The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!

[MaineWriter]

Lazy L Farm
Quanah, TX
August 28, 2007

Ennis stood, leaning on the kitchen counter, watching Jack peel a peach. “Ya know,” he mused, “things have certainly changed a lot since you ‘n I started ranchin up together.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? What made ya think of that this time?”

Ennis pointed to the bowl. “Lookit that fruit salad yer makin. What’s in there? Peaches, strawberries, pineapple…what’s that green thing?”

“Ya mean this?” asked Jack, holding up a piece of neatly sliced fruit. “It’s a kiwi.”

“Kiwi. See? Growin up, fruit salad meant that stuff in the can with the slimy green grapes.” Jack nodded and Ennis continued. “In fact, I think you fed me that stuff in the can a few times yerself.”

“I prob’ly did. It’s what I grew up with too. But,” he said, picking up a mango and beginning to peel it. “Like you said…times change. People change. We changed.”

“We sure did. And I like ta think, for the better.”

Jack smiled at his husband. “For the better? No doubt about that, babe.”

(172 words)

[mariez]

I'm glad you liked it, Kelly!  When I saw "geography," I just couldn't resist that finding-the-U.S.-on-a-map reference.   

Lazy L Farm
Quanah, TX
August 28, 2007
.......
Jack smiled at his husband. “For the better? No doubt about that, babe.”

L, your boys own slice-of-life banter, no doubt about it.  And it's so true that something like fruit salad can be so indicative of the passage of time and positive changes!  (and I always love the "husband" references).   

Thanks,
Marie

[ifyoucantfixit]

                                             Enough Time

          Ennis turned from the newspaper he was reading, and asked Jack. " You know where Andorra is Jack?"  "Not off hand cowboy, why do you wanta know?"  Well I am reading this here article in the paper, tells they have the longest life expectancy of any people in the world."  "Wow!!! Ennis thats pretty good.  Remember those guys we got our groceries from on Saturdays, up on Brokeback?  The Basques?  They are from Andorra."  "i I think its in the mountain area between France and Spain if I remember right from my geography ."   
           "Well I guess its not real practical to think about movin there then.  Too bad, that would give us more time."

[MaineWriter]

Hi everyone,

• gumdrop
• birdbath
• vacuum

L

[mariez]

                                             Enough Time

          Ennis turned from the newspaper he was reading, and asked Jack. " You know where Andorra is Jack?"  "Not off hand cowboy, why do you wanta know?"  Well I am reading this here article in the paper, tells they have the longest life expectancy of any people in the world."  "Wow!!! Ennis thats pretty good.  Remember those guys we got our groceries from on Saturdays, up on Brokeback?  The Basques?  They are from Andorra."  "i I think its in the mountain area between France and Spain if I remember right from my geography ."  
           "Well I guess its not real practical to think about movin there then.  Too bad, that would give us more time."

Janice, this is great.  So clever and a touching spin on "never enough time." 

Marie

[mariez]

Simple Pleasures

Candy had always been a rare treat in the del Mar household, so when the minister's wife touched his shoulder gently and offered the bowl, he took the gumdrop automatically as he sat stiffly on the edge of the unfamiliar sofa. 

He stared at the floor as he tried to block the swirl of hushed voices surrounding him…two mortgages…foreclosure….social services... but the confusing words and phrases kept seeping through. 

The sticky sweetness offered no pleasure today; it only compounded the grief and fear that gripped him, and he felt his last fragile hold on the wonders of childhood slip away.

~~~~~~~
100 Words

[MaineWriter]

Hi everyone,

• precise
• goldenrod
• "once in a blue moon"

L

[ifyoucantfixit]

                                 Return to Eden

        Ennis was getting his gear in order.  The horse blankets, the harness, checking for any cracks, and breaks in the reins.  These once in a blue moon trips, of more than a few days was being anticipated most anxiously.  He didn't want any injuries to horses or riders as a result of not paying close enough attention to things he could handle here. 
        He measured the precise length of the reins before the end, so they would have plenty of extra length after the hands grip.  He knew after so many repeated uses, the way Jack liked them, as well as his own preference.  It was only four more days, four days before the two full weeks, where they could stand at the jump off and watch the columbine and goldenrod swaying in the breeze, an hold the horses for a few precious moments, alight and take off.  Off on their "never enough time" time, in Brokeback their," eden."

155wds

[mariez]

                                 Return to Eden

.......  It was only four more days, four days before the two full weeks, where they could stand at the jump off and watch the columbine and goldenrod swaying in the breeze, an hold the horses for a few precious moments, alight and take off.  Off on their "never enough time" time, in Brokeback their," eden."

Janice, this is just beautiful.  Eden, indeed.

Marie

[mariez]

Enduring Presence

Jack laid the last 2" by 4" in place, lashed the rope, and climbed down the ladder. 

"What's next, Daddy?" Bobby was clutching his sleeping bag, bursting with excitement at the beginnings of his treehouse.

"Whoa, slow down, buddy," Jack laughed.  "Gotta long way to go."  He stepped back and surveyed the crude platform.  Hmmm…maybe not precisely even, but it would do. 

"It don't look right …" The words came out of nowhere, and Jack grabbed the tape measure with a smile before heading back up the ladder, comforted, as always, by the enduring presence in his heart and mind.

~~~~~~~
100 Words