Mom spoke: "We have made a mistake and must go back. Free the humans. We will leave them their loud babies and all those used diapers. Go now."

I know a good idea when I hear one, so we went, too. We ran out the back door and back home. We just hoped that the aliens would do the right thing. Mom wandered in an hour later with a headache, dirty clothes, and a little red wagon filled with diapers and babies. "I don't feel well. Whose babies are these? Am I still Mayor?" We knew it was the real Mom.

Mom won the election and Dad settled for a one story sign. Now I know that aliens are stupid, too. Is it smart to go a gazillion miles by mistake and then take advice from Mick Jagger?


*****************************

Darcy kindly contributed the following ideas.

1. Create a list of things that you'd like to write about (ideas for stories)

What if humanoid aliens invade a midwestern town in search breeding stock?

How would a faith-based singer redeem himself/herself if he/she fell from grace in a very public manner?

What if someone accidentally developed the ability to fly?


2. Create, in a little more depth, three characters

The Villian: Handsome, smart and self-assured, the villian is well-liked and respected by the community. Only those close to him know he has flaws. He is power hungry and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. The only visible chinks in his armor are his vanity and his incessant knuckle popping.

The Hero: Slightly dorky (but in an endearing sort of way), the hero is obsessed with something (video games, pies, a television reality show -- you pick 'em). His obsession keeps most people from really getting know him and has helped to brand him as a semi-outcast. His specialized knowledge comes in handy when solving the conflict.

The Heroine: Everyone always thinks they know what's best for the heroine but all their "help" has landed her in her current predicament. This time, she's determined to help herself. That would be a lot easier if she wasn't such a clutz.


3. Create some sort of conflict(or if you're feeling generous*, a couple of conflicts and your victim co-author can choose which one he/she likes)

The hero or heroine’s mother is the mayor of the town the story is set in, and it’s election year. The entire family is pressuring the hero/heroine to act as if there is nothing wrong/different so Mom will be re-elected.

We Listen to Your Wishes

The story I'm about to tell you is the time I was a Black Lab named Crow. It is really easy to do my job when I'm a dog. Well I think so. Some of the others complain that it is hard to heal, to grant wishes to the worthy, unless you can speak their language. I prefer being subtle, and having them think they made the change for themselves. That is the true sign of healing.

I strutted into the ignored yard of a family. The mom worked full time and had two high school kids. Julie was pretty swamped at work, and trying desperately to save for both her kids' college educations and her retirement. She longed to spend more time traveling and taking photographs. She loved to travel on her own since it meant she would meet new folks. Meeting new people brought her true joy.

Sarah was like her mom. Not quite as warm with strangers but really put herself on the line with the things she loved, especially sports. She was always named captain and everyone relied on her to be the ultimate team player. When I knew her she was 14 years old and still liked being the tom boy she had been as a young girl, although she longed for someone to talk to her about what it meant to become a woman. She was nervous, scared of it and Julie was too distracted to notice.

The one Julie did pay attention to was Andrew. He was a mystery to her. He was the oldest at 16 and kept that crazy, hyperactive energy of his 7 year old self. Julie kept rationalizing that each year he would calm down. He never did. He loved watching old science fiction movies on television and building models of World War II airplanes. He hated school and being with his peers.

The day I appeared, Sarah and Andrew were literally on the floor of the kitchen beating each other up. Sarah had a bloody nose and Andrew had a scratch on his cheek that would've made a cat cringe. I watched them from the kitchen window, having reached up my front paws into the planter full of dried dirt and even drier remnants of flowers. I always had a hard time getting used to the body I was in at the beginning. My last one had been a club kid in Wales in the 1990's. My favorite was as a turtle during the French Revolution. But after being in human form, I needed to remember the front appendages weren't hands.

They both stopped fighting and opened the door. I started licking her nose then went to his cheek. They forgot the fight and found me some chips. While stale potato chips weren't my idea of an ideal meal, that was all they had.

"We've got to get him real food" said Sarah.

"Mom won't go for this" said Andrew.

