Winter is coming. And with it comes the awful dread I feel as the cold clamps down, the snow falls and the inevitable ice develops on the roads.
About mid September I begin to stress about it. I get my gut in such a knot that by the time the snow flies I am already sick with worry over the drives I will have to make around town, to work in Bracebridge or any other place I need to go.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the scenery that comes with the colder temperatures, and every day as I drive past a lake on the left hand side of the highway at 7:20 in the morning, I am left brethless at the beauty of the mist that hangs over the fields that sparkle with the morning frost. The sun burning through the mist and lighting everything to a brilliant gold. The lake bright and golden as well. Words cannot begin to describe how breathtaking this scene is. I regret every morning that I do not have my camera to capture this and that I do not HAVE the time to capture this even if I had my camera. So every week I buy a lottery ticket and every week I wonder if this will be the week I can quit my job and work at whatever pace I decide. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE what I do for work. What I don't love is the fact it is a 40 minute drive if I don't speed. then back to my "Winter anxiety" I hate... absolutely HATE the morning winter routine. Get up at 4:30 to see if it snowed. If not try to fall back to sleep for a bit.. If it has, get dressed and go outside and shovel my crazy, sloping, scares me half to death in the winter, driveway.. then sand it liberally and after showering and a fresh change of clothes, cautiously drive down into the busy traffic rushing past praying I don't hit a slippery spot that sends me sliding down onto the road with no control only to hope I can avoid being hit.
Then, once safely at work seeing the snow fall creates another round of the sick to my stomach "crap will I be able to get UP the driveway" feeling. It makes winter a miserable time and if I manage to get through this one without dropping dead from a heart attack as a result of the stress I feel for that reason alone.. it will be a miracle.
'Nuff said.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
#frudayflash - Little Miss Muffet
Little miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And….
Said…
“Isn’t it a lovely day?”
“Pardon me” Inquired Miss Muffet. A look of surprise and bewilderment on her face at the very idea of a spider speaking to her.
“Well” said the spider, “Now that I have your attention I would like to suggest that maybe you consider getting to know me a bit before you go flying off like you usually do. I suspect you will find that we have a great deal in common.”
“Reaaallly.” Muffet drawled.
“Yes” he answered. “For instance, I quite like sitting in the sun and enjoying my afternoon repast, such as yourself with your curds and whey there.”
Muffet looked down into her bowl and back at the spider who had just consumed a fly while she pondered his words.
“Yes, and walks, I love walking, scurrying back and forth across my web like I do gives me great pleasure. I have observed you walking by on a regular basis”
Muffet nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, I do love a leisurely stroll now and then.”
“And you crochet” the spider stated motioning with his front right leg to the delicate incomplete doily beside Muffet. “And I weave my web with the same care and pride as you do your crocheting”
“So you see, we really are very much alike.”
Muffet gazed at the spider, her wide blue eyes almost identical in colour to her perfectly pressed pinafore. Her blond hair shone brightly in the afternoon sun and complemented her beautiful rosebud lips.
“I don’t think so” Muffet answered and smacked a rock down on the unsuspecting spider. You’re ugly”.
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And….
Said…
“Isn’t it a lovely day?”
“Pardon me” Inquired Miss Muffet. A look of surprise and bewilderment on her face at the very idea of a spider speaking to her.
“Well” said the spider, “Now that I have your attention I would like to suggest that maybe you consider getting to know me a bit before you go flying off like you usually do. I suspect you will find that we have a great deal in common.”
“Reaaallly.” Muffet drawled.
“Yes” he answered. “For instance, I quite like sitting in the sun and enjoying my afternoon repast, such as yourself with your curds and whey there.”
Muffet looked down into her bowl and back at the spider who had just consumed a fly while she pondered his words.
“Yes, and walks, I love walking, scurrying back and forth across my web like I do gives me great pleasure. I have observed you walking by on a regular basis”
Muffet nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, I do love a leisurely stroll now and then.”
“And you crochet” the spider stated motioning with his front right leg to the delicate incomplete doily beside Muffet. “And I weave my web with the same care and pride as you do your crocheting”
“So you see, we really are very much alike.”
Muffet gazed at the spider, her wide blue eyes almost identical in colour to her perfectly pressed pinafore. Her blond hair shone brightly in the afternoon sun and complemented her beautiful rosebud lips.
