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A scene from Sweet William, a novel
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A scene from Sweet William, a novel |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California 
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(William is in a hospital room after an accident remembering...his wife and child were killed by a drunk driver on his birthday) A scene from Sweet William, a novel Tears are like falling stars. You want them to cleanse the spirit like you want a wish to come true. “Our marriage is in trouble,” Samantha Elizabeth said. It was three days before William’s birthday. William had been feeling like life was passing him by. He felt old. What had he done in all these 46 years that amounted to anything. Where was the excitement? Where was the passion? He had been drinking too much. He knew it, but in the shade of the evening with the knowledge of another day passed, it helped to ease the fear. He didn’t want to think about the fear. Samantha hadn’t done anything different really, but he could feel the pull of her away from him. So he had a drink, then he reached out to touch her and she turned away and he had another. She busied herself in the kitchen as he sat in front of the television with his forth beer. When he went back into the kitchen to try again with a touch, she was gone. He found her in bed. The light beside her cast a soft glow on the rising and falling of her body as she breathed. Her eyes were closed. William had the feeling that she was pretending, waiting for him to leave. He thought about getting in beside her and reaching around her into the position that many times was a signal for love making between them, but he didn’t think he could take another rejection, or the feel of her body stiffening under his touch. As William lay there in the white room he remembered more than he had allowed himself in years. He remembered that he had not wanted to go with them that day of the ice cream, the day his family died. He had not wanted to go with them for another reason, not just cause it was his birthday, but because he was drinking and what he really wanted was to sit on the porch with another beer, not ice cream. He remembered the look that Samantha and Tim had exchanged as he told them to go without him. It was a look of disappointment and resignation and something else, disgust, he thought. How many years had it taken to get to that point. When had it started. Was it the summer of the tenth year of their marriage when she had wanted to go to the mountains and he had wanted to stay at home and rebuild the fence. He remembered that she had cried. “I need to get away from this house for awhile. The walls are closing in on me. Sometimes when I’m here alone I close all the doors and go into the closet and scream.” “You need to get a job,” he had said. “You can help me at the garage. I need someone to keep the books. You’d be good at that.” “That’s not it,” she was crying harder now. “You don’t understand. I need to feel like I’m doing something important. There is more to life then this house and the garage.” “You are doing something important. You’re Tim’s mom, my wife. We need you.” “Tim is growing up William. He spends all his time with his friends. He’s embarrassed by me, you know.” “He’s just a kid, Samantha, kids are more independent these days.” He had tried to put his arms around her then, and she had pushed away and turned with her hands over her face. “I want to go to the mountains. I need to breath clean air. I need us to be together, to be a family having fun together. I need it.” The last words she screamed and then turned and looked at him. “Fine,” he’d said, “you need it, so lets do it.” But, they hadn’t done it, then or ever. She had apologized for her outbreak, said he was right, the fence needed fixing and it was better to spend the money on that. He had never seen the hurt behind the look she had given him that day, until now. |
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| © Copyright 2002 Martie Odell Ingebretsen - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Janet Marie Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554 |
oh this aches of regret...you wrote it so we felt it...her emotion and his...both characters equally. And we care about both characters... Thats not easy to do... but then this is from your pen ... and what I like most... this is a "scene from a novel" ... which means there is MORE MARTIE  |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Tease. |
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amusemi Senior Member
since 2001-12-08
Posts 1262A State of Disarray |
I liked this very much it pulled me right in. More!!!  |
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Mysteria 
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
ditto Sunshine...so now what? I have to buy the rest? Okay you win, send me the bill Loved it Martie, wish there were more though...hint, hint, nudge. |
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Earth Angel Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215Realms of Light |
Well, am I slow or what? I finally got around to reading this almost 2 1/2 years after it was posted?!? You've got me hooked now!  Linda |
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Magnus
since 2001-10-10
Posts 14135South Carolina, USA |
Well done Martie...William might be a sweet person if he came to terms with his habit. A very real situation you have penned, one that occurs every day throughout the world. |
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miscellanea Member Elite
since 2004-06-24
Posts 4060OH |
Well, I take the title for being the slowest. Martie, this involved me right away which isn't an easy thing for someone to do. I'm not much of a reader, and if an author doesn't nab me in the first paragraph, they've lost me. Now that I've read this, I want the whole novel! Enjoyed. miscellanea |
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Skyfire
since 2000-12-27
Posts 3381Riding |
There will be more, yes? Please? Enjoyed, I want to write like this someday and then He created the horse... |
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merlynh Member
since 1999-09-26
Posts 411deer park, wa |
It's got promise as a story. I'll look for more of it. |
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