Where's the part with the girls in the apple tree? I was going to get on here and do some adding, and I can't find it!
no fair.....
Monday, April 18, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
I read it!
and that's as far as I'll get today...except to say, you write really WELL.
Can we pillory people we knew in grade school? cause I'm thinking one of my former lovers could be bob ocowitz and then he turns out GAY and comes back to the orchard to die. bet the locals would hate THAT.
don't worry, I'm not serious!
Can we pillory people we knew in grade school? cause I'm thinking one of my former lovers could be bob ocowitz and then he turns out GAY and comes back to the orchard to die. bet the locals would hate THAT.
don't worry, I'm not serious!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Story line thoughts
I view Sonya as an individual who follows her passions, love, sex, life. She is alone in her mid-forties because something holds her back from making relationship commitments. She has many friends and approaches mid-life with the same intensity and willingness to take hold of where life leads you: love, sex, work, friendships...Not the wanton love/sex stuff but a healthy open mature enjoyment of life. Maury fills Sonya's practical void in the sense of little details, mortgage, taxes, laundry, schedules...the very mundane everyday life things that seem to frighten Sonya. To commit to one person threatens the loss of Sonya's sense of herself and all the possibilities of what she may choose to pursue in years ahead. Deep down in her sub-conscious Sonya senses total commitment means giving up a part of yourself and carries the threat of total rejection and abandonment. Maury has always felt attracted to Sonya (in a friend way) because Sonya is more outgoing and takes Maury into the action of situations that without Sonya she would have been an observer only. Maury would love to be more passionate about the big things in life but is held back by her own inhibitions and personality. Instead she focuses on the little things. Life needs to make sense. She struggles with a side of her that finds great enjoyment in the little things (birds building a nest, flowers blooming, bees, an old couple holding hands) but is unable to take the little things and follow through to something big. In her sub-conscious she fears failure and making life changing decisions outside the box carries the very real threat of failure on a grand scale.Everything needs to fit into a big plan. They stay compartmentalized in her structured mind. Sonya is all about too hell with the limitations and the need for guarantees when it comes to life.
Both grew up in the seventies and believe women have the right and capability to do anything they want to.
Now, these two find themselves back together because Maury's husband has dumped her for another younger woman and Sonya's live in (sort of) boyfriend of 8 years has broke off the relationship because he needs more time for his photo journalism career. The two hatch a plan to spend a girl's week-end at a B&B somewhere in between Madison and Milwaukee. Wisconsin weather cooperates, dumping sleeting rain on top of heavy spring melt-off. Detours combine with no map or GPS, leading the girls on the back-roads to stumble upon a somewhat charming, run-down Cream-city brick farmstead with a small barn and large old apple orchard for sale. The two hatch a plan to purchase the property, to hell with men! They are reaching back to their idylic youth when both felt secure and their friendship was the secure foundation. The repair and rejuvenation of their farmette/orchard brings with it the repair and rejuvenation of themselves as they meet all the local characters and at times struggle against local attitudes values of a small town setting.
Secondary characters: local (elderly? maybe sixties) woman who befriends them and explains the ropes. Elderly couple who think women should lead the traditional role. Adjacent farmer who wants part of their property? OR has alot of control in local politics??? Bee-keeper who is new to the area, also city raised and college educated. Who else????
Minor characters: Maury's college age son, ex-husband, controlling parents: Sonya's gay brother, photo journalist ex, perhaps a former lover or two, PARENTS????
Ok what do you think??? also the property needs to make money SO the women's ideas could clash with the quiet locals...ART festival, ??? any other ideas????? What would clash with conservative thinking quiet traditional Mid-West small town mentality?
Sonya lives in Madison, WI. Works for a marketing firm. Owns a nice condo on the west side. Drives a FORD Focus because it is small, American made, and gets decent fuel mileage--also, they had her favorite color: blue (NOT navy blue).
Maury lives in (???Neighborhood) of Chicago. She is a 5th grade teacher for the (???) school district. She drives a limey green Volkswagon Bug.
Both grew up in the seventies and believe women have the right and capability to do anything they want to.
