(Deliberate) Mistake - School Holidays

 wagon, shark, navel, bulb, banana

One of my lovely readers has noted that I have made a glaring mistake in this story  - I used the word naval instead of the mandatory word we were supposed to use, as above, of navel.

My thanks go to Nelson for pointing out my (deliberate!) mistake.

Here is the corrected version of the same story:

(Deliberate Mistake) 

School Holidays

Gloria stood at the kitchen worktop her hand pressed to her back lightly massaging her spine trying to relieve the arthritis ache that accompanied her elder years.    The gardening she did yesterday afternoon was taking its toll this morning.  Row upon row of plants she’d managed to bury deep in the fertile soil of her lovely cottage garden.  She was pleased to see the results of last year’s crop of bulb planting gradually growing albeit about three weeks behind the norm due to the adverse weather conditions.

Now the weather was being just as strange with thunder storms and heat waves but today was going to be glorious.   She pulled the fresh bread from the bread bin and started slicing the Tiger loaf.   The two lunch boxes were for her grandsons, she was making them a banana and jam sandwich followed by one of their favourite treats, a Wagon Wheel, a chocolate biscuit with a marshmallow centre, not allowed in their own home which always consisted of very healthy, organic food, popping in a couple of navel oranges.

She added a packet of crisps, fruit juice and an apple and hopefully that would keep Tyler and Bradley happy for the whole day.  She’d be surprised if they waited until lunch time before they started to eat their way through the contents.

She always looked forward to the summer holidays when she loved helping out her daughter out who always found childcare difficult as she and her husband had full time demanding jobs.  Kathryn was an accountant and always had deadlines to meet and Rob was often away on naval manoeuvres for weeks at a time.  That was the only downfall to being married to a serving sailor but it gave her an opportunity to spend quality time with the two boys.

She could hear them bickering gently upstairs; there was only a year between them but everybody thought they were twins.

The boys bounded down the stairs greeting her gaily.  ‘Nan, it’s a lovely day.  What shall we do today?’  Tyler was always the ring leader, the spokesman of the two although he was the younger boy.

Bradley eyed up the food on the counter ready to go in the lunch boxes.  ‘Are we going out, Nan?’ he asked quietly. 

‘I thought we could go to the coast today,’ Gloria replied.  ‘I’ve got tickets to visit the Blue Reef Aquarium.’

‘Shark attack, shark attack.’  The two boys made large gnashing motions with their hands as they dove under the kitchen table and pretended to be large predatory sharks attacking each other.

Gloria started laughing which made the boys laugh, they were laughing so much they started coughing and hiccupping and Gloria reached for a tissue to wipe her streaming eyes.   

The doorbell rang.  Gloria stopped in her tracks, 8.30 a.m. nobody ever rang her doorbell this early in the morning.  Through the glass pane she could see the outlined shadows of two uniformed policemen.  This would not be good news.

Word count: 500 excluding title                                                  

 

School Holidays

Thursday 25 July 2013

Here is a quick rundown on how the blog hop works:
1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story.
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Tuesday to link up your post.
4) Link up with your blog hostess (Nicole, Carrie, Tena or Leanne)

5) Have fun, don’t stress, let those creative juices flow.

 Here's your inspirational photo!

Your (randomly generated) mandatory words: wagon, shark, navel, bulb, banana

Here is my short story using the photo above and the mandatory five words.

School Holidays

Gloria stood at the kitchen worktop her hand pressed to her back lightly massaging her spine trying to relieve the arthritis ache that accompanied her elder years.    The gardening she did yesterday afternoon was taking its toll this morning.  Row upon row of plants she’d managed to bury deep in the fertile soil of her lovely cottage garden.  She was pleased to see the results of last year’s crop of bulb planting gradually growing albeit about three weeks behind the norm due to the adverse weather conditions.

Now the weather was being just as strange with thunder storms and heat waves but today was going to be glorious.   She pulled the fresh bread from the bread bin and started slicing the Tiger loaf.   The two lunch boxes were for her grandsons, she was making them a banana and jam sandwich followed by one of their favourite treats, a Wagon Wheel, a chocolate biscuit with a marshmallow centre, not usually allowed in their own home which always consisted of very healthy, organic food.