“I don’t think so” Muffet answered and smacked a rock down on the unsuspecting spider. You’re ugly”.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
#fridayflash - Desperate Times....
"Last one" Christina mumbled out loud as she dropped the red spattered white pearl into the sink. She leaned in to admire her handiwork in the mirror.
She smiled a toothless grin and ran her tongue over the now empty sockets where her teeth used to be. So soft and yielding was the flesh under her tongue. Like raw chicken that had been pounded with a mallet but redder and oh so bloody.
She looked down into the sink and started to count. 29, 30, 31.
31, no 32 pearly whites. Some of them almost lost in the splatters of blood that coated the bottom and sides of the sink. She picked them up one by one and counted one more time. Then tossed them in the trash. She turned to the sink again and picked up the pliers and ran hot water over them to clean them up. With the water still running she used her hand to swirl it up the sides and then down the drain.
As she wiped the pliers and the sink dry she gazed in the mirror at her now toothless face and was startled by the scream in her head.
Christina sat bolt upright in bed. Sweat pouring down her face, eyes wide, heart racing as she remembered seeing her own toothless reflection in her dream.
Damn this tooth hurt. Six days. Six days of agony that no amount of pain killer and types of antibiotics was able to relieve. Six days of feeling she could not last one more moment without losing her sanity. She climbed out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom and popped 2 more T3’s into her mouth along with 2 Gravol to keep herself from throwing up once the T3’s hit her stomach. Crawling back into bed she started to cry. She rolled herself up into a ball, her knees drawn tightly against her chest and rocked. Her mind drifted to her dream again and the pliers in the tool chest in the closet.
She smiled a toothless grin and ran her tongue over the now empty sockets where her teeth used to be. So soft and yielding was the flesh under her tongue. Like raw chicken that had been pounded with a mallet but redder and oh so bloody.
She looked down into the sink and started to count. 29, 30, 31.
31, no 32 pearly whites. Some of them almost lost in the splatters of blood that coated the bottom and sides of the sink. She picked them up one by one and counted one more time. Then tossed them in the trash. She turned to the sink again and picked up the pliers and ran hot water over them to clean them up. With the water still running she used her hand to swirl it up the sides and then down the drain.
As she wiped the pliers and the sink dry she gazed in the mirror at her now toothless face and was startled by the scream in her head.
Christina sat bolt upright in bed. Sweat pouring down her face, eyes wide, heart racing as she remembered seeing her own toothless reflection in her dream.
Damn this tooth hurt. Six days. Six days of agony that no amount of pain killer and types of antibiotics was able to relieve. Six days of feeling she could not last one more moment without losing her sanity. She climbed out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom and popped 2 more T3’s into her mouth along with 2 Gravol to keep herself from throwing up once the T3’s hit her stomach. Crawling back into bed she started to cry. She rolled herself up into a ball, her knees drawn tightly against her chest and rocked. Her mind drifted to her dream again and the pliers in the tool chest in the closet.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
#fridayflash- A Special Anniversary
Lavina and Samuel were celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss.
More accurately Samuel was celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss. The last 10 had not been so blissful for Lavina.
10 years ago.. to this date, Samuel had brought home a puppy.
“Happy Anniversary Sweetheart" and handed her the little ball of fur that he had already named muffin. Lavina thought about that day as she stood over the stove serving Samuel his third helping of Stew. He was loving this stew. Just lapping it up bowl after bowl with a crusty roll and lots of butter. Streaks of the melting butter running down his face mixed with the thick gravy from the stew and coagulating on his chin. He spit out bits of the roll as he announced again. “Best damn stew you have ever made Vina, you really outdid yourself this time. “
He slurped some of the beer from the chilled glass and wiped his face with the back of his arm. Smearing bits of butter, gravy and beer foam up the sleeve of his freshly washed and ironed shirt. Lavina had worked most of the day preparing the house and his clothes and the meal. Specially for him.
“You not having any” he asked.
“No” she responded quickly and grinned at him. “I think the heat has put me off food today. “I made this specially for you anyway dear. You enjoy it.”
He looked past her to the rhubarb pie cooling on the counter then said. “You are too good to me Vina. You made my favorite pie and everything”.
