I figured I could update some of my stories.
Last week I had to write a short-short story... so here is that one. I know I am going to get crap for how I ended it, but per my instructor I was supposed to leave the reader with questions. So, you end it, tell me what you think happens. I know what I want to happen so I guess I will see if I did a good job setting that up.
From this Day Forward
He pulls me in closer, forehead to forehead we stand. I can feel his breath in my face and his hands as they are rubbing the small of my back. Don’t cry, I say to myself. I have to be strong. I can see his lips move but I can’t hear a word he is saying. I am lost in my own thoughts.
I feel his hands move up and touch my cheek gently. This is it, he’s gonna kiss me; I don’t know what I should do. Will I even be able to kiss him back after all of this? He bends his head down to mine and gently with just a brush of his lips he broke the dam I had built behind my eyes. I can feel the tears rush down my cheeks. I can’t stop it and I can’t stop myself from kissing him back. This could be the last kiss I ever get from him.
He stops kissing me and puts his head up against mine again and stares into my eyes. He brings his hand up to wipe away my tears. Gently I feel the brush of his hand against my face and another tear falls from my eyes. I have to look away, walk away and don’t look back. But, I can’t. I stand there torturing myself longer. I don’t know how to walk away from him, I have never left successfully. With one word he had always brings me running back. But this time, it was him that’s leaving. He is saying good-bye and there is nothing that I can say that will stop him. Why am I wasting my time? He doesn’t care enough to stay, I could leave.
But, my feet won’t move I am just standing there staring in his emerald green eyes wishing he would stay. I know he is going to say it. In a few minutes he’s going to say “Good-Bye” and my world will be over. I can’t stop him; there aren’t enough tears in the world for me to cry that will make him stay. It’s over. I need to face this. But, not now, I can’t. Not while he is physically here in front of me and I can still smell that horrible cologne that he wears even though I hate it. I will love it from this day forward, though.
And, then I hear him say the words I have been dreading for the last month.
“Zoey, it’s time. I have to go.”
With those six words my life has just shattered. I fall to my knees as he’s walking to his car. He doesn’t look back; he can’t bear to see me cry anymore.
As I watch him driving away I know that I will never see my one true love again. I pick myself up off the drive way and go to bed, where I just might spend the rest of my life.
The next one was my midterm, it was 1250 words and I'm not the biggest fan of this story. I think I have done better but my instructor loved it, it's "a little predictable but has a great twist." So enjoy.
Please Stay
“I can’t believe he is doing this to me, I know he isn’t happy with her,” Janette sobbed to her friend, Angelica.
Janette had been having an affair with her boss, Daniel for the last year and a half, until three days ago. Daniel told her that he needed to try to fix things with his wife; they have been together for almost ten years and he owes it to her and their children.
“There is nothing you can do about it, they’re married and have a family together.”
“I know, but he always says he is going to leave her.”
“He might have been telling you that, but that doesn’t mean he is going to do it. I’m sorry you are so upset, Janette, but you have to let it go and move on.”
“I will, it’s just so hard when I have to see him every day. I need some time to myself without thinking about Daniel or this whole mess. I’m gonna go, I think I will just take a bath and relax. I will talk to you later.”
“Ok, but you have to promise me that you won’t call him.”
“I promise. Good night.”
Janette presses end and throws her cell phone in her purse as she pulls her black Nissan Sentra into the parking lot of LA Fitness. She knows Daniel goes to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday night.
I promised I wouldn’t call him, but I never said anything about not following him, Janette thinks as she turns off her headlights and parks far enough behind Daniel’s car that he won’t see her.
Within a few minutes she sees Daniel walking out in his basketball shorts and cut off shirt. His salt and pepper hair reflects in the dim parking lot lights as he looks up and spots her car. Janette slinks down in the seat of her little car hoping that he didn’t notice. Daniel pulls his cell phone out of the pocket of the jeans he is carrying in his hand and starts to dial as he gets in his car. Janette sits back up and turns on her car, being sure not to turn her headlights on yet.
She follows Daniel to his home, like she has many nights before. She sits outside his house as he goes in and greets his pregnant wife and daughter. Janette pulls her phone out of her purse and hits speed dial. She watches through the window as Daniel pulls his phone out of his pocket, looks at it hits silence. Janette drops her phone and starts to cry again. I don’t understand, he said he was happy with me. Janette pulls away and drives home to her empty apartment.
The next morning Janette makes sure she looks her best. She puts on her black pencil skirt with her favorite blue blouse that makes her blue eyes stand out even more. Her long blonde hair shines and is perfectly in place, he will have to take me back after he sees me today, she assures herself as she walks in the front door to Daniel’s law firm.