She added a packet of crisps, fruit juice and an apple and hopefully that would keep Tyler and Bradley happy for the whole day.  She’d be surprised if they waited until lunch time before they started to eat their way through the contents.

She always looked forward to the summer holidays when she loved helping out her daughter out who always found childcare difficult as she and her husband had full time demanding jobs.  Kathryn was an accountant and always had deadlines to meet and Rob was often away on naval manoeuvres for weeks at a time.  That was the only downfall to being married to a serving sailor but it gave her an opportunity to spend quality time with the two boys.

She could hear them bickering gently upstairs; there was only a year between them but everybody thought they were twins.

The boys bounded down the stairs greeting her gaily.  ‘Nan, it’s a lovely day.  What shall we do today?’  Tyler was always the ring leader, the spokesman of the two although he was the younger boy.

Bradley eyed up the food on the counter ready to go in the lunch boxes.  ‘Are we going out, Nan?’ he asked quietly. 

‘I thought we could go to the coast today,’ Gloria replied.  ‘I’ve got tickets to visit the Blue Reef Aquarium.’

‘Shark attack, shark attack.’  The two boys made large gnashing motions with their hands as they dove under the kitchen table and pretended to be large predatory sharks attacking each other.

Gloria started laughing which made the boys laugh, they were laughing so much they started coughing and hiccupping and Gloria reached for a tissue to wipe her streaming eyes.   

The doorbell rang.  Gloria stopped in her tracks, 8.30 a.m. nobody ever rang her doorbell this early in the morning.  Through the glass pane she could see the outlined shadows of two uniformed policemen.  This would not be good news.

Word count: 495

THE DILEMMA

Now for this week's prompt:

Your words:

satellite

buoy

check

lawyer

rescue

18 July 2013

 Here's how the Writer Wednesday Blog Hop works:

1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story.
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Tuesday to link up your post.
4) Link up with your blog hostess (Nicole, Carrie, Tena or Leanne)

5) Have fun, don’t stress, let those creative juices flow.

Here is my contribution:

THE DILEMMA

Laura opened her handbag and took out her pretty little notebook.  She regarded the list she had made and noted there was still one item she needed to tick off.   It was quite a major item which is why she had left it until last as it required a bit of effort on her part and on the part of others which is where the problem lay.

Tapping the pen against her lips as she thought and pondered upon a solution she wondered whether it would be such an imposition to call her godmother and ask her to help her out.  Cindy was a fashionable, fifty something lawyer who worked out of a satellite office and if anybody could then she could.  She would probably love to give a helping hand and rescue her goddaughter from the dilemma she now found herself in.

Laura arranged to meet Cindy the following weekend.  They would have a fantastic time in the City; Cindy had plans to take Laura to a fancy restaurant after a full day of shopping, or in Laura’s case, window shopping.  As much as Laura loved Cindy and her outgoing ways, she was referred to in the family as rather eccentric even though she held down a significant and responsible job.

One more check through her handbag; train tickets, paperwork, tissues, mobile phone, digital camera, Kindle, purse, credit cards (to be used only in an emergency), notebook and Laura was ready to leave her tiny flat.  Locking the door behind her she gaily set off for the train station.

As she placed her key ring inside her handbag, she fondled the charm on the key ring.  It was a lifebuoy that reminded her of the family association with all things naval and maritime.  Her grandfather had been a sailor in the Royal Navy, he had started as a young lad at 15 straight from school and remained in the service until he was in his 40’s when he had to start a career again in Civvy Street.

The day was hot but a pleasant summer’s breeze wafted gently down the road as Laura made her way to the imposing building to rendezvous with Cindy.   It would only take her about 15 minutes and she was quite looking forward to the walk which would give her time to collect her thoughts in order to present the problem to Cindy.

Guarding the entrance to the tall building were two lions on monumental pedestals, the glass windows glinting in the sunshine, sparkling shadows in some areas and hiding secrets in others. 

