Date Posted:21:53:28 03/26/10 Fri Author:debikm Subject: Homework, done! In reply to:
Debi
's message, "Prepare for takeoff..." on 20:50:15 03/20/10 Sat
Okay, jumping on the bandwagon of action+dialogue. This is late in Old Dogs, after Valerie and Daniel have broken up. It's Christmas day and Valerie has been forced to be sociable. She's doing her best.
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Excerpt from Old Dogs, copyright 2009-2010 Debi Matlack: all rights reserved. Posted for sharing and critique purposes only; does not constitute publication.
Eventually she braved returning to the gathering, getting a glass of tea and sitting at the island in the kitchen, giving her a view into the living room and onto the back porch while also putting a little distance between herself and the others during the gift exchange. When that was done, Catherine came into the kitchen, Aunt Jill just behind her.
“Can I do anything?” Valerie asked. Most of her culinary skills were rudimentary, but a distraction was all she sought.
Jill had a big pan out and began crumbling saltines into it, while consulting a battered index card on the counter beside her. She glanced up and shook her head. “You can keep me company.”
Catherine shrugged. “I can’t think of—wait.” She rummaged in the fridge and pulled out a bowl of eggs. “How’re your deviled egg skills?”
“I can peel eggs and slice them in half.”
“That’ll work, I’ll do the rest.” She put the bowl next to
Valerie with two empty ones beside it for the shells and yolks, then went back to the living room opening.
“Nessa, do you have a platter for eggs?”
“In the china cabinet, in the bottom. It probably needs to be washed.” Nessa got to her feet and Catherine waved her hands at her.
“Don’t get up, I’ve got it under control.” Nessa ignored her and Sheila got up to join the group of women in the kitchen, coming to sit by Valerie. The platter was found, given a quick wash and set beside Valerie to hold the sliced eggs.
“I’d forgotten about this plate.”
Nessa stood behind her, her hands resting light on
Valerie’s shoulders. Reaching forward, she took an egg and cracked the shell against the counter. “Yeah, I keep meaning to put it on a stand someplace so I can see it all the time. It’s so pretty. Mom always said it was pretty old. We should ask Granny about it. I can’t remember if it was a wedding present for her or if it came from her mother.”
The plate was cobalt blue glass with an elaborate thistle pattern cut into the underside. Nessa dropped the shell into the trash bowl and dropped the egg into the other receptacle, then chuckled softly. “Remember how mad Mom was when she caught Dad using it to sort all his fish hooks and sinkers and stuff?”
Valerie snorted and nodded. “Yeah, but she was really mad when she found the bathtub full of live baitfish.”
Nessa chuckled. “I ran and hid from her yelling at him but you just stood there and watched with a big grin on your face.”
“That’s because I thought the fish in the bathtub was cool. It was like having an aquarium.” They chuckled for a moment, Valerie feeling better despite her overall mood.
Nessa glanced over at Catherine and smiled. “He hasn’t done anything like that to you, has he?”
Catherine shook her head. “Not yet, anyway. He’s still a little boy, though. You know when he bought that truck he had a friend put a glasspack muffler on it?”
Nessa turned to look at her. “Is that why the damn thing is so loud?” Catherine nodded and they all laughed.
Jill looked up from her recipe to smile. “When he was little, he tried to drop a cat in a mud puddle. Why he decided to do that, I don’t know, but he straddled that puddle and had the cat in his hands. When he tried to drop the cat, it caught him with its claws on his britches-leg. As he tried to pull it off by the tail, it climbed up between his legs and up his back, with him trying to pull it back down. It took him a long time to let go of that cat’s tail.” She dumped another ingredient in the pan and laughed. “That cat never did get wet.”
Vic came into the kitchen with a bright piece of fabric in his hand. When he saw Valerie, her made a beeline for her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly on top of her head. She raised her arms to fend him off.
“Stop slobbering on me. What is your problem?”
“I can’t believe you found my old Hawaiian shirt!” He held it up proudly, Sheila snickering and shaking her head.
“I can’t believe you ever wore something like that.”
Valerie couldn’t help but laugh as he shook it in front of Sheila, waggling his brows at her. “You know you love it. I look sexy. You want me, you know it.”
Laughing, Sheila pushed him away, shaking her head. “I divorced you and I still can’t get away from you.” She looked back at Valerie. “I love my gift too, Val. I haven’t seen Enjoli perfume since I graduated high school.” She leaned over to bump her shoulder against Valerie’s and give her a peck on the cheek. The level of attention was starting to get to be too much again.
Jill nodded from across the counter. “You did good with
the gifts, sweetie. You clean out the attic?”
debikm