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Ravenwood Chapter 4: Early Morning at the Coffee Shop

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It was still dark out when Elisa Underwood opened her coffee shop, The Rest Stop. She had work to do. The day would start soon enough and she needed to be ready so that everyone else could be ready. She opened the door and locked it behind her.

She didn’t turn on too many lights, not needing to run up her electric bills. She walked into the back where the bakery was and turned those lights on. She turned on the ovens, having gotten the dough ready yesterday and put it into their fridge. She set them to the proper temperatures and waited for them to warm. Her first batches were bagels of different types and some cinnamon rolls.

While they baked, she started grinding her coffee beans. While that worked, she went through her store making sure that everything was in order and clean. The girls had done well the night before, they almost always did. If she found things less than ideal, she usually figured that there was some problem. Some idiot was causing problems.

The place that she set up was reflective of what she thought it would be like to have a peaceful mind. There were plants hanging from hooks in the ceiling. There were several tables lining the walls for two or four people. They were made of a nice, hardwood. The counter took up most of the back and to the right was the bathroom.

She got things ready, long rows of bagels and other pastries. Everything worked the way it was supposed to. With everything where it needed to be, she checked her phone. It was time to open. She turned the sign, clicked the lock and got behind the counter. She started a slow count to twenty and got to work. She prepared an onion bagel with cream cheese and a coffee with one sugar and two creams.

Brett Tomm, real estate agent extraordinaire came through the door.

“Onion bagel with cream cheese, coffee with one sugar and two creams,” they said together as Elisa held it up to him.

“You are a goddess,” he said as he pressed his credit card against the pinpad.

He hit the 20% for the tip and was out the door. Ready to make deals and help people find their homes. After he was gone, she started getting several lattes ready. A gaggle of cheerleaders came in on their way to their early morning practice. She handed them off to each of them. They thanked her and passed cash over to her.

Georgia Hartman came in next, dressed in her park ranger gear and ready to hit the trails. Large coffee black and a cinnamon roll.

“Watch out for the bears,” Elisa said.

“Watch out for low hanging ceiling beams,” Georgia said.

Elisa laughed as her old friend took her morning meal and left.

She started cooking a pair of eggs, some cheese and ham on the griddle. There was a small pile of hash browns cooking next to it. She applied a fair amount of salt, pepper and ketchup to the bagel. She wrapped everything up in a bag and threw in some ketchup packets as the bell over the door rang.

Chuck Trainor, quarterback of the local football team walked in. He was the star of the school but he was also quite and polite. Unless you did something wrong. Some out of towners had been causing problems in her shop one night. Being rude to the girls and making a mess. Chuck had been passing by with his girlfriend. He had stopped and Elisa had seen a look of fury on his face that she had never seen before. He yanked the door near off its hinges. He shouted at them with a voice like thunder. They had stopped to look at him. He ordered them in that same voice to clean up their mess and then give Elisa money as recompense. When they had left, his girlfriend had to comfort him as he did not like being angry. Elisa had made him a cinnamon roll as a thank you.

“Thank you miss,” he said as he took his bag and gave her the payment and a tip.

“You’re very welcome, Chuck,” she replied.

He gave her a slow nod and walked out of the store. After he was gone, a young woman entered. Elisa had never seen her before. She was short but given that Elisa was six feet and four inches tall, most people were short in comparison to her. The young woman was Asian and pretty with a round face and chipmunk cheeks. Her hair was a dusty brown. She was wearing comfy clothes, a zip up jacket and sweat pants. She looked at Elisa who was a tall white woman that reminded her of a corn stalk with her yellow hair at the top of her head being held down by a handkerchief. She was also wearing a dark blue apron, overalls and a t-shirt.

This would be fun.

“Hi, how can I help you?” Elisa said.

“Yeah, can I get a cinnamon roll, coffee and an egg, sausage and cheese bagel,” the young woman said.

“Let me get that going for you.”

“Thanks.”

While Elisa worked on the bagel fixings.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” the young woman asked.

“Sure,” Elisa said.

“Are people really lame about how tall you are?”

“Hunh, no one has ever phrased it like that.”

“Sorry, I just I’m on the road all the time and I’m bad at conversation.”

“I never said it was offensive. It’s just most people just make jokes about my height.”

“I think it’s cool. Wish I was that tall. Can you dunk?”

“I did get through college on a full basketball scholarship but I can’t dunk, no.”

“Dang.”

She started putting the bagel in the bag.

“What do you do?” Elisa asked.

“I’m a courier and truck driver,” the young woman said.

“Now that is cool.”

“Really? It’s just a job to me.”

“Yeah, but it must be nice to be out on the open road.”

“It is.”

“Are you going to be local around here or just passing through?”

“I just moved here so this is going to be like my home base.”

“Well, then I’ll be sure to have your items ready when you get here.”

“I shouldn’t be eating this every day.”

Elisa smiled at her.

“My name is Elisa Underwood,” she said.

“I’m Jenny,” the young woman replied.

The two shook hands.

“Be safe out on the road,” Elisa said.

Jenny gave her a long look.

“Yeah, see you soon,” Jenny said.

Jenny left and Elisa realized that she was behind schedule. She started preparing the next round of food and coffee while trying to get the butterflies in stomach to stop.

Ravenwood Chapter 4: Four Friends

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Excuses were made. Lies were told. The group made sure that they covered their tracks and they worked together well enough that their alibi was airtight.

Instead of going to any of their houses, they got on their bikes and started riding. The children rode their bikes as the town fell away from them as they headed along the streets to the northwest. There was a forest that bordered the town on the western side. Towards the north, the land curved upwards. Eventually leading to a large overlook. They had festivals up here sometimes. A fair number of the children of the town had been conceived there as well.