It was such heart wrenching decision to come here, to change her life so drastically moving to another country, the language although professing to be English had different words for simple things and she’d made a few faux-pas in her first few weeks. 

She pressed the bell to the entry access system and was relieved to hear Cindy’s dulcet tones inviting her up.

Word Count: 494

THE RETURN

http://romanticfridaywriters.blogspot.com/

This month of  July our theme is Honeymoon, (click the link above for a full explanation).

We have up to 1,000 words to play with for our stories, any genre, any POV, prose or poetry and is open from 19 - 22 July. 

Here is my entry:

THE RETURN

Julia glanced at the clock in the kitchen.  Peter would be home soon, the kettle was on ready for coffee.  It had been hectic in the office today, she would be glad to sit down after their dinner. 

It was an easy supper tonight, after all the rushing around, there was nothing nicer than popping something in the oven, thank goodness for freezers and the one she’d made earlier.

Peter arrived home with a frown on his face, perpetually worried these days, stressed and tense after dealing with the changes his company threw at him.  Management kept changing, in fact his new boss could be classed as a corporate psychopath or suffering from dementia he was so erratic.

‘How was your day, darling?’ It was the standard phrase these days.  Today was a good day and Peter responded with a smile, as he told her things were finally falling in to place. 

‘We need to think about booking a holiday,’ he said.  ‘How about going back to Jersey where we went on honeymoon?’

‘I’d love that,’ Julia exclaimed.  ‘Let’s hope it ends up better this time than it did on our honeymoon.’

‘Stay away from the crab salad then,’ Peter said. 

‘That wasn't a very romantic end to our few days away, was it?’ Julia agreed.

‘Talking of honeymoons,’ she continued, ‘Karen and Kevin are due back from their honeymoon this weekend.  The Bahamas.  It would be too hot for us; we wouldn’t cope with all that sand, sea and sun.’

They shared a special smile.  They knew each other so well after nearly ten years of marriage.

**********

Julia arrived at the office and saw Kevin’s car draw up with Karen beside him.  Aah, that’s sweet, she thought as she saw Kevin’s hand touch Karen's neck as they kissed goodbye.  Karen climbed out of the car and dashed into the building. 

‘Hey! How was the honeymoon?’ Julia enquired with a little wink. 

‘Oh yes, fine.  I’d better get on,’ Karen replied, stiffly.

‘How about meeting for lunch?  Say one o’clock?’ Julia threw at her best friend as Karen’s office door closed quickly on her retreating back.

That’s strange.  Oh well perhaps she’s just eager to get back to sorting out her office after her absence.  Julia shrugged her shoulders as she prepared to get on with her own work.

Two weeks later Julia and Karen still hadn't managed to meet up for lunch or any other social calls and nor had any of their other friends been able to catch Karen alone.  Julia was getting worried. 

A group of them met in The Phoenix Bar for a glass of red wine every Friday night before disappearing on to their respective trains and travelling home for the weekend. The conversation was lively until somebody remarked how strange Karen was acting these days.

Georgia reported that although she worked in the next office all you got from Karen was an apologetic ‘no’ citing that she was too busy.

Jane butted in and said what on earth had happened to Karen's dress sense these days.  She wore long sleeved blouses, buttoned up to the neck and trousers all the time.  Her make-up was laid on thickly and she never wore jewellery anymore.  In fact she had become quite a frump since she had married.

Julia was quite worried.  On Monday she was going to have it out with Karen and get to the bottom of the problem.  

On recounting these tales to Peter over the weekend his advice was not to get involved.  Whatever problems she was experiencing she would ask for help if she needed it was his sage advice.

Julia disagreed.  They were the best of friends, something must be terribly wrong somewhere, Karen wouldn't even answer her mobile or any text messages.

*********

Julia pinned Karen down by entering her office, shutting the door firmly behind her, closing the blinds and taking the phone off the receiver.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I need an explanation.  I know something is wrong and I want to help you,’ said Julia as she plopped herself down firmly in a chair on the other side of the desk.  She smiled at her best friend and held out her hand.

‘Don’t.  Don't be nice to me, Julia.  I have to be strong.  I can't afford to cry.’

