story

Story Behind the Post: Two Halves

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Last month was a 5-Saturday month. If you have been a reader of this little blog for more than a minute, then you are aware that on 5-Saturday months I attempt to write a 5-part short story. The intent is to practice my writing skills. Lately, I’ve been a bit lazy. So, my effort in this endeavor is waning. a little bit. But last month, I followed through even though May – as you know – is as busy as December. It tends to fill itself up with activities. Still, I managed to give it a go.

Three things came together and provided the spark of the story.

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First Kiss

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Chapter II: The Double Date – Dad’s Version

            “As good as your mom’s story was, I’m sure she left out a few things,” Gus said while laying down on the other side of Ginny.  It was a small bed so there wasn’t room for all three so Kristina slid off and sat on an exercise ball.

            “Well,” Ginny said, “she hasn’t actually told me about the kiss yet.”

            Gus looked at Kristina and cocked his eyebrow.

            “I told her about the double date,” Kristina explained.

            “Oh, right,” he nodded his head.  “Your mom’s first kiss.”

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Plan B: Chapter II

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Chapter II: Home

            Lizzie stepped off the bus and looked around.  How was it possible that the small chunk of town she could see looked simultaneously different and yet the same?  It was the same place she could remember growing up but with subtle changes.  A Wal-Mart inhabited the old Kmart building.  A Jimmy Johns was where the old A & W building used to be but that building was gone and a new one stood in its place.  Some kind of boutique was where Hallmark used to be.  But main street was still the same road.  Probably the same potholes, she thought to herself.  Although the traffic light itself seemed to be updated to the latest standards.  It all felt slightly unfamiliar yet familiar enough she knew where she was.  The place she never expected to come back to live.

            “Is that my Lizzie?” she heard a voice behind her ask.  Charles Carter was not a small man and his booming voice matched his physique.

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The Hitman’s Retirement – Chapter I

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 I. The Reconnect

Tony looked at his watch.  It was only 4 minutes since the last time he snuck a glance.  In between time checks he would glare at his brother-in-law.  Thanks to Jackson, he spent the afternoon attempting to salvage his work phone.  He managed to turn it on and retrieve most of the files he needed.  But he had to buy another phone to transfer all the data to which created a data trail.  Any type of trail is sloppy work.

Plus, he had the added pressure to do all this while keeping Cheyenne in the dark about how important the phone was for his assignment.  She didn’t know anything about the job he was contracted to do.  There was no way he could tell her now.  How would that go?  “Oh, by the way, honey, you know how you think I work on wall street?  I don’t. I have killed a stock broker before but you don’t need to know about that.  The important thing to remember is I love you and I am changing my whole life because of you.  Isn’t that great news?”

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The Samson Pill: Conclusion Chapter 25

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Chapter XXV  December … and ten years later

The three stood staring at each other.  After all this time, both Cooper and Jacob got what they had each wanted.  Cooper looked at the man who had killed his mother.  Jacob looked at his legacy’s salvation.  Only one was going to leave the room alive and they both knew it.  Both were determined to be the victor although Jacob was a little more smug with his aspirations. 

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The Samson Pill: Metamorphoses Chapter 8

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VIII. 9 years ago

Cooper was not a fan of Wyoming. It wasn’t that he hated the state itself, in fact, he loved the outdoors and Wyoming has a natural fantastic outdoor playground. His dislike had more to do with how bored he was at school and how even after seven years he didn’t fit in. Wyoming still wasn’t what he would call home. Nothing at school excited or challenged him. He finished his work quickly and efficiently. The other students didn’t have the same interests as him. He was able to keep in frequent touch with Malone and despite the distance they were still best friends. Although he knew Malone didn’t understand much of most topics that interested him Malone at least listened. Plus, they had history together. They had spent time pre-fever as Cooper referred to the incident. Malone’s mom agreed to let her son travel to Wyoming during the upcoming summer break to see his Wyoming friend. Both boys were excited for that visit. Trouble was that was still a few months away. For now, Cooper sat in a classroom trying to will the clock to tick faster.

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31 Days, 31 Dates: Chapter 1

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There’s a rumor I’ve heard that at a certain point in your life you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.  I’m not sure what age that is, although I have my suspicion it happens about two minutes before you pass through the veil.  Despite what teenage girls everywhere think, it’s definitely not the age of 25.  If it were, I wouldn’t be standing outside an institute building on a Sunday morning in Laramie, Wyoming, staring at the front door.

The sign invited visitors, but I wasn’t a visitor.  Technically, I was one of them.  This is where I was supposed to belong.  But I didn’t belong.  Not anymore.  I used to.  But that seemed like a long time ago.  And a different girl.

