"You have to appreciate her, and not be lazy about it; don't think of it as a chore but as a blessing, a blessing that you have the opportunity make her smile. Now, how you go about doing this is important, very important actually. This is where not being lazy comes into play, so pay attention - you can not half-ass what you say to her. . . your goal is to leave her speechless. You want to say something so genuine, so shocking and so kind that it whisks the air out of the room taking her breath away. This is a complicated thing to do, so you need to write this down, maybe stop doodling on your paper and try to keep up. The key to this, to making sure that she spends every minute of her life thanking some omnipotent power that you're in her life, is speaking from the heart. . now I know this makes me sound like a corny cautionary tale but it's a little more complicated than you think. When I say 'speak from the heart' I mean don't over-think it, don't plan what you are going to say; you have to let it flow, let the words, the truest feelings of your heart channel out of you like a river. So, let's put this to the test.", he stood up from leaning against his desk, smiled at us then walked around to the backside of the desk and reached deep into the bottom right drawer - out of sight for a moment, he then popped back up with a long blonde wig flowing down to his mid-back. You know, I don't think I've ever seen a large, well dressed man in a beautiful blonde hairstyle like that before. "Now, let's see what you've got!", he walked quickly with a sense of purpose towards the front row. He began to scan the crowd, "You, lord of the rings. . .", he gestured towards the heavy set white guy up front, his large glasses and worn copy of "The Hobbit" on his desk screamed virginity but then again, who am I to talk? ". . . impress me, here's the situation - I'm your pretty little girlfriend, Denice, we just got back from a lovely night on the town and we're standing at my apartment door saying goodnight, now, take my breath away!" embarrassed and confused, he slowly stood and let out a faint,
"Well uh. . ."
"Wrong!"
"What?"
"Okay, I'm going to call you Baggins from now on - you said 'Uh' Baggs, it wasn't genuine! You hesitated, but don't worry about it, we'll work on it." Baggins sat down again and our teacher started to pace across the room for his next contestant, looking intently to the back of the room - "Woah, Lennie!", the back row turned to look at each other to clarify who he was speaking to, "You! the one who's built like a house", the larger guy in the middle of the row furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "Lennie? Of Mice & Men? No? Alright, well if you haven't read that by now then I think you never will - it's you're turn big fella, dazzle me",
"I. . . I don't know, I'm sorry", he slanted his head down in embarrassment.
"Hey hey hey, that's okay, we can work through this together - lets start with the basics, compliment me on something, how about my hair?"
"You're hair looks like. . .", he scratched his head like an ape, searching for what to say, then all of a sudden his eyes lit up, ". . .spaghetti!", he said with a big grin on his face; the teacher stared at Lennie and sighed; walking back to the front of the room with his hands covering his face, he spoke muffled through his fingers, "Alright guys, one more try", I slowly slid down in my seat to avoid his gaze, he began walking to the other side of the room and I was in the clear, "Key lesson guys, don't try to hide from me - you, Goldberg!", he pointed right at me while laughing,
"Goldberg sir? my name is Wyatt"
"Well Wyatt, I'm going to call you Goldberg because you look like the son of a Jewish accountant" He chuckled to himself and scratched his neck beard, "Alright, impress me Bergie", we sat in silence for a few moments, ". . . but sir, it's hard to do this when I'm looking at you, I have no romantic feelings for you."
"Fine, call me Tina if you want, Rochelle, Gertrude it doesn't matter just call. . .", I cut him off right there, "How about Gwynn?"
"Sounds good to me", he stood there in front of me with his arms folded, I closed my eyes to picture her smiling -
"A beacon of light, cleansing me in my darkest hours, your smile will forever be the saving grace in my life. . . I'm sorry, that was stupid. ."
"No, it wasn't - that was a damn good start; that right there," he began pointing at me aggressively while grinning, ", that's what it's all about boys. So here we are, now I'm sure some of you saw this class on the electives list and said, 'hey, easy A' but this is what class will be; working through the social nuisance that is, love. So welcome - this is your class and I'm your professor - my name is Frank Reemer, but you can call me Reems. Welcome to Hopeless Romance 101"
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Liebster Award
It is quite a wonderful surprise if I'm to be quite frank; the Liebster Award, is passed around the blogging community and being nominated for this award makes me genuinely feel like a member of the community. I would like to thank the always wonderful Laura Piekarski, a dear friend of mine for nominating me.