“Good morning Daniel,” she smiles as she walks past his office to her desk.
“Good morning Janette,” he replies without looking up from his computer screen, “can you please close my door, I’m very busy today and do not want to be disturbed.”
“Sure,” she snaps.
Hurt, Janette heads to her desk and starts to think about ways to get his attention.
I know, I can email him and ask him to have lunch with me at our favorite restaurant.
Janette pulls up her email and starts to type when in waddles Melinda, Daniel’s 8 month pregnant wife. Even being as pregnant as she is, she’s still beautiful. Janette can’t blame him for marrying her, Melinda was young, a successful pediatrician and a great mother.
“Good morning Janette, is my wonderful husband available? I will only steal him for a moment.”
“Actually he said he is very busy and doesn’t want to be disturbed, so sorry,” Janette tells her with a smirk on her face.
“Oh, well, I’m sure he won’t mind. I have breakfast and the ultrasound pictures, I found out the sex of the baby he will be SO excited. He needs a break anyway.”
“Melinda I really-“ Janette tries to interrupt but Melinda pushes past into Daniel’s office and closes the door.
Great, now I won’t be able to talk to him all day! Feeling rejected she goes down the hall to Angelica’s office for comfort.
“I don’t know what to do, Angelica, she is in there right now. I was going to ask him to go to lunch with me but she got here before I could send the email.”
“You need to stop is what you need to do. Just move on and let it go.”
“I can’t. I love him. I need to be with him. I’m just gonna go in there and tell her what’s going on. She needs to know that he wants to be with me, not her.”
“That’s not a good idea. I know you are hurt, but you aren’t going to win this one.”
“I have to.”
Janette gets up and heads down the hall to Daniel’s office. I can do this. He wants to be with me, not her. She will see. He will see.
Janette barges into Daniel’s office, it’s empty. She hears Daniel’s voice behind her.
“I will be right there, I just have to let Janette know I’m leaving for the day and then we can go celebrate.”
“You’re leaving for the day? You can’t. What about how busy you are?”
“It’s fine. It can wait; I’m going to celebrate with my wife. We are having a boy. This is great news. Please let everyone know I will be back tomorrow. Thanks Janette.”
“Wait! How can you act like this to me? Like nothing has happened? I want to talk to you.”
“What are you talking about Janette?” Daniel looks at her confused.
“About us.”
“There is no us. There never has been, and there never will be. I don’t know where you got this idea, but you need to stop. I know you followed me home last night from the gym and I know you called me. Seriously, this needs to stop.”
“What do you mean there never was. What about the last year and half? What about the trip to San Antonio?”
“Honey, are you coming?” Melinda asks walking up with her radiant smile.
“Yes, just a moment. I was just letting Janette know that we are leaving.”
“Melinda, I don’t know how to tell you this, but Daniel has been having an affair. With me,” Janette blurts out.
“Daniel, I thought you said you were going to take care of this situation?”
“I am, I placed the call this morning, that’s what I was doing right before you got here.”
“What are you guys talking about? Did you not hear what I just said? He was having an affair with me!”
“Janette, we know about your condition. Your sister Angelica told me the other day. You need to get help, I called the hospital.”
Just then Angelica came walking down the hall, “I’m so sorry Janette. I thought you were better.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, I don’t even have a sister,” Janette cried.
11.30.2010
11.28.2010
AAAAAAnddd it's been about a month since I posted
- Well, I suck.. things have been busy. The End.
- We had a fabulous holiday weekend, and I will greatly miss the time off of work.
- I think I am mentally prepared for Christmas.
- I am almost done with my psychology class, my final is on December 4th. I'm excited!
- 2010 was a pretty amazing year.
- We had house guests for the first time this weekend. I love hosting things, even if it's just for a night.
- I hate Sundays, I spend the whole day dreading Monday. What a waste of a day.
- I am down to a size 16, for the first time in like 3 years, or possibly longer!
- I seriously love our new dining room table, I refuse to eat in the living room ever again.
- We had our first dinner party on Wednesday, I would say it was a success!
Love you all, sorry I
He was super proud that he climbed his first tree
My awesome Thanksgiving day decorated table
Pretty amazing Garland that my cousin made
My 2 best friends and myself
So adorable
Making smores with the cousins
10.28.2010
I'm starting to think maybe I should just post assignments on here.
In the spirit of Halloween I made my latest assignment a little creepy.
Let me know what you think.
“While you guys are out of town do you think Megan can stay with me, so I’m not alone,” Rachel asks her parents as they load up their car to leave.