I bit my bottom lip.  Of all the feats and impossible acts mankind has performed, opening a door is not one of them.  Yet, there I stood unable to perform the simple task of opening a door.

I heard giggling behind me and turned to see a girl who looked barely old enough to be in the singles ward.  She smiled, and leaned toward the guy who walked with her.  His dark hair was slicked back and his suit pressed.  His short frame made him look like he wore his father’s suit.  Her blues eyes danced in amusement as her short, curly blond hair bobbed up and down.   As she past me, I noticed her cheeks imprinted with dimples.  He held the door open for her and as she went in, she stood on her tiptoes and said, “Thanks, Darren.”

He beamed and looked like that moment was the proudest moment of his life.  He looked at me as if I was intruding on his personal triumph.  “Are you coming?”

I looked around trying to think of a reason not to follow.  Unless I wanted to pose as a crazy person that stalked church buildings, there was no excuse.  “Thanks,” I smiled politely and walked in.

I had never been in that particular building before in my life, but it felt familiar.  A painting of the Woman at the Well hung above the couch.  I glanced to the chapel.  The couch looked more inviting and I wished I didn’t promise my brother I’d sit with him.  I walked into the chapel and noticed it was decorated in the purple theme.  Huge windows on the sides of the stand allowed light to flood in.

My instinct was to go to the back of the chapel.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t early enough to procure the coveted back seat.  At least I wasn’t so late that I had to sit in front.  I got a spot in the middle on the side.

I looked around nervously.  My goal was to find my brother without making eye contact with anyone else.

“Hey, Grace,” I heard to my right.  I breathed a sigh of relief to find brother, Matt putting his scriptures next to me.  “Glad you made it.  I don’t feel like walking home after, can you give me a lift?”

I nodded my head.  My brother’s attempt of going green prompted him to sell his car. During the week he used public transportation to get to and from work.  For the most part, anywhere else he wanted to go he either walked or rode his bike.

“I’m passing the sacrament, so I’ll join you afterward.”

I nodded.  A huge sigh of relief escaped as I watched him walk to the front of the chapel.  As I watched him, I noticed a guy stop him to talk to him.  Suddenly, they both turned in my direction.

Uh-oh, this can’t be good.  I picked up a hymn book and started to flip through it anxiously.  However, I could tell they were walking in my direction.

“Gracie,” Matt said, “this is Wyatt.  Wyatt, this is my sister Grace.  She just moved here.”

“Nice to meet you,” Wyatt said with a smile.  He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “Unfortunately for you, you picked a bad time to come.”

My eyebrows furrowed.

He laughed.  “I’m speaking today.”

“Oh,” I said forcing a laugh.  Got to love that Mormon humor.  “Maybe I should leave,” I turned to leave.

“Stay,” Matt commanded and I resented being treated like a dog.

Wyatt thought we were performing some kind of comedy routine and laughed again.  “Only if I can leave with you.”

I smiled weakly.  Matt held his index finger at me as if that held the power to keep me on the bench.  Which, it must have worked because all I did was glare at him.

“I better get up on the stand,” Wyatt said and shook my hand again.  “I’ll see you later?”

Apparently, with Matt’s mighty finger, I wasn’t going anywhere.  I nodded my head.  They walked to the front of the chapel.  I decided to continue flipping through the hymn book until service started.

*******

I paced back and forth in the foyer of the church.  I looked at my watch for what seemed like the bazillionth time in five minutes.  “C’mon, Matt,” I muttered out loud and flopped onto the couch.  Just then, the chapel doors opened and two men walked out.  Quickly I sat up straight and made sure I was sitting ladylike in my skirt.

The two men were deep in conversation.  One was wearing an expensive suite and was tall, well over 6 feet because he had to duck coming out of the chapel.  The other was shorter, probably not even 6 feet tall, with thick brown wavy hair and he smiled at me.  It was Wyatt.  As he conversed with the taller guy, he kept glancing over at me.

I smiled politely at him but was trying to use mental telepathy to get Matt to come.  It wasn’t working.

“I’ll see you later, Connor,” said Wyatt.  He started walking toward me.

Oh no.   I really didn’t want to shake his hand again.

“Oh, Wyatt,” Connor said in a deep, low voice while turning around.

That’s it, keep him occupied.

Connor mumbled something to Wyatt but his voice was so low, I couldn’t understand what he said.

Wyatt stopped walking and looked at him.  Now was my chance to run.   I looked down the hall and looked at my high heels. Maybe not.

