Author Topic: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!  (Read 1178053 times)

Offline Cameron

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #640 on: March 09, 2007, 06:20:18 pm »
They Knew About It Too

(August 1972)

“You’re a doofus” yelled Jenny.
“Naw, you’re the doofus” answered Alma Jr. tagging Jenny, as they were playing in front of the apartment above the laundromat.

“Jenny, lets go get some candy, I got a dollar.”

“Momma can we go get candy, please, please Momma”  Alma Jr. yelled through the open door.

Alma came to the door.
“Well, I guess, but you gotta hold Jenny’s hand.”

“Okay momma, I will.”

They went to the store a few blocks away.   Jenny got two red lollipops.  Alma Jr. got a piece of bubblegum and one of those sticky candies. They started walking slowly home.

“When I’m big I’m gonna live in a big town, with lotsa stores” Jenny said.

When they got almost home, before the Elks lodge, they saw a red and white truck parked on the side.

“Hey, that’s Daddy” Jenny exclaimed.

Daddy was in the truck with another man with dark hair.  They were sitting there talking then suddenly they put their hands on each others faces and they pressed the mouths together, twisting and turning their heads.

“Alma!”

Alma Jr. took Jenny’s hand.

Daddy and the man were like that for a while, then they were hugging.  Then the man took Daddy’s face in his hands, stared at him, and kissed him on the mouth once again.

Then Ennis got out, looked back, and began walking home, carrying a bag and fishing pole.

Alma Jr. and Jenny walked silently behind him.

When Ennis got to the swing set he bent down near the pole to fix the wire that was sticking out.  His head was down.

“Alma, Daddy’s cryin.”
Alma quickly put her hand over Jenny’s mouth.  They were a bit away but they could hear his sobs as he bent by the swing set, twisting that wire in his hands.  Then he got up and went upstairs.

Alma Jr. leaned down and put her hands on Jenny’s shoulders.

“You don’t tell nobody 'bout this, and don’t say notthin.  Not to Momma, not to Daddy, ya hear me?”

Jenny nodded.

The walked to their home, climbed the stairs and went inside.


(I always had the feeling that they knew.)
« Last Edit: March 09, 2007, 06:27:40 pm by marlb42 »



Offline Lumière

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #641 on: March 09, 2007, 06:28:39 pm »
Hiya folks!
My dabble of the day:  :)  This one went a little long ..



Taking off ..

Washakie County, June 1964

Ennis walked out of the stables, brushing off little pieces of hay and wood shavings from his canvas coat.  The horse stalls were mucked out, the water troughs cleaned and replenished and the animals bedded down for the night.  He liked working as a wrangler.  He’d had this job for a few months and he preferred it to his prior work on little ranches, some of which lasted no more than a week, two or three if he was lucky. 

“Hey Del Mar!  Don’t rush off!  Come on, stick around and have some whiskey with us!”  Jimmy called out to Ennis as he started to leave, waving about the bottle concealed in a brown paper bag.  Ennis turned around, two of the ranch hands were seated on the ground a few meters from the stables, he smiled at them.

“No, best be gettin’ back.  Alma’s expectin’ me.  She gets tired a lot these days, ya know, what with her bein’ pregnant an’ all..”

“Nah, come on, relax, she’ll be jus’ fine!” the other youth, Tom responded.

Ennis complied reluctantly and sat down heavily beside Tom, his eyes fixed to the ground.

“So, y’all wanna hear some news?  That Pete who works down at the Supermarket, I hear he's a dirty queer!  Can y’all believe it?  Makes me sick to my stomach!” Jimmy said, taking a swig from the bottle.  Ennis froze, his eyes glued to the ground, his heart racing.

Tom took the bottle from Jimmy, “Pete ain’t no queer!  He don’t act like a fairy or nothin’..” he added, gulping down some of the brew and then passing the bottle to Ennis.