Now, there are some rules that come along with this award; I was given the rules and they are as follows.
- Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in your post
- Display the award on your blog (the picture)
- List the rules in your post
- State 11 (random) facts about yourself
- Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger on their award post
- Nominate 5-11 bloggers who have under 300 followers (you can't nominate the blogger who nominated you)
- Come up with 11 questions for the bloggers you nominated to answer
- Let the bloggers you nominate know that they've been nominated by leaving a comment with your blog link on their blog
Eleven Random Facts About Me:
1. I was born in England and lived there for eleven years.
2. I aspire to be a modern day Bing Crosby
3. I have traveled to Scotland, England, America, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany and Africa.
4. I have two older siblings, Ashley is 21 and a junior in college, Alex is 18 and enlisting in the Marines this next December.
5. My parents met at a Dungeons & Dragons Club, *facepalm*
6. I was born with an eleventh toe. No it did not give me tremendous balance as a child.
7. I have already thoroughly thought about the details of my wedding.
8. I've always wanted to be a father and husband, where some kids want to be professional athletes or astronauts, I wanted just that.
9. I throw the Discus for my high school's Track & Field team.
10. My life long hero is my grandfather; a very long paper is to come about him.
11. My only major goal in life is to positively affect others, so that they may look back when years have passed and recall the positive memories.
Eleven Questions From My Nominator:
1. If you only had one hour left to live, what would you do? (Spend all the time with my family that I could)
2. If any of your dreams could come true, what would it be? (To have a happy and healthy family of my own)
3. Rom com or horror movie? (I'm assuming that Rom Com means Romantic Comedy, but yes Romantic Comedy every time.)
4. Morning person or night person? (Both)
5. If you and someone else were the only two people left on the planet, who would that other person be (celebrities included)? (The girl that I love)
6. What's your favorite month? (July, my birth month)
7. What would your alias be? (Lord Rupert Everton III)
8.
What house at Hogwarts would you be in? (If you don't know Harry Potter
then you aren't even allowed to answer this question) (It seems to be rather egotistical or high minded to say Gryffindor but I'll say Hufflepuff)
9. What Disney movie would you want to be in? (Not the traditional Disney movie with princesses and happy endings, but Glory Road)
10. If you could only buy clothing from one store for the rest of your life, what store would it be? (J. Crew)
11. Describe your blog in three words! (Humorous, Romantic and Dorky)
My Nominations:
1. Rebecca Reid http://rebeccaereid.blogspot.com/
2. http://secretpassageinthebilberrypay.blogspot.ru/ (Her name is in Russian I believe, my most sincerest apologies for not knowing your name)
3. http://fashioncognoscente.blogspot.se/
4. Zenia http://www.aezthetic.com/
5. Eve Dorith http://evedorith.blogspot.com/
My Eleven Questions For You To Answer:
1. What is your dream job?
2. What is your dream dinner party?
3. Where is your number one place you want to travel to?
4. Where do you intend to go to college?/Where did you attend college?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your perfect date?
7. What is a major goal in your life?
8. Dogs or Cats?
9. Favorite Movie?
10. Favorite Book?
11. Describe yourself with one word.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
The Fall of the House of Usher
Hello and good afternoon to my follower(s), now I'm quite aware that all of my stories so far have been that of romantic nature; cliche and dorky teenage love stories to be more specific, however tonight things shall be shaken up. I was given an English assignment recently, to write a creative and ideally nightmare-inducing ending to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of The House of Usher". I did not intend to share this story but the combination of the worst day I have had in high school and my teacher's positive reaction to reading it, I have decided to put it out there. (The entirety of the first paragraph is directly from Poe's work, the second paragraph on is my own.)
