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Date Posted: 10:47:41 10/31/09 Sat
Author: Debi
Subject: Last Old Dogs post until December (or until I finish NaNoWriMo, anyway)

So, starting tonight/tomorrow, I'll be busy scribbling on my NaNoWriMo project. Molly will prove just as interesting in her own way, though I don't yet solid plans for a handsome man in her life. One will present himself, I'm sure.

At any rate, Valerie and Daniel are gracefully stepping aside, probably to plot to annoy me incessantly with ideas for *their* story until I'm finished with my 50,000 words. I'll take notes, I promise.

Excerpt this way...

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[> Sadly, no Daniel in this bit.... -- Debi, 10:53:10 10/31/09 Sat

Excerpt from Old Dogs, copyright 2008-2009, by Debi Matlack; all rights reserved. Posted for sharing and critique purposes only; does not constitute publication.
***************

‘Anchors Aweigh’ sang merrily from Valerie’s jeans pocket halfway from the car to the front door, the tune signifying that her father was calling. Both her arms were laden with grocery bags and the harder she tried to get loose from the bags and reach her pocket, the more entangled her arms became. The ringtone stopped playing as the front door banged back into the wall, sending Taser scrambling to his feet and out if the way. As she finally freed herself from the grocery bags, the voicemail signal beeped. With a sigh, she unlocked the door with her free hand and dragged the bags inside, shooing the dog out the door as she went. She could hear Taser barking at a boat, fishermen plying the shallows near the dock, and she whistled to shut him up. Pulling the freezer open, she dragged the turkey out, an enormous bird that would take ages to thaw, and dumped her bag of vegetables in the resultant space. Puttering around, trying to find places in her now-overflowing kitchen to put the last minute food she’d bought, she hit redial and listened as the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey Dad, sorry I couldn’t answer a few minutes ago.”

“That’s okay, ‘Possum. Listen, I wanted to ask you something before Thanksgiving.”

Mystified and just a bit alarmed, Valerie put down the grocery bag she’d been folding. “What’s up?”

There was a stretch of silence on the phone, almost long enough that Valerie opened her mouth to speak, wondering if the line had gone dead. But her father finally spoke.

“There’s someone I’d like to bring with me.”

Still somewhat mystified, she shook her head. “You know you can bring anyone you want, Dad. That’s how it’s always been, right? I mean, that how I saddled us with Alan.”

There was a chuckle from the other end. “Yes I know. But, I just wanted to clear it with you. It is your house now.”

“It’s your house too, Dad. It always will be, even if you aren’t living here.”

“No, Val, you have say over who is welcome or not.”

“What, Dad, you bringing Hitler?”

“Her name is Catherine.”

Valerie was stunned into silence for a moment. “Oh.”

“If you don’t want me to bring her, I completely understand, it’s just that—“

“Dad, I’d love to meet her.” Her heart pounded with the thought of her father sharing his life with someone other than her mother, but, if this Catherine was the reason he had become much more relaxed and content these past several months, Valerie wasn’t going to argue.

She could hear a long breath being exhaled, as if he’d been holding it.

“Really?”

“Really. Dad, if she makes you happy, then I’m happy. How long have you been seeing each other?”

There was a mumble over the connection.

“What was that?”

“Six months.”

“And you’ve kept her a secret all this time? Dad, that’s not very nice, to her or to us!”

“I know!” Now he sound like Vic when he was a teenager, caught in some minor offense. “I really wanted to introduce you all, but it just never seemed to work out and—“

“Dad, I’m teasing. Still, you should have said something sooner. By all means, bring her and anyone else you want to. The more the merrier, you know that.”

“Thank you, ‘Possum.” Relief was evident in his voice. “We’ll see you early Thursday morning.”

“At least let the sun come up first, okay?”

“All the way up?”

“I have to be able to see my own shadow.”

“Affirmative. I love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too Dad. Bye”

Valerie flipped the phone closed and leaned back against the counter, bemused and curious. She wanted her father to be happy, no doubt, and had halfway wished he’d find someone for awhile now. But now that had happened, her feelings were mixed. No one would ever replace her mother. But if someone could make Tom Roark a little more like his old self, like he was before her mother Becky had died, Valerie was already impressed.

“One more thing to look forward to,” she mused, dumping the fresh fruit in a glass bowl to arrange it. “And one more thing to worry about.”

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[> [> Molly on the boat with the sunburned ta-tas? I like her!! And now to this one >>>> -- Page, 23:47:44 10/31/09 Sat

>Excerpt from Old Dogs, copyright 2008-2009, by
>Debi Matlack; all rights reserved. Posted for sharing
>and critique purposes only; does not constitute
>publication.
>***************
>
>‘Anchors Aweigh’ sang merrily from Valerie’s jeans
>pocket halfway from the car to the front door, the
>tune signifying that her father was calling. Both her
>arms were laden with grocery bags and the harder she
>tried to get loose from the bags and reach her pocket,
>the more entangled her arms became. The ringtone
>stopped playing as the front door banged back into the
>wall, sending Taser scrambling to his feet and out if
>the way. As she finally freed herself from the grocery
>bags, the voicemail signal beeped. With a sigh, she
>unlocked the door with her free hand and dragged the
>bags inside, shooing the dog out the door as she went.

Am I reading this wrong? I got the impression the door had opened (banging against the wall and sending the dog scrambling to safety), and then I read where she's unlocking the door and letting the dog out. I'm left confused...

>She could hear Taser barking at a boat, fishermen
>plying the shallows near the dock, and she whistled to
>shut him up. Pulling the freezer open, she dragged the
>turkey out, an enormous bird that would take ages to
>thaw, and dumped her bag of vegetables in the
>resultant space. Puttering around, trying to find
>places in her now-overflowing kitchen to put the last
>minute food she’d bought, she hit redial and listened
>as the phone rang.
>
>“Hello?”
>
>“Hey Dad, sorry I couldn’t answer a few minutes ago.”
>
>“That’s okay, ‘Possum. Listen, I wanted to ask you
>something before Thanksgiving.”