“I guess that would be ok, but absolutely no boys or parties. I mean it Rachel, we will find out,” her mom warns.
“Of course not Mom, you can trust me. Have a fun trip, I love you guys!”
“I know you wouldn’t, but Megan… oh well, never mind. We love you too! See you on Sunday,” her mom yells out of the window.
After watching her parents drive off into the fading sun light, Rachel turns to go back in the house and sees her neighbor John standing in his driveway watching her. He has always made Rachel feel uncomfortable and today was no different. John was a single man in his mid 40’s, Rachel has never seen him with a woman despite the fact that he was a mildly attractive older man. Honestly, she has never seen anyone come to visit him. To be polite Rachel waves to John and smiles as she opens her door to go inside and call Megan.
“Good morning, Rachel. Did I hear that your parents are going out of town for the weekend?”
“Yeah, umm they’ll be back on Sunday, night,” Rachel tells John, surprised that he heard what she was saying to her parents.
“Well, you know I’ll be here if you need anything. Don’t be afraid to knock on my door at anytime if you need something. A young girl staying home by herself isn’t safe, you know.”
“I’ll be fine. Thank you, John. I gotta get going though, have a good day,” Rachel says as she quickly goes inside and shuts the door, making sure to lock it behind her.
Rachel picks up her phone to call her best friend, Megan and starts checking all of the doors and windows to be sure they are locked, also. She doesn’t like staying home alone, it makes her very nervous.
“Hey Megan, it’s me. Guess what, my mom said you can come and stay while they are out of town for the weekend,” she blurts out as soon as her friend answers the phone. The two girls have been best friends since they were three years old, even though they have some very obvious differences. Rachel is a very quiet and polite girl, while Megan is loud and extremely flirtatious. They differ in looks as well; Rachel is plain with long chestnut brown hair and doesn’t need to ever wear make-up. Rachel has shorter multi colored hair that is always changing and wears lots of eye make-up.
“Really? That’s so awesome! Oh my God, party at your house this weekend! Rachel, it will be epic, the best party ever. We could invite Josh, Brad-“
“Megan, stop. We can’t have a party, and… no boys. I promised my mom.”
“WHAT? Are you serious? Then what are we going to do?”
“Umm, what we always do. Hang out and watch scary movies, or do our nails. We could go to the mall too, my mom left her car here.”
“But… ugh, ok. We are watching what I want to watch then. I hope you are ready to be so scared you pee your pants.”
Rachel wasn’t hearing a word her friend was saying. She was standing in the kitchen, which her mother overly decorated in apples, watching as her neighbor John was staring at her from his kitchen.
“Hello? Earth to Rachel, are you listening to me?”
“Huh? Oh yeah sorry. So, are you coming over or not?”
“Yeah, if you had been listening to me when I was talking, you would know this.”
“Good. Hurry up. You know I hate being alone.”
“Yeah, I know you’re a wimp. I’ll be there in an hour.”
Rachel hangs up her phone and goes back to the window to close the blinds, but John was gone. I’m just over reacting, she thinks.
I know, I will go and watch the episode of One Tree Hill on the DVR, Megan will be here by the time it’s over.
Rachel settles into the overstuffed beige sofa and starts to watch her show. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a shadow in the hallway. Rachel presses pause on the remote and watches the hallway.
It’s just my imagination; I’m the only one here. Stop freaking out, she reassures herself.
She turns her show on and lies down so she can’t see the dimly lit hallway anymore.
BANG, BANG, BANG!
“Rachel! HELLO??” Megan yells into the living room window.
Rachel sits up from the couch groggily and looks around. It is now dark outside and the tv is set to the DVR guide.
“Oh my gosh, Megan I’m sorry, I must have fallen asleep watching One Tree Hill. How long have you been out here?” Rachel asks as she opens the front door.
“I don’t know like 5 minutes. Well, at least now you will be able to stay awake when we watch movies.”
Megan comes inside and throws her stuff on the freshly mopped tile and heads straight to the refrigerator.
“Do you have snacks? If not we can go to the store first, my mom gave us money for the weekend.”
“Yeah, my mom bought some food for before she left,” Rachel says as she walks into the kitchen.
“Uh, hey Megan, why’d you open the back door?”
“I didn’t it was like that. I thought maybe you wanted some fresh air,” Megan shrugs and closes the refrigerator door to move to the pantry.
“What? It was like that when you came in? I locked that while I was on the phone with you earlier. I remember because my creepy neighbor was staring at me while I did it."
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Maybe he opened it then,” Megan said looking wide eyed down the hallway at the man staring back at them.
Let me know what you think.
The Neighbor
“While you guys are out of town do you think Megan can stay with me, so I’m not alone,” Rachel asks her parents as they load up their car to leave.
