Friday, February 11, 2011

Morning and Sun


I could never have imagined the way this day would turn out.  It started out like any other sunny, summer Sunday, maybe a little hotter than some.  I leisurely drank my coffee while sitting on the deck basking in the early morning warmth.  Little yellow birds flitted from bird feeder to tree and the tiny hummingbirds buzzed the voluptuous, red fuchsias that spilled from the hanging baskets.  The tall trees swayed majestically in the soft wind that already carried with it the promise of the heat that the day would bring.  It was that precious time of the day when the dewy, freshness of morning mingled with the strengthening sun before the sun slowly climbed his way higher into the sky, ultimately, smothering his moist, young lover knowing, though, that he would see her again as he made his way back across the sky.  Ah, perfect.

I looked up as my husband came out and sat down in the chair beside me, coffee in one hand and newspaper in the other.  He reached over and stroked my forearm, affectionately.

“Good Morning,” he said.  “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well.  I am just sitting here soaking up this glorious morning.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you.  I am just going to have my coffee and read a little of the paper and then I will have to get going.  My flight is at 9:30.”

“You’re leaving me, again.”  I smiled at him.

“Yes, I’m leaving you, again, but I’ll be back on Thursday.  Not so bad.” 

As he fixed his concentration on the newspaper before him, I contemplated my husband.  The years had been good to him and he was still a handsome man.  The two of us were opposites and we had always had our separate interests, but like Morning and Sun, when we came together for those fleeting moments, it was very good.  I was no longer dewy like Morning but he was still my Sun…and my moon for that matter.

I sat thinking of the life that we had built together.  It was a good life even if he was often flying all over the country due to his work.  It had always been that way.  Even though it was difficult at times, the kids and I had just learned to accept it because we all knew how passionate he was about his job.  That was just one of the many things that I loved about him.  When he was home, he was a wonderful father and husband.

The kids were grown now, both of them nearing thirty.  How did that happen?  Where did the time go?  The hopes for a grandchild was soon to become a reality as our daughter was getting ready to have her first child and I loved watching this peaceful woman emerge as the baby grew inside her. 

Our son was a different story.  Like his father, he had the wanderlust and had been traveling off and on for the last few years.  My biggest fear was that he would fall in love with some lovely girl half way across the world and never come home to us, but I was very happy that he was following his heart.  Life was good.  Life was very good.

My husband drained his coffee cup and stood up to leave.

“Gotta go.”

I stood up as well and his arms circled me.

“Love you.  I’ll call you tonight from the hotel.”

“Love you too.  See you Thursday.” 

He bent down to kiss me and I lingered in his embrace for a moment.

“I can’t wait until we actually have time to travel together.”  I couldn’t resist the one little dig.

He frowned, slightly.

“We’ve talked about this before.  Just a couple more years and I will be ready to retire.  Then we can go wherever your little heart desires.  Okay?”

I smiled up at him.  “Okay.”  I said, wistfully, “I just can’t wait.”

“I know, me neither.”

He kissed me again and then left.

I poured myself one more cup of coffee to enjoy on the deck while I decided what I was going to do for the day.  Maybe, I would go to the farmer’s market to pick something up for dinner.  My daughter and her husband were coming as they often did on Sunday.

I went inside to grab a piece of paper and a pen so that I could make a list and as I did so the phone rang.  I laughed to myself because I thought that it was probably my husband phoning to make sure that I wasn’t brooding.  I looked at the call display and didn’t recognize the number.  Deciding to take a chance, I answered the phone. 

“Hello?”

The hesitant voice of a young girl answered, “Hello, is Brock Stantworth there, please?”

“He’s not in but this is his wife.  Is there something that I can help you with?”

There was a long pause in which I thought that, perhaps, the caller had hung up.

“Hello.  Are you still there?”  I asked.

Her voice was barely a whisper but the words were unmistakable.

“Yes, I’m his daughter.”

Then the whole world shifted.


This post is written in response to a prompt over at The Red Dress Club"This week's prompt asked you to begin your piece with the words, "I could never have imagined" and end it with "Then the whole world shifted."

17 comments:

Lapiz de la Guerra said...

Bam! Nice ending there. I was waiting for it too. The beginning was a little slow, but I loved the imagery in it! I'd be curious to see where this woman's world shifts. Is this from personal experience or was it fictional?

{Stephanie}The Drama Mama said...

You know what i love about this prompt? It lets you be fictional from a memoir point of view. I love writing in the first person! I had a feeling of where this going, but I enjoyed the ride getting there.

--The Drama Mama

Blue Moon Girl said...

Lovely description in the beginning. I could totally picture everything. My favorite is the end of the first paragraph.

I love the first person use (since I'm guessing that it's fiction?).

Here from the Red Dress Club.

Kelly said...

We are the Guerras - This piece is totally fictional. I am curious as well to see how her world shifts. Perhaps, I will have to take it a little further to see where it goes.

Kelly said...

Stephanie - Thank you. Hopefully, it wasn't too predictable. I didn't really know where it was going until about half way into it!

Kelly said...

Blue Moon Girl - The description at the beginning is not fictional. It is my yearning for the time when spring and summer are here again and I can sit on my deck in the mornings and write. Everything else is purely fiction. It was not a conscious decision to write in the first person, it just came out that way.

Jessica Anne said...

Lovely. The descriptions are so vivid and beautiful. I'd love to read more of this, see how this changes all of their lives.

Anonymous said...

I could totally feel this building up. Something was brewing, but I didn't know what. I wasn't expecting a daughter. (Although I did think another wife at one point.)

Great job!


(Visiting from TRDC.)

Kelly said...

Jessica Anne - Thank you. Who knows you might see more of this. There are lots of directions it could go.

Mandyland - Thanks. I wasn't sure where it would go when I started. I was just trying to paint a picture of this idyllic life and then tried to think of something that would rock her world. I think this would do it!

Cheryl said...

I can't even imagine getting a call like that! Craziness! My only thought is the first paragraph is super long with tons of description. Even though it was lovely, it took awhile to get through it - and then the rest of it just flies!

Anonymous said...

Oh good lord! I knew from the idyllic description at the beginning that a big shoe was going to drop and I was so scared for her that her husband was going to die that I was actually glad that it was a love child calling!

Jill said...

WOW! Have you read my post? It's very, very similar. So of course I love yours. :)

Unknown said...

I would love to see this go further. It was kind of a slow begining and I did stumble over the Morning/sun/moon reference a bit but I could see this really develop. Does she confront her husband on the phone? Fly to where he is? Wait for him to come back? What does she say to the girl on the phone? I thought of all that while wishing there was more to it! Great story.

http://blogmamaandrea.squarespace.com

Kelly said...

Cheryl - Yes, I knew that the first paragraph was a little long and perhaps did not balance with the rest of the piece.

Whispatory - I could have killed him off but maybe the wife will do it now anyways?! lol

Jill - I am going to check out your post now!

Andrea - Yes, there are definitely lots of different ways that this could go but the prompt dictated that I end it there, even though it was difficult to do so. Maybe I will continue with it sometime in the future. Thanks for dropping by.

Jack Steiner said...

I liked the ending.

Unknown said...

The ending surprised me---I was expecting a fling on the side to be calling! or another wife. Do you think you'll take this any further?

Cristina said...

Hi Kelly, you are the winner of my "writing the breakout novel" giveaway :)
please email me an address at

cris(dot)dossantos@yahoo(dot)com

:)