But tonight, a group of theater kids were gathering there. There would be four of them in total. Two girls, two boys. Ages ranging from fifteen to seventeen. The first to arrive was Robin, a tall, willowy young white woman with two toned hair, the left side pink, the right side black. She like to wear long fanciful dresses that she found while thrifting. People would ask her that night how she rode her bike with the dress on and she would simply say bicycle shorts and the conversation would end. The dress she chose for tonight was baby blue and had a great deal of lace on it.

The second was Michael, a young black man that rode with a guitar on his back. He was a bit overweight and dressed much more simply than Robin. T-shirt and jeans. When he got there, Robin was gathering up twigs and leaves for a fire. He helped dragged some larger pieces of wood for them to use throughout the night.

Two arrived at the same time, a slim young Asian man named George who dressed in hoodies and jeans as well. His hair was styled, he had eyeliner and black nail polish on. He was hauling a huge backpack of snacks. The friend he rode up with was a short, plump young white woman with jean shorts, a shock of red hair and wearing a flannel shirt. She had a large bag with all kinds of pins covering it. They brought up social issues as well as a number of indie rock bands. Robin clocked her arrival immediately immediately and went to give her a hug.

“Cheery!” Robin said in greeting. “I missed you.”

“I just saw you a few hours ago at school,” Cheery said.

“That’s long enough for me to miss you.”

Michael had gotten the fire going and they went to sit by it. He pulled out his guitar and started playing quietly. First things first, they discussed theater business. What they could improve, what they thought would be best to do in the show. Who they thought was secretly dating amongst the cast. Who had crushes on who.

Next came the songs. Michael, being a devil on the guitar could play almost anything they shouted out. There were some favorites of course from a variety of shows that they loved, Wicked, Rent and the like. Michael put the guitar away, which meant it was time for s’mores.

“God, I love nights like this,” George said.

“I like looking down at the town from up here,” Robin said. “Leaves all the boring down there.”

“It’s not that boring,” Cheery said.

“Yeah, the last place I lived only had like a movie theater with four screens. Plus the owner was obsessed with Titanic and always dedicated at least one screen to it at all times,” George said.

“How did he stay in business?” Michael asked.

“You would be surprised at how often people would just pop in and go see Titanic. It was actually comforting. Your life might change in all kinds of ways but that theater would still be showing Titanic.”

“God, Kate Winslet was so hot in that movie,” Cheery said.

“She’s still hot,” the rest of her friends chorused.

“Agreed!” Cheery said raising her soda to the sky.

“I know that there’s some things about Ravenwood that I’m going to miss but I have to get out of this town. The city holds my dreams for me,” Robin said.

The others didn’t say anything. They didn’t want to rain on her parade. But for them, they would only go as far as high school. Robin was a lifer. She was going to try and make the theater everything about her. To that end, she had started posting songs and line readings on her Youtube page. They had attracted the usual internet reaction. Some people calling her hot, some people actually talking about her talent and others saying that she was terrible.

“I don’t know if I could leave,” Michael said. “My family’s here.”

“You’re right, son,” a voice said from the woods.

Everyone’s heads turned and they saw a black police officer holding his flashlight emerging from the woods.

“Hi, dad,” Michael said nervously.

“Hi, son for whom I am well pleased and said that he was staying at George’s house,” his father replied.

“To be fair, Mr. Block, he is with me,” George said.

“Not helping, George,” father and son said together.

He sighed and pressed the buttons on his walkie talkie. He said that it was a group of campers on the ridge and it was nothing to worry about. He came and walked to the fire, he pointed at it with his flashlight.

“That should be smaller if you want to stay out of sight,” officer Block said. “You lit a signal fire for the entire town.”

“The beacons are lit,” Robin and Cheery said.

“Gondor calls for aid, yes, yes, Michael’s watched those movies a thousand times. I’m glad that you kids are having fun but you need to make sure that you put that fire out and spread the ashes. I would run you off here if you weren’t as good of kids as I know.”

“Sorry, dad,” Michael said.

“We’ll discuss this with your mother tomorrow, I’m not that angry and I’m not disappointed, just be smarter.”

“It could be in our favor that we are such good kids because we’re really bad at being bad,” George added politely.

“Still not helping,” the two Block men said in unison.

“It’s crazy the way you two do that,” Cheery said.

“Be home for breakfast tomorrow,” officer Block said to his son and started walking back to the woods.

“I love you, dad,” Michael said.

“I love you too,” his father said as he hit the tree line.

The group decided that it was time to turn in and got into their sleeping bags. Of course, that’s not where it ended as the minute there was silence someone would ask if they were sleeping and then they would start chatting again. Whispering secrets. Giggling. Laughing. Loving one another in ways that surpassed romance because they knew that those bonds would last forever.

The night didn’t though and soon the sun woke them up. They got on their bikes and Michael rode to keep his promise. Wondering what the talk would be like when he got home. But for right now, George wanted to race him and the city streets were empty. They pumped their legs, laughing for the sheer joy of it.

Connections

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Charlie had a window in his office.  He noticed the snow falling and thought that he would give it an hour and see if it stopped.  By the three hour mark, it still hadn’t.  He was a small man, bald and potbellied.  He rose out of his chair and into the small hallway of his office into the main area of his store.  

His store was fragrant and beautiful.  It sold scented candles of all kind.  The walls were a light pink and the carpet was a deep blue.  Gentle music was playing over the speakers.  There was artwork made by his wife and children on the wall, framed of course.  His two employees, Riley and Caroline, didn’t stop working.    