“I guess that would be ok, but absolutely no boys or parties. I mean it Rachel, we will find out,” her mom warns.
“Of course not Mom, you can trust me. Have a fun trip, I love you guys!”
“I know you wouldn’t, but Megan… oh well, never mind. We love you too! See you on Sunday,” her mom yells out of the window.
After watching her parents drive off into the fading sun light, Rachel turns to go back in the house and sees her neighbor John standing in his driveway watching her. He has always made Rachel feel uncomfortable and today was no different. John was a single man in his mid 40’s, Rachel has never seen him with a woman despite the fact that he was a mildly attractive older man. Honestly, she has never seen anyone come to visit him. To be polite Rachel waves to John and smiles as she opens her door to go inside and call Megan.
“Good morning, Rachel. Did I hear that your parents are going out of town for the weekend?”
“Yeah, umm they’ll be back on Sunday, night,” Rachel tells John, surprised that he heard what she was saying to her parents.
“Well, you know I’ll be here if you need anything. Don’t be afraid to knock on my door at anytime if you need something. A young girl staying home by herself isn’t safe, you know.”
“I’ll be fine. Thank you, John. I gotta get going though, have a good day,” Rachel says as she quickly goes inside and shuts the door, making sure to lock it behind her.
Rachel picks up her phone to call her best friend, Megan and starts checking all of the doors and windows to be sure they are locked, also. She doesn’t like staying home alone, it makes her very nervous.
“Hey Megan, it’s me. Guess what, my mom said you can come and stay while they are out of town for the weekend,” she blurts out as soon as her friend answers the phone. The two girls have been best friends since they were three years old, even though they have some very obvious differences. Rachel is a very quiet and polite girl, while Megan is loud and extremely flirtatious. They differ in looks as well; Rachel is plain with long chestnut brown hair and doesn’t need to ever wear make-up. Rachel has shorter multi colored hair that is always changing and wears lots of eye make-up.
“Really? That’s so awesome! Oh my God, party at your house this weekend! Rachel, it will be epic, the best party ever. We could invite Josh, Brad-“
“Megan, stop. We can’t have a party, and… no boys. I promised my mom.”
“WHAT? Are you serious? Then what are we going to do?”
“Umm, what we always do. Hang out and watch scary movies, or do our nails. We could go to the mall too, my mom left her car here.”
“But… ugh, ok. We are watching what I want to watch then. I hope you are ready to be so scared you pee your pants.”
Rachel wasn’t hearing a word her friend was saying. She was standing in the kitchen, which her mother overly decorated in apples, watching as her neighbor John was staring at her from his kitchen.
“Hello? Earth to Rachel, are you listening to me?”
“Huh? Oh yeah sorry. So, are you coming over or not?”
“Yeah, if you had been listening to me when I was talking, you would know this.”
“Good. Hurry up. You know I hate being alone.”
“Yeah, I know you’re a wimp. I’ll be there in an hour.”
Rachel hangs up her phone and goes back to the window to close the blinds, but John was gone. I’m just over reacting, she thinks.
I know, I will go and watch the episode of One Tree Hill on the DVR, Megan will be here by the time it’s over.
Rachel settles into the overstuffed beige sofa and starts to watch her show. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a shadow in the hallway. Rachel presses pause on the remote and watches the hallway.
It’s just my imagination; I’m the only one here. Stop freaking out, she reassures herself.
She turns her show on and lies down so she can’t see the dimly lit hallway anymore.
BANG, BANG, BANG!
“Rachel! HELLO??” Megan yells into the living room window.
Rachel sits up from the couch groggily and looks around. It is now dark outside and the tv is set to the DVR guide.
“Oh my gosh, Megan I’m sorry, I must have fallen asleep watching One Tree Hill. How long have you been out here?” Rachel asks as she opens the front door.
“I don’t know like 5 minutes. Well, at least now you will be able to stay awake when we watch movies.”
Megan comes inside and throws her stuff on the freshly mopped tile and heads straight to the refrigerator.
“Do you have snacks? If not we can go to the store first, my mom gave us money for the weekend.”
“Yeah, my mom bought some food for before she left,” Rachel says as she walks into the kitchen.
“Uh, hey Megan, why’d you open the back door?”
“I didn’t it was like that. I thought maybe you wanted some fresh air,” Megan shrugs and closes the refrigerator door to move to the pantry.
“What? It was like that when you came in? I locked that while I was on the phone with you earlier. I remember because my creepy neighbor was staring at me while I did it."
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Maybe he opened it then,” Megan said looking wide eyed down the hallway at the man staring back at them.
