A long time ago I said if you all were nice to me I would post some fiction. I haven't forgotten that promise but I have not fulfilled it either. Until now. Ta-da! It's just a first draft (well, second if you count the version in my Writer's Notebook). Inspired by a couple I saw for ten seconds while people watching in the airport. <>< K
Juggling a cranky toddler in one arm and an overfull diaper bag with the other, Samantha slowly made her way down the airport concourse.
"Sam."
His booming voice made her insides swell with excitement. Had it really only been four days? She felt like she had been gone for four years. Even though she had not yet found Brad in the crowd, she knew they were close because Alexi squirmed more with every step Samantha took. Finally Samantha saw him. His big white smile, deep blue eyes, and shaggy brown hair. She could get lost staring at him.
Alexi flew out of Samantha's arms and fell into her father's chest. Samantha watched as Brad nuzzled his face into Alexi's hair. If ever there had been a doubt regarding this father's love for his daughter, this moment eliminated it.
"Hey, Beautiful," he said to Samantha. He stepped forward and kiss her on the forehead. With his free arm he wrapped her into him. Letting the diaper bag fall to the ground, she gripped his back with both hands and breathed in his scent. She loved being held firmly in his embrace.
Alexi let out a giggle and leaped backwards, almost throwing herself to the ground. Brad let go of his wife and shifted his attention back to the baby. He entertained Alexi while Samantha claimed their stroller and large suitcase with a heavy tag, again she questioned if the trip had truly only been four days. She reassembled the stroller and threw the diaper bag into the seat. There would be no removing Alexi from her daddy's arms anytime in the near future; they both would protest if Samantha tried.
"Ready?"
Samantha nodded. She pushed the stroller with her left hand and pulled the suitcase with her right. The three of them headed out the door. Samantha was ready to get home. Ready to relax on her own couch, cuddle with her husband, and let him take care of the baby. She didn't think he'd mind.
As they stepped into crosswalk, Brad switched Alexi to his right arm and reached for the suitcase with his left hand. Samantha let him take the weight, but she did not remove her hand. She wrapped her pinky around his and held on as they walked to the car.
"I am sure that some people are born to write as trees are born to bear leaves. For these, writing is a necessary mode of their own development." - C. S. Lewis
Showing posts with label people watching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people watching. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Do you see what I see?
I've been people-watching a lot lately. It's kind of as if it's a game to see who can do the weirdest thing. Here are some highlights:
Andy was standing in the kitchen eating a chunk of ham. Emily grabbed it, inspected it, marked it as fat-filled, and handed it back to him. This was immediately before Andy drank my water just to vex me. Ok, maybe I was antagonizing him, too...
This morning at church a toddler panicked when a man put her father's guitar in his car and drove away. This was planned, but she didn't know this.
Katie: What is that? It looks like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: It looks like pepperoni.
Chris: You look like pepperoni.
Andy [to Liz]: You don't look like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: Did I say that?
Yeah, it was well past bedtime.
On Wednesday, Elizabeth and I drove through the Twilight Zone (aka Sketchy McSketch) and drove behind a man making balloon animals while driving.
My favorite, however, was at the wedding I attended on Saturday. There was this couple rocking the dance floor. They had all the moves, danced to every song, and were completely in step with one another. No, not the bride and groom. This couple was at least 70 years old. We don't know where they came from, they weren't the grandparents of the bride or groom, but they were having a blast! Oh, but they weren't blasted. Some of us teased they came with the dj because they were just that great. Perhaps they're wedding crashers. Perhaps we'll never know. But you know what? Dance on, cute couple, dance on! Show us that even at age 70 life is still worth dancing about. Even though no one knows why you're there, you're having a good time. Well done!
<>< Katie
Andy was standing in the kitchen eating a chunk of ham. Emily grabbed it, inspected it, marked it as fat-filled, and handed it back to him. This was immediately before Andy drank my water just to vex me. Ok, maybe I was antagonizing him, too...
This morning at church a toddler panicked when a man put her father's guitar in his car and drove away. This was planned, but she didn't know this.
Katie: What is that? It looks like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: It looks like pepperoni.
Chris: You look like pepperoni.
Andy [to Liz]: You don't look like pepperoni.
Elizabeth: Did I say that?
Yeah, it was well past bedtime.
On Wednesday, Elizabeth and I drove through the Twilight Zone (aka Sketchy McSketch) and drove behind a man making balloon animals while driving.
My favorite, however, was at the wedding I attended on Saturday. There was this couple rocking the dance floor. They had all the moves, danced to every song, and were completely in step with one another. No, not the bride and groom. This couple was at least 70 years old. We don't know where they came from, they weren't the grandparents of the bride or groom, but they were having a blast! Oh, but they weren't blasted. Some of us teased they came with the dj because they were just that great. Perhaps they're wedding crashers. Perhaps we'll never know. But you know what? Dance on, cute couple, dance on! Show us that even at age 70 life is still worth dancing about. Even though no one knows why you're there, you're having a good time. Well done!
<>< Katie
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Friday, January 8, 2010
Are you going to pass me or not?
I enjoy people watching. You never know when you're going to see something that's worth using in a story (or blog).