“What are we doing again?”  Wyatt asked Connor.

Connor mumbled a reply.  I thought I heard volleyball mentioned. Connor pointed at him.

“Yeah, I have a lot of work to do, but I’ll try and make it.”

“Right on,” Connor said and for the first time noticed me sitting on the couch. He mumbled something to me but I didn’t understand.  Which was okay because he didn’t wait for an answer.  I looked behind him down the hall willing my brother to come at that moment.

Wyatt sat down next to me.  “So,” he smiled.  “How did I do?”

“It was good,” I smiled my most polite smile.

He nodded slowly.  “So, you’re new in the ward?”

“I’ve been here about a month,” I tried to nonchalantly check my watch.

“I don’t remember seeing you,” Wyatt ignored my watch check.

I shrugged.  “I haven’t been the most active.”

“Oh,” he said not wanting to dive into such a personal topic on the first conversation.

“I enjoyed your talk,” I said.  “It was very…” I wanted to say long, “informative.”

“Informative?” he laughed.  “If by informative you mean spiritual or I just gave a long winded narrative of the virtue of keeping the Sabbath Day holy?”

I forced a laugh. “I meant, it was something I needed to hear.”

“Oh,” he said perking up.

Perhaps I should have let it go with that, but I couldn’t help but add, “Over and over and over again.”

He looked at me and I smiled.

“Hey Wyatt,” a voice to the side of us said, “good talk today.”

I stood up as Wyatt turned around.  “Thanks, Matty.”  He looked at me as if I were going to disagree.

I rolled my eyes.  “I was just kidding you, it was a good talk.”

He nodded but didn’t look like he believed me.

“Wyatt is the Elder’s Quorum president,” Matt explained.

“Well,” I said because I wanted this conversation to end so that we could leave.  “It was nice to meet you,” I again smiled. Then feeling bad about my earlier comment, I felt like I needed to reassure him.  “And it was a good talk.”

“Thanks.” Wyatt smiled unsure of the sincerity.

“Listen, we better go,” Matt looked at me.

I rolled my eyes.  He knew I had been waiting for him for fifteen minutes.    “Ready when you are.”

“Later,” Matt nodded at Wyatt.  “I’ll probably see you at dinner groups.”

“See ya,” I gave one last parting smile to Wyatt.

“Hey Grace,” Wyatt said as Matt opened the outside door for me.

So close to freedom, I turned around.

“Will I see you at FHE tomorrow night?”

“FHE?” I asked.  Matt nudged me with his arm.

I wanted to say no.  “Sure,” I smiled.

“We’ll probably play volleyball.”

“Oh,” I said again.  My mind raced with excuses to get out of going.

“Great, see you then,” he nodded to Matt and we walked out the door.

As I climbed in my car I couldn’t help but mumble, “Oh no.”

31 Days, 31 Dates: Prologue

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I pushed the scan button on my car radio searching for a radio station.  All I heard was static.  “C’mon,” I said to myself and pushed again.  “There’s got to be something.”  My old Buick Oldsmobile was crammed with all my earthly possessions and I was tired of driving.  Interstate 80 from Provo to Laramie seemed a little desolate and I felt lonely.  I needed to hear some music to get my mind off of things and I couldn’t find a radio station.  Unfortunately, my car was so old it didn’t have an mp3 player or even a CD player.  A broken toothpick was stuck in the side of the on button to hold it in place.  “C’mon,” I muttered again.  Suddenly, a song broke through the static.  “Finally,” I sighed.

After a moment, I could make out the strains of a country song bewailing a relationship that had come to an end.  “Forget that,” I said and took out the toothpick.  “I need something to get my mind off of that, not on it.”

31 Dates in 31 Days excerpt

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Years ago, I wrote a book.  It’s not all that great but it does have a beginning and an end.  It’s about a girl named Grace who takes a challenge from a guy named Matt that she can go on 31 dates in 31 days.  It is set in an LDS single’s ward.

A lot of the dialogue is taken from actual experiences in my life.  Including the following discussion on altitude.  Can you guess which character’s voice is mine?  Unfortunately, it is not the heroine’s. 

Here is a chapter from my book.

My body was still very much upset with me when I woke up Sunday morning.  It complained as I was getting ready for church.  It definitely let me know how unhappy it was with me when I sat on the bench in the chapel.  The folding chair in Sunday School and Relief Society didn’t appease it any.

The good news during church was it was my fourth week since Matt and I started the game.  It was old news.  I hardly got any stares or comments.   The news article from last week seemed all but forgotten.  For the first time all month, I felt like a regular member.