"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone on horseback, though a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was --but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me -- upon the mere house, and the simple landscape feature of the domain --upon the bleak walls --upon the vacant eye-like windows -- depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveler upon opium -- the bitter lapse into everyday life -- the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart --an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled luster by the dwelling, and gazed down --but with a shudder even more thrilling than before upon the remodeled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows. Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now proposed myself a sojourn of some weeks."
Leaves began to dance around my feet as the wind pulsated through the far off trees; my hair was whisked about like the flames of a roaring fire. The breeze, brisk and cool, was refreshing against my blood filled cheeks as the thought of going inside made my stomach churn. I had always avoided the house; it was shrouded in mystery and stories of terror for as long as I could remember. Through my adolescence I grew less and less apprehension for the creaky old house in the woods, but it remained a note in the back of my mind to stay away; that thought didn't always work unfortunately. We were young, around eighteen I believe, we had a couple drinks that we snatched out of my father's cabinet and were wandering aimlessly about town. Thomas and I found ourselves standing, staring intently at the house that we had been raised to fear. "We should uh, go inside", Thomas's speech slurred out of his mouth like molasses, I told him it was a bad idea but he confidently shook his head towards me and stumbles up the stairs to the house. Tiptoeing towards the door to spite my fear, he giggled with each step; he grasped the old wooden door handle and slowly pushed the door open. He turned to me and yelled drunkenly, "See is fine!" I sighed and took a step towards him when all of a sudden his collar was yanked into the darkness, the door slamming shut after his vanishing. I jumped backwards, falling over my own feet; quickly I got up kicking the dust behind me and ran for my life like a coward. I never saw Thomas again, except for in my nightmares that is.
So here I stand, staring at the door; the door that took my best friend away from me. "How could I have been so weak?", I asked myself, "I just let him go". Not a moment has gone by since, that I did not hear Thomas's endearing laugh in my head, or seeing when i close my eyes, the look of displeasure on his face anytime I called him "Tommy". I cherished all the memories of our friendship, I even keep a small drawing he once did for me when we were kids; a small slip of paper, about the size of my palm was sandwiched in my coat side pocket at all times. That is the reason I came here, I wanted to leave the drawing with him, or at least where I lost him; my wife Amy has wanted us to more closer to her parents as their age is rendering them forgetful and incapable to live on their own. We are set to leave in the morning but I had to do this before I journeyed onward.
Slowly I made my way towards the front door, dragging my feet along the cobbled pathway; the darkness had descended quickly and the wind began to howl through the trees. Each step, loudly creaking like one would expect of such an old house. I raised my hand to knock and chuckled at the realization, "This house has been vacant for longer than I've been alive", I reached for the handle and was startled by a loud caw from a crow. I quickly turned to see the bird perched upon a stump, and it seemed to be staring directly at me. I turned back to see the door open. "It must have been cracked open and the wind blew it open", I tried to reassure myself, I took a few steps inside of the house and the door slammed shut behind me. I jumped, ran to the door and tried to open the door; it was locked. Using all my weight and placing my foot against the door as leverage to pull the door open the door knob came clean off, I flew across the room landing on an old rug that dispersed dust everywhere upon my landing. I fanned the ancient dust away from my mouth with my hands, squinting my eyes to see through the darkness I saw a table in the middle of the room with a large candle sat lonesome in the middle. I grabbed the matches out of my pocket and lit the candle, giving me some light to see.