Now, these two find themselves back together because Maury's husband has dumped her for another younger woman and Sonya's live in (sort of) boyfriend of 8 years has broke off the relationship because he needs more time for his photo journalism career. The two hatch a plan to spend a girl's week-end at a B&B somewhere in between Madison and Milwaukee. Wisconsin weather cooperates, dumping sleeting rain on top of heavy spring melt-off. Detours combine with no map or GPS, leading the girls on the back-roads to stumble upon a somewhat charming, run-down Cream-city brick farmstead with a small barn and large old apple orchard for sale. The two hatch a plan to purchase the property, to hell with men! They are reaching back to their idylic youth when both felt secure and their friendship was the secure foundation. The repair and rejuvenation of their farmette/orchard brings with it the repair and rejuvenation of themselves as they meet all the local characters and at times struggle against local attitudes values of a small town setting.
Secondary characters: local (elderly? maybe sixties) woman who befriends them and explains the ropes. Elderly couple who think women should lead the traditional role. Adjacent farmer who wants part of their property? OR has alot of control in local politics??? Bee-keeper who is new to the area, also city raised and college educated. Who else????
Minor characters: Maury's college age son, ex-husband, controlling parents: Sonya's gay brother, photo journalist ex, perhaps a former lover or two, PARENTS????
Ok what do you think??? also the property needs to make money SO the women's ideas could clash with the quiet locals...ART festival, ??? any other ideas????? What would clash with conservative thinking quiet traditional Mid-West small town mentality?
Sonya lives in Madison, WI. Works for a marketing firm. Owns a nice condo on the west side. Drives a FORD Focus because it is small, American made, and gets decent fuel mileage--also, they had her favorite color: blue (NOT navy blue).
Maury lives in (???Neighborhood) of Chicago. She is a 5th grade teacher for the (???) school district. She drives a limey green Volkswagon Bug.
Story line notes:
Ex-husband Jeff:
Jock boy in high-school, very competitive, good looking and knows it. Likes to call the shots if he can maneuver it. Selects his friends depending on what they can bring to the table: increase his status, have lots of money, are important people. Likes women who are good looking, couldn’t just be nice-looking. In high school and college he went for the girls who added to his status: cheer-leaders, sorority girls, daddy had money OR power reputation.
Height: 6’2”
Light brown hair, blue eyes, strong jaw and cheek bones
Personality, witty but his humor is based on making fun of other people and tips towards the ugly when he has too many scotches (top shelf, Glen Livit (sp))
Well dressed, brand name suits and shoes. Drives a Lexus.
Degrees: BS in Marketing, MBA
Works for a national firm, Chicago location
The break up
Her stomach ached, the dull painful ache that comes before you vomit. Funny, she thought, they always talk of love and the heart. She became like the flower everyone forgot to water, her strength sapped until she could no longer stand. (Somehow she found a kitchen chair, hard oak, pressed back, and sat down, shoulders slumping forward, elbows propped on knees) Maury sat down on the pressed back hard oak chair, shoulders slumped forward, elbows propped on knees.
Maury sighed slow and deep, pushing the wind out as though it would cleanse her of all that had come to pass. The fog that filled her mind began to swirl around one thought, I need to call Sonya, and this one thought began to warm the air like the morning sun breaking through the (a) damp mist, opening fleeting fields of vision as you drive along that (an) unfamiliar highway.
Maury (She) reached for her purse. The black leather bag lay in its usual spot, fully charged cell phone zipped within the inside pocket. Her fingers moved instinctively to speed-dial and Sonya's number.
The familiar recording of (Sonya's favorite song ??? music artist ???) played in Maury's ear. It cut off abruptly, replaced by Sonya's voice.
"Hey chica!"
Maury tried to speak, but she suddenly felt buried alive, momentarily unable to breath as though a great weight lay upon her chest. The only sound that escaped (escaping) was a sharp intake of air.
"Hey Maury, you alright?"
One long silent second passed. "No," Maury answered (finally) and began to cry.
A hundred and twenty miles away, Sonya's mind raced with questions. A paralysis began to grip her chest (muscles). "Maury, Maury answer me.What happened? Is Jason O'K?"
"He's fine."
Dread crept into Sonya's voice, "Are you O'K? Is it--something with you?"
"Yes. I mean, no, not me, not something wrong with me." Maury (inhaled deeply, the physical act steadying her nerves, calming her mind as would a high diver at the moment of push off, the second before the body catapults outward, momentarily weightless) took a sharp intake of breath. "It's Jay." She exhaled. "He's left me."
"Oh my god!" Sonya's voice held the last word on a high note. "What do you mean he left you? What happened?"