40 years was a long time to be with someone these days and until that damn dog had been brought into the house they were very happy. Lavina and Samuel. At the young ages of 18 and 19 they promised till death do them part and Lavina meant it and would stick to her vows through good times and bad. 10 years ago was the start of the bad times. Lavina hated dogs. She couldn’t stand the site of them or the sounds they made and smell of them just about drove her round the bend. The little ones were the worst. Samuel knew this but he brought it home anyway under the guise of an Anniversary gift and presented it to her like it was the Hope Diamond. She made the appropriate sounds and thanked him. Put the puppy down on the floor and rushed to the sink to wash her hands .
Since that day the damn dog always came first in Samuel's life. He bought it beds. One for every room in the house. Mind you, the dog never slept in any of them. It was constantly in Samuel's lap, or in his arms as he carried it about. It sat in the front seat of the car while Lavina had been moved to the back. Not that she went out in the car anymore. Sitting behind that animal with its fur blowing around in the breeze flying into her face caused her to see red. And outfits. The dog had more outfits than she had. He even bought it little booties for the cold weather.
The dog didn’t think to highly of Lavina either. It would often growl at her as she walked by and more than once it had lunged at her and taken a nip at her leg and Samuel was always quick to defend the dog. Justifying its action. Seeming to have no concern for Lavina and the blood running down her calf.
Samuel never fed the dog table scraps though. The vet had said it was a strict no no and Samuel wanted his love to be healthy and happy.
Lavina was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Samuel pushing his bowl away as he shoved the last bit of crusty roll drenched in gravy into his mouth.
He looked around the room and got up from his chair. He wandered out into the living room and she could hear him call. “Muffin… ….Muffin.. .…..here muffin. Where’s daddy’s baby hiding? Muffin??? Where are you girl??”
She heard the sound of his voice calling and fading as he wandered the house… room to room, calling his precious dog. There was silence for a few minutes and she imagined him confused and wondering about his dog.
She heard him behind her as he came back into the kitchen.
“Have you seen Muffin?” Samuel asked in a voice devoid of the enthusiasm it held when he ate the meal she had prepared just for him.
She turned, a look of concern on her face when she answered. “No dear. I haven’t, have you checked out in the yard? Maybe she ran out when you came in”
“I will go look” he answered and walked out to the back porch.
Lavina turned back to the sink and flushed the remaining stew down the waste disposal. A large grin pasted across her face.
More accurately Samuel was celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss. The last 10 had not been so blissful for Lavina.
10 years ago.. to this date, Samuel had brought home a puppy.
“Happy Anniversary Sweetheart" and handed her the little ball of fur that he had already named muffin. Lavina thought about that day as she stood over the stove serving Samuel his third helping of Stew. He was loving this stew. Just lapping it up bowl after bowl with a crusty roll and lots of butter. Streaks of the melting butter running down his face mixed with the thick gravy from the stew and coagulating on his chin. He spit out bits of the roll as he announced again. “Best damn stew you have ever made Vina, you really outdid yourself this time. “
He slurped some of the beer from the chilled glass and wiped his face with the back of his arm. Smearing bits of butter, gravy and beer foam up the sleeve of his freshly washed and ironed shirt. Lavina had worked most of the day preparing the house and his clothes and the meal. Specially for him.
“You not having any” he asked.
“No” she responded quickly and grinned at him. “I think the heat has put me off food today. “I made this specially for you anyway dear. You enjoy it.”
He looked past her to the rhubarb pie cooling on the counter then said. “You are too good to me Vina. You made my favorite pie and everything”.
40 years was a long time to be with someone these days and until that damn dog had been brought into the house they were very happy. Lavina and Samuel. At the young ages of 18 and 19 they promised till death do them part and Lavina meant it and would stick to her vows through good times and bad. 10 years ago was the start of the bad times. Lavina hated dogs. She couldn’t stand the site of them or the sounds they made and smell of them just about drove her round the bend. The little ones were the worst. Samuel knew this but he brought it home anyway under the guise of an Anniversary gift and presented it to her like it was the Hope Diamond. She made the appropriate sounds and thanked him. Put the puppy down on the floor and rushed to the sink to wash her hands .
