Categotry Archives: Fiction
Suzie’s House 34: Lost Boy
Previously, in Suzie’s House: After having fought their attraction to one another, Drew and Suzie were finally overcoming the barriers between them when Ben, Suzie’s son, came home. Ben was supposed to stay with his father, from whom he is estranged. Ben walked out when he couldn’t get his father to listen to him. “Mom?” Ben tapped on the door to his mother’s office. Funny, she hardly ever closed it. He tried the knob, but it wouldn’t turn. The door […]
Suzie’s House 33 : Suzie and Drew Sitting in a Tree
Suzie’s head spun. She couldn’t get enough air, probably because she kept forgetting to breathe. If Drew didn’t stop kissing her, she was going to pass out. Of course he wasn’t going to stop kissing her. The way he was slanting his mouth across hers, his tongue toying with her, she was pretty sure he didn’t want to stop any more than she did. She was doomed. She reached up and threaded her fingers into his hair. It was short […]
Suzie’s House 32: Respect
“I’m going out,” Ben said as he headed for the front door of his dad’s apartment. “Out? Out where?” Dad came out of the kitchen with a dishrag in his hands, which was a real laugh because he hardly ever bothered to do things like wash the dishes. “I don’t know. Just out.” Ben put his hand on the doorknob. He waited a moment, shoulders tense and breath tight, expecting an explosion. “Seems to me you should stick around more. […]
Entertainment
I saw Blood and Chocolate tonight. It’s an interesting movie, and I’m glad I saw it, but when Mr. Al, who also gets into Paranormal type movies, asked if he should rent it again so he could see it from the beginning, I said “no.” Now I’m wondering why. Like I said, I’m glad I rented it. It has a few good lines delving into the nature of the characters and their condition in life. It had characters I liked. […]
Suzie’s House 31: A Sympathetic Ear
“Dad? Can I talk to you?” Ben sat on one of the old aluminum-tube kitchen chairs and braced his arms on the top of the cracked-linoleum kitchen table. His father liked to joke about all his furniture being OTC – Off The Curb. Ben didn’t think it was so funny. He didn’t really want to have this conversation with his father. He wanted it with his mother. Apparently he wasn’t going to get a chance since Dad wouldn’t let him […]
Suzie’s House 30: The Confessional
Suzie looked so sweet even as she pulled her lower lip in between her teeth and wrinkled her brow in concern. She wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her thin arms crossed in front of her as if she were cold though it must be nearly 80 in the room. She looked small and fragile to him. Drew put his arm across the back of the love seat, using it to turn himself toward her. He wasn’t making […]
Ossification in Writing
What do I mean when I say something I’m writing has ossified? I mean I’ve gotten too ridged in my thinking to be able to work with the material anymore. There is a tendency for writers to suffer from the Written in Stone Syndrome. I know I’m not the only one because my professors discussed it. The Written in Stone Syndrome is the tendency for a writer to think whatever ended up on the page shouldn’t be changed because that’s […]
Suzie’s House 29: Guilting the Lilly
Suzie leaned forward, her elbows resting on the top of her desk and her face resting in her hands. She heaved a sigh. Everything she had done today she had done poorly. Making mistakes didn’t really bother her. Not that much, anyway. But dishonorable mistakes haunted Suzie with guilt and regret. Today she’d made a ton of them. Taking the recipe file from Miranda might qualify. But Suzie wasn’t about to remove it from the locked drawer in her desk […]
Suzie’s House 28: Hey Babe
“Hey, Babe. Why don’t you come on over here and sit down?” Vin patted the seat next to him on the couch. He had the remote in his off hand, the one set gingerly on the armrest. “Shouldn’t you keep your arm in the sling?” Miranda approached cautiously. Knowing Vin, he would crack a joke about her cooking now. She shouldn’t feel so shaky, as if the least little thing might break her. Not with Vin. Vin was just a […]
Suzie’s House 27: The Taste of Defeat
“Cloves?” Suzie tried not to sound strangled, but her throat closed down over the taste of spaghetti sauce with enough cloves to coat a ham roast. A large one. The flavor of cloves, tomato, and hamburger shouldn’t have been so devastating, but every part of her from tongue to toe revolted against the sweet, numbing peculiarity of it. “Couldn’t you find the garlic?” Vin’s jaw closed with an audible clack. He looked like he couldn’t decide if he should laugh, […]
Suzie’s House 26: The New Chef
Miranda had a cast iron skillet on the stove with hamburger and tomato sauce bubbling away when Suzie walked in the door. Miranda could have swooned with relief. She’d been on the brink of giving up on her attempt at dinner, but she really, really did not want to order pizza again. She wanted to surprise Vin with her ability to produce an edible meal. . “It smells, um… interesting. What are you making?” Suzie set her purse down with […]
Suzie’s House 25: The Times, They Are A Changing
The beatific smile on Vin’s face took Miranda’s breath away. He was always charming in his boyish way, but the triumphant joy on his face as he sat on the edge of the bed made her painfully aware of how appealing he could be. Stupid man. “I’m ready. Let’s go home.” He stood, drawing Miranda’s gaze from head to toe. “There’s blood on your shirt. Is that a hole?!” “If I wait for one of you to get around to […]
Suzie’s House 24: A Mother’s Love
Suzie thrust her arm out from under the covers, feeling for the snooze button on the alarm clock. Eyes still closed, she touched the hard plastic, pressing on the button on top, but the ringing kept coming and going. Not until she lifted her head from the pillow, eyes blurry, did the ringing stop, and it was followed immediately with “Hello?” in a deep, masculine voice. . Someone had answered the phone. As Vin was still in the hospital, and […]
Suzie’s House 23: The Forgotten One
Ben waited by the front door for as long as he dared, but neither his mother nor Andrew came down to send him off to school. If he waited any longer he’d miss his bus. . Yesterday his mom had slept in because she’d been up so late waiting for Andrew. Andrew had been at the hospital watching Vin, but he got up early to make sure Ben was all set for school. Not that Ben needed anyone’s help. But […]
Suzie’s House 22: Should Something Arise
Vin kept his eyes closed, though he wasn’t completely out of his mind on whatever drugs came through the I.V. His hospital bed tipped up enough to be comfortable. He was quite happy to lie there and eves drop on his visitors. . “Did you at least get the license number?” Miranda sounded annoyed, and maybe a little bit desperate. . “Um… FF8- a couple of numbers I didn’t get, and then either a 7 or a 1, but I’m […]