10.24.2010
Stop and Smell Some Flowers, or Eat Some Chocolate.
Too many people sit and plan their lives, schedule every breath, pencil in appointments with their kids and live by that plan. I do that a lot. We over schedule our lives. We fill every second of every day. With this mentality we are convinced that our life isn't complete until we reach that big goal, the end result is all that matters. Whether it's our career goal, having the perfect family with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids, or the Ken and Barbie marriage. Whatever that goal is, that is all that matters.
But with that in mind.. you miss all the things that make life worth being here for. You miss the cute smiles, the tasty cookies, beautiful flowers, the clouds shifting and changing shapes and so much more.
This is it, you only get once chance. So take it one minute at a time, don't schedule things that aren't necessary, like dr's appointments, you can't just show up for those. I want to slow down, enjoy my life. I think if I do that then maybe the end goal will be that much sweeter.
But with that in mind.. you miss all the things that make life worth being here for. You miss the cute smiles, the tasty cookies, beautiful flowers, the clouds shifting and changing shapes and so much more.
This is it, you only get once chance. So take it one minute at a time, don't schedule things that aren't necessary, like dr's appointments, you can't just show up for those. I want to slow down, enjoy my life. I think if I do that then maybe the end goal will be that much sweeter.
10.22.2010
The Post About Annoying Grammatical Errors
I totally get it. Some people aren't that good at English, but seriously? I mean SERIOUSLY.
Where was the proper usage of words like Their, There and They're lost? How do you not know when to use the correct spelling?
How about Your and You're? Then and Than? Effect and Affect? Except and Accept? Here and Hear? Yea and Yeah?
I'll break down for you the ones that bother me the most... in case you are one of the people that commonly misuse one of these words.
There, Their and They're; I know those words can be confusing.. really I do. Except (correct usage if you are wondering except is an exception to accept something is to receive a gift for example), I remember learning it this way.
There: to state where something or someone is. Example: "She is over there."
Their: possessive, meaning someone owns something. Example: "That is their house."
They're: Compound of two words THEY and ARE. Example: "They're coming to the game."
It's not that hard, if you think about that fact that it has to make sense. "She is over they are." DOES NOT make sense. Stop and think people.
Your: possessive... again, something you own Example: "This is your book."
You're: Again compound of two words YOU and ARE Example: "You're welcome" (this is a COMMON mistake, that drives me insane. You can't possess welcome. DO NOT SAY YOUR WELCOME. It makes NO sense what so ever.) If you aren't sure which one to use, break it down. "Is that you are car?" Nope doesn't sound right, it must be the other YOUR.
Yea: DOES NOT mean the slang form of yes. It means a yes vote when voting.
Yeah: the slang form of yes (or a lazy yes). Example: "Yeah, I'll go."
Here: location. Example: "They're here." (you like how I did that, don't you? I used two words that are commonly misused in one sentence!)
Hear: it's one of your five senses, when you're listening to something. Example: "Can you hear the music?"
For this one, just remember if you are HEARING a noise with your EAR, add an H to ear. :-)
Another trick like that I remember from grade school was for desert and dessert. You always want a second helping of your dessert but don't want to visit the desert more than once. :-) You don't want to lose the game more than once and add an extra O to make it more loose. They are kinda corny tricks but it helps to remember to spell things correctly.
I think what happened is that over the years people have stopped appreciating the written word. It's so important to use proper spelling and grammar when that is how you are communicating. It bothers me a great deal to see how much people don't care, or are too lazy to take the time to learn.
Where was the proper usage of words like Their, There and They're lost? How do you not know when to use the correct spelling?
How about Your and You're? Then and Than? Effect and Affect? Except and Accept? Here and Hear? Yea and Yeah?
I'll break down for you the ones that bother me the most... in case you are one of the people that commonly misuse one of these words.
There, Their and They're; I know those words can be confusing.. really I do. Except (correct usage if you are wondering except is an exception to accept something is to receive a gift for example), I remember learning it this way.
There: to state where something or someone is. Example: "She is over there."
Their: possessive, meaning someone owns something. Example: "That is their house."
They're: Compound of two words THEY and ARE. Example: "They're coming to the game."
It's not that hard, if you think about that fact that it has to make sense. "She is over they are." DOES NOT make sense. Stop and think people.
Your: possessive... again, something you own Example: "This is your book."
You're: Again compound of two words YOU and ARE Example: "You're welcome" (this is a COMMON mistake, that drives me insane. You can't possess welcome. DO NOT SAY YOUR WELCOME. It makes NO sense what so ever.) If you aren't sure which one to use, break it down. "Is that you are car?" Nope doesn't sound right, it must be the other YOUR.