“Riley, Caroline,” he said and they turned their heads to look at him.  “I don’t want to drive home in this shit and if I don’t want to do it, I don’t feel like you should have to do it either.  Go home for the day.  You’ll get paid for the rest of the day.”

“Thanks, boss,” Riley said.

“I don’t drive in,” Caroline said. 

“Well, you deserve a day off either way.  Get out of here,” Charlie said.  “I’ll close up.  Riley, I’m sorry that I didn’t do this earlier.  You have much farther than I have to go.”

“Don’t worry about it, boss.”

“Get going and I would appreciate a text that you got home safe.”

“Will do, boss.”

“You can call me, Charlie.”

“You got it, boss.”

Charlie rolled his eyes and went to the cash register to start cashing it out.  Riley and Caroline went into the employee area and gathered their things.  They walked out into the parking lot of the strip mall.  Caroline helped him clean off his car and then Charlie’s.  

“Do you need a ride home?” Riley asked Caroline.

“I’m good,” Caroline said.  “Safe travels.”

Riley gave her a two finger salute and got into his car.  He pulled out slowly as Charlie came through the door.  Charlie waved at him and got into his car.  Riley started home going slowly.  It normally took him about thirty minutes on the back roads but this would be probably around forty to fifty.  But as his father always said, go slow in snow, get home in one go.  He thought that his dad was really trying to push for that rhyme.  

Thinking about his dad’s words made him think about Charlie.  His dad liked Charlie and told him to respect the man.  Riley did respect him and it was the reason that he called him boss.  He was the boss.  He was a man of honor and dignity.  He stood up for his employees when the shittier customers gave them the stick.  

His wife was beautiful, tall and willowy.  She had modeled in her youth and had only stopped when she found something else that interested in her.  One of Riley’s coworkers had decided to make a pass at her because he thought that he was God’s gift to women.  Charlie’s wife laughed in his face.  She called her husband and told him what had happened.  Charlie had laughed as well.  They kept laughing until the coworker quit in tears.  

The store was a pet project of Charlie who three loves in his lives.  His wife and children and in a far second, candles.  He made most of them himself.  It’s what kept bringing people back.  He paid Riley enough that he didn’t need a second job.  He gave them health insurance.  At times he felt like he was wasting his life but why break up a good thing?  

The areas outside of the strip mall was mostly farmland.  He kept driving, watching horses wander back into their stable.  There was no one on the road.  It was only eleven a.m.  He thought about the people in their office buildings that stupidly didn’t work for Charlie.  The roads were already starting to get bad.  It would be miserable later that night.   

He got to an intersection with a four way stop.  A man was walking down the street and came to the stop sign.  Riley figured that he could let the man go.  It was worse walking through this than driving.  He thought that up until the man slip and fell.  It was a particularly nasty fall, the man was on his legs and then they went to their left and he hit the ground.  

The man got up but then fell once more.  He then just kind of laid down.  Riley thought driving away but then he wondered when someone would come along.  He thought about it for a few seconds and then put his car in park.

He went to the man.  

“Hello there,” he said.  “Do you need some help?”

“I’m fine, my arm just hurts a little bit,” the man said.

“Can I help you up?”

“I’m fine.”

“Please, sir.”

The man relented and Riley helped him to his feet.  The two of them walked over to Riley’s car.  The man pulled back his hood.  He was old with a well kept beard and whitening hair.  He was wearing a large windbreaker coat.  

“Thank you,” the man said.

“No problem,” Riley said.  “The name’s Riley.  What’s yours?”

“Morgan.”

“Good to meet you, Morgan.  Can I take you somewhere to get checked out?”

“I’m fine.”

“You said your arm hurt and not to be a little ageist, you’re older.  I’m worrying you…”
“I’m not having a heart attack.  I had one of those and I know it’s not that.”

“Sir, please.  The urgent care is just up the road and I’ll take you home.”

“Fine.”

The two of them drove into the snow.  They got to the other strip mall and Riley helped Morgan out of the car.  He shook him off but was still holding his arm.  The urgent care was thankfully open.  A young Indian woman in scrubs was sitting at the front desk.

“Wow, I was just about to leave.  That is providence,” she said.  “How can I help you?”

“This man is having arm pains and he fell out in the snow,” Riley said.

“Are you…” 

“I’m not having a heart attack!” Morgan growled.  

“Fine, fine.  Come in the back, let me check you out.  Would you like your son to come with you?” the doctor asked. 

“He’s not my son,” Morgan said.

“Just a good Samaritan,” Riley added.

“Let’s get you checked out, I’m doctor Indara Patel.”

“You can go, Riley,” Morgan said.  

“I’ll wait.  Gotta make sure you get home or I’ll worry,” Riley said flopping into a chair.  

Riley pulled out his phone and texted his boyfriend.  It was starting to get serious but he still hadn’t met his family.  His name was Keith and he was really getting into with him.  

Riley: Hey, I think that we should cancel tonight.  The snow is really bad.  

Keith: Yeah, I think that’s best.

Riley walked back out to his car and got a book from his bag.  He started reading and made it through a fair amount of his book before Morgan came out wearing a sling.  He seemed unhappy.  

“His arm is broken, I’ve given him some pain medication and an order to take it easy,” Dr. Patel said to Riley.  

“Got it,” Riley said as if that meant anything to him.

“Thank you, miss,” Morgan said sincerely.

“No problem.  I can close up shop with a sound heart,” she said.  “You boys get home safe.”

Riley lead Morgan out to the car and opened the door for him.  He asked Morgan his address and Morgan told him.  He noticed that Morgan stopped and looked at the pride bumper sticker on the back of his car and hesitated for a moment.  He climbed in and Riley started putting the address into his GPS.  