Yesterday we were dumped with snow which made for some great people-watching as I drove around town today. The snowplow shimming around the corner to push the snow further and further off the road. The woman using all of her strength in vain to push the snow blower up her driveway caked with at least a foot of snow. The father (brother?) who lead his young son down the street with a sled ready to take advantage of this blizzard. My favorite, however, was the van that drove behind me through downtown.
He appeared out of nowhere and was not content to drive behind me. On days where the roads are properly plowed and there are no parked cars, this road has a left lane and a right lane. Much to Mr. Impatient's dismay, today was not one of those days. I drove in the left lane, the cleared lane. The problem was that he couldn't pass me on the left due to the no-passing zone (and the minor detail of oncoming traffic). Instead, he opted to pass me on the right. He'd move over into the half-plowed right land and prepare to make a move when all of the sudden directly in front of him was a displaced snowbank or a parked school bus or the mailman. Every time, he'd slow down and sadly return to his place behind me and I'd smile.
That sucks, I thought to myself with a little laughter inside. Not going to lie, I was amused by his poor luck and repeated failed attempts to get around me.
Eventually we made it to a stop light and he pulled up next to me. The light turned green and the race began. I know better than to drag race especially downtown, but I couldn't help myself. This van had been trying to get around me for at least a mile and I wasn't about to let him to it now! A few blocks there was a string of parked cars, and I was going to make it to them first because then Mr. Impatient in the right lane was going to have to return to his position behind Miss Always-Drive-The-Speed-Limit-Katie in the left lane.
Mr. Impatient doesn't drive the speed limit. He won. But only because I let him. Playtime was over.
<>< Katie
Yesterday we were dumped with snow which made for some great people-watching as I drove around town today. The snowplow shimming around the corner to push the snow further and further off the road. The woman using all of her strength in vain to push the snow blower up her driveway caked with at least a foot of snow. The father (brother?) who lead his young son down the street with a sled ready to take advantage of this blizzard. My favorite, however, was the van that drove behind me through downtown.
He appeared out of nowhere and was not content to drive behind me. On days where the roads are properly plowed and there are no parked cars, this road has a left lane and a right lane. Much to Mr. Impatient's dismay, today was not one of those days. I drove in the left lane, the cleared lane. The problem was that he couldn't pass me on the left due to the no-passing zone (and the minor detail of oncoming traffic). Instead, he opted to pass me on the right. He'd move over into the half-plowed right land and prepare to make a move when all of the sudden directly in front of him was a displaced snowbank or a parked school bus or the mailman. Every time, he'd slow down and sadly return to his place behind me and I'd smile.
That sucks, I thought to myself with a little laughter inside. Not going to lie, I was amused by his poor luck and repeated failed attempts to get around me.
Eventually we made it to a stop light and he pulled up next to me. The light turned green and the race began. I know better than to drag race especially downtown, but I couldn't help myself. This van had been trying to get around me for at least a mile and I wasn't about to let him to it now! A few blocks there was a string of parked cars, and I was going to make it to them first because then Mr. Impatient in the right lane was going to have to return to his position behind Miss Always-Drive-The-Speed-Limit-Katie in the left lane.
Mr. Impatient doesn't drive the speed limit. He won. But only because I let him. Playtime was over.
<>< Katie
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Department of Motor Vehicles
Anonymous Melissa made a comment about being able to find a spiritual connection to everything. I'm pretty sure that's not true, but I'll figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I asked God if He could show me a spirital connection to a trip to the DMV. Sure enough, He did.
I had to go to the DMV today to renew my driver's license, and I wasn't really excited about it. In fact, I was pretty much dreading it. So, there I went first thing this morning, and perched myself in a chair where I figured I would sit for the next four hours. I tried studying for my final, I played Yatzee, and I people-watched. I saw some pretty fun folk.
A woman in scrubs with a young deaf girl probably four-ish.
A girl not much older than I am with two young boys. I'm pretty sure she's the nanny but it was still interesting.
A woman with an ity bity baby sleeping on her lap. Her older daughter was taking a road test.
A sixteen year old who failed his roadtest.
It was pretty fun to watch the people, but all of the sudden I looked up and my number is on the screen. It's been so intent on watching the people that I missed my number being called. Luckily I made it up to the lady before missing my opportunity completely, but I was embarressed.
Sometimes are we so busy watching other people that we miss God calling our names? That's bad. Sometimes we're killing time doing nothing, He's calling us, and we're ignoring Him. That's bad.
<><>
"No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins." Isaiah 64:7
I had to go to the DMV today to renew my driver's license, and I wasn't really excited about it. In fact, I was pretty much dreading it. So, there I went first thing this morning, and perched myself in a chair where I figured I would sit for the next four hours. I tried studying for my final, I played Yatzee, and I people-watched. I saw some pretty fun folk.
A woman in scrubs with a young deaf girl probably four-ish.
A girl not much older than I am with two young boys. I'm pretty sure she's the nanny but it was still interesting.
A woman with an ity bity baby sleeping on her lap. Her older daughter was taking a road test.
A sixteen year old who failed his roadtest.
It was pretty fun to watch the people, but all of the sudden I looked up and my number is on the screen. It's been so intent on watching the people that I missed my number being called. Luckily I made it up to the lady before missing my opportunity completely, but I was embarressed.
Sometimes are we so busy watching other people that we miss God calling our names? That's bad. Sometimes we're killing time doing nothing, He's calling us, and we're ignoring Him. That's bad.
<><>
"No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins." Isaiah 64:7
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