"I don't know." Maury shook her head from side to side. "I can't believe this. He comes home from work early today and when I ask him what's up he gives me this speech. He tells me things haven't been good for a long time, that we don't really get along anymore. Then he starts to tell me I know this too--"
"What?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought. And then he gets a suitcase," Maury's voice begins to crack, "he gets a suitcase that HE HAD ALREADY PACKED from inside his walk-in closet!"
"Maury, I just can't believe Jay would do this to you." Sonya could hear Maury begin crying again. The bastard, she thought. More sobs came through the phone. "That's it," Sonya decided, "Listen girl, I'm driving down."
Maury's sob broke off, "What?"
"I said I'm driving down. If I leave now I can be there by nine-thirty."
"Sonya, you don't have to drive here tonight."
"Yes, I do. I want to. I'll throw a couple things in a bag, grab my car keys, and I'm off."
Maury sniffled, "Thanks."
"I'll call you when I'm on the road." Sonya closed her cell phone. "The bastard," this time she said it aloud. Minutes later she emerged from her bedroom carrying a small suitcase. She walked through the galley kitchen, stopping long enough to grab two bottles of wine from the cupboard and shove them into her over-sized purse, then headed out the condo door.
Sonya drove down the on-ramp and eased her blue Ford Focus into the flow of traffic. Within the darkened interior the radio remained quiet, allowing her thoughts to fill the space, interrupted every now and again by a high pitched squeech of wiper across the windshield. Lights from passing billboards, on-coming traffic, and streetlamps took turns outlining the anamorphic droplets, highlighting their slow erratic track downward on the glass windows. The car seemed as though a time capsule, reflecting Sonya's all too familiar sense of shifting ground.
"I bet he's got another woman," she thought. Jay wouldn't upset his world for something small. Oh no, not him." Sonya kept rewinding scenes from college when Maury and she first met Jay. Seated at a front row desk on the first day of freshman Microeconomics, Sonya watched Professor Bards and Jay enter the classroom together, both men relaxed, chatting as though they often shared lighthearted tid-bits. Jay walked with Bards up to the front desk and the two continued their conversation for another minute, just long enough for all the girls in the room to notice Jay's slightly faded jeans, button down shirt, and scuffed, brown-leather penny loafers on his sockless feet. His sandy brown hair was cut short on the sides, fuller on the top. Jay's whole demeanor was clean casual and radiated confidence. He never spoke to Sonya through-out that whole semester. That's why she was sure he didn't know her name when Maury and she bumped into Jay at (bar name...drinking age 18 until Sept.1 1986). She had noticed him the moment the two had settled onto bar stools. He was at a table with three other guys she had seen around campus but never met.
"Hey Sonya."
The intimacy of Jay's voice startled Sonya, causing her to momentarily flinch. Maury and she had just ordered drinks, and Sonya had been digging through her purse when Jay approached. He smiled down at Sonya, looking directly into her eyes. She made a mental note to breath normally.
"How have you been? I hadn't seen you around campus yet this semester."
How have I been? Sonya's mind began to race. Her brows instinctively raised before knitting together in puzzlement. "Yeh, I guess--our paths don't cross this semester."
The guy who never spoke to her before reached for his wallet as the bartender placed a beer in front of each girl. "Here, let me catch this one." He leaned in between the two, handing across a five. Jay looked again at Sonya, " I bet you're happy to be done with ol' Bards, I know I am. My name's Jay," he turned towards reached out and took a firm hold of Maury's hand. "Sonya and I suffered through micro-econ together." Maury's face had broken into a wide smile, her green eyes looking upward into Jay's.
Before they knew it, Jay had pulled up a bar stool. Halfway through their first beer Jay's pal, Mike, had joined them. By the second beer it was obvious to Sonya that Jay was interested in Maury. At the end of the evening
he told Maury he'd give her a call. Of course, for Jay, that didn't mean immediately, or even soon, for that matter.
Sonya and Maury continued to bump into Jay and his crowd around campus throughout the spring semester. Each time he would greet the two as though he had been hoping to see them. Then he would turn his charm on Maury, focusing just the right amount of eye-contact, his blue eyes feigning a warmth and sincerity mirrored in his voice but never in his actions. Jay finally called Maury in May as the semester wound to a close. Prior to this phone call, Jay sent Maury's emotions on a roller coaster track whenever the two met, chest palpitating excitement each time they talked, high exuberation the next day, followed by a plummeting decent into the dark, painful world of self-doubt and despair when his call never came. But this time Jay did call, so the girls met him at (bar name). He was alone, his usual crowd having packed up and headed back to their homes. For the next few hours the three enjoyed a few beers. They talked about their final exams, laughed at some of the profs, and shared their plans for the summer. Sonya and Maury both had bartending jobs lined up at the same restaurant in Milwaukee. Jay was going home to Duluth, Michigan. His father owned a hardware store there. Jay would spend his summer as he had for the past five summers, re-stocking, nuts and bolts, loading 4' X 8' plywood sheets into truck beds, and running the register.