She got a look in her eye. "I bet she won't notice the dog for days. Let's not even ask."

So they pooled their money and Andrew ran down to the corner store to get dog food and a collar. They agreed that the unused rope for the clothing line would make an appropriate leash.

"I think her name is Crow" said Andrew after I ate a bowl of food and drank water.

There was a pause. Great, he thinks, another fight. His shoulders start to rise.

"I like it" his sister nodded.

My first task was complete. I had them united in a common effort. Taking care of me. And I hadn't used any magic.

***

It took Julie three days to notice me. And while I had calmed things down between Sarah and Andrew, there was still that simmering tension. Sarah made friends easily and Andrew wishes he could too. He feels his little sister has and gets everything. And Julie just didn't notice.

But she did notice when I needed to go for a walk. She told the kids to take me to the park across from the corner store. Sarah brought a ball to throw and Andrew had me on the leash. I did the pull really hard thing I've seen other dogs do. I kept forgetting the slobbering tongue part but I new at being a dog. I was going to be with this family for a while so I would have some time to get it all down.

We got to the park and Sarah saw one of her teammates with her golden retriever-poodle mix. Sitting on a bench was another girl Andrew recognized. Sarah ran off with her friend to kick a ball, leaving Andrew alone with a tennis ball, me and this really weird looking dog also wanting to play ball.

"That's a beautiful dog" said the girl. "Where did you get her?"

"Uh" he looked at the ground "um.... she found us."

I walked over to her and nudged her leg. "What's her name?"

"Crow" as the other dog kept jumping on Andrew.

"Because she is so black?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Teresa's sister, Collette. You're a junior right?"

The dog nearly knocked him over. "Right."

"Look why don't you give me the ball and I'll throw it. I think my dog is going to eat you if he doesn't get a chance to chase it."

Andrew grinned as he sat down on the bench.

I played along until I realized he wasn't going to join in. So after Collette threw the ball I ran in the opposite direction and knocked her over.

"CROW!" shouted Andrew. He ran up to me and shoved me off. Collette laughed as he helped her up.

"Now we know what it takes to get you up. Your dog has to maul me."

Andrew apologized, shot me a grateful look, then joined in throwing the ball. He and Collette talked.

***

This was an easy one. Andrew got his bearings and started leaving Sarah alone. He hung out with Collette, not in a romantic way but as friends. It was a relief to see him feel comfortable with another person. Sarah too started talking to Andrew. Asking him about his day, learning about him as a person.

Getting Julie to notice either of them was trickier. A year later, I had to do something drastic.

I ran in front of a car.

Once I'm freed from a body I only have one day to see what happened. Julie woke up. She brought her crying children into her arms and hugged them. Kissed the tops of their heads. She asked them about me, what was special about me and then started to hear what was special about them.

She stopped dreaming about meeting the perfect strangers in far-away lands. She pulled close the strangers in her house.

So now I'm back in the stars. It is where we go to recover and listen. We listen to your wishes. We have been since time began.

***

The ideas and characters for my story came from Capitol Lady. This is what she wrote for the story:

Black Lab- named Crow, with the power to heal, a grant wishes to worthy people.

Owner Julie - 40 something woman, 2 kids and a full time job in heath care. Loves computers, photography, quirky fun loving, happy go lucky, never met a stranger because she talks to everyone.

Sarah - Daughter of Julie, same traits as mom but not quite as out going. Loves and is good at sports, a tomboy of 14 trying to find her way in the world

Andrew - Son of Julie,16 yr old hyperactive, tv/movie enthusiast. Loves science fiction and building models. At home very out going but a recluse in the world.

conflict-Sarah and Andrew hate each other as siblings can, Sarah is outgoing and makes friends easy a trait that Andrew wishes he had. Andrew feels that Sarah has everything and gets everything.

Crow wants to heal everyone but can't her powers are limited to healing only 1 worthy person a month. She If she chooses someone in her immediate family she can't use the power again for 2 years. If she has healed a person she can't grant wishes to
them. she can't be bribed and if she uses her power for evil it is taken from her.

