It was too hot to move my head or even open my eyes. "More like a psychological thriller."
Sam made a sound that might have been a laugh.
I opened my eyes a crack and stared at the lemonade as bleached by the sun as the wide porch where we lay, hoping to catch a respite from the air pressed against us. Any condensation the ice would have provided was long gone. I sighed and wished again that the repairman would hurry up and get here.
"It if would just rain..." Sam started.
I opened my eyes. The sky was unrelenting blue. "I don't think that's going to happen any time soon."
"I want to cry but I'm too hot."
"Don't waste any more tears."
"I know." Sam went silent again.
I closed my eyes again and listened for the sound of a truck. Not a leaf rustled in the trees, not a fly buzzed. The world was still and heavy, the whole of it holding its breath for relief.
"I'm Gatsby, you know." I rolled my eyes behind closed lids. Three weeks of dissecting a failed relationship was too much for any friend to withstand.
"I expected too much, asked for too much. I put my universe on Chris's shoulders. No one could withstand that amount of pressure."
"Chris is Daisy in this image?" I snorted. Chris was no Daisy.
"Daisy without the annoying traits."
"Why do you think you expected too much?” I bit my tongue to disagree about the annoying traits.
"I wanted marriage, a family, a future."
"With the right person, that's not too much."
"How would you know?"
"You're right. I wouldn't know. I'm nearly forty and have been in love twice in my life. Both times ended in spectacular disaster." I tried to keep the bitterness out of my voice. The heat was getting to us. A breeze, just the slightest breeze, and I could breathe again.
"I'm sorry." Sam sounded genuinely contrite. "I know. I'm hot. I'm tired." I'm out of patience, I added silently.
"I don't understand why it can't be easy. You meet someone, fall in love, live happily ever after." I tuned Sam out. I'd heard all this before. Repeatedly.
"Look," I finally said. "Screw all that. Screw all this." I stood and walked into the house. I grabbed my purse off the entry table and walked back out. "Let's go." I wondered briefly if the sunbaked earth would melt the cheap sandals on my feet.
"Where are we going?" I heard Sam follow me.
"The beach."
"But the beach is four hours away," Sam protested.
I shot a look over my shoulder. The house shimmered in the waves of heat. "I know."
"But the repair man is supposed to be..."
"Oh for God's sake," I snapped, "who cares about supposed-to-be's. Be a rebel. When did we get so old and stuffy? We used to do this shit all the time fifteen years ago."
Sam's mouth quirked in the first grin since The Epic Break-Up.
I opened the car door and stepped back as a wall of heat hit me. I started the engine and cranked up the AC waiting for the hot air blowing in my face to turn cool, waiting for relief.
This fictional post was inspired by the Write at the Merge prompt posted this week with a quote by Katherine Hepburn about not always following the rules.
9 comments:
I felt like I was there with them. I like the main character's voice.
oh yes...this is exactly how that conversation feels sometimes doesn't it? Even best friends have to have a time out...
I feel the need to say THANK you for always listening to my stuff. ;)
this was so real and the ending was pitch perfect, the wall of A/C providing a much needed relief.
I felt the overwhelming heat. I mean, of course I did, we're suffering through it now. But really Mandy, you did a great job with this little scene. Now I'm ready to throw myself in the car and head for the beach!
You asked me about the ambiguity, and I saw it because you asked me about it, but nevertheless I'd already assigned genders to Sam and Chris in my head. Was I right? Who knows?
Because I read Cam's comment, I thought a little more about the gender issue with Chris and Sam. I don't know that it matters. I loved this; partially because I feel life getting to me like this right now: suffocating, even without the heat.
Indeed, life does seem to become one long battle with the "supposed to be'. That line struck a note! Great pacing and flow here.
Excellent dialogue and characterisation - I really enjoyed this
Agree with Thomas. Great dialog. Very realistic...girlfriends chatting on a hot summer day.
I liked this, a lot, the frustration. The heat was palpable. At first I thought Sam was a guy and "I" was the girl, the voice, but then as she described Chris and voiced Sam, I knew no man would think or talk that way. ;) But I liked it even with the initial confusion. Good stuff! Makes me want to write some fiction again. I have been lacking in that department!
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