“Do you have a charging cable?  My phone’s dead.  I have to let my son know what’s going on,” Morgan said. 

“Yeah, here,” Riley said and handed it to him.

“Thanks.”

They drove in silence for about three blocks. 

“I know what that sticker on the back of your car means,” Morgan said.

“Oh, do you want me to let you out?” Riley asked.

“No, it’s fine.  My son’s gay.”

“And you’re cool with it?”

“I don’t fully get it but I don’t have to.  He’s happy and I love him.  I call that a win.”

“That’s pretty good.”

“How did your parents take it?”

“My dad gave my mom a twenty when I came out.  They were accepting after that.”

“Ha, he sounds fun.”

“Hm.”

They lapsed into silence.  

“My son brought me to one of those parades one year.  Told me to wear a ‘Free Dad Hugs’ shirts.  So many of them came up to me.  They wept.  They cried in my arms.  I’ve never been more furious in my life.  What poor excuse for a parent lets their child think they don’t care about them?  For that?  Idiots,” Morgan said.  

“Testify,” Riley added.

“My son’s mother didn’t accept him.  It was the one thing bad about her.  I still miss her.  I wish she could have gotten around it.  She missed a lot of good times with him.”

“Hm.”

“Are you seeing anyone?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m dating a great guy.”

“Good.  You’re a good person, helping someone you don’t know.”

“I couldn’t leave you.  It’d be horrible.  I’d be like one of those parents.”

“Exactly.”

Riley drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and then told Siri to play some Johnny Cash.  Morgan nodded approvingly.  

“My phone has a bit of a charge, I’m going to call my son,” Morgan said.

“Go ahead,” Riley said.

Morgan put the phone to his ear.  The son on the other end picked up immediately.  Riley only heard one side of the conversation and it went like this: 

“Hello?  Yeah, I’m fine.  I just had a bit of a slip.  My arm is busted.  I’ll be fine.  I was out walking.  A nice young man picked me up.  Took me to the urgent care.  Nice doctor.  Said she ask for his number but turns out he’s gay.  Yeah, yeah.  He’s going to take me home.  Should be about thirty minutes.  You don’t have to do that.  I can manage.  Fine.  I’ll see you in a bit.  I love you.  See you soon.”

He hung up the phone. 

“My son is going to meet us at my house,” Morgan said.  

“Good, I’ll know when he gets near.  Using my gaydar.  We don’t tell you that’s what it’s actually for.  Identifying when we’re near to each other.  Straight people don’t actually have it,” Riley said.

Morgan let out a coughing laugh.  Riley noticed his phone was buzzing.  He saw it was Keith.  He answered it on speaker phone.  

“Hello?” Riley asked.  

“Hey!” Keith said. 
    Morgan looked down at the phone. 

“My dad fell when he was out walking, I’m heading over to his house.  He broke his arm,” Keith gasped.

“That sucks,” Riley said.

“Yeah, some guy is driving him home.  I’d kiss him, if I wasn’t already dating you,” Keith said.  

Riley glanced at Morgan, a smile spreading across his face.  

“I mean, you can kiss him if you want.  He’s doing something really nice,” Riley said chuckling a little bit.  

“He is,” Keith said.  “Why did he need to go for a walk!  I would have brought him anything he needed.  Ugh, I love him but he’s so stubborn sometimes.”

Morgan looked at the phone and raised an eyebrow.  Riley realized that he was walking a tightrope walk.  

“Let’s not be too harsh on him.  Everything you told me about him shows that he’s a good guy,” Riley said quickly.  

“He is, he’s the best man I know.  He’s my hero.  He just needs to know that sometimes he shouldn’t go out in a blizzard,” Keith said.

Morgan nodded his head back and forth seemingly agreeing.  

“You know you never told me your dad’s name.  What is it?” Riley said.

“Morgan,” Keith said.

“Cool name.”

“It is.  Alright, I have to pay attention to the road.  I’ll see you later. I might have to stay over his house a few times to make sure that he’s okay.”

“Hey, do what you have to do.  No worries on my end.”

“Okay great.  I’ll see you when I can.”

“See you.”

Keith hung up and Morgan and Riley started laughing.  

“I thought I wasn’t going to make it through that,” Morgan said wiping at his eyes.  

“That was so funny,” Riley said.  

They came to a stop at a stoplight.  Morgan turned in his seat.  

“Nice to meet you,” he said and offered his hand.

“An absolute pleasure to meet you, sir,” Riley said.

“Call me Morgan.”

“Now that you’ve asked, I will.”

“Do you want to stay at my house when Keith gets there?”

“That would be great.  How funny would it be if when he comes through the door, I just come out of the kitchen or something.”

“That’d be great.”

They got to Morgan’s house and Riley helped him into the house.  The two of them sat playing chess and drinking cocoa while they waited.  Morgan was much friendlier now and was sharing stories about Keith.  It was timing perfection where Riley was getting them more cocoa and he heard the door open.  

The look on Keith’s face when he walked into the living room with three cups of cocoa was one that Riley would hold onto for the rest of his life.  During their wedding years later, Morgan would tell this story again with tears in his eyes.  He would toast the man that was a stranger and now he called son.  

A Moment in the Life of Fred Durst

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(I wrote this because I was listening to the Mom Can’t Cook episode about Lemonade Mouth where the bad guy is a rap rocker. I listened to Break Stuff and it is a really good song for what it is. This idea just popped into my head. I actually have a great deal of respect for the man. Him showing up in I Saw the TV Glow, a deeply trans film and Y2K where he good-naturedly made fun of himself. I think that he might be an alright dude.)