As Maury and Sonya walked home that May evening, Sonya couldn't help but wonder if Jay called them out of desperation. All his friends had left campus. "Do you think Jay had called us because there wasn't anyone else left to hang with?" she asked Maury.
Maury thought about this for a moment. Maury always liked to think about things before she said something. "Possibly," her voice sounded serious. Suddenly, Maury's face lit up with a smile. "But tonight, this wonderful spring night with the stars twinkling above and you and me walking home from a nice evening with a VERY cute guy--I don't care!"
Highway traffic lightened as Sonya drove further south, out of the small city of Madison and into the open farmland. Her thoughts drifted back through the years. She remembered her first boyfriend, (name). The relationship lasted the whole summer. Meeting in the neighborhood park, they'd sit talking for hours on the picnic table up near the old woods, away from the little kids and the park pavilion. ( ) took two whole weeks to work up the nerve to try and kiss her. Oh, how she paniced when she realized what he was trying to do, certain he could tell she didn't know (how to kiss) what she was doing. But he didn't notice and from that time on they'd sit kissing for hours on the picnic table up near the old woods. It was sweet. He made her feel terrific. And then it ended. ( ) had only wanted a girlfriend for the summer. Sonya told him no problem. Life goes on.
What ever happened to him? For the rest of the ride Sonya
Maury sighed slow and deep, pushing the wind out as though it would cleanse her of all that had come to pass. The fog that filled her mind began to swirl around one thought, I need to call Sonya, and this one thought began to warm the air like the morning sun breaking through the (a) damp mist, opening fleeting fields of vision as you drive along that (an) unfamiliar highway.
Maury (She) reached for her purse. The black leather bag lay in its usual spot, fully charged cell phone zipped within the inside pocket. Her fingers moved instinctively to speed-dial and Sonya's number.
The familiar recording of (Sonya's favorite song ??? music artist ???) played in Maury's ear. It cut off abruptly, replaced by Sonya's voice.
"Hey chica!"
Maury tried to speak, but she suddenly felt buried alive, momentarily unable to breath as though a great weight lay upon her chest. The only sound that escaped (escaping) was a sharp intake of air.
"Hey Maury, you alright?"
One long silent second passed. "No," Maury answered (finally) and began to cry.
A hundred and twenty miles away, Sonya's mind raced with questions. A paralysis began to grip her chest (muscles). "Maury, Maury answer me.What happened? Is Jason O'K?"
"He's fine."
Dread crept into Sonya's voice, "Are you O'K? Is it--something with you?"
"Yes. I mean, no, not me, not something wrong with me." Maury (inhaled deeply, the physical act steadying her nerves, calming her mind as would a high diver at the moment of push off, the second before the body catapults outward, momentarily weightless) took a sharp intake of breath. "It's Jay." She exhaled. "He's left me."
"Oh my god!" Sonya's voice held the last word on a high note. "What do you mean he left you? What happened?"
"I don't know." Maury shook her head from side to side. "I can't believe this. He comes home from work early today and when I ask him what's up he gives me this speech. He tells me things haven't been good for a long time, that we don't really get along anymore. Then he starts to tell me I know this too--"
"What?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought. And then he gets a suitcase," Maury's voice begins to crack, "he gets a suitcase that HE HAD ALREADY PACKED from inside his walk-in closet!"
"Maury, I just can't believe Jay would do this to you." Sonya could hear Maury begin crying again. The bastard, she thought. More sobs came through the phone. "That's it," Sonya decided, "Listen girl, I'm driving down."
Maury's sob broke off, "What?"
"I said I'm driving down. If I leave now I can be there by nine-thirty."
"Sonya, you don't have to drive here tonight."
"Yes, I do. I want to. I'll throw a couple things in a bag, grab my car keys, and I'm off."
Maury sniffled, "Thanks."