Since that day the damn dog always came first in Samuel's life. He bought it beds. One for every room in the house. Mind you, the dog never slept in any of them. It was constantly in Samuel's lap, or in his arms as he carried it about. It sat in the front seat of the car while Lavina had been moved to the back. Not that she went out in the car anymore. Sitting behind that animal with its fur blowing around in the breeze flying into her face caused her to see red. And outfits. The dog had more outfits than she had. He even bought it little booties for the cold weather.
The dog didn’t think to highly of Lavina either. It would often growl at her as she walked by and more than once it had lunged at her and taken a nip at her leg and Samuel was always quick to defend the dog. Justifying its action. Seeming to have no concern for Lavina and the blood running down her calf.
Samuel never fed the dog table scraps though. The vet had said it was a strict no no and Samuel wanted his love to be healthy and happy.
Lavina was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Samuel pushing his bowl away as he shoved the last bit of crusty roll drenched in gravy into his mouth.
He looked around the room and got up from his chair. He wandered out into the living room and she could hear him call. “Muffin… ….Muffin.. .…..here muffin. Where’s daddy’s baby hiding? Muffin??? Where are you girl??”
She heard the sound of his voice calling and fading as he wandered the house… room to room, calling his precious dog. There was silence for a few minutes and she imagined him confused and wondering about his dog.
She heard him behind her as he came back into the kitchen.
“Have you seen Muffin?” Samuel asked in a voice devoid of the enthusiasm it held when he ate the meal she had prepared just for him.
She turned, a look of concern on her face when she answered. “No dear. I haven’t, have you checked out in the yard? Maybe she ran out when you came in”
“I will go look” he answered and walked out to the back porch.
Lavina turned back to the sink and flushed the remaining stew down the waste disposal. A large grin pasted across her face.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Musings and complaints mixed with a bit of whining
Its been a while since I last blogged. Not because I lacked anything to blog about. What I severely lacked was the time. As for my Friday Flashes, it was time, but mostly imagination. or lacking the time to even think about what my next story will be about. Life goes on. Right now, gardens need work... they always do. So does the laundry, and the house, my son requires being picked up somewhere or dropped of somewhere, because most of his friends live out of town. And then there is my boyfriend who has his own list of things he requires. Work, business, breakfast, dinner, lunch. dishes, toilets, floors, and somewhere in there I really should get some exercise. All stuff everyone of us has to deal with every day. So I guess it comes to me being somewhat incapable of what... organization? Proper planning? or is it letting other people dictate how I go about my day according to what they think my priorities should be. I suspect its that last one. I find more and more often I will be in the middle of something and as I walk by someone says. I need your help with this now, with no regard or question as to what I MAY be in the middle of. So I guess what it comes down to is me being able to say. "You know what. I am busy at the moment, just give me a bit to finish off what I am doing" Gotta try that.
Hmmmm. Would this open a kettle of fish I don't have time to deal with???
It's a dilemma.
I will have to think about that.
If I find the time.
Hmmmm. Would this open a kettle of fish I don't have time to deal with???
It's a dilemma.
I will have to think about that.
If I find the time.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tough stuff
This weekend... we threw a mans life in the garbage.
Sounds awful, when I say it that way.
My boyfriends father was a medic in the Korean war. He was biological father to two and adoptive father to two. He was a musher and for years had sled teams. There is not much else I know about him other than the fact that he was 6'4 or thereabouts. He couldnt drink grapefruit juice because of his medications.(And he loved the stuff) and he battled Cancer for many years before I even met him. That is what finally took his life a few short days after his birthday in February of this year. He was big into the military history, and the music that went with it. (Having been in the military I suppose) And he never spoke of the war or his part in it.
Anyway... this weekend.. after many weekends of sorting and agonizing over what to do about the things in his home, we decended on it and threw what we could carry out of it and sold off the rest. A life time of papers and photo memories and cans and jars and bags of coins. I hate this type of thing. I want to keep every picture or written memory but as was pointed out to me..... where do they go? Packed away once they come to our home, in a box and stashed in the basement never to be looked at. So I relented and it all went out to the dumpster.