Yea: DOES NOT mean the slang form of yes. It means a yes vote when voting.
Yeah: the slang form of yes (or a lazy yes). Example: "Yeah, I'll go."
Here: location. Example: "They're here." (you like how I did that, don't you? I used two words that are commonly misused in one sentence!)
Hear: it's one of your five senses, when you're listening to something. Example: "Can you hear the music?"
For this one, just remember if you are HEARING a noise with your EAR, add an H to ear. :-)
Another trick like that I remember from grade school was for desert and dessert. You always want a second helping of your dessert but don't want to visit the desert more than once. :-) You don't want to lose the game more than once and add an extra O to make it more loose. They are kinda corny tricks but it helps to remember to spell things correctly.
I think what happened is that over the years people have stopped appreciating the written word. It's so important to use proper spelling and grammar when that is how you are communicating. It bothers me a great deal to see how much people don't care, or are too lazy to take the time to learn.
10.18.2010
Another Creative Writing Assignment
So, I had to write my very first short story. We had to incorporate everything that we have learned so far. I have really been enjoying this class, so without further ado...
Here is my short story... please save all criticism til I can handle it, which very well may be never.
My Happiness
Doctor’s offices are always cold, Mary thought as she sits waiting in her son’s pediatrician’s office. She looks around the sunshine yellow room with paintings of happy trees and deer on the walls impatiently. She has been frequenting these offices a lot lately. Bradley caught some kind of virus a couple weeks ago and can’t seem to shake it. Only now it seems like it is getting worse; he started out with just the sniffles and a cough, now he is very weak, pale and extremely tired.
Mary is a single mom with just her one six year old son, Bradley. He is a very active boy, she takes him to soccer practice on Monday and Wednesdays and piano lessons on Thursdays he normally keeps her very busy but lately he hasn’t been doing any of these things. Mary is the librarian at Bradley’s school, it seems as though her life revolves around him, because it does. He is her happiness, the reason she gets up every morning. Without Bradley, there would be no Mary. She has no other family to speak of and very few friends.
Mary goes to help Bradley up on the table as Dr. Robins knocks on the door to enter the exam room.
“Hello again, Bradley, I would say nice to see you but not under these circumstances, huh?” Dr Robins smiles at Mary.
“Hi Dr. Robins,” Bradley whispers as he looks up. His brown hair looks even darker against his powder white skin. He has dark circles under his once bright blue eyes, but they have lost their sparkle since he has become so sick.
“How are we doing? Still not feeling any better?
“No, not yet, we are hoping you can help with that. Aren’t we, Bradley?”
“Yes, Momma,” Bradley whimpers again.
“Alright, well let’s take a look. Why don’t you lift up your shirt so I can hear that chest and heart,” Dr. Robins says as he puts his stethoscope in his ears.
Bradley lifts his shirt and reveals a dark purple bruise on his ribs the size of a grapefruit.
Dr. Robins looks at Mary,
“How long has he had that bruise? Do you know where he got it?”
Stunned by the bruise Mary shakes her head.
“I don’t know, it wasn’t there this morning.”
“Have you noticed any other bruises appearing?”
“Just one on his leg, he hit his shin on the coffee table the other day. I didn’t think it was that hard until I saw the bruise later that night.”
Dr. Robins lifted Bradley’s pant leg to expose the now greenish yellow bruise on his leg. He put his pant leg back down and walked over to the counter and started scribbling in Bradley’s file.
“Mary, I want to have some blood tests done, do you think you could take him over to the lab today and have those done for me?”
“Of course, is everything ok? Will this tell you why he has been so sick? Do the bruises have something to do with it?”
“I want to check his white blood cell count. I won’t know anything more until I get the results back. Head over there right now, and Mary, don’t worry.”
Mary sat in her dimly lit living room watching her son sleep on their old sagging sofa. She spent a lot of time doing that these days, as she anxiously waits to hear back from Dr. Robins with the test results. It has been two days since they took his blood; she thought for sure she would hear something by now. What worries her more is that Bradley still wasn’t feeling any better. If anything, he’s getting worse. He has been complaining of a stomach ache and won’t eat.
As Mary started to doze off in the rocking chair that she used to rock Bradley asleep in the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi, can I please speak to Mary Thomas?”
“Yes, this is her.”
“Hi Mary, this is Jessica calling from Dr. Robins office. We have received the test results for Bradley, Dr. Robins would like to see you in his office, would tomorrow morning be ok?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
He wants to see us in his office right away, this can’t be good, Mary thought as she put the phone down. She looked over at Bradley sleeping so peacefully and started to cry. He is everything to her and all she wants is for him to be ok. She can remember sitting in this chair when he was a baby singing and rocking him to sleep, and now she feels so helpless that she can’t do anything when he needs her the most.