This was fun and definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. Feel free to tell me never to do this again. But I won't listen. I'm a Writing Game junkie now. Jen, can we do this next week?

Kate and Jake

Kate watched as Jake slammed the Frisbee home to Fred. They looked identical, even though one hailed from Missoula and the other from Long Island. Fred caught it with ease, leaping like a gazelle, his Phish t-shirt baring his toned midriff. Fred slid the Frisbee from his fingers and sent it flying towards Jake, where it caught him squarely in the face.

She almost laughed. She felt they were both wasted but, unfortunately, she was going to need Jake’s help. Erik Jackson and his minions were trying to shut down the Women’s Health Collective and Kate had puzzled out all other possible solutions. So, it had come down to this. Tool or not, she was going to have to beg, borrow, or steal Jake’s help. He was the most connected (and loud) activist on campus.

“Ow! Shit!” Jake squatted down to retrieve the Frisbee and rubbed his sore nose. Nope, it hurt, but it didn’t feel broken. He should’ve been paying much better attention, but he’d been distracted by Kate.

Kate was a pain in his ass, and now she was coming his way.

“Are you hurt?” She kneeled next to him and touched his nose, probing, the way a doctor-in-training might. Which made sense, given that she was a doctor-in-training, which anyone who talked to Kate for thirty seconds would learn immediately. This was just one of the many things that made Kate a pain in Jake’s ass.

“No, I’m cool.” And why the hell would she care, all of a sudden? Kate had made it perfectly clear in the past that he was a total tool and not worth her attention. He stood. Kate stood with him and cocked her head to one side. Damn, she was cute that way. Hell, she was cute any way. She was just a bitch. And she drove an SUV. And probably smoked cigarettes.

“Hey, I thought you should know that Erik and his crew are trying to shut down the Women’s Health Collective.” She turned and walked away, her lush, black hair swinging behind her like a horse’s mane.

Jake ran up beside her and grabbed her arm.

“Whoa! Dude! What’s up with that?” They both stopped and faced each other, ignoring Fred’s calls to Jake to return to their game.

Kate bit the edge of her nail. Jake remembered that she used to do this at the table when they were freshman and all living together in the dorm. Kinda gross, but kinda cute, too. Especially when you weren’t eating.

Kate looked up at him, long lashes rimming her amber eyes. “Okay, so Erik Jackson is complaining to the Administration that we might ‘contaminate’ the Student Activities Building with the germs of the women whom we treat.” Her brow darkened. “Like the folks in the Cigar Club don’t contaminate the air we breathe there?”

“Dude! You don’t smoke?” Jake realized it sounded lame, but he was so surprised, it just kinda slipped out.

“No! Ick! Where’d you get that idea?” Kate paused for a second and then pushed on, “That’s besides the point. Anyway, what’s really going on is that Mr. Power Junky wants an office all to himself, and a lounge for the Student Government, and a conference room, and he figures he can get that space from us because we’re an ‘elitist’ group, because men aren’t allowed treatment, and he feels he can play that angle on the Administration.”

“Wow! That sucks! And your work is way too important to let something like that happen.” Jake felt the injustice of it all. In fact, this is what he felt for most things in U.S. society, and he’d spent most of his time in college trying to fight all the fronts he felt were wrong. And there were a lot of them. The Women’s Health Collective provided care and counseling to women from both the U. and not - to folks who might not be able to afford it otherwise. Jake just couldn’t let the Collective down.

“So,” Kate was still nibbling on that cuticle and tapping her foot, like she always did, java demon that she was, “d’you know some folks who might wanna help us with this?” She needed to chill on the caffeine, but Jake drowned in those liquid eyes anyway. And even if the cause hadn’t been important, those eyes might have sealed the deal for his help.

“Shit, yeah!” Jake was rocking from side to side, as he tended to do when his sense of injustice was taking hold. “There’re some dudes I work with at the Food Co-op who would jump on this. And some of the folks from my “Politics in the New Millenium” class might help. At least the good folks. Not the Republicans, obviously.”