We started hauling out at 9 and worked throught to 6:30. We met a few interesting people along the way like Dan who will be out new small engines guy. He came by with his young son Ryan who really really liked the globe on the desk. That is now his. Dan took all the old metal off our hands and came out and removed our appliance garden as John liked to call it. Dan stripes everything apart for the metal salvage and sells it off for cash. I could go on more about Dan, met his wife later on who is 4 or 5 months pregnant... then there was "Off the Grid Mike or Doug" I cannot remember his name, he was by a few times on Saturday, and I got in conversation with him in the garage. He had driven in on a beautiful Harely Davidson motorcycle, and had wandered about to see if anything intrested him, and he made a couple purchases. He had that burley biker look to him and reminded me of the one guy on Myth Busters, the quiet sullen one who's name escapes me.
I was in the garage and duped the contenst of a large plastci bag to find it contained a rather large nest of mice. Needless to say, I screamed at the shock of seeing this pile of fluff move and a mother come flying out with what looked like about 6 babies stuck to her underside as she ran around looking for some shelter.
Well, "Off the Grid Mike or Doug" wandered in to see what the commotion was about and asked if I was OK. I explained what had startled me and while I spoke he gathered up in his hands the babies that had fallen of her teets and the other strays in his large hands and gently placed them agains the wall where mother had found a crack to hide in. "Don't worry about them he said, they are survivours, they will find another home." Another family came by and purchased the sofa, several chairs and lamps I think. They had just, after 3 years completed building their log home with the timbers he had cut and stripped himself. They DID have them milled and shaped to fit one on top of the other like the logs toys I played with as a kid but thats about all that they had done outside of thier own hard work. Salvaged doors and windows from other old buildings one of them being a Bigwin island building. They pulled out the album and we looked though three years of hard labor as they lovingly built thier home. That day we met three intersting families who make their lives in less traditional ways than most of us who hold 9 to 5 jobs. However and whatever it takes to get the food on the table. All of them your Jack of many trades. Each one of the men certified in many fields of skill and not stuck to any particular one day after day..... and everyone one of them seeming so very happy, and of all the people we met on that day, they were the most socialable. They scrounged around the house and saw the potential in the same things that many had turned thier nose up at.
So the house got cleared out and cleaned up. I got over having to throw stuff out that I wanted to see kept. I just got too tired to care. And afterall, the best memories are stored inside my head anyway. And I think we all made some new friends
Sounds awful, when I say it that way.
My boyfriends father was a medic in the Korean war. He was biological father to two and adoptive father to two. He was a musher and for years had sled teams. There is not much else I know about him other than the fact that he was 6'4 or thereabouts. He couldnt drink grapefruit juice because of his medications.(And he loved the stuff) and he battled Cancer for many years before I even met him. That is what finally took his life a few short days after his birthday in February of this year. He was big into the military history, and the music that went with it. (Having been in the military I suppose) And he never spoke of the war or his part in it.
Anyway... this weekend.. after many weekends of sorting and agonizing over what to do about the things in his home, we decended on it and threw what we could carry out of it and sold off the rest. A life time of papers and photo memories and cans and jars and bags of coins. I hate this type of thing. I want to keep every picture or written memory but as was pointed out to me..... where do they go? Packed away once they come to our home, in a box and stashed in the basement never to be looked at. So I relented and it all went out to the dumpster.
We started hauling out at 9 and worked throught to 6:30. We met a few interesting people along the way like Dan who will be out new small engines guy. He came by with his young son Ryan who really really liked the globe on the desk. That is now his. Dan took all the old metal off our hands and came out and removed our appliance garden as John liked to call it. Dan stripes everything apart for the metal salvage and sells it off for cash. I could go on more about Dan, met his wife later on who is 4 or 5 months pregnant... then there was "Off the Grid Mike or Doug" I cannot remember his name, he was by a few times on Saturday, and I got in conversation with him in the garage. He had driven in on a beautiful Harely Davidson motorcycle, and had wandered about to see if anything intrested him, and he made a couple purchases. He had that burley biker look to him and reminded me of the one guy on Myth Busters, the quiet sullen one who's name escapes me.
I was in the garage and duped the contenst of a large plastci bag to find it contained a rather large nest of mice. Needless to say, I screamed at the shock of seeing this pile of fluff move and a mother come flying out with what looked like about 6 babies stuck to her underside as she ran around looking for some shelter.