"I'll call you when I'm on the road." Sonya closed her cell phone. "The bastard," this time she said it aloud. Minutes later she emerged from her bedroom carrying a small suitcase. She walked through the galley kitchen, stopping long enough to grab two bottles of wine from the cupboard and shove them into her over-sized purse, then headed out the condo door.
Sonya drove down the on-ramp and eased her blue Ford Focus into the flow of traffic. Within the darkened interior the radio remained quiet, allowing her thoughts to fill the space, interrupted every now and again by a high pitched squeech of wiper across the windshield. Lights from passing billboards, on-coming traffic, and streetlamps took turns outlining the anamorphic droplets, highlighting their slow erratic track downward on the glass windows. The car seemed as though a time capsule, reflecting Sonya's all too familiar sense of shifting ground.
"I bet he's got another woman," she thought. Jay wouldn't upset his world for something small. Oh no, not him." Sonya kept rewinding scenes from college when Maury and she first met Jay. Seated at a front row desk on the first day of freshman Microeconomics, Sonya watched Professor Bards and Jay enter the classroom together, both men relaxed, chatting as though they often shared lighthearted tid-bits. Jay walked with Bards up to the front desk and the two continued their conversation for another minute, just long enough for all the girls in the room to notice Jay's slightly faded jeans, button down shirt, and scuffed, brown-leather penny loafers on his sockless feet. His sandy brown hair was cut short on the sides, fuller on the top. Jay's whole demeanor was clean casual and radiated confidence. He never spoke to Sonya through-out that whole semester. That's why she was sure he didn't know her name when Maury and she bumped into Jay at (bar name...drinking age 18 until Sept.1 1986). She had noticed him the moment the two had settled onto bar stools. He was at a table with three other guys she had seen around campus but never met.
"Hey Sonya."
The intimacy of Jay's voice startled Sonya, causing her to momentarily flinch. Maury and she had just ordered drinks, and Sonya had been digging through her purse when Jay approached. He smiled down at Sonya, looking directly into her eyes. She made a mental note to breath normally.
"How have you been? I hadn't seen you around campus yet this semester."
How have I been? Sonya's mind began to race. Her brows instinctively raised before knitting together in puzzlement. "Yeh, I guess--our paths don't cross this semester."
The guy who never spoke to her before reached for his wallet as the bartender placed a beer in front of each girl. "Here, let me catch this one." He leaned in between the two, handing across a five. Jay looked again at Sonya, " I bet you're happy to be done with ol' Bards, I know I am. My name's Jay," he turned towards reached out and took a firm hold of Maury's hand. "Sonya and I suffered through micro-econ together." Maury's face had broken into a wide smile, her green eyes looking upward into Jay's.
Before they knew it, Jay had pulled up a bar stool. Halfway through their first beer Jay's pal, Mike, had joined them. By the second beer it was obvious to Sonya that Jay was interested in Maury. At the end of the evening
he told Maury he'd give her a call. Of course, for Jay, that didn't mean immediately, or even soon, for that matter.
Sonya and Maury continued to bump into Jay and his crowd around campus throughout the spring semester. Each time he would greet the two as though he had been hoping to see them. Then he would turn his charm on Maury, focusing just the right amount of eye-contact, his blue eyes feigning a warmth and sincerity mirrored in his voice but never in his actions. Jay finally called Maury in May as the semester wound to a close. Prior to this phone call, Jay sent Maury's emotions on a roller coaster track whenever the two met, chest palpitating excitement each time they talked, high exuberation the next day, followed by a plummeting decent into the dark, painful world of self-doubt and despair when his call never came. But this time Jay did call, so the girls met him at (bar name). He was alone, his usual crowd having packed up and headed back to their homes. For the next few hours the three enjoyed a few beers. They talked about their final exams, laughed at some of the profs, and shared their plans for the summer. Sonya and Maury both had bartending jobs lined up at the same restaurant in Milwaukee. Jay was going home to Duluth, Michigan. His father owned a hardware store there. Jay would spend his summer as he had for the past five summers, re-stocking, nuts and bolts, loading 4' X 8' plywood sheets into truck beds, and running the register.
As Maury and Sonya walked home that May evening, Sonya couldn't help but wonder if Jay called them out of desperation. All his friends had left campus. "Do you think Jay had called us because there wasn't anyone else left to hang with?" she asked Maury.
Maury thought about this for a moment. Maury always liked to think about things before she said something. "Possibly," her voice sounded serious. Suddenly, Maury's face lit up with a smile. "But tonight, this wonderful spring night with the stars twinkling above and you and me walking home from a nice evening with a VERY cute guy--I don't care!"