“Hey! I’m a Republican, and I’m ‘good’.” Kate remembered yet another of the many reasons she didn’t like Jake Harrelson. This was certainly a deal with the devil, but not as much of a devil as her ex, Erik, had turned out to be.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t remind me.” Jake closed his eyes as if to banish the thought, and her image, from his head. “Look,” he said, opening his eyes and trying to give her a hard stare, which was really, really hard because whenever he was around Kate his head said one thing and er, other parts of his body spoke a totally different language, “Look, I’m only helping with this because there are women who need that Collective. I’m not helping,” here he paused, and took a deep breath, “you.”

“Fine!” Kate couldn’t believe she’d even stooped to ask Jake Harrelson for help, he was such a slacker, but he was the connection on campus to all things protest. She stood back and sneered at him, taking in his torn Umphrey McGee t-shirt, filthy jeans, and the fuzz on his chin that she figured he thought was sexy. Ewww to the nth degree.

“Fine! I’m going back to Frisbee now. I’ll find you on Facebook when I’ve hooked up with the others.” Jake turned on what was left of his tennis shoes and slouched back to Fred.

Kate continued to the edge of the path across the main campus and found her Explorer in the parking lot. She drove to her favorite martini bar and met up with some fellow med students. As she slowly got buzzed, she plotted her next move.


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Jen of a2eatwrite wrote this, based on these ideas from Thalia's Child of Musings from a Muse:

Story idea: 2 university students from very different ends of the political spectrum are constantly butting heads until they (and their collective clubs/organizations) find they have to unite against a common 'enemy'

Three Characters:
Jake is an activist and ardent environmentalist. He's a fixture on the campus green, always playing frisbee or hackey sack. He seems to see University as a long-term experience, bouncing from major to major without actually finishing a degree.

Kate is busy focusing on med school. She's helping a Women's Collective and other than this she's quite conservative. She lives on caffeine when working and martinis when playing and she drives an SUV. She loathes Jake on principal, as he reminds her of her parents, who she considers to be flaky, old school Hippies.

Erik Jackson is the student society president with one ambition in life: political power.

The Conflict: Erik wants to shut down the Women's Collective. He has the support of the university Administration.

Small Town

“Oh, please! Can't you people talk about anything else?” Hester rolled her eyes toward the ceiling for what must have been the 10^th time during the span of her aunt's conversation with the shopkeeper next door. “So what if there is a newcomer to town? It's not like it's never happened before.”

Judy Pearl turned towards her niece and with thinly veiled patience replied, “Hester, I gave you the option of heading home to pick up supplies while Mrs. Humphrey and I caught up. You turned it down. Now, If you don't mind, find something useful to do while we continue our conversation.” Showing Hester her back she continued, “It is highly impolite to not only eavesdrop on other people's conversations but to also interrupt uninvited.” Judy smiled to herself as she heard her niece sigh and storm off into the stock room.

Although while biologically Judy was Hester aunt, she was more than that. Hester's mother had died when the girl was a mere toddler and her father had run off long before then. Judy had stepped in. She had loved her sister dearly, even as she watched her make mistake after mistake with an unbroken chain of unsuitable men, and when Hester's father had left his 7 month pregnant girlfriend telling her that it was time for him to return to his heretofore unmentioned wife, Judy had taken her in. She had taken them both in and after her sister died, Judy raised Hester like she were her own child.

“That girl is getting wilder and wilder each day, Judy. You have to do something about it. I mean, just look at her.” Elizabeth Humphrey had no patience for teenagers, Judy doubted that she had ever been one herself, and constantly pointed out to Judy that Hester's “attitude” was getting progressively worse as time went on.

