But this posting I thought I would do something I've not done before---post what I call a 'snippet'. Frequently they don't make their way directly into the story but do form one of the building blocks of a character. I write them and stuff them into my character dossiers. This 'snippet' is from Rain and involves Gerry, the male protagonist. Right now it exists simply as a nightmare in the rough draft.
Judith
Judith was
born late to her parents or , at least, late in that day and time. Long past
the time that Sydney and Eleanor StClare had thought about having any more
children. Audrey was 14, Gerry was 12, and Marilyn was around nine. Yes, a slip
up...a mistake...a miscalculation....an accident. But she was welcomed all the
same.
And as if being born so
late into the family wasn't unique enough, she was a total physical anomaly. In
a family of brunettes, she was a blonde. At a table lined with equal pairs of
brown eyes, her eyes were a wide and sparkling blue. When all these physical
attributes became obvious, Sydney was known to gently tease his wife about the
postman. A remark that was sure to get him into temporary trouble with her or a
pillow thrown at him. As a geneticist he knew better. There were blue‑eyed
blondes on the StClare side of the family and Eleanor's own mother also had the
same coloration.
Yes, she was a
surprise...to her parents and her siblings. Marilyn was old enough to be
intrigued rather than threatened by a baby in the house. Audrey, deep into
contemplating the opposite sex at that time, had some reservations, primarily
to do with having to babysit when she would rather be out with her friends. She
could foresee herself as the older sister trapped into responsibility when
she'd rather be doing other things. But those were subconscious concerns that
never formed strongly enough to make their way up to a conscious level. Gerry
saw to that.
During his mother's
pregnancy he was nonchalant. It seemed to have little to do with him, unless it
turned out to be a boy and then he would be forced to share his
"sanctuary". But when she and Judith returned from the hospital
something happened. Gerry held Judith for the first time, melted in front of
her wide blue eyes, and fell in love. From that moment on they belonged to each
other.
It amazed his parents,
his other sisters, and his grandparents at the beginning but they soon became
accustomed to it. If Mother and Father couldn't stop Judith , Gerry could. She
almost preferred him over both of them. A mutual admiration society. Gerry's
soft, emphatic 'no' could shatter her world. Throw a temper tantrum and 'Bean'
wouldn't play with you for hours and hours. On the other hand, quiver your
lower lip and you could find yourself on top of his shoulders at a football
game.
It was lucky for Gerry
that Judith was both a merry baby and a merry child who knew her limits. Yes,
she was a "bright elf" as her brother was fond of calling her. She
walked early and could climb on anything with both a speed and grace that astonished
a lot of people. Acrobatic, athletic, and graceful her parents signed her up
for dancing and ballet early. Her brother started teaching her to ice skate
when she was four. She took to it as quickly and naturally as a bird learning
to fly.
Then Gerry left for
college and Judith was heartbroken. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and
Summer Vacation become magical words to her. They meant 'Bean' was coming home.
The 'Swenson incident'
that summer meant little to Judith. She was too young to really understand. All
she really knew was that Pop was upset, her parents and sisters worried, and
'Bean'...'Bean' she found hiding in his favorite place. He was feeling bad that
was all she knew so she climbed onto his lap and hugged him tightly. It was
probably the best thing that anyone could have done for him. Understanding his
tears was beyond her. But her silent acceptance started him healing.
Gerry went back to
college at the end of that summer. He did not return for Thanksgiving as he had
the previous year but he did return for Christmas. To Judith's added delight, a
pair of new skates was under the tree and she badgered Gerry until he promised
to take her skating on the city pond.
It was a beautiful day, bright blue
sky, bright sunshine, but still frigidly cold. There had been four more inches
of snow the night before. But the clouds were gone, there was no wind to speak
of, and it was a perfect day for skating.
Judith's skates felt wonderful on
her feet and on the ice. She acclimated to them so quickly that Gerry started
teaching her some fancier moves. New skates, new blue parka. Gerry thought she
had never looked better. Her laughter rang out across the pond, distinctive
even in the din of the other children's voices. There were a lot of new skates
that Christmas.
"Bean! Watch me! See what I can
do!" The bright elf was flying around the pond, her skates almost a blur.
No more fancy moves, she was hooked on speed now.
"Don't come complaining to me
when you fall on your bottom!" He yelled through cupped hands from the
edge of the frozen pond but she only laughed again.
Brushing the snow from one end of a
bench, Gerry sat down and removed his own skates. The sun was getting low in
the sky and they should be getting home.
"Judith! Come on! It's getting
late!"
"Do we have to?" She cried
from clear across the ice.
"Yes! We have to! Now come
on!"
A blur of blue and gold and she was
in front of him.
"Can we come again
tomorrow?"
"With aunt Liz and uncle Jack
leaving? I doubt it, pumpkin face."
He lifted her onto his lap and
helped her take off her skates.
"How about the day after then?
Can we, Bean? Can we?"
"I don't know," he started
to hedge but she wouldn't let him.
"Please? Pretty please with a
cherry on top?"
"OK. I'll think about it. Alright?"
Apparently Judith took this as a
definite yes and bounded off his lap with a delighted shriek.
"Come on, pipsqueak. If we cut
across we can make it home before Mom sends Marilyn after us." He stood
up, brushed off his pants, then scooped her up and onto his shoulder.
The drifts were a little high as
they cut across the park toward home but others had stomped paths as well so
the going wasn't exactly rough. Judith began squirming then kicking her heels
on his chest.
"Let me down, Bean! Let me down! I can walk!"
She kicked her heels against his chest again.
More emphatically this time so he let her slide down.
"Just
as long as you walk and don't start running," he replied. She just laughed
and took off. He smiled indulgently and
picked up his walking pace. There wasn't much clear space to run on anyway.
Then the path cleared up even more and she was way out in front.
"Slow down, Judith! We're not
in that big of a hurry!" He picked up his pace again but she was increasing
the distance between them and laughing.
"Judith!" But it was a
game to her now and she started to run in earnest. They were almost to the edge
of the park. Hawthorne Avenue was in clear sight.
"Judith!"
She only increased her speed then
turned her head to laugh at him. She was too far away... too far away. He
started running.
"Judith!" He screamed as
she ran off the curb and onto the street. The silly imp wasn't even looking! A
truck...a black pickup truck. She didn't see it. The driver apparently saw her
for his tires began to screech. Too late. On the bright black asphalt was a
small heap of blue and white, gleaming in horrifying contrast. How he got there
that quickly he didn't know. But there was a new color now: bright scarlet. He
didn't want to go on but his legs kept moving.
He was on his knees beside her.
There was blood everywhere, staining her blue jacket and golden hair. Weeping, he picked her up and cradled her in
his arms. There were small pieces of something grayish white and soft coming
out the back of her head. She was still so warm as he began to rock slowly back
and forth.
Gerry wouldn't let go of her when
the ambulance came. Who had the presence of mind to call their parents no one
remembers. It was Sydney who finally took her from Gerry's rigid arms and gave
her to the attendants. But the pronouncement was a formality. She was dead
before Gerry ever picked her up.
Old Mr. Douglas was right. The casket was very small and there is
something so unnatural about it. And Gerry? Gerry was inconsolable, walking
around the house in a daze. Sending him back to college almost seemed like
barbarism to his parents but he insisted.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Go ahead--- list your website. I'd love to visit.