Julia raced round to Karen and grabbed her friend in a bear hug. 

Karen winced in pain, her face paling under all the make-up.

‘What has happened?  Tell me,’ demanded Julia.

Gulping for air to relieve the pain and trying to hold back her tears Karen gradually blurted out her story.

‘It started a couple of days into our honeymoon.  Everything was fine and then one day Kevin just seemed to flip.   He became a monster.  He was so possessive.  He accused me of flirting with the barman, the concierge, the waiter at dinner, any male that happened to be within sight.  Of course, I denied it but he wouldn't have it.  He became angry, so angry that he punched me in the back and I fell on to our bed.’ 

Julia stroked Karen's arm, encouraging her to go on.

‘I think they call it marital rape these days,’ sobbed Karen ‘but it wasn't just that.  He was contrite afterwards and told me it was only because he loved me so much.  Everybody could see that.  When he drops me off at work he holds my neck – everybody thinks it is a loving caress but his thumb is pressing on my windpipe, reminding me of what will happen if I tell anyone.

I have bruises on my arms, he’s careful about my face but sometimes he can’t help it and I have to cover up a mark on my cheek.  I think I have a couple of broken ribs.’

Karen's mobile went off.  She started like a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights of a car.  ‘It’s Kevin,’ she whispered, ‘I have to answer it.’

Word Count: 1,000

THE DOLL

The rules:
1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Tuesday to link up your post.
4) Link up with your blog hostess (Nicole, Carrie, Tena or Leanne)

5) Have fun, don’t stress, let those creative juices flow.

And here is the photo:

And here are the words -

factory

dock

comedy

sign

riddle

Here is my entry:

THE DOLL

Jennifer took the proffered tissue from the box.  She wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed a few more times.  The smell of the leather couch comforted her as she sank back against the plush cushions. 

The psychiatrist sat, patiently waiting until Jennifer had control of her emotions again.  Last week they’d finished their session with the question of why she was always waiting for a sign.

Jennifer recounted the recurring nightmare of a shop window full of dolls heads leering at her, some smiling, some grimacing, some upside down, all waiting for something or someone to put their lives together again.

That is how she felt most days, as though she was a ship in dry dock waiting for repairs to be made to her hull, her interior fittings and fixtures needing updating, refreshing and revitalising.

Jennifer told her counsellor that if she could clock in everyday as she did at work in the perfume factory then she could organise her moods accordingly. 

It was her private life that let her down each day, the riddle of her birth that she couldn’t come to terms with.  Knowing what she now knew about her natural mother didn't make it any easier to deal with.

The two people who had brought her up were always fighting, always squabbling.  Why she was ever allowed to live them was obviously a strange comedy of errors.

Anna lent forward with a compassionate face.  ‘Tell me how often you have these recurring nightmares, Jennifer,’ she said in a hypnotic voice that made you feel you wanted to tell her everything.

‘It seems to have been forever and a day,’ Jennifer replied.  ‘When I think about it though, it was probably five years ago when my doorbell rang.’

Prompted gently by Anna’s nodding head she continued. ‘I looked through the peephole and saw a grinning face, plastic skin covering baby blue eyes, black lashes curling out from the eyelids and gently cascading down on to her shoulders was a mass of curly brown hair peeping out from a lace edged bonnet.’

Jennifer looked up and found the courage to continue her story.  ‘My boyfriend had bought me a fantastic doll, clothed in a pretty lace dress, with fancy pantaloons, she was a very expensive doll and I loved her.  She took pride of place on top of my dresser in my bedroom.  I called her Clarissa.’

A big gulp, a throat swallow, ‘then Roger left me for my best friend and since then all I can see is a discarded head, bald and decapitated.  I put Clarissa back in her box and shoved her in the bottom of my wardrobe.’

Anna cleared her throat and apologetically said, ‘we’ll have to leave it there for today, Jennifer.  I think we’ve covered a lot of ground.  Can you make an appointment with my secretary for our next session?’

Jennifer smiled a tight, false smile, another brush-off, another dismissal.  Maybe she wouldn’t bother coming back.