“Oh, lighten up, Liza, she's 18, what do you expect. Now, fill me in on the man who moved into the old Williams house. I thought for sure that place would be vacant for years.” The town of Stanton Falls was not a big one and the arrival of a newcomer was big news. Everyone, it seemed, was talking about it. Talking, but nothing else. How all the gossip spread around was a bit of a mystery since no one had yet to meet the new resident. Holly Janewood had sworn that Eric Bateman had heard that Bill Ruggle was on his front porch when “the suit” had arrived in town a little less than a week ago. That was about as much information as anyone had, and everyone knew that Bill was most likely drunk at the time of the sighting, so what he said had to be taken with a grain of salt. The new resident of Stanton Falls was a man and wore a suit. How the general population managed to talk about this shred of information for five days straight was what baffled Hester.

Liza Humphrey's scowl at the door through which Hester had disappeared quickly transformed back into a look of animated excitement. “Well, all we can say for sure is he is city folk. What else could he be, dressed like a banker like Bill said. He drives a big fancy SUV and doesn't seem particularly social. Eric said that he hasn't shown himself at the pub once since he came to town. I ask you, who comes to a new town and doesn't even try to get to know the people.” Judy did not reply. She was familiar with Liza's propensity for asking rhetorical questions. “Everyone eats at Eric's pub Sunday nights, but not Mr. Fancysuit. He's been locked up in the Williams' place for days and hasn't come out to say how-de-do even once.”

“Well, Liza, now be charitable, maybe he's been busy moving in and all. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable excuse for his reticence.”

“Moving in? What can he be moving? I haven't seen a moving truck, have you? I may be old,” this was one of Liza's favorite interjections, one for which she did expect an emphatic denial, “but I'm not blind. No one has come in or out of that house since he arrived. I should know. I live across the street!”

Judy smiled at the older woman, “Liza, you'll never look a day over 50. But how do you know what he is up to? Maybe he had a lot of his belongings with him in that big car of his. Maybe he's been living off of tin can rations for a week. You may live across the street from him, but you're not there now, are you? Maybe when you came over here to chat with me, he snuck out the back, so as not to be seen, and is on his way to Eric's as we speak. Perhaps by tonight we'll have more information.”

“I may be old, Judy, but I'm not naive. I'll not be tricked into going to the pub in the middle of the day.” All the same, Liza looked over her shoulder towards the door.

“Of course you're not naïve, dear. I just meant that even in a town as small as this one it is still possible to have secrets, even from you.” Judy smiled as she watched Liza Humphrey grow visibly uncomfortable and restless. “You know, you'd have a great view of Main Street if you took a cup of coffee outside of The Hot Pot. You might even be able to tell if he comes into the hardware store. You know, a man just moving in is likely to make that his first stop.”

Gathering up her purse and hat Liza smiled at Judy, “Well, funny that you mention it, but I was just on my way there. You know I do always take some tea this time of day. No better place then The Hot Pot, not from here to Boston.”

“Well, enjoy your cup. Do let me know if you find out anything interesting,” Judy winked at Liza as the oder woman made her exit with a flourish of her hand and headed down the block to the coffee shop in the middle of town. “You can come out now, Hester, she's gone.”

The sullen teen emerged from the back room and walked up to her aunt at the shop's front counter. “I have no idea why you always send me back into the storeroom. You know I can't reach anything up on those higher shelves,” she said angrily swatting a stray piece of purple hair from her face. “And what the hell did that crack mean, 'Just look at her'? Yeah, take a good look, lady. I'm right here. Maybe you could take a look at yourself once and awhile. Seriously, who wears stupid hats like that anymore? Where are we? Victorian England?” Hester fumbled with a few of the display items on the counter in silence for a moment or two while Judy waited for the rest of the storm. “There is nothing wrong with my attitude. She's the one who needs an adjustment. I'm amazed her back isn't all out of alignment the way she walks around with her nose so high in the air. Perhaps she'd feel better if she had that building surgically removed from her ass.”

“You forgot to make fun of her age.”

“You know, you're right,” Hester smiled, “At what point do you think she'll actually become fossilized?” Judy giggled indulgently at her niece and pulled her in for a hug before reminding her of her manners.

“You do have to be charitable to Mrs. Humphrey. She has done so much to help me over the past few years and...”