Another cold brightly painted room, only this time it’s blue with jungle animals on the wall. Mary and Bradley didn’t have to wait long before the knock on the door came. Dr. Robins came in looking as crisp as always in his white coat and blue tie.
“Good morning. How are you feeling today, Bradley?”
“Tired,” Bradley said.
“I have the results of the blood work, Mary; do you think we could speak privately? I can have Nurse Jessica take Bradley to get a sucker and a sticker, if that is ok with you?”
“Of course,” Mary smiles at Bradley to let him know its ok.
As Bradley leaves the room Dr. Robins sits in his stool and opens Bradley’s file.
“Mary, I’m afraid we have some not so good news. Bradley has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood. I’m going to refer you to the best pediatric oncologist, but I feel like we caught this early enough and that treatment will be more than likely successful.”
Mary slouched into the stool next her and started to cry.
My baby has cancer; she thought to herself and put her head in her lap.
“I will take him where ever I need to, please give me the referral. He needs to get better, he has to be ok.”
“He will,” Dr. Robins assured her.
Well, that was it. 1000 words from me. Again, this was my first short story, hopefully over time they will get better. :-)
Here is my short story... please save all criticism til I can handle it, which very well may be never.
My Happiness
Doctor’s offices are always cold, Mary thought as she sits waiting in her son’s pediatrician’s office. She looks around the sunshine yellow room with paintings of happy trees and deer on the walls impatiently. She has been frequenting these offices a lot lately. Bradley caught some kind of virus a couple weeks ago and can’t seem to shake it. Only now it seems like it is getting worse; he started out with just the sniffles and a cough, now he is very weak, pale and extremely tired.
Mary is a single mom with just her one six year old son, Bradley. He is a very active boy, she takes him to soccer practice on Monday and Wednesdays and piano lessons on Thursdays he normally keeps her very busy but lately he hasn’t been doing any of these things. Mary is the librarian at Bradley’s school, it seems as though her life revolves around him, because it does. He is her happiness, the reason she gets up every morning. Without Bradley, there would be no Mary. She has no other family to speak of and very few friends.
Mary goes to help Bradley up on the table as Dr. Robins knocks on the door to enter the exam room.
“Hello again, Bradley, I would say nice to see you but not under these circumstances, huh?” Dr Robins smiles at Mary.
“Hi Dr. Robins,” Bradley whispers as he looks up. His brown hair looks even darker against his powder white skin. He has dark circles under his once bright blue eyes, but they have lost their sparkle since he has become so sick.
“How are we doing? Still not feeling any better?
“No, not yet, we are hoping you can help with that. Aren’t we, Bradley?”
“Yes, Momma,” Bradley whimpers again.
“Alright, well let’s take a look. Why don’t you lift up your shirt so I can hear that chest and heart,” Dr. Robins says as he puts his stethoscope in his ears.
Bradley lifts his shirt and reveals a dark purple bruise on his ribs the size of a grapefruit.
Dr. Robins looks at Mary,
“How long has he had that bruise? Do you know where he got it?”
Stunned by the bruise Mary shakes her head.
“I don’t know, it wasn’t there this morning.”
“Have you noticed any other bruises appearing?”
“Just one on his leg, he hit his shin on the coffee table the other day. I didn’t think it was that hard until I saw the bruise later that night.”
Dr. Robins lifted Bradley’s pant leg to expose the now greenish yellow bruise on his leg. He put his pant leg back down and walked over to the counter and started scribbling in Bradley’s file.
“Mary, I want to have some blood tests done, do you think you could take him over to the lab today and have those done for me?”
“Of course, is everything ok? Will this tell you why he has been so sick? Do the bruises have something to do with it?”
“I want to check his white blood cell count. I won’t know anything more until I get the results back. Head over there right now, and Mary, don’t worry.”
Mary sat in her dimly lit living room watching her son sleep on their old sagging sofa. She spent a lot of time doing that these days, as she anxiously waits to hear back from Dr. Robins with the test results. It has been two days since they took his blood; she thought for sure she would hear something by now. What worries her more is that Bradley still wasn’t feeling any better. If anything, he’s getting worse. He has been complaining of a stomach ache and won’t eat.
As Mary started to doze off in the rocking chair that she used to rock Bradley asleep in the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi, can I please speak to Mary Thomas?”
“Yes, this is her.”
