I want to write

[garbagepailcat]

But I’ve only ever written academic formal writing or sad scribble poetry that I never share. 

I’ve started writing a little short story that popped into my head. It’s slightly inspired by my own upbringing, but I want to write something in the southern women writer’s tradition like Flannery O’Connor or Eudora Welty while creating a snapshot of a family dynamic like Louise Erdrich did in Love Medicine. Something reminiscent of grit lit but sweet and nostalgic. 

Spoiler

Mother saved away a portion of each one of Father’s paychecks, penny by penny pulling just enough money together to afford a couch in time for Dottie’s sophomore ball. 

 

The couch was made of mohair, in a deep eggplant purple color, or an aubergine if you want it to sound more intentional. The truth of the matter was that that couch was the only one that Roy Broadrick hadn’t sold during his liquidation sale. Still, the day he bought the couch, Father cussed, saying “the damn thing feels like roadkill. I coulda made one of these with a day of squirrel hunting. Bullets would be a whole helluva lot cheaper than this ugly fuckin’ thing.”

 

Him and the boy from Broadrick’s Furniture struggled to get it into the truck, sweat beading down their backs and gathering into darkened, oddly-shaped puddles on their shirts as they strained to lift the big fuzzy eggplant of a couch into the back of the pickup. 

 

Mother and Eleanor, the youngest of the girls, stood in the lobby of the store while the men loaded the couch. Ellie was fascinated with a gumball machine, standing next to it, wobbling on two chubby, mosquito bite-speckled legs. Her mouth filling with spit, she stared at the brightly colored candies. The yellow reminded her of mother’s best dress, the one with the lace and bow at the neck. She wondered what flavor the gum was. Maybe the different colors are different flavors. Maybe she could try all of the colors to find out. Mother quickly grabbed her hand and quietly told her, “sit down and be still for once, child.”

Anyway, I might never finish it, so here’s what I’ve got. 

[André Toulon]

I feel bad for what's going to happen to your thread.

[garbagepailcat]

1 minute ago, Sho Minamimoto said:

I feel bad for what's going to happen to your thread.

I’ll probably abandon it immediately so I don’t really care. 

[Vamped]

Needs steamy romance somewhere in there 

[fuggstop]

I think you have what it takes.

[scoobdog]

Good start.