The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!

[mariez]

How about these for some Monday prompts:

• cute
• eccentric
• hold your horses

Marie

[mariez]

Crazy Talk

"Heading off on an adventure, Ennis?"

Oh, Lord.  Holding tight to his paper sack, Ennis saw the old woman walking toward him. His mama used to call her a harmless eccentric, but she'd always scared hell out of him with her crazy talk.

"Mmm… yes'm …got work tending sheep."  He lowered his eyes, anxious to be on his way.

She grabbed his arm tightly, forcing their eyes to meet again.  "Remember, Ennis. It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."

"Yes'm," Ennis mumbled as he hurried away.  Harmless, maybe. Crazy as a loon, for sure. 

~~~~~~~
100 Words

[Rogue]

    Ennis had been on edge all day in anticipation of Jack's return.  Jack had been gone for almost a week , during that week Ennis had been thinking alot about his relationship with Jack.  He thought he now understood what was going on, but he still wasn't completely sure. 
    It was seven o'clock when Jack finally arrived home.  When Jack entered the house Ennis went to embrace him.
   "Hold your horses cowboy, I'm not readt for that just yet, we need to talk first, get things straightened out," said Jack.
   "Sure enough," agreed Ennis.
   They wenmt into the living room and sat on the couch.  Both men could feel the tension between them, they didn't know how they could have let things get this bad.

[mariez]

    Ennis had been on edge all day in anticipation of Jack's return.  Jack had been gone for almost a week , during that week Ennis had been thinking alot about his relationship with Jack.  He thought he now understood what was going on, but he still wasn't completely sure. 
    It was seven o'clock when Jack finally arrived home.  When Jack entered the house Ennis went to embrace him.
   "Hold your horses cowboy, I'm not readt for that just yet, we need to talk first, get things straightened out," said Jack.
   "Sure enough," agreed Ennis.
   They wenmt into the living room and sat on the couch.  Both men could feel the tension between them, they didn't know how they could have let things get this bad.

Thinking is good, talking is even better, I hope! 

[mariez]

Let's see what these inspire 

• "on the q.t."
• soggy
• early

Marie

[MaineWriter]

September 18, 2007
Lazy L Farm, Quanah, TX

“You got a birthday comin up, don’t ya, Jack?”

“Ya remembered early for a change,” said Jack, his voice only slightly sarcastic.

“I forgot it once—ONCE—and ya never let me live it down.”

Jack smiled. “Oh c’mon, ya know I like teasin ya.”

“Friday, September 21st,” Ennis mused to himself, tapping his finger on the calendar. “Want anythin special this year?”

“Ya know what I want? I want someone ta start me a birthday thread over at Bettermost.”

Ennis laughed. “Jack, that’s the place you been hangin out, I don’t know the folks over there.”

“Well mebbe you can spread the word…get someone ta do it. There’s mariez, or Scott, or ifyoucantfixit…they all read the story.”

“What about MaineWriter?”

“Ah, she’s done too much, let’s let someone else have a turn.”

“Well, I’ll see what I can do…” He peered at the computer screen. “I do see yer listed in the upcoming birthdays.”

“Yup. I wonder who else will notice?”

“Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

(176 words)

[Penthesilea]

Dear Ennis,

say hi to Jack and tell him to NOT come and kibitz on this thread!

Got him shooed away? - Good.

Here's the deal: Jack will get his birthday thread from his BetterMost buddies. With two conditions. First: you must tell us when your birthday is, because we're an awfully curious bunch. Second (and I know it's way too early to think of it, but here it is): when holiday season will be here again, we want Jack to check in on us every now and then and we want receipts.

(Just between the two of us, on the q.t.: he'll get his birthday thread anyway because we love him unconditionally - but if you let him know that, we'll come over and shut you out on a rainy day until you're totally soggy)

Your BetterMost Buddies

[MaineWriter]

September 18, 2007
Lazy L Farm, Quanah, TX

“Ya know, En, if they start a birthday thread for me, people are gonna start askin ‘bout yer birthday.”

“We don’t talk about my birthday, Jack.”

“I know that, but others don’t.”

“Jack…”

“Ennis…”

“I was born on fuckin Friday the thirteenth. And in 1963, it fuckin snowed on my birthday. You remember that.”

Jack nodded yes. He did.

“Nothin good has ever come on my birthday. That’s why I don’t celebrate it.”

“Fact is, En, I don’t think anything bad has happened on yer birthday since we got together in 1976.”

“Mebbe not on my birthday that year, but Hal died a week later.”

“True, that.”

Ennis paused, then spoke slowly, carefully articulating his thoughts. “Tell ya what, you just tell everybody that my birthday is September 21st, just like yours. We’ll celebrate it together. How’s that?”

Jack thought for a second, then nodded. “Sounds like a plan, cowboy,” he said with a smile.

(162 words)

[Penthesilea]

“I was born on fuckin Friday the thirteenth. And in 1963, it fuckin snowed on my birthday. You remember that.”

Kudos Leslie. It was indeed a Friday in 1943.

[mariez]

Close Your Eyes and Make A Wish….

Lightning Flat, Wyoming
September 21, 1953

Jack woke up early on his 10th birthday, pushed the window open and leaned his face out into the fresh, cool breeze.  As he had so many times before, he looked out past that lonely gravel road stretching south, the only road he'd ever known. 

He sighed with contentment as last night's dream came back in bits and pieces - the old pink house and all those beautiful horses.  But a smile of pure joy lit his face as he remembered his favorite part:  the pair of loving brown eyes of his very best friend in the whole wide world. 

~~~~~~~
100 Words