“And she'll never let you forget it, that's what.”

“Hester, if it hadn't been for Mrs Humphrey I wouldn't have my shop. I'd also probably still have difficulty with the Williams girl. She is a nice, well meaning woman. So what if she's a little conservative and short tempered. She means well and that's what counts.”

“Yeah, well, she may be nice to you, but she looks at me like I'm a disgrace. I'm sorry if she didn't like my mother or whatever her problem is, but seriously? Get over it, you old bat.”

“Sweetie, it's not that she didn't like your mother. Mrs. Humphrey was like a second mother to both of us. She was just always disappointed in how your mother conducted her, shall we say romantic? affairs. The fact that she flaunted them certainly didn't help. This is a small town. People do talk.”

“Wow, ya think? You people have been talking about nothing but the new guy for days now. But let me ask you this. All this talking, has is brought you any more information? Do you know the slightest thing about him yet? It seem s to me that you'd all be better off if someone just got up the nerve to walk up to his door and welcome him to the neighborhood instead of all this supposition and intrigue.”

“You know, I'm glad you feel that way,” Judy smiled at Hester, a smile Hester recognized as victorious. “I left a letter for him on his front stoop this morning on my way to the shop and invited him to come by later today to meet some of the locals and get a 'Welcome to Town' package from Pearls of Wisdom. I had enough of all this speculation and gossip. The poor man won't stand a chance if he doesn't show himself soon.”

“You invited him here??? So what was that whole ruse about getting coffee and watching Main Street? Ooohhh, you SO dissed her!” Hester couldn't resist doing a little dance at the thought of Mrs Humphrey sitting at the cafe with her superior attitude while New Guy was here in the shop. “Oh yeah, oh yeah. There's a reason you're my favorite parent, and now I remember what it is.” Hester leaned over to straighten out her skirt and smirked to herself as she rearranged the counter top, gloating about getting one over on the old witch while Judy pretended to ignore her satisfaction.

“Well, there's no guarantee that he will show up,” she warned.

“Maybe not, but it's a hell of a lot more likely that he will now that he's been invited than before when he thought all of the people in this town were spineless snoops. Oh wait, they are!” Hester snickered to herself, enjoying what she construed to be a personal victory over Mrs. Elizabeth Humphrey, a woman who had shown nothing but disdain for her for as long as she could remember. She realized it was small victory. After all, she really didn't care if she met the New Guy first, but Mrs. Humphrey certainly did. She prided herself on being the town's source of all information. In reality, most of her information came from Eric the pub owner, after all, people frequently open up and say all sorts of things to bar tenders, but that was not a fact that she readily promoted. No, Liza Humphrey promoted herself as the all seeing all knowing town matron. Well, she'd get hers here and Aunt Judy was responsible.

What Hester could not understand was why Judy had invited New Guy to Pearls of Wisdom. The small shop had been in her family for ages, Judy's mother had been the town Midwife and Naturopath, long before that term was in common usage, and Judy had built her reputation on her herbal remedies.

**********************************************************************

This is the first foray into fiction writing for CableGirl in at least a decade. Thank you to Mariposa for the outline she provided me.

Theme : Romantic Comedy, Kindness, Nature

Setting : the woods/ suburbs

Characters :

A 30 year old man, 5ft 10' tall, with emerald green eyes and medium brown hair. He is extroverted and calm but can be loud and is scared of growing old. A bachelor.

An 18 years old girl/ lady, 5ft 2' tall, with hazel eyes and streaked hair. she is sensitive and calm but can be evil and is scared of needles. She is an artist.

The girl's Aunt who is an herbalist.

conflicts:

girl and the man has different views about life and nature

man likes girl, but girl is stubborn/ fearful

girl is very cynical about man coming from the city

I'm afraid I did not do her suggestions justice. I also, sadly, am submitting an incomplete work. Thanks to Jen for making this possible.

Welcome

Hey Everyone,
This is a blank space. It's up to you. Next Thursday, January 31st, it should be bursting with stories. Don't forget to link back to your own blogs!