“Can’t imagin’ a man lettin’ another man stick his dick up his wazoo.. Disgustin'!  Like my daddy says, all the dirty queers deserve to be strung up with wire and ..”, he stopped short when Ennis suddenly dropped the whiskey bottle and got up to his feet in haste.  He was red-faced and his hands were trembling.  “Best be off ..” he mumbled, leaving Jimmy and Tom staring after him in surprise.

“What the fuck did I say??  He’s queer too or somethin’?” Jimmy cried.

Tom shook his head, picking up the whiskey bottle.  “Shut the fuck up Jimmy!  Yer bein' a doofus!  There ain’t no way he’s queer!  He’s married an’ all, remember?”  He shook his head at Jimmy disapprovingly, and then turned to look at Ennis’ retreating figure in the distance, thinking to himself .. ‘You gotta hide it better than that Del Mar, Lord knows I do..'
« Last Edit: March 10, 2007, 03:26:36 am by Lucise »


Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #642 on: March 09, 2007, 07:11:03 pm »
It took awhile for the drabble muse to hit some folks today, but once it did, we've had some great stuff!

I am still waiting for my muse to come visit...LOL. Maybe on the drive home.

L
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Offline fernly

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #643 on: March 09, 2007, 07:36:42 pm »
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

goadra volunteered to help create an archive of all the drabbles from the drabblefest. Many wonderful thanks to Barbara for taking on this job!

She created a LiveJournal Community and it can be found here:

http://community.livejournal.com/bbmdrabblefest/

Entries are tagged by date, prompt, and author so now folks have a quick and easy way to go back and read favorites. One drawback of the threads here is that it is hard to find stuff. The archive solves that problem.

Please take a moment to visit the archive. If you have suggestions or comments, please contact either me or goadra. Thanks!

Leslie

How wonderful!   :D  :D  :D
Thank you!

Fern
« Last Edit: March 29, 2007, 12:46:19 am by fernly »
on the mountain flying in the euphoric, bitter air

Offline mariez

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #644 on: March 09, 2007, 10:58:15 pm »
They Knew About It Too
.  .  .
(I always had the feeling that they knew.)

It's like I said the other day - kids always know more than we think, don't they?


.  .  .
Tom shook his head, picking up the whiskey bottle.  “Shut the fuck up Jimmy!  Yer bein' a doofus!  There ain’t no way he’s queer!  He’s married an’ all, remember?”  He shook his head at Jimmy disapprovingly, and then turned to look at Ennis’ retreating figure in the distance, thinking to himself .. ‘You gotta hide it better than that Del Mar, Lord knows I do..'

Oh, that was excellent - I didn't see that coming!


I am still waiting for my muse to come visit...LOL. Maybe on the drive home.

Maybe your muse will visit you twice tomorrow!  :)

Thanks,
Marie
The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain

Offline ifyoucantfixit

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #645 on: March 09, 2007, 11:17:14 pm »


     Thank you Goadra.  We all appreciate all the work you do.  You are our official gate keeper.
It is a job no doubt.  But it is wonderful you have taken it on. 
                                                                                                  Janice



     Beautiful mind

Offline Lumière

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #646 on: March 10, 2007, 03:34:25 am »
Marie,

I wish all my teachers were like you when I was in school!  Who knows how much i might have accomplished to date!  ;D
Thanks for all the encouraging words you continue to leave for all drabblers.  I certainly appreciate them a great deal.

I think Scott said it best -

Aw thanks Marie...what I need is to find some way to put you in my alarm clock so that when 5 am hits everyday, I can awake to the sound of your wonderfully encouraging words.

Muah! :)

~M


Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #647 on: March 10, 2007, 08:37:24 am »
Morning, all...

Try these prompts:

  • black bag
  • protective or protected
  • waist

Leslie
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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #648 on: March 10, 2007, 10:03:06 am »
Riverton, WY
April, 1968

“This is a prescription for penicillin,” said the doctor, ripping the sheet off the small pad. “Ten days, like before, make sure she takes all of it.”

Alma nodded as she took the paper. The physician slipped the pad into his black bag and snapped it shut. “This is Jenny’s third bout of tonsillitis in a year,” he said. “You might want to think about getting her tonsils out.”