Highway traffic lightened as Sonya drove further south, out of the small city of Madison and into the open farmland. Her thoughts drifted back through the years. She remembered her first boyfriend, (name). The relationship lasted the whole summer. Meeting in the neighborhood park, they'd sit talking for hours on the picnic table up near the old woods, away from the little kids and the park pavilion. ( ) took two whole weeks to work up the nerve to try and kiss her. Oh, how she paniced when she realized what he was trying to do, certain he could tell she didn't know (how to kiss) what she was doing. But he didn't notice and from that time on they'd sit kissing for hours on the picnic table up near the old woods. It was sweet. He made her feel terrific. And then it ended. ( ) had only wanted a girlfriend for the summer. Sonya told him no problem. Life goes on.
What ever happened to him? For the rest of the ride Sonya
The apple tree
"Sonya?"
An afternoon breeze released the music of early summer, a sudden whushhh of rustling leaves crecsendoing upward accompanied by the dance of pink apple blossoms, their perfume mingled with the scents of musty, damp earth and sun warmed bark. A barefoot young girl wearing denim cut-offs leaned back against the forking branches of the ancient apple tree, two long braids of auburn hair framing a face that shouted annoyance, green eyes narrowed, cheeks flushed, lips slightly puckered, tightening into a firm line. She spoke out again.
"Sonya!"
"Uh huh?"
"I asked you, what do you think of Jason Peterson?"
A slender girl with black eyes and hair reluctantly looked up from the opened book nestled in the crook of her bent legs. She was the kind of girl who at times preferred the company of these pages, the ancient adventurers pushing past the edge of a known world, the underdogs of a medieval kingdom, in particular those who conversed with wizards or hobbits or the like, conquering adversities. She often thought that the world could benefit greatly from more people of this sort and less of the kind who can't think beyond their immediate surroundings. At this moment, she brought her thoughts back from other worlds focusing her gaze and her mind across at her friend cradled in the adjacent tree branch.
"Peterson?" Sonya reflected, "Oh, well he's ooo'k. Kind of a nerd though. You know, like too excited in science class and takes math seriously."
"What's wrong with liking science?"
Sonya sighed tilting her chin down and her head ever so slightly to the side. "Maury, it's o'k to LIKE science, but you don't let everyone know it." She went back to reading her book.
"Sonya."
Silence.
"Sonya!"
For the second time Sonya pulled herself away from the pages in front her gently closing the book on her finger and holding it there. "What's up Maury?"
"I really like Jason Peterson."
Sonya's eyes widened forcing her black brows upward. Now this was serious stuff requiring serious discussion time. "Does he like you?"
"I don't know."
"What do ya mean you don't know? What did he say to you when you told him?"
Maury's eyes glanced quickly downward as though a multi-legged creature of incredible size had suddenly appeared. After three seconds of inner-lip chewing and mental struggle she refocused her eyes on the serrated shiny leaf off to her left. "I don't want him to know," her voice cracked slightly. "I'm not going to look stupid and go up to him and say 'Hey, I like you'."
Sonya withdrew her finger, closed her book , and sat up, dangling her legs one on each side of the smooth tree branch, straddling it as though she were on a horse. She leaned in towards her friend demanding full eye contact. "Listen," she said, "you won't look stupid, really. It's not like no one else has done this before. Remember? Around Valentine's Day? Lynn Kipke and Adam Gurzinski? She told him she liked him and no one laughed.In fact," she sighed, "I know a lot of girls who wished they had said it first."
Now it was Maury's turn to sit upward and dangle her legs on either side of the branch. She nervously began swinging one leg back and forth while holding the branch, book braced between the bark and the fleshy part of her palms. Her eyes remained locked on Sonya's face all the while nawing the inside of her bottom lip.
"Tell the guy," Sonya continued,"I mean why not? If you don't tell him how is he supposed to know?" Her dark eyes suddenly lit up, "Hey, you know what?" she piped up, "I can tell him."
Maury shook her head quickly from side to side. "No. No. No. If you do that then everyone will know."
"Who cares?"
"I care," Maury indignantly replied. "I care alot. If you tell Jason he'll tell Phil Ochowitz and Brad Larson and all the other guys and then they'll laugh in my face or, worse yet, behind my back."