I love the pet name her father has for her!

>Mystified and just a bit alarmed, Valerie put down the
>grocery bag she’d been folding. “What’s up?”
>
>There was a stretch of silence on the phone, almost
>long enough that Valerie opened her mouth to speak,
>wondering if the line had gone dead. But her father
>finally spoke.
>
>“There’s someone I’d like to bring with me.”
>
>Still somewhat mystified, she shook her head. “You
>know you can bring anyone you want, Dad. That’s how
>it’s always been, right? I mean, that how I saddled us
>with Alan.”

Oh, that's some background story I'd like to see!

>There was a chuckle from the other end. “Yes I know.
>But, I just wanted to clear it with you. It is your
>house now.”
>
>“It’s your house too, Dad. It always will be, even if
>you aren’t living here.”
>
>“No, Val, you have say over who is welcome or not.”
>
>“What, Dad, you bringing Hitler?”

LOL
>
>“Her name is Catherine.”
>
>Valerie was stunned into silence for a moment. “Oh.”
>
>“If you don’t want me to bring her, I completely
>understand, it’s just that—“
>
>“Dad, I’d love to meet her.” Her heart pounded with
>the thought of her father sharing his life with
>someone other than her mother, but, if this Catherine
>was the reason he had become much more relaxed and
>content these past several months, Valerie wasn’t
>going to argue.
>
>She could hear a long breath being exhaled, as if he’d
>been holding it.
>
>“Really?”
>
>“Really. Dad, if she makes you happy, then I’m happy.
>How long have you been seeing each other?”
>
>There was a mumble over the connection.
>
>“What was that?”
>
>“Six months.”
>
>“And you’ve kept her a secret all this time? Dad,
>that’s not very nice, to her or to us!”
>
>“I know!” Now he sound like Vic when he was a
>teenager, caught in some minor offense. “I really
>wanted to introduce you all, but it just never seemed
>to work out and—“
>
>“Dad, I’m teasing. Still, you should have said
>something sooner. By all means, bring her and anyone
>else you want to. The more the merrier, you know that.”
>
>“Thank you, ‘Possum.” Relief was evident in his voice.
>“We’ll see you early Thursday morning.”
>
>“At least let the sun come up first, okay?”
>
>“All the way up?”
>
>“I have to be able to see my own shadow.”

Love that!

>“Affirmative. I love you, sweetheart.”
>
>“Love you too Dad. Bye”
>
>Valerie flipped the phone closed and leaned back
>against the counter, bemused and curious. She wanted
>her father to be happy, no doubt, and had halfway
>wished he’d find someone for awhile now. But now that
>had happened, her feelings were mixed. No one would
>ever replace her mother. But if someone could make Tom
>Roark a little more like his old self, like he was
>before her mother Becky had died, Valerie was already
>impressed.
>
>“One more thing to look forward to,” she mused,
>dumping the fresh fruit in a glass bowl to arrange it.
>“And one more thing to worry about.”

Oh, I hope they like Catherine! There's nothing worse than having a family holiday turned into Tense City by the presence of someone everyone dislikes, but doesn't want to say anything about. We will not mention my father's second wife here.

I'll miss Valerine and Daniel and Taser and the whole wonderful bunch, but wish you the very best of luck with NaNoWriMo!

Hugs,
Page

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[> [> [> That's Molly! -- Debi, 00:05:35 11/01/09 Sun

>>‘Anchors Aweigh’ sang merrily from Valerie’s jeans
>>pocket halfway from the car to the front door, the
>>tune signifying that her father was calling. Both her
>>arms were laden with grocery bags and the harder she
>>tried to get loose from the bags and reach her pocket,
>>the more entangled her arms became. The ringtone
>>stopped playing as the front door banged back into the
>>wall, sending Taser scrambling to his feet and out if
>>the way. As she finally freed herself from the grocery
>>bags, the voicemail signal beeped. With a sigh, she
>>unlocked the door with her free hand and dragged the
>>bags inside, shooing the dog out the door as she went.
>
>Am I reading this wrong? I got the impression the
>door had opened (banging against the wall and sending
>the dog scrambling to safety), and then I read where
>she's unlocking the door and letting the dog out. I'm
>left confused...

The second I posted it I realized my having the door opening a second time. It's been fixed.
>
>>Still somewhat mystified, she shook her head. “You
>>know you can bring anyone you want, Dad. That’s how
>>it’s always been, right? I mean, that how I saddled us
>>with Alan.”
>
>Oh, that's some background story I'd like to
>see!

That story is included in the Thanksgiving day festivities.
>
>
>Oh, I hope they like Catherine! There's nothing
>worse than having a family holiday turned into Tense
>City by the presence of someone everyone dislikes, but
>doesn't want to say anything about. We will not
>mention my father's second wife here.
>
>I'll miss Valerine and Daniel and Taser and the whole
>wonderful bunch, but wish you the very best of luck
>with NaNoWriMo!

Catherine is great and gets along well with everyone, I need to incorporate her a little more into the story. She may have more appearances in the next volume of this ongoing story. Glad you liked this. Molly and the gang at the bar want to come out and play too!
>
>Hugs,
>Page

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[> [> i like it -- dea, 10:05:24 11/04/09 Wed

i like Valerie's response to her father. it shows they have a good relationship. it's sweet. thanks for sharing.

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[> [> [> Thank you! -- Debi, 13:29:13 11/04/09 Wed

They are close and I'm glad it shows.

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