Life in Denim and Flip Flops

If you haven't read them, go find parts one , two , three , and four before you read this :) When she first moved out to the city to join Jaime, she'd insisted they find a little park to call their own. Growing up, her backyard had backed up into a quiet neighborhood park. She had thought of it as her little place. Not like Terabithia or anything but just somewhere she could go to be herself. Her mom would pack picnics and Beth would tromp out to the biggest tree in the park and sit in the shade on her little blanket and play outside for hours. She read aloud to herself, told herself stories from all sorts of imagined worlds, but mostly she sat on the swings and sang to herself. Looking back she knew this was probably not normal. there was always some sort of narrative or soundtrack running through her head. She just had to let it out. Jaime had been the first person who wasn't a realative that she let into that little world. In high school they'd spent hours at ...

I promise I'm not actually neglecting this blog. It's been a busy week of news, meetings, happenings, and infomerical skits. I've been a little distracted to say the least. Plus it has been super hot here. I don't know about you, but when it's hot enough to warrant a heat advisory overnight, I have very little motivation to do anything but lay motionless on the couch. :) So for all of you dealing with the oppressive heat this week, I thought I would share a little piece I wrote last week about a freezing ice-covered morning from the winter of 2008 in Madison. Enjoy. jitters getting ready. questioning the outfit, already vetted twice with her roommate the night before. a glance out the window confirms her worst fears. ice. no snow justice. she's a wisconsin girl with a damaged sense of winter driving. one incident in a ditch miles from home stays with her. she's secretly hoping the car won't start, but the promise to and of the boys eggs her on. they ...

If you haven't read them, go find parts one , two , and three before you read this :) "Ladies and gentlemen, on your left, we have the street corner where Queen Victoria's youngest son met his second wife." "Cole, he didn't have a second wife." "And on your left, the bridge destroyed in the filming for the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series." "It was that bridge, and that was CGI, you goof!" Beth started to realize she'd finally found a job that would put to use all those random facts she'd learned as a kid. She'd been a voracious reader as a kid and rarely forgot what she read. She wasn't a prodigy or anything. Though Jaime had loved to call her that when the three of them played trivia at the local bar. Jaime was good for all the science-y things as Beth called them. The med school had to be good for something Cole joked. Beth covered pop culture, history, and literature. Cole covered, well..., ...

You can find parts one and two here, or by clicking the short story link at the bottom of this post. Jaime had gone away to college at his dad's alma mater in state. Beth headed five hours west to a small private college in the middle of nowhere Iowa. They never once questioned that it was the right thing to do. And unlike every other pre-college couple she knew, they made it. No wavering, no fights, no awkward jealousies. Beth knew she was the anomaly; the one unlike the others. Everyone had expected there to be issues with Cole and Jaime, but Beth knew better. Jaime loved and trusted her and contrary to all the rumors, there was never anything between her and Cole. Though the way she acted when he left didn't do much to quell those rumors. They were inseparable by the end of freshman year, so when Cole decided to spend a semester abroad in London senior year, Beth was a bit heartbroken. She knew it was an amazing opportunity, and something he would remember forever, but a...

If you missed part 1, you can find it here. untitled summer project #1 (cont.): Sometimes it was hard to believe they'd been friends for 8 years. Beth couldn't extract Cole from her life if she tried anymore. That's what made their current fight ? disagreement ? problem ? issue ? "Yeah, issue ," Beth thought, so disconcerting. Avoiding her at work was one thing, but brushing her off was another. Despite working together, they really didn't really see each other much during the day. Part of the occupational hazard of being tour guides. His parents hated the idea of their son not using his college degree to follow in the family business. They just couldn't see that Cole wasn't interested in being an accountant. "But why major in it then?" she'd asked. "Because it gives them hope that someday maybe I'll come to my senses and join them in their boring humdrum lives. Well that and I can put off telling them the truth for another...

I haven't written a short story in a while. In fact the last one of any length was probably Red-Sequined Dress that I wrote back in the fall of 2008 as a Christmas/Hannukah present for Emily. I'm not entirely sure where this new story is going to end up, but Nicola asked to see a preview. And I'm all about pleasing my readers. (All like 6 of you!) So without further adieu. untitled summer project #1: She felt small. That's what her mom used to call it when she was younger. She'd meant it when you felt hurt or needed comfort or protection, but in Beth's mind it'd become blurred into meaning her quiet times too. Beth was rarely quiet when she was little. She was the chatter box filling the room with a constant stream of stories, jokes and random facts. So at a very early age, Beth's family had learned to equate her quietness with trouble, hurt, sickness, or an impending meltdown. Though sometimes she just needed to be quiet and nothing was wrong,...

"I'm James. Yeah, I'm here a lot. My roomie is a bit..um..crazy. He's not my biggest fan, and it's just easier to avoid than to deal with it, you know? I come hang out here and do homework or just chill. I really love coming here after hours. It's quiet. Sometimes I bring a book up here to read. And I've totally always dreamed of doing a dance party up here. The acoustics would be amazing. And...now I'm rambling. Sorry. That was a simple yes or no, wasn't it?" "Ha. You're fine. It's good to know I've got some company in my love for this place." Hannah wasn't sure what was different, but talking with James was easy. She's forgotten what real conversations were like. "I've always spent a lot of time here. I was in a triple my freshman year, I totally understand the need to escape." "I guess it is an escape. So what are you escaping from now?" "Myself." "Oh. I'm sorry. I real...

She couldn't help but withdraw into herself. She was having a hard time connecting with the real world. Her girlfriends chatted away about the campus heartthrob and his latest conquest, placing bets on when she'd be kicked to the curb, as Hannah stared out the window. The sun streamed through the trees leaving vibrant patterns of light and shadows dancing in the puddles on the pavement below. Normally Hannah would have been outside with her camera trying to capture that beauty for her senior showcase. Now it just mocked her. She could still see it, but the desire was gone. What was the point? A pretty picture couldn't cure cancer. It couldn't fill the hole in her heart. And it certainly couldn't bring her back. Michelle had died 3 months ago of leukemia. Hannah and her cousin were close when they were younger, but as the grew up an went to college, the girls naturally drifted apart. Hannah had gone numb when Michelle died. The first few days following the news were ...

For Emily, whose dreaming and scheming inspired this story ‘What was she waiting for?’ Molly couldn’t believe she’d actually gone through with it. Sure, she’d been joking with her friends about it for months, but that was all it was supposed to be…a really great inside joke. And yet here she was, sitting on the spotlit stage with a grand piano in a red-sequined cocktail dress. Thankfully, the dress had only set her back $25 at her favorite little boutique on University, and the owner was right, she did feel fabulous in it. But that did not make the whole situation Molly found herself in any less stupid. Tonight was a first. And firsts are supposed to be exciting. She’d never been one of those girls in high school. No, not one of those girls, she hadn’t even been close to that. When it came to boys, she waited until things “happened,” meaning he had to make the first move. A process she had convinced herself she was content with until she looked around and found herself surrounded by ...