“Hi Mary, this is Jessica calling from Dr. Robins office. We have received the test results for Bradley, Dr. Robins would like to see you in his office, would tomorrow morning be ok?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
He wants to see us in his office right away, this can’t be good, Mary thought as she put the phone down. She looked over at Bradley sleeping so peacefully and started to cry. He is everything to her and all she wants is for him to be ok. She can remember sitting in this chair when he was a baby singing and rocking him to sleep, and now she feels so helpless that she can’t do anything when he needs her the most.
Another cold brightly painted room, only this time it’s blue with jungle animals on the wall. Mary and Bradley didn’t have to wait long before the knock on the door came. Dr. Robins came in looking as crisp as always in his white coat and blue tie.
“Good morning. How are you feeling today, Bradley?”
“Tired,” Bradley said.
“I have the results of the blood work, Mary; do you think we could speak privately? I can have Nurse Jessica take Bradley to get a sucker and a sticker, if that is ok with you?”
“Of course,” Mary smiles at Bradley to let him know its ok.
As Bradley leaves the room Dr. Robins sits in his stool and opens Bradley’s file.
“Mary, I’m afraid we have some not so good news. Bradley has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood. I’m going to refer you to the best pediatric oncologist, but I feel like we caught this early enough and that treatment will be more than likely successful.”
Mary slouched into the stool next her and started to cry.
My baby has cancer; she thought to herself and put her head in her lap.
“I will take him where ever I need to, please give me the referral. He needs to get better, he has to be ok.”
“He will,” Dr. Robins assured her.
Well, that was it. 1000 words from me. Again, this was my first short story, hopefully over time they will get better. :-)
10.04.2010
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
So far I have really enjoyed my creative writing class. I have only done 2 assignments but I'm liking it.
We are supposed to keep a writer's notebook and write down converstations we over hear, things we think about, a song lyric you like, a list of things you think of, pretty much anything that sparks you. You might not use it now but later it could come in handy. I have been trying to do this. One of our writer's notebook assignments was to write a list of things in a woman's purse. I don't know if any of you have seen the size of my purse or the contents in it.. but I don't think they would be considered the regular conents of a woman's purse. lol I have just about everything you can think of in my purse on any given day. However it was a good exercise to get the brain moving.
October is finally here! I can't wait to get decorating for Halloween. This is by far my favorite time of year. I love fall.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. I just wish I lived somewhere that had enough trees to turn colors and see leaves actually fall from trees. I know one day I will, when is the question.
So, Monster is doing the TBall thing. He had his first game on Saturday it was so fun! The kids were adorable and he had a blast. His actual words were, "Mommy, this was the best morning of my life!" Kids are so cute.
I have lost almost 20lbs.. I'm so close I can almost taste it. I want to work out so bad to get to that 20lbs, but I have a horrendous chest cold that is preventing me from walking from my couch to the bathroom without coughing. I really don't think that the treadmill or Jillian "the bitch" Michaels would be good for it either. I have a dr's appointment on Wednesday so I'm hoping to be back in work out shape by Monday! It's on, look out 20lbs I'm coming for you!
In 1 month and 3 days I will have been married for a year... :-)
Other than that.. life has been pretty normal. Hope you are all having a good week. Happy October!
We are supposed to keep a writer's notebook and write down converstations we over hear, things we think about, a song lyric you like, a list of things you think of, pretty much anything that sparks you. You might not use it now but later it could come in handy. I have been trying to do this. One of our writer's notebook assignments was to write a list of things in a woman's purse. I don't know if any of you have seen the size of my purse or the contents in it.. but I don't think they would be considered the regular conents of a woman's purse. lol I have just about everything you can think of in my purse on any given day. However it was a good exercise to get the brain moving.
October is finally here! I can't wait to get decorating for Halloween. This is by far my favorite time of year. I love fall.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. I just wish I lived somewhere that had enough trees to turn colors and see leaves actually fall from trees. I know one day I will, when is the question.
So, Monster is doing the TBall thing. He had his first game on Saturday it was so fun! The kids were adorable and he had a blast. His actual words were, "Mommy, this was the best morning of my life!" Kids are so cute.
I have lost almost 20lbs.. I'm so close I can almost taste it. I want to work out so bad to get to that 20lbs, but I have a horrendous chest cold that is preventing me from walking from my couch to the bathroom without coughing. I really don't think that the treadmill or Jillian "the bitch" Michaels would be good for it either. I have a dr's appointment on Wednesday so I'm hoping to be back in work out shape by Monday! It's on, look out 20lbs I'm coming for you!
In 1 month and 3 days I will have been married for a year... :-)
Other than that.. life has been pretty normal. Hope you are all having a good week. Happy October!
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