He didn’t have to look around to find his trusted red baseball cap. It was always within arms’ reach and of course, he could easily summon it to his hand through the deep magic of nu metal. He could not show people that though, lest he be stripped of his powers by the nu metal mages that taught him his dark craft. But now was the time to write. Now was the time to express himself.

He sat down at his desk. He tapped his pencil against the desk, it’s point ready to be dulled through his art. He looked at his notebook. What would he bring into the being? What would he draw from the fabric of creation?

He decided that he had to speak to the people. To the everyman. What was one of the most universal things to say to somebody else? He thought for a few moments and nodded to himself.

“Did you ever have one of those days?”

There it was. A cordial phrase. One that you would say to a friend. Someone you loved. They would know that you’re going to talk about a shared experience. What else did people not want? Sometimes you…

“Did you ever have one of those days? Where you didn’t want to wake up.”

Yes, yes, YES. He was describing a bad day. Everyone had had bad days. Of course, he was far richer so his bad days were much better than others. Much easier. But he could still relate to the people. He needed to describe the people that you encountered.

“Everything is fucked. Everybody sucks.”

Beautiful. He was a wordsmith. He had to keep going.

“You don’t really know why.”

Excellent. Time to express the anger. Truly express it.

“But you really want to justify ripping someone’s off.”

What if he was an assassin? One that you didn’t want to make angry?

“No human contact. And if you interact, your life is on contract.”

His pencil was nearly on fire. He kept writing. When he was done, the eraser remained untouched because why would you need to erase any of it? He had had his pencil wore near down to the nub. But he looked upon his song, “Break Stuff”. This certainly wouldn’t come back to bite him in the year 1999.

say hi to your dog for me

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Lorelei had been driving around with the bumper sticker from WeRateDogs on the back of her car for the last two years. She wasn’t a dog owner but she was a fan of dogs. She would go to the parks and watch people walking their dogs. Wishing she had the room or time for one. Not right now. Not until she got her promotion and had more control over her time. Soon. Soon.

She pulled up to the light and sat there. She knew this light and that she was going to be there for a long time. At least it was a nice day. Bright and clear. There weren’t too many folks on the road.

With a rev of an enormous engine, a pick up truck pulled behind her. It then revved again and pulled up next to her. She heard the sonorous sound of the horn and glanced over.

The man sitting in the car next to her was white, bald and wearing wraparound sunglasses. He was smiling a wide smile. She didn’t know what to make of the man. She wondered if he was about to say something to her whether sexual or racist. He kept smiling though.

“Say hi to your dog for me?” he called. “How about you do it yourself.”

He lifted up his hand and Lorelei nearly died. He held a chihuahua in his hand that was small and black and brown. The eyes were bugging out. It was shaking in the hand of its owner. She couldn’t tell if he was scared or just shaking like most chihuahuas do.

“Oh my God, look at that sweet angel,” Lorelei cooed. “What’s their name?”

“Apple pie!” the man called back friendly.

The light finally turned green.

“You two have a wonderful day,” Lorelei called after him as the man lowered Apple Pie back to their seat.

He gave her a friendly wave and drove through the light. Lorelei continued with her day as well, feeling a little bit happier. A little bit brighter having seen such a beautiful little one. Such is the power of the dog.

Random Word Generator: Archive

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(I learned this from Paul Robalino on the behind the scenes of Game Changer on Dropout.TV. He talks about using a random word generator and then writing from that word. This time we’re looking into a collection with the word: Archive)

The door swung open and slammed against the wall. The man that entered the room was ruggedly handsome, his hair was salt and pepper, face covered in stubble and wearing a bomber jacket and slacks. He had a pistol on his belt. His name was Jake Blast.

The other occupant was standing at a stove, watching some vegetables sizzle. He was the opposite of his visitor, clean cut, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He poked at the food with a spatula. His name was Glenn Smart.

“Are you kidding me?” Jake said.

“About what?” Glenn replied his glasses fogging up from the steam.

“That I fought all those nazis, I got through all of those traps and flew halfway around the world for a cookbook.”

“I guess.”

He looked like he wanted to punch something.

“I thought you were an archaeologist. What does it matter that it’s a cookbook? It’s still history,” Glenn said.

“You just… you just hope that you put all the effort in and you hope that it’s going to be something really great.”

“I think it could be great.”

“Is that one of the recipes from the book?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Doesn’t smell great.”

“Yeah, they didn’t have access to certain spices,” Glenn said giving it another stir. “I knew you were coming so I made enough for two. Do you want a plate?”

“Sure,” Jake said.

When the food was done, they sat down and tasted it. They both chewed on it for a long time.

“Kind of bland,” Jake said.

“Truly,” Glenn replied eating another forkful.

“Maybe we just stick this in the archive.”

“Yeah, might as well. Good job though getting it.”

“Maybe the next tomb will be more interesting.”

The Dog Catcher

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The door slammed and her words rang. He sat there on his couch, staring at the cooling, dimming TV. He saw his reflection there. The bulge of his stomach. The stains on his t-shirt. The five day stubble that hurt to shave.

She had left, calling him a loser. Telling him that she had fallen out of love with him. That he had no direction. Nowhere to go. His heart ached. Maybe that was his high choleric diet or maybe it was the heartbreak. Who could say. He hadn’t been to a doctor in years.

He sat there for a long time. He took a deep breath. He thought about getting up and going to his fridge and getting a beer. He thought about ordering a pizza and drowning his sorrows in a night of video games. But the shock to his system was rippling through him. He had lost her because of nights like that. Maybe it was time to change.