The two friends sat staring at each other, both lost in thought. Suddenly a soft breeze rustled the leaves, again perfuming the air around the girls, brushing their cheeks as a mother would stroke the face of a young child. The breeze blew past the two friends, taking with it all anxiety. Sonya shrugged, "Don't sweat it Maury. I won't tell Jason or anyone else if you don't want me to."
"Thanks,
(Sonya lectures Maury describing Maury's too serious personality and at the same time outlines her view of life and boys)
An afternoon breeze released the music of early summer, a sudden whushhh of rustling leaves crecsendoing upward accompanied by the dance of pink apple blossoms, their perfume mingled with the scents of musty, damp earth and sun warmed bark. A barefoot young girl wearing denim cut-offs leaned back against the forking branches of the ancient apple tree, two long braids of auburn hair framing a face that shouted annoyance, green eyes narrowed, cheeks flushed, lips slightly puckered, tightening into a firm line. She spoke out again.
"Sonya!"
"Uh huh?"
"I asked you, what do you think of Jason Peterson?"
A slender girl with black eyes and hair reluctantly looked up from the opened book nestled in the crook of her bent legs. She was the kind of girl who at times preferred the company of these pages, the ancient adventurers pushing past the edge of a known world, the underdogs of a medieval kingdom, in particular those who conversed with wizards or hobbits or the like, conquering adversities. She often thought that the world could benefit greatly from more people of this sort and less of the kind who can't think beyond their immediate surroundings. At this moment, she brought her thoughts back from other worlds focusing her gaze and her mind across at her friend cradled in the adjacent tree branch.
"Peterson?" Sonya reflected, "Oh, well he's ooo'k. Kind of a nerd though. You know, like too excited in science class and takes math seriously."
"What's wrong with liking science?"
Sonya sighed tilting her chin down and her head ever so slightly to the side. "Maury, it's o'k to LIKE science, but you don't let everyone know it." She went back to reading her book.
"Sonya."
Silence.
"Sonya!"
For the second time Sonya pulled herself away from the pages in front her gently closing the book on her finger and holding it there. "What's up Maury?"
"I really like Jason Peterson."
Sonya's eyes widened forcing her black brows upward. Now this was serious stuff requiring serious discussion time. "Does he like you?"
"I don't know."
"What do ya mean you don't know? What did he say to you when you told him?"
Maury's eyes glanced quickly downward as though a multi-legged creature of incredible size had suddenly appeared. After three seconds of inner-lip chewing and mental struggle she refocused her eyes on the serrated shiny leaf off to her left. "I don't want him to know," her voice cracked slightly. "I'm not going to look stupid and go up to him and say 'Hey, I like you'."
Sonya withdrew her finger, closed her book , and sat up, dangling her legs one on each side of the smooth tree branch, straddling it as though she were on a horse. She leaned in towards her friend demanding full eye contact. "Listen," she said, "you won't look stupid, really. It's not like no one else has done this before. Remember? Around Valentine's Day? Lynn Kipke and Adam Gurzinski? She told him she liked him and no one laughed.In fact," she sighed, "I know a lot of girls who wished they had said it first."
Now it was Maury's turn to sit upward and dangle her legs on either side of the branch. She nervously began swinging one leg back and forth while holding the branch, book braced between the bark and the fleshy part of her palms. Her eyes remained locked on Sonya's face all the while nawing the inside of her bottom lip.
"Tell the guy," Sonya continued,"I mean why not? If you don't tell him how is he supposed to know?" Her dark eyes suddenly lit up, "Hey, you know what?" she piped up, "I can tell him."
Maury shook her head quickly from side to side. "No. No. No. If you do that then everyone will know."
"Who cares?"
"I care," Maury indignantly replied. "I care alot. If you tell Jason he'll tell Phil Ochowitz and Brad Larson and all the other guys and then they'll laugh in my face or, worse yet, behind my back."
The two friends sat staring at each other, both lost in thought. Suddenly a soft breeze rustled the leaves, again perfuming the air around the girls, brushing their cheeks as a mother would stroke the face of a young child. The breeze blew past the two friends, taking with it all anxiety. Sonya shrugged, "Don't sweat it Maury. I won't tell Jason or anyone else if you don't want me to."
"Thanks,
(Sonya lectures Maury describing Maury's too serious personality and at the same time outlines her view of life and boys)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Here we go!
Well, we got as far as deciding our characters will live in an orchard, be named Sonya and something, there's a hot beekeeper - one husband died and one ran off with a ditzy blonde.....
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