Showing posts with label scenes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scenes. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

When It Rains


She left on a Tuesday. A rainy Tuesday, fittingly enough, marked by the most intense thunder and lightning display we’d seen that summer. She always loved the rain – especially a powerful late evening thunderstorm. We both did. The moment a storm began to move in, we’d head out the front door, giddy with anticipation. We’d sit on the porch swing, listening to the thunder crackling and rolling as the lightning streaked across the sky in a wicked electrical dance. I’d turn her around to look at me, and she’d flash her wicked grin as I gazed into her fiery green eyes; I always knew exactly what she desired in those moments.
 

We’d make passionate love in the dark with the thunder and lightning as our soundtrack and fireworks, while the raindrops that snuck past the porch roof sprinkled an occasional gentle coolness across the heat of our entangled bodies. And when she would fall asleep in my arms back on the porch swing, I would hold her close to me and look to the heavens, giving thanks for the storm, and for her love – because I knew both were too intense and fast-moving to last. I still taste her on my lips anytime it rains.


I moved to Phoenix last year – it never rains here.


 

Sunday, February 18, 2018

One More Trip

This is an excerpt of a longer piece that was an honorable mention in a short story contest about 8 years ago.  The theme for the contest was stories inspired by a song from 1977 - in this case, "Always Crashing in the Same Car" by David Bowie - a song written about repeating mistakes. Something the characters in this brief tale are well-versed in...

"Dude...Dude...DUDE!!! I think I'm pregnant with kittens," she whispered, frantically scanning the room to ensure no one else was listening.  Her eyes widened as she continued, "I hear faint meowing every time I close my eyes, and it feels like the tiny paws are trying to claw their way out of my womb - they must be afraid of the dark!"

My brain had marinated in far too much Jack Daniels to properly contemplate the improbability of a feline-human pregnancy.  Nor did it occur to me to mention that kittens are born blind, and with no real claws.

"Have you ever had sex with a cat?" I queried instead, apparently far louder than she wished.

She put her finger to my lips to shush me and replied, "Man, there's four of them taking turns on me right now!  Their little tongues tickle."

Mr. Daniels again squelched the logical portion of my brain, so I failed to point out the usual time frame between conception and fetal escape attempts.

"Those must be some seriously virile cats," I proclaimed as I drained the bottle next to me.  "Someone should call Ripley's, man!"

"Do you know the number?"

"Eleventy-six and eight," I offered proudly, just before everything went black.

********

I awakened to her lying on my chest, shaking violently and bawling like an upset infant.

"Come back!  Please come back," she sobbed, gasping for air in her panicked state.  "I'm afraid to be alone - and everyone is gone except for the cats!"

Her trips had often frightened me, but this seemed a bit beyond the usual, and maybe longer - no telling how long I'd been out.  She was far more experienced with acid than I, even though I was the one who'd introduced her to hallucinogenics.  I did it a few times, but for the most part, simply adding the right amount of booze altered reality just enough for me.  She loved the acid though - and to be fair, the amount of alcohol I regularly consumed meant I couldn't justify being too preachy about her habits.



Saturday, February 17, 2018

Departure

"Flight 8118 to Boston is in final boarding now - all ticketed passengers must proceed to Gate 26A immediately!"

It was a tearful goodbye.  A new job.  A new location.

A new life?  "No way!" she exclaimed.

Promises that the distance wouldn't break their love, that it would be eliminated "soon enough".  Those empty words haunt now.

A pile of memories burns in the fireplace.  An engagement notice from the Boston Herald joins the smoky purge as he now says a final and much less mournful farewell.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Appearances...

Sure, she was attractive enough in a plain, conservative sort of manner. But no one would have guessed what the staid, gray pantsuit was hiding as she strolled into the office. It was even less likely that that someone would have realized that her hair wasn't tousled by the wind during her lunch break...

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Rivals

"This is why we are here, men!" the old coach barked, pounding his fist into his palm for emphasis.

"This is the reason we bust our asses every day. It's why you run twice as hard and practice twice as long, and why I yell twice as loud!"

He held up the daily sports page, pointing a battered, crooked finger at the headline.

"To finally defeat that damned team..."

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Cafeteria

He found it funny how similar the men are to pubescent youngsters - and frankly, the same was true of the women; very much like middle-schoolers.  The men group together and talk 'trash', bragging about sexual escapades and sporting exploits that probably never really happened, just like a collection of thirteen year old boys.  Meanwhile, the women sit in one corner, trying to appear proper and reserved while spreading gossip faster than cheap tabloids - in hushed voices, of course - in much the same way one might see a gaggle of giggly pre-teen girls..........

Friday, November 18, 2011

Nose Tackle

The mud caked on the bottom of his cleats made his feet feel heavy as he walked from the huddle to the line of scrimmage and took a knee, waiting for the Blue offense to break huddle.  His rain-soaked jersey clung to him as if it were painted on, and his teeth chattered against his mouthguard as a stiff wind battered the young lineman.  Cold was an understatement - until the offense approached the line.  As he took his three-point stance, he shot a steely gaze at the opposing center and emotion boiled over, warming him to the core.  The ball was snapped; he let out a fierce roar and attacked the Blue line as if trying to defeat the source of the cold itself......

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Damage

She exited my life in the same manner she entered, turning it inside out like the tornado that devastates a town and the sunrise that brings a new day all in one glorious, tragic package. I fell hard and instantly the first moment I spent with her; every moment thereafter drove my love and desire to new heights until the instant, unforeseen end ruined my faith and my present.

Our lives burned with passion in all aspects, whether we were making fiery, animalistic lust-driven love or battling over the latest wedge-driving political issue. And she was the embodiment of intensity and energy – whether she was bright yellow sunshine or deep blue midnight, there was no middle – she would push to the furthest end of the spectrum…..and then break even that barrier.

And in the end, she broke me, too.