When Dad told us Jimmy’s mom had asked him on a date, Jamie took my bike to her house.
“Is it okay, August?” He was looking at the trunk underneath the tired white shirts in his closet.
I swallowed. “Yeah, Dad. It’s okay.”
Pounding up the stairs, Jamie was back, brandishing brightly colored shirts. Dad protested but seemed glad.
“It’ll be all right.”
He smiled then because when Jamie says something you believe it.
Later Jamie told me what Dad said so quietly I hadn’t heard, that he’d whispered this was the hardest thing he’d done in seven years.
***
At Carrot Ranch the September 5, 2019, prompt is to write a story in 99 words (no more, no less) that shows true grit. You can use the phrase or embody the theme. Who or what has true grit? Go where the prompt leads you!
I’m not sure if this embodies the theme, but the prompt led me to Augie. I had thought I would write about the grit he and his new friend Jamie, both outsiders, demonstrate by showing up to middle school every day. But then it became about Augie’s father who has been a very quiet widower for seven years now, taking care of his son alone. The trunk in this episode alludes to Silence Shared.
I could feel the emotions in this story. Well done.
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This is an ongoing one, recurring characters. Check out the “related” links for more.
And Thanks!
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Okay great!
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Daunting for all concerned. Breaking the comfort of patterns is difficult. (K)
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This is tough all right. I think there’s more to be written because of all concerned.
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I look forward to it.
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So much in so few words. Wonderful.
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Thank you. Yes, only 99 words… I only had to carve them out of an original 473 word version. But I wouldn’t have found the motivation to write that without the prompt, so thank goodness for my flash addiction and the prompts that feed it. This story moves forward one fix at a time.
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When I tried the 99 words for my very first time, ’twas a similar experience. I felt like a murderer of my precious words….
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I didn’t murder much, just prepared two different outfits for two different stages. My long version is better for the process. The paring down exercise, for whatever purpose, is always a good one for focus and revisions. Usually I get to around 99 first time, but a flash response was not my first purpose for writing this one.
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A different angle to a widower’s life. Works well. 🙂
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Thanks. This is the tenth scene/story with this boy narrating, either Six Sentence Stories or 99 word Ranch flashes scattered about my blog. The first was “Disbelief”, the most recent “Splash”. The next one is brewing quietly on a back burner.
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It’s good to develop the narrator across multiple posts. I see other bloggers do similar.
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He gives me no choice.
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Jimmy’s mom took care of the hardest part. At least, that’s always the hardest part for me. Then, it’s just don’t say anything that’s not politically correct.
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Makes me appreciate being old and married. I know my date.
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Sweet story, and definitely takes grit to go on that date.
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Thanks. Guess that’s why it took until this prompt for me to write that scene.
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You got the tone just right on this one.
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It’s all Augie. He’s been narrating his story for a while now, for the Ranch and Six Sentence Story prompts. And thanks.
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Such a heartwarming story. Loved it!
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Thank you. The boy and his dad are moving along.
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It’s nice to see August and Jamie again, and to find out a little more of Jamie’s character. If I had known, I’d forgotten that Augie’s dad was a widower. The future could involve complex feelings for Augie. It’s a good thing he’s almost ready to step out on his own.
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I think the fact that Augie’s mother died was first revealed in “Silence Shared”. So Jamie has been a breath of fresh air for him and his dad. But yeah, Jimmy’s mom may not be the healthiest choice for involvement at this time. Stay tuned.
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I’ll do my best!
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