6/1/10

A Few Minutes with Betty, Chapter 20: "This Is Mom's Friend, er, Shakespeare, and this Is Dad's Friend, er, Shakespeare"

(or, "Platinum Means Expensive, but Not as much as a Talking Piñata")


"Morning!"

"Hello, Betty, you golden goddess."

"That's me; although, my hair is more white than golden now; damn pool and sun."

"Hey, I like the idea of an older version of Betty; what's mom's number?"

"I didn't say gray; more like platinum."

"I guess platinum means expensive."

"Damn, skippy. And my mom is married to my weirdo dad."

"I know, that's why I thought I would fit right in; nobody would notice me."

"That's probably true."

"Well, there ya go. And you thought your family was strange up to now. Heh heh."

"They are."

"I can hear you now, Betty: 'Yeah, and so, get this: at her age, my mom takes a lover. Yes, I am telling you the truth! So anyway, she takes a lover, which is embarrassing enough, but then my dad takes one too. And the kicker of kickers? It's the same lover. The same person! A man. And a friend of mine! I kid you not.'"

"WTF! That is creepy on so many levels."

"See, mad skillz. So last night I wrote my next chapter for the novel, well the first third of it, and then outlined the rest of the chapter since I was on a roll with the action and didn't want to lose anything to my pillow overnight. So I am pretty happy that I finally have stuff down on paper, because by the weekend I had to have something going. I don't want to be the wet spot in the bed when it comes to my other six co-conspirators."

"Ew. Thanks for that visual."

"Oh calm down. And if you know where all the bus stops are, seems to me that you might have spent a little time riding the bus."

"Cute and true."

"So the chapter is called Sometimes Life Is Just a Little Too Real, and it features a murder, the aftermath of an explosion with dead bodies and body parts, a gun battle in the street, an unlikely hero, a fugitive from justice, the end of an extensive police sting operation, and a little mystery in the last line."

"Seems like a packed chapter."

"It is, but damn I am enjoying this project. And the elapsed time? About 30 minutes. It flies."

"Wow. That makes me want to write."

"Well, for some reason, with this chapter, unlike the other three, I spent a lot of time thinking before I wrote a word; I didn't even have the title until last night. The other three chapters, I guess, where more setup chapters, where this one is bringing stuff together, finding resolution, etc., so I have to write much more carefully, things have to fit with other things, etc. But it's going to be a great one when I'm done, hopefully tonight sometime. And we are up to 24 chapters, with at least 6 or so being written at this time."

"You all are really on a roll. Well done."

"Yes, I am pretty pleased. Plus, they are all so much damn fun to play with."

"Be right back, I need to go get something to eat."

"Okay."

"I'm back."

"Well that's fine; it's not as interesting as your front, but it does have its advantages."

"Ha ha, Shakespeare. As if."

"I remember years ago, seeing a woman somewhere, maybe the beach or a pool, and she had a tramp stamp, and it read: 'Exit Only, Buster.'"

"I use that as a running joke in my house. I'm still trying to find the time to get my belly button pierced."

"I imagine there must be some traffic collisions in that joint. I thought you already had it pierced."

"No. I did, then I got a new button."

"Ah, yes. Nip and tuck."

"My children think it's funny to punch me as hard as they can in my stomach since I can't feel it. I'm like a party game or something."

"A talking piñata."

"That's me."

"Well, I am going to run along and see if I can pound out a little more of the new chapter before I move out to the day's excitement. Talk to you later, Betty."

"No problem, I have work to do and errands to run. Good luck with the writing."

"Thanks, Betty. And don't forget to say hi to mom and dad. Heh heh."

"Stay away from my family, Shakespeare."




June 1, 2010.


Copyright © 2010, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.

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