“Surgery, ya mean?” asked Alma. The doctor nodded yes. “We ain’t got insurance,” she said, her voice soft.

“I understand.” He paused. “It’s ten dollars, for the house call.”

Alma fished in her purse, pulling out a few worn bills. “I have nine here. Ennis,” she said, turning to her husband, “you have a dollar?”

He pulled a crumpled bill from his jeans pocket and handed it over, then took the prescription from Alma. “I’ll go down ta the Rexall for this.”

“Thank you,” said Alma. “Stop at the post office, too.”

*****

Ennis looked at his truck, then decided to walk to the drug store. He felt cramped and confined, stuck in the small apartment, Jenny crying from her fever and sore throat. Damn, what kinda father am I? he thought. I’m supposed ta be protectin’ my family, takin’ care of em, and I can barely put food on the table. And now the lil one needs an operation?

At the Rexall, he pushed open the door, the bell tinkling, and walked to the counter. Wordlessly, he handed slip of paper to the pharmacist, who read it, then looked up. “Jenny sick again?” he said.

Ennis nodded. “Her tonsils. Doc says she may need em out.”

“That’s a hard decision,” he said, his eyes reflecting genuine concern. “This’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”

“You can put it on account for us?”

“A course. Alma always settles up when she gets her paycheck.”

Ennis nodded. “I’m goin’ ta the post office. I’ll be back.”

“Mornin’ Ennis,” said the postmistress, handing him a sheaf of mail. “Nothin’ much for ya, but ya did get a postcard with a picture a that newfangled Astrodome down ta Houston.”

He looked at her sharply. Ennis had always had a feeling that she read their mail—probably everybody’s mail. He really should get a post office box, but that was just another expense that he couldn’t afford.

He stopped on the sidewalk and looked for a minute at the picture on card, then turned it over slowly.

May 8 at the Wind Rivers
camping spot.
See ya then.
Jack

Ennis slipped the card into his pocket, his worries about money and illness momentarily forgotten. A week a Jack. A week a somebody else protectin’ me. He smiled for the first time that day, then turned and walked back to the drug store.


(470 words)
« Last Edit: March 10, 2007, 10:18:16 am by MaineWriter »
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Offline Cameron

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #649 on: March 10, 2007, 10:04:19 am »
(I am afraid my muse starting to leave too...but just let what came out come out.)

The Lake

May 1981

Ennis packed up the black bag.  It was new, a present from Cassie.  She said that he needs some finer things.  He packed it up with some shirts and socks and more things that he needed for a week.  He really didn't want to use the bag for a the trip to see Jack but he didn’t want Cassie to be upset.  He didn’t want her to look at him the way that she does.

Ennis got into the truck with the bag and began driving, with the horses in the back. There really was no need to bother taking the fishing pole any more. Ennis drove and drove for what seemed like hours.  The sky kept changing from light to dark and then back to light then dark once again. He couldn’t wait to get there, but something just felt not right.

Ennis finally got there.  Jack was there waiting. He was wearing a big beige parka and he what standing looking at the lake. Ennis walked up behind him.  He put his arms around him. Jack turned around.  Jack kissed him, a long slow kiss.

“I couldn’t wait till ya got here”

Jack kissed him again.

“I never can wait to see ya” Jack said again, now wrapping his arms around Ennis's waist.  Ennis never lost that feeling ever since that first time, of how safe and protected he felt with Jack’s arms around him.  Never got that feeling any other time. But something didn’t feel right this time.

They went to unpack the trucks. They unloaded the horses.  They unpacked the new tent. Jack looked at Ennis’s fancy bag.  He didn’t say anything about it.  Ennis saw him looking, didn’t know how he was going to tell him.  How to tell Jack all the things that he needed to tell him.  But he went over to Jack, helped take off that big parka and wrapped his arms around him once more. 

There was that darn voice in his head saying “somethin not right, ain’t right at all”

Jack's arms went tight around him again, real tight, but now even with those arms around him, Ennis just couldn’t shake off that feeling.



 
« Last Edit: March 10, 2007, 12:46:31 pm by marlb42 »