He thought about doing some situps or pushups. But his floor was covered in garbage and clothing. He reached an impasse in his life. He could sit and become a fungus on his own catch or he could get up and make a change. He thought about the love that had left his life.

He stood up.

*Years Later*

He sat patiently. He was reading. The day was getting colder. The bowl of dog food was sitting next to him. He had been brining it closer to him every day. Today was the day.

The nose emerged first. The rest of the dog followed. It was a golden retriever and he was in a bad way. His coat was dirty and clogged with barbs and other things. He had been through it. He was someone’s pet, not a wild animal. Above all, he was scared.

The dog came to his side and started eating. When the dog was finished, he licked his chops and looked at him. He held out his hand to the dog and the dog sniffed it. He whined. He went slowly. He put his hand on the dog’s head. He petted him slowly. The dog let out another whine.

“You’ve been through it, haven’t you, girl?” he said. “Think you would like to come home with me?”

The dog let out another long whine.

“Come on,” he said. “My name’s Keith. I think I’ll call you Stella for now. Let’s go.”

He put a harness and leash on Stella. It seemed she wanted to be found by someone. He had developed this kind, slow energy over years of doing his job. He brought the dog to his car and opened the door for her to climb in. He drove a familiar route. He got to the office and helped Stella out. He brought her into the clinic and she was once more fearful. The sounds and smells hitting her all at once. He scratched her behind the ears.

“You’re going to have to be brave,” he said calmly. “C’mon.”

Stella followed him but she was walking quickly. She wanted to be away from this place. He did as she wanted and brought her to a large shower. He leashed her inside and started spraying her with the hose. She started whining once more. He worked the barbs and everything out of her fur. He shampooed and did what he could. He gave her a treat as he dried her off.

“There you go, much better,” he said.

He brought her into a small office and there was a woman there in scrubs and a lab coat. The dog started whining.

“I know, I know,” the woman said. “I’m your nightmare. But I’m here to help. You brought in a beauty, Keith.”

“Yea, this was a pet project I had working on. She was hiding near my house,” he replied.

“Well, let me do my exam and I’ll let you know when she’s done.”

“Thanks, Leslie.”

He went back to his office and did some paperwork. When she messaged him on slack, he got up and walked back to the examination room.

“So, there’s something interesting,” she said.

“What’s that?” Keith asked.

“Look who the owner is.”

A familiar name flashed up on the screen.

“Hunh, that’s funny,” Keith said.

“Turns out her name is Muffins. Do you want to drop her off?” Leslie asked.

“Yeah, I owe her a favor.”

“Really? What?”

“She broke up with me.”

Leslie’s eyes shot up.

“Are you planning to kill her?” Leslie asked.

“What?! No!” Keith replied honestly taken aback.

“Then explain.”

Keith rolled his eyes. He pulled out his phone. He scrolled through an app and while he did so, he absentmindedly pet Muffins. He pulled up a picture and showed it to her.

“That’s what I looked like three years ago when she broke up with me,” Keith said. “The day she did I did the first situp I had done since I got out of high school. I was a fucking loser. Now, I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m happy, I’m healthy and all it took was her stomping my heart. And no, I don’t think we’re going to get back together because I can see that the primary owner is the dude she left me for. So, I want to show my thanks.”

“And possibly find out if the guy she’s dating is a scumbag?” Leslie said.

“Yes… but I’m not hoping for that.”

“I believe you.”

He put a collar and leash on Muffins.

“You should call first,” Leslie said.

“Eh, it’ll be fine,” Keith said. “C’mon girl, let’s go home.”

The drive was long and much happier than the one before. Muffins seemed much happier to be clean and unburdened by dirt. As he followed his GPS, Keith wondered when Muffins would realize she was getting close to home. They passed by a coffee shop and Muffins started whining and barking. He smiled to himself. They turned onto her street and he could see her tail whipping back and forth.

He pulled up in front of a nice little ranch house and she was going nuts. She was trying to get out through the window. He opened the door and came around to where he let her out. She was pulling hard on the leash. He could see how she had gotten away from her owner.

Maybe it was some off hand glance through the window. Some happenstance but the owner had seen his dog coming up the walk being pulled by a handsome animal control worker. He threw the door open and Keith let the leash go. Muffins ran to her father. The man hugged his dog who was licking at his face. He was crying hard enough to shake his body. Keith watched with his back against the door to his car.

There was paperwork to fill out but that could wait. Sometimes the job was heartbreaking when he had to witness the cruelty and sadness for creatures that didn’t understand. Today though, today it felt good.

“Keith?” a voice behind him said.

He turned around and he saw Viv, his ex coming up the street. She had been coming home from a run seemingly. He smiled at her.

“Hey,” he said raising his hand to her.

She was confused looking at him. She looked from him to her front door and saw her dog and boyfriend reunited. She let out a cry, having immediately forgotten about her ex and happy to see her baby. The dog jumped at her. Happy to see her.

Keith watched them for a while before getting his paperwork and clipboard and approaching them. The man stood up and reached out his hand to Keith.

“Thank you, god bless you,” the man said. “Who found her?”

“I did,” Keith said. “She was hiding in a bush near my house. I saw her going through the garbage and followed her to her hiding place. I’ve been trying to get her to trust me for the last week.”

“She ran off on me while we were on a walk,” Viv said.

“She’s very strong.”

“Yeah, is that paperwork to fill out?” the man asked.

“Yeah, I figured you’re her owner, Bruce, based on what we got but I just need to make it official. Can I see your ID?”

“Yea, let me just run in and get it.”