Well, "Off the Grid Mike or Doug" wandered in to see what the commotion was about and asked if I was OK. I explained what had startled me and while I spoke he gathered up in his hands the babies that had fallen of her teets and the other strays in his large hands and gently placed them agains the wall where mother had found a crack to hide in. "Don't worry about them he said, they are survivours, they will find another home." Another family came by and purchased the sofa, several chairs and lamps I think. They had just, after 3 years completed building their log home with the timbers he had cut and stripped himself. They DID have them milled and shaped to fit one on top of the other like the logs toys I played with as a kid but thats about all that they had done outside of thier own hard work. Salvaged doors and windows from other old buildings one of them being a Bigwin island building. They pulled out the album and we looked though three years of hard labor as they lovingly built thier home. That day we met three intersting families who make their lives in less traditional ways than most of us who hold 9 to 5 jobs. However and whatever it takes to get the food on the table. All of them your Jack of many trades. Each one of the men certified in many fields of skill and not stuck to any particular one day after day..... and everyone one of them seeming so very happy, and of all the people we met on that day, they were the most socialable. They scrounged around the house and saw the potential in the same things that many had turned thier nose up at.
So the house got cleared out and cleaned up. I got over having to throw stuff out that I wanted to see kept. I just got too tired to care. And afterall, the best memories are stored inside my head anyway. And I think we all made some new friends
Thursday, May 13, 2010
#fridayflash - Erica
Erica stared hard at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
The morning light beaming in the window was not her friend today but she could fix that. She leaned in close to the mirror and smoothed her foundation over her face. Standing back to examine her work she decided to apply some more concealer here and there to even out the colour, then puffed on the powder to fix everything in place.
Gary had bought her one of those fancy make up mirrors for the cabinet with the different levels of lighting to adjust to varying environments. Day, evening and office. She would be heading out into daylight upon completion of her makeup so picked the appropriate setting on the mirror.
Turning her face left and then right to see if there were any less than perfect spots she started on her eyes.
She thought about the evening before and then back to the day she first saw Gary. She worked in the cosmetic department of a high end department store catering to only the cities most affluent.
Erica was a makeup artist. She had studied for a year and a half at one of the best schools in Hollywood and was very good at what she did. She had applied for this job hoping that by working at this counter selling product and being able to demonstrate her skills to Hollywood’s elite that she might be able to achieve her dream and one day get a position as an artist on movie sets. Only the most beautiful of people were employed here. And Erica was striking. Hollywood’s famous shopped here and she had waited on many of them. She figured it was only a matter of time before she was “discovered.’
She first noticed Gary walking arm and arm with a gorgeous blond. He was your classic tall dark and handsome and Erica wondered if he was possibly a model or an actor. Later as they strolled past on their way out he happened to glance in her direction and then again.
“Ohhh a double take” Erica thought to herself and gave him her most charming smile. He smiled broadly back at her. She felt herself flush and her heart skipped a beat.
Although she kept a lookout for him it was sometime before she saw him again.
Then early one morning she caught sight of him carrying a large bouquet as he confidently strolled past the other counters flanking both sides of the isle. She watched as the girls at other counters would fan themselves and giggle after he passed. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen and her pulse began to race as he got closer. His eyes met hers and she quickly looked down. Embarrassed to have been caught staring. Her breath stuck in her throat. And she waited until she was sure he had passed. When she looked up it was straight into his deep blue eyes. He was smiling at her as he held out the bouquet.
“For you my beauty” his velvety voice announced. “I have done nothing but think of you since our eyes first met. “ What time do you get off of work? Will you do me the honor of sharing a meal?”
“Oh my god he is so charming” Erica thought to herself and she could see him in another time swirling off his coat ‘Sir Raleigh’ style and taking her hand to escort her over a puddle in the road.
“ Um.. ah” she stammered, now at a loss for words and very aware of the look of shock and envy from the other girls at the counters he had passed.
“Six” she blurted, then blushed because her voice was far louder than she had intended.
“Six it is then” he replied and taking her hand in his he bowed slightly saying, “I will pick you up here” and turned to go.
Erica’s legs turned to Jelly and she put her hands on the counter to steady herself.
That was just short of 6 years ago. Gary picked her up that evening and swept her off her feet. He courted her in a way she had only dreamed of. It was every girls dream. A whirlwind romance full of flowers, and gifts followed by a fairy tale wedding.