Word Count: 499

ENCOUNTER

For this week, just a word:

HEAT

Do take it in any direction you like but keep it suitable for a PG certificate!

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week#97

ENCOUNTER

Her face became so red

She wished she’d stayed in bed

Heat suffused through her body

He smiled at her grinning broadly

She ineffectually dabbed at the stains

On his pure white shirt of the coffee remains

She’d sloshed all over him in the café

As she weaved her way back from the buffet

She made her excuses and left the party

Traipsed back through the lobby

To her office on the eighth floor

With luck their paths wouldn’t cross anymore

Meeting the new chairman in the boardroom

Wearing his coffee splattered executive costume

The day from hell she now presumes.

Mary-Jane

Picture by Kristoffer Sorensen

This week's prompt.

The rules:
1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Tuesday to link up your post.
4) Link up with your blog hostess (Nicole, Carrie, Tena or Leanne)

5) Have fun, don’t stress, let those creative juices flow

The Five Words are: Custard, Cord, Birthday, Alter and Myth

MARY-JANE

Mary-Jane walked slowly along the beach, with each step she stretched out her foot, feeling the gritty, grainy sand between each of her toes.   She enjoyed the emptiness and stillness of the coast line at this early hour in the morning.  

She had crept out of the holiday cottage leaving her sleeping family to enjoy a few more precious hours before they rushed back to their busy lives and their alter-egos in the busy commercial world they all seemed to compete in.

She smiled to herself as she recalled the previous night’s events.  They were so kind and thoughtful to have arranged a surprise birthday bash for her, although she had had an inkling that something was going on when nobody was talking to her on Facebook.   She had embraced the new technology, much to the astonishment of her children and grandchildren, who now had to be slightly circumspect in what they ‘shared’ so that their grandmother didn’t follow an unsavoury thread.  They had laughed when she had got it wrong and told Louise, her 18 year old granddaughter that she liked following the cord. 

‘No, Nan, it’s called a thread but you don’t have to worry about that really,’ Louise had told her, patting her hand condescendingly.

Mary-Jane had shrugged her shoulders and decided to look up the other acronyms she had been wondering about because she didn't want to appear foolish.   She came across a wonderful site on Google (that made her cringe) all about urban myth; it was quite fascinating and was giving her an insight in to today’s modern world.  

There it was.  It was still there.  An uprooted tree stranded on the beach, throne like in its singularity, majestic in its downfall.   She empathised with the broken trunk, sometimes she felt as though she was discarded, left disconsolate whilst everything crashed around her.

She shook her head and dispelled dark thoughts.  This was not the time to be maudlin, she should be thankful for all the years she had spent on this earth and hopefully she would have many more to enjoy.  She stopped and rested against the fallen wood, its bark rough and showing its age. 

Her mind wandered off back to the days of her childhood and preparations for birthdays.  There was no convenience of preparing well in advance and storing foods in freezers.  Her mother had to prepare jellies two or three days in advance and the trifle would take a week to set.  Home-made custard was made with eggs and milk not out of a tin!

Mary-Jane lifted her eyes towards the cottage.  She thought she saw her husband of many years standing on the patio with a cup of coffee in his hand.  She thought she saw him blow her a kiss before he turned and disappeared back inside. 

A single tear fell down her cheek; it was just wishful thinking, knowing that this was another year and another birthday that had passed without him. 

Word Count: 496



On The Beach

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week#96

A picture prompt this week and you have the usual 100 words to produce a creative piece.

The link will close on 8th July

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

ON THE BEACH

Clouds scudded across the sky

Fluffy edges tinged white and grey

As the shadows started to fall

The recycling bins stood tall

But a lone grey litter bin

Stood slightly apart from his kin

Perhaps a first generation import

Others evolved into different sorts

Choose the one that suits you best

Place inside cardboard, hard and compressed

Make sure it’s battened and flattened

No litter to be deposited on our sandy beach

Fingers of sunshine just out of reach

Shine on the lime green outer coating

Of staid, silent sentinels standing

Precise and still, attention grabbing,

Hungry mouths open, waiting.

Word count: 100 without title