He left the two alone and Muffins ran into the house with him. Keith smiled into the awkward silence between them.

“You look good,” Viv said.

“Thanks,” Keith said. “So do you.”

“What happened?”

“Don’t take it the wrong way, you broke up with me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s the wrong way the apology should go. I made you miserable for years. You were so patient with me. I was blind and such an asshole.”

“You were.”

“So, yeah, I’m sorry. You deserved better and looks like you found it.”

“He’s great.”

“His dog loves him. That’s enough to tell me what kind of person he is. Are you happy?”

“I’m so happy.”

“Good.”

He smiled contentedly. Bruce came walking up and handed off his license to Keith. Keith took down the information.

“There we go,” Keith said. “Glad to help.”

“Am I allowed to give you like a tip or anything like that?” Bruce asked.

“It’s frowned upon.”

“By the way, you two seem to know each other.”

“We’re just old friends, my name’s Keith.”

“Oh… wait, that Keith?”

Keith let out a laugh.

“Yeah, I’m the ex,” Keith said.

“You’re not what I was expecting,” Bruce said.

“I’m sure every story you heard about me was true. I spent the last three years trying to be less of a waste of space. That’s how I got this job!”

“Are you happy?” Viv asked.

“Very much so,” Keith replied with a warm smile.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Bruce asked.

“Think I’m trying to steal her back?”

“Nah, I have a friend whose single. Maybe I could give her your number?”

“Which friend?” Viv said.

“Tanya,” Bruce replied.

“You are not inflicting Tanya on him.”

“I’m just saying…”

Keith held up his hand.

“I’m good,” Keith said. “I’m happy.”

He took the two in for a moment.

“And I’m happy that you two are happy as well,” Keith said. “I have to get back to it. You two have a good one.”

He gave them a brief nod and when he saw Muffins wagging through the glass door, he gave her a two fingered salute. He climbed back into his car and drove off.

Leslie noticed him humming throughout the rest of the day. She didn’t ask. Didn’t want to make him question his happiness.

A week or so later, he got a text from Viv. It was asking if he would want to go out with them for a drink. He smiled at his phone. He started texting back.

Random Word Generator Storytime: Reduction

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(I learned this from Paul Robalino on the behind the scenes of Game Changer on Dropout.TV. He talks about using a random word generator and then writing from that word. This time we’re shrinking things with the word: Reduction).

Patricia looked at herself in the mirror. She was a pretty woman with a round face and full cheeks but most of the people that she dated didn’t focus on her face. They focused on what was going on below her neck.

Her breasts had started growing when she was fifteen and hadn’t stopped until they were so far down the alphabet that it made her uncomfortable. Her back ached daily and nearly nothing fit. She sighed as she stuffed herself into her bra. The ugly thing that she had bought because it was too expensive to get nice things in her size.

She thought again about getting a breast reduction. She had thought about this and brought it up with other boyfriends she had and they had all thrown tantrums about it. One of them had told her it was like slicing up the Mona Lisa. That if he she did it he would break up with her. She saved him the trouble and broke up with him.

She had the money for it that wasn’t the problem. She was dating a guy now and she saw a future with him. She wondered if he would stick around if she were to do this thing. Then she kicked herself for taking his opinion into account. Who cares what he thought. On a whim, she thought about calling him and asking him. Might as well get it over with and find out what he would say. If he was against it, she would be able to not waste her time anymore.

He picked up on the third ring.

“Hey, sweetums, what’s up?” he answered.

“Nothing, Joshy, I just had a question about something.”

“Hit me with it.”

“I’m thinking about getting a breast reduction.”

“Okay, cool. Just let me know when you’re thinking about it and I’ll take the time off, okay? I want to make sure I’m around to take care of you while you recover.”

Patricia was taken aback. Not in a bad way but more surprised.

“That’s it?”

“Uh, I guess is there something else you want me to do? Do you want me to come with you to the consultation?”

“No, I… you don’t have any objections to it?”

There was a long pause on the other end. She wondered if he was thinking about it for the first time.

“Why would I get a say in what you do to your body?” he asked.

“I mean, I was worried that this might make you less attracted to me,” she said.

“Honey, I love you, I don’t love a pair of tits. If I did I’d buy a pair at the Pleasure Shack and play with those. Probably save me a lot of money and having to smell your taco farts when we get Taco Bell and pass out on the couch.”

She snorted laughter at that.

“Besides,” he continued. “I know how they irk you. I care more about your comfort than some boobs.”

“Hm, I love you, honey,” she said.

“I love you too, give them a call and we can sort it out.”

“Am I going to see you later?”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up and googled the name of a plastic surgeon. She held the phone to her ear while it rang.

“I’m going to marry that man,” she said.

“Hello, Dr. Patel’s office,” a voice said on the other end. “How can I help you?”

“Hi, my name is Patricia Allman, I’d like to make an appointment for a consultation.”

Random Word Generator Story Time: Dive

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(I learned this from Paul Robalino on the behind the scenes of Game Changer. He talks about using a random word generator and then writing from that word. The word I got was dive and I’m going to write the first thing that comes into my mind.)

Every step terrifies me. Maybe I wouldn’t be so scared is if around the pool it wasn’t hard concrete but instead like a padded floor. I think that it would still hurt to land on that but it wouldn’t be as bad.

I’m at the pool at my school and I’ve been staring at this thing since I was a freshman. I’m about to graduate and I need to jump off of it. I don’t know why I have to face this fear. Maybe it’s something about a mental block to starting the rest of my life. I have to close one chapter and start on another.

