November 9, 2005
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I wrote a bit, though:
As
Val pulled away from the school after fetching her daughter, Lexie,
she was happily humming “Victory in Jesus” as the child
chattered on about her day at school. “And then, Mama, you know
what happened? John Michael threw up! Right there in the
auditorium, and all over Margo. It was so gross, and she was
sooooo mad. You wanna hear what she said, Mama? Here’s what she
said, she said…”As
her mother opened her mouth to stop Lexie’s repetition of the phrase
uttered by the be-fouled, stressed-out Margo, the notes of the
Brandenburg Concerto pealed forth from inside Val’s purse. “No,
Lexie, I do NOT want to hear what Margo said! You know what God says
about gossip, so just keep it to yourself, and let me get this call,”
she said sternly, fishing with her right hand for the miniscule
telephone buried under the paraphenalia in her bag. Finally she had
it, and flipped it open. “Hello?”“Val!
This is Brad,” came the jaunty voice of her cousin. “Mission
accomplished on this side. How ’bout yours?” As she cruised
down Camp Bowie towards the Tom Thumb grocery store, a smug
expression settled on her face.“Done
and done, Brad boy,” she chirped happily. “Aunt Maud
wasn’t what you’d call enthusiastic about it, but I won her over.
Tell you what, she about had a fit because of your guy’s name, and
really, you know, I don’t blame her…”Maud and Claude”
does sound rather like a vaudeville act, doesn’t it?”Immediately
Brad went on the defensive. “Don’t call me ‘Brad boy’; you know
I hate it when you call me ‘Brad boy’,” he huffed. “Anyway,
leave it to some woman to make a big stink about some guy’s name.”“Oh,
and I suppose Claude didn’t have any comment about being paired off
with a woman named Maud? Brad boy, I find that just a smidge hard to
swallow,” Val smirked.Brad
hesitated a moment then allowed as how Claude had said
something about the, um, coincidence of their names rhyming…”Aha!”
crowed his cousin…but rushed on to more important matters. “The
main thing is they agreed to go to the Glad Knees’ bash together,
though. Now what do you think…should we have them meet beforehand?
Or not meet until that night?” Diverted, Val frowned in thought
as she turned down the street leading to her home. On the one hand,
it’d be romantic for Aunt Maud and Claude to meet under such
auspicious circumstances as a Valentine’s dance, but on the other
hand, the game might put too much pressure on an embryonic
relationship.Pulling
into the driveway of the small brick house she shared with her
husband, Jack, and their children, Val shut off the ignition and sat
for a moment. On the other end of the connection, Brad waited,
knowing she was running the problem through various filters, most of
which a man wasn’t even aware existed. In the back seat Lexie
unbuckled her seatbelt, then opened the door and scrambled out,
dragging her backpack along behind in her anxiety to reach her room.
Noticing her mother still sitting in the front seat, Lexie stopped
and glared. “MAMA!”Val
started, waved at her daughter and yelled back, “Just a minute!”
then told Brad, “Let me think about it some more, okay? It’d be
awful if a wrong decision now deep-sixed the whole thing. I’ll call
you later this evening. Are you going to be home?” Lexie
showed signs of increasing restiveness, so Val held up an adminatory
finger, indicating she should practice her patience skills. Such as
they were.“Tonight?
Um, yeah, I think so. I mean, so far’s I know. I don’t have any
firm plans. This might change, of course…” Brad mumbled,
causing his cousin, who had begun to finally open the car door, to
sink back into the seat yet again, to Lexie’s indignant disgust.“Well,
well, well. This is interesting. So who is she?” Val asked,
attempting to keep the eagerness in her voice down to unnoticeable
levels.Didn’t
work. “No one! Now, Val, don’t start,” Brad warned. His
cousin had long ago declared her determination to not rest until her
beloved cousin had attained the salubrious state of connubial bliss,
same as she enjoyed with her Sam.
Comments (8)
Are Sam and Jack the same person? If Brad is Val’s cousin then how come Aunt Maud is not also his aunt?
(Not to be persnickety or anything.
)
I changed the name of Val’s husband, is all. This tends to be Really Rough Draft, subject to all sorts of changes, fixes, modifications and assorted amendments.
As to why Maud isn’t Brad’s aunt, too….different side of the family.My children’s first cousins (my nephews and nieces) have other cousins I’ve never met, seeing as how they belong to the in-laws’ side of the family. So while Maud is aware Brad exists – enough to know he’s considered a bit of a buttinsky – she rarely sees him, or thinks of him unless his name’s brought up.
Maybe she enjoyed her relationship with Sam, and with Jack, she just shares a small brick house.
Yeah, Maude could be Brad’s mother, thus making her Val’s aunty, but they are estranged…that is Brad and his mother… I didn’t know you were writing a sad story, what with Val being a bigamist and all….
Snicker!
It will be interesting how you tie everything together. I am having fun reading all of the different styles between the different people whom I know are participating.
So I’m married to both Rev. Brooks and Mr. Shull and I’m the mother of Mr. Hatch’s child? Sheesh…this is a regular soap opera you’ve got going here, Mrs. Ivy! But we know Val’s not really me. After all, she’s blonde!
Where’d Dave come into this? Have I used his name? Perhaps I have and have forgotten it.
In any case, is this the thanks I get for trying to spice up your life for you?
Sheesh. Ingratitude. It’s everywhere.
Lexie. And I suppose Val’s other kid is named Ash.
Oh, okay. Got it.
Funny how the mind works! I didn’t consciously think about Dave’s little girl, but that must be where I got the name.