My date for the night was Niles Scott, a tall skinny guy who turned red every time he spoke in his monotonous voice.  We were going to another fireside at the bishop’s house.

When we arrived to the bishop’s house, people had already gathered.  The living room was full of people.  There were two empty spots on the love seat next to Lexi, but I kept looking.  “Where do you want to sit?” I asked but as I turned around Niles was gone.  “Okay, table for one,” I mumbled.

“Grace,” I heard my name called.

I scanned the room of people but couldn’t figure out who had called out to me.

“Grace,” I heard again.  The voice seemed to be coming from the couch.  But that would mean it was Lexi calling me.  Surely, my ears were playing tricks on me.

“Grace,” she said again and laughed sweetly.  “Here’s a spot.”

I looked around the room again to see if there were any other options.   There wasn’t.

“I don’t bite,” she said sweetly.

I walked to the couch and sat down.  “Thanks,” was all I could say.

“So,” she started, “I hear you got a boyfriend out of your …” she bit her bottom lip, “game.”

“Well…” I wished I had disappeared with Niles.

“That’s so great!” she continued.  “I’m so happy for you.”

I looked around the room for any other place to sit.

“Matty,” Lexi called out causing me to jump.  “I saved you a spot.”

He smiled and nodded but continued to look around the room.  But she had saved the last possible sitting place.  He walked over and sat on the other side of her.  As soon as he did, she linked arms with him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t bring your boyfriend,” Lexi said to me.

“Mac?” I asked.  “He’s working.”

“Too bad.  It is hard dating someone who chooses to work on Sunday.  What was it you said in your talk a few weeks ago?” she asked Matt.

“Working on Sunday is not good.” Matt mumbled and I had to fight hard not to laugh.

Lexi’s eyes narrowed.  “Anyway, maybe we could double some time.”

Matt coughed loudly and tried unsuccessfully to untangle his arm from hers.   Doogan walked in and was crestfallen when he saw our seating arrangement.

“Doogan!” I said causing Matt and Lexi to jump.  “Why don’t you sit here?”

He shook his head but inched forward.

“No, I’ve got to find my date,” I stood up.  “You might as well.”  He was already to the couch.  I walked to the doorway and looked back.  Doogan looked happy.  Lexi looked annoyed.  And Matt looked uncomfortable, which I felt bad about.

I found the kitchen and also my date.  Niles was talking to the bishop’s wife.

“Hi,” I said.  “I wondered where you disappeared to.”

The bishop’s wife looked at me and then at Niles and smiled.  “I better go see if bishop needs any help.” She said and patted my arm as she went into the other room.

I sat on a stool next to Niles.  We sat in silence for a few moments.

“The weather is supposed to get warmer,” he spoke looking down at the counter.

At first, I wondered if he had seen Mac’s call out to me on the news and was making fun of me.  But after studying him for a few seconds, I could tell this was just his topic of choice.  “Yeah, I heard that.”

“We’re cooler than Salt Lake or Denver,” he continued.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.  Wyoming is cooler.”  I would have used the word colder.

“It’s because of our altitude,” he said matter-of-factly and almost made eye contact with me.

“Is that right?” I wondered if I could get my spot back on the couch.

“We’re in the mountains, so we’ll always be cooler.”

“So,” I tried making the conversation light, “we should move some place lower?”

“Only if you like it hotter,” he looked at me.  If he didn’t look so sincere, I would have started laughing.

I nodded.  “Do you want to come in for the fireside?”

“I prefer to stay in here.”

I bit my lip trying to decide what proper dating etiquette called for.

“There you are,” Matt said walking into the kitchen.  “We’re about ready to start.”

“Don’t you want to come in?” I asked Niles.

“Bishop wants to get started,” Lexi walked in.

“Go ahead and start, we’ll be in, ” I looked at Niles who kept his head down.  “In a few minutes.”

“You coming?” Doogan popped his head in.

Niles started looking for the exits.  Judging by our quiet ride here, I could tell we were three people past his comfort zone.

“You all should go in,” I felt bad for intruding on Niles’ solitude.

No one moved.  Niles began fidgeting.  I was as uncomfortable as Niles looked.

“Hey everyone,” the bishop said patting Doogan’s back warmly.  “The fireside is in the other room.”

I looked at everyone.  I went into the living room and sat on the floor in front of the tv.  Lexi and Doogan sat on the couch.  Matt stayed by the kitchen doorway and leaned against the wall.  Niles never came in.

Everyone in the room snickered and whispered.  I didn’t get much out of the fireside that night.