I get to the top of it. It takes me a while to lift my leg up and get onto it. I feel myself slip a little bit. I grab harder to make sure that I don’t fall. I get onto the diving board. I finally see over and I freeze. I’m so high up. How does this high dive exist inside a gym? This is insane. I think I see some people standing by the edge of the pool before I scramble to the ladder. I don’t go down it, I just hang onto it for dear life. I don’t know how to get back onto it. There’s another way down but there’s no way in hell I’m taking that way. I guess I’ll just have to wait for a hunky fireman to come by and grab me.

I think I hear people calling for me. I think I saw people when I looked over the edge of the diving board. I didn’t get a long enough look to know who they were. I hear someone shout “no running” and that’s it.

I look at the ladder again and soon a face appears there. It’s Molly Anderson. Dark chestnut hair, fine features and blue eyes. Of course she’s the one to find me cowering up here. She’s always such an asshole. She’s made fun of me since we got to high school. Maybe I wanted to do this to prove that I was as good as her. Not that I’d ever admit that to her. Not even now.

She looks like she’s worried. It’s probably a trick.

“Hey, are you okay?” Molly asks softly.

“Doing great,” I say.

“You look like you’re scared.”

“Why don’t I save us some time and say that I am and you can start making fun of me.”

“Not up here. If you’re scared, I want you to get down safely. I only make fun of people on firm ground.”

“Why do you make fun of people all the time?”

“You make fun of me too!”

“Because you make fun of me!”

“Who made fun of who first?”

“You did!”

“You did!”

Now that we’re talking about this, I honestly can’t remember when I started to hate her. Here at the end of my life, I’m starting to think about how I actually enjoy our verbal sparring. Oh shit, she’s starting to talk again.

“The fact of the matter is that I was right where you were the first time I came up here,” Molly says. “My first meet, I saw a girl fall off the high dive and get hurt. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“Thanks for letting me know that. Good glimpse into my future,” I respond.

“That’s not going to happen as long as I can help it. Do you want me to help you down? I can come up there or stay down here and get you on the ladder. I won’t play any tricks on you or do anything. I just want to make sure you’re safe. You can trust me.”

I do trust her. I remember there was one night when her and her friends found my best friend, Stacy, crying after her dipshit ex broke up with her. He had made fun of her and bragged about cheating. Molly had taken care of her because I was out of town. She told me that she had been a bit drunk and they had made sure she got home safe. They had listened to and comforted her. She wasn’t that big an asshole now that I thought about it.

“Why are you up here?” Molly asks.

“I was scared to do this and I wanted to prove it to myself that I could do it,” I reply.

“Okay, do you want me to talk you through it? Let’s start easy. Take a few deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

I do as she instructs. I do find myself calming down. My heart stops beating in my ears.

“Good, you’re already looking calmer. Now, put your feet on the diving board. Slowly. Feel it under your feet. Don’t let go of the railing. Take your time with it under your feet.”

I do as she instructs me. I twist my legs so that I can feel the rough plastic under my feet. I decide to skip to the next step. I stand up.

“There you go,” Molly says. “Can you turn towards the edge?”

“Yeah,” I say.

I turn my body so that I’m facing the edge. My fear is waiting to swallow me up.

“Okay, if you’re going to jump, the best way to do it is with your arms at your sides and feet pointed down. Don’t try and dive, just take a big step off and think about how the water is going to swallow you up,” Molly says. “You’ll hit the water and swim back up.”

“I’m trying my best but I’m not quite there,” I tell her.

“Girls!” Molly shouts. “Give, Jackie some motivation!”

I hear the girls below me start to cheer and call my name. I feel the fear start to dissipate. Eventually, fuck it.

I walk the short distance and then what’s below me just disappears. I snap my legs and arms together. I have enough time to think, “Shouldn’t I have hit the water by now?” and then I hit the water. I slam into the luke warm water and feel my heart jump for joy. I did it. I survived. I swim to the surface. My head breaks out and I look around.

I hear someone yelling above me and Molly slams into the water. She swims towards me with a smile on her face. She hugs me.

“You did it!” she says.

“Holy shit, my feet hurt,” I say.

“Yeah, that happens.”

The other girls jump into the pool. They swarm me and tell me that they’re proud of me too. A firm voice suddenly calls out.

“Hey girls, what’s going on?” the voice belonging to Coach Taylor says.

“Sorry, coach,” I say.

“We do have to practice, Jackie. Could you give us the pool?”

“Sure, sorry.”

I climb out of the pool vowing to come back later. The girls climb up on their blocks. Molly stops me as I start heading for the locker room.

“Hey, you did really good,” Molly says.

“Thanks for helping me through that,” I tell her.

“No worry.”

“You know maybe you’re not such an asshole.”

“I thought the same thing about you.”

“See you around.”

“Yeah, see ya.”

Tomorrow we might be at it again. But maybe we both don’t have to go so hard.

Monologue as I am Eaten by a Tiger

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“Well, buddy, I had a good run. God, you’re beautiful. I don’t know if you’re male or female. But I hope female. I hope I’m feeding another generation of you majestic creatures. You know I had hopes and dreams. But sometimes they don’t work out. Sometimes, only one dream works out. This is that dream. God, I’m glad I’m not getting eaten by something lame like a human. You’re a dream of muscle and grace. Yet, you still maintain your cuteness. I would snuggle the fuck out of you if I hadn’t broken my leg trying to run from you. What a fruitless gesture. I’m not even sick or weak like your other prey. I was in fine health. You’re just my better. That’s it bat me around if you want to. I don’t care. This might hurt but I will be part of you. I will nourish a creature that is my better. Well, I’ve come to rest here in this jungle. You’re opening your mouth now. It’s been an honor.”

Chomp.