“There is no one for me but you” he whispered in her ear as he held her tight last night, “and no one for you but me”
The flowers arrived this morning as they always did after an evening like last night.
“You know how much I love you” scrawled in Gary’s hand across the card.
Erica looked at the ticket on the counter. Her bus left in an hour. She had to get moving.
She looked again at the skillful application of makeup that did a great job of hiding her black eye. One of the many she had acquired over the last 4 years since they had married. The long sleeves of her blouse covered the ugly bruises on her arms.
Walking through the house, suitcase in hand, Erica opened the front door and squinted in the bright light. She turned and took one final look at what had been her home, then closed and locked the door.
The morning light beaming in the window was not her friend today but she could fix that. She leaned in close to the mirror and smoothed her foundation over her face. Standing back to examine her work she decided to apply some more concealer here and there to even out the colour, then puffed on the powder to fix everything in place.
Gary had bought her one of those fancy make up mirrors for the cabinet with the different levels of lighting to adjust to varying environments. Day, evening and office. She would be heading out into daylight upon completion of her makeup so picked the appropriate setting on the mirror.
Turning her face left and then right to see if there were any less than perfect spots she started on her eyes.
She thought about the evening before and then back to the day she first saw Gary. She worked in the cosmetic department of a high end department store catering to only the cities most affluent.
Erica was a makeup artist. She had studied for a year and a half at one of the best schools in Hollywood and was very good at what she did. She had applied for this job hoping that by working at this counter selling product and being able to demonstrate her skills to Hollywood’s elite that she might be able to achieve her dream and one day get a position as an artist on movie sets. Only the most beautiful of people were employed here. And Erica was striking. Hollywood’s famous shopped here and she had waited on many of them. She figured it was only a matter of time before she was “discovered.’
She first noticed Gary walking arm and arm with a gorgeous blond. He was your classic tall dark and handsome and Erica wondered if he was possibly a model or an actor. Later as they strolled past on their way out he happened to glance in her direction and then again.
“Ohhh a double take” Erica thought to herself and gave him her most charming smile. He smiled broadly back at her. She felt herself flush and her heart skipped a beat.
Although she kept a lookout for him it was sometime before she saw him again.
Then early one morning she caught sight of him carrying a large bouquet as he confidently strolled past the other counters flanking both sides of the isle. She watched as the girls at other counters would fan themselves and giggle after he passed. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen and her pulse began to race as he got closer. His eyes met hers and she quickly looked down. Embarrassed to have been caught staring. Her breath stuck in her throat. And she waited until she was sure he had passed. When she looked up it was straight into his deep blue eyes. He was smiling at her as he held out the bouquet.
“For you my beauty” his velvety voice announced. “I have done nothing but think of you since our eyes first met. “ What time do you get off of work? Will you do me the honor of sharing a meal?”
“Oh my god he is so charming” Erica thought to herself and she could see him in another time swirling off his coat ‘Sir Raleigh’ style and taking her hand to escort her over a puddle in the road.
“ Um.. ah” she stammered, now at a loss for words and very aware of the look of shock and envy from the other girls at the counters he had passed.
“Six” she blurted, then blushed because her voice was far louder than she had intended.
“Six it is then” he replied and taking her hand in his he bowed slightly saying, “I will pick you up here” and turned to go.
Erica’s legs turned to Jelly and she put her hands on the counter to steady herself.
That was just short of 6 years ago. Gary picked her up that evening and swept her off her feet. He courted her in a way she had only dreamed of. It was every girls dream. A whirlwind romance full of flowers, and gifts followed by a fairy tale wedding.
“There is no one for me but you” he whispered in her ear as he held her tight last night, “and no one for you but me”
The flowers arrived this morning as they always did after an evening like last night.
“You know how much I love you” scrawled in Gary’s hand across the card.
Erica looked at the ticket on the counter. Her bus left in an hour. She had to get moving.
She looked again at the skillful application of makeup that did a great job of hiding her black eye. One of the many she had acquired over the last 4 years since they had married. The long sleeves of her blouse covered the ugly bruises on her arms.
Walking through the house, suitcase in hand, Erica opened the front door and squinted in the bright light. She turned and took one final look at what had been her home, then closed and locked the door.
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