The whole room was dimly lit with the flickering light, I could now see the plain white drapes hanging above the windows and down along the frame of the door; the beautifully carved wooden banister and basic wooden furniture around the room. I ran my fingers along the elaborately crafted banister, as I looked around to the other rooms. Two doors, both boarded shut were on the far right side of the room, I looked to the one door on the left. Picking up the candle and using it to illuminate the other room, I went to the windows, they were nailed shut. Walking back to the main hall I heard something, a low voiced chuckle, I turned the corner to see a shadowy figure on the stairs. I lifted the candle and saw Thomas's face, aged with a nefarious smile creeping across his face. Jaw hung low I had no words, "Well it took you long enough", Thomas said infuriated. "Thomas, what are you doing here! Why didn't you leave? The police searched the house, they didn't find anyone, I - I don't get it", Thomas began to laugh, "I couldn't leave, he wouldn't let me", Thomas pointed tot he top of the stairs in thin air, "Thomas no one's up there", I said concerned he had gone mad. His laugh became maniacal; his insane cackle filled the room. Laughing whilst looking at his feet, his head slowly crept up, "There's no way out", his laugh grew louder. "Thomas why are you doing th..", Thomas cut me off, "Why did you leave me?". I had no answer, "Tommy I'm so sorry", He slowly stood up and waltzed down the few steps, he turned his back foot sideways and planted his right into my chest knocking me back against the door, the candle in my hand flung out of my grasp and rolled across the floor, lighting the drapes on fire. Winded and woozy from hitting my head against the door I looked up to see the room filled with roaring flames and smoke; Thomas stood in front of me smiling down at me. I crammed my hand into my coat pocket, reaching out shakily I handed him the drawing; he took it from my fingers, perused the paper for a moment, crumpled it and threw it into the flames. Gasping for air, I passed out with my last sight, being Thomas's malicious smile.
"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone on horseback, though a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. I know not how it was --but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit. I say sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible. I looked upon the scene before me -- upon the mere house, and the simple landscape feature of the domain --upon the bleak walls --upon the vacant eye-like windows -- depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveler upon opium -- the bitter lapse into everyday life -- the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart --an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled luster by the dwelling, and gazed down --but with a shudder even more thrilling than before upon the remodeled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows. Nevertheless, in this mansion of gloom I now proposed myself a sojourn of some weeks."
Leaves began to dance around my feet as the wind pulsated through the far off trees; my hair was whisked about like the flames of a roaring fire. The breeze, brisk and cool, was refreshing against my blood filled cheeks as the thought of going inside made my stomach churn. I had always avoided the house; it was shrouded in mystery and stories of terror for as long as I could remember. Through my adolescence I grew less and less apprehension for the creaky old house in the woods, but it remained a note in the back of my mind to stay away; that thought didn't always work unfortunately. We were young, around eighteen I believe, we had a couple drinks that we snatched out of my father's cabinet and were wandering aimlessly about town. Thomas and I found ourselves standing, staring intently at the house that we had been raised to fear. "We should uh, go inside", Thomas's speech slurred out of his mouth like molasses, I told him it was a bad idea but he confidently shook his head towards me and stumbles up the stairs to the house. Tiptoeing towards the door to spite my fear, he giggled with each step; he grasped the old wooden door handle and slowly pushed the door open. He turned to me and yelled drunkenly, "See is fine!" I sighed and took a step towards him when all of a sudden his collar was yanked into the darkness, the door slamming shut after his vanishing. I jumped backwards, falling over my own feet; quickly I got up kicking the dust behind me and ran for my life like a coward. I never saw Thomas again, except for in my nightmares that is.
So here I stand, staring at the door; the door that took my best friend away from me. "How could I have been so weak?", I asked myself, "I just let him go". Not a moment has gone by since, that I did not hear Thomas's endearing laugh in my head, or seeing when i close my eyes, the look of displeasure on his face anytime I called him "Tommy". I cherished all the memories of our friendship, I even keep a small drawing he once did for me when we were kids; a small slip of paper, about the size of my palm was sandwiched in my coat side pocket at all times. That is the reason I came here, I wanted to leave the drawing with him, or at least where I lost him; my wife Amy has wanted us to more closer to her parents as their age is rendering them forgetful and incapable to live on their own. We are set to leave in the morning but I had to do this before I journeyed onward.
Slowly I made my way towards the front door, dragging my feet along the cobbled pathway; the darkness had descended quickly and the wind began to howl through the trees. Each step, loudly creaking like one would expect of such an old house. I raised my hand to knock and chuckled at the realization, "This house has been vacant for longer than I've been alive", I reached for the handle and was startled by a loud caw from a crow. I quickly turned to see the bird perched upon a stump, and it seemed to be staring directly at me. I turned back to see the door open. "It must have been cracked open and the wind blew it open", I tried to reassure myself, I took a few steps inside of the house and the door slammed shut behind me. I jumped, ran to the door and tried to open the door; it was locked. Using all my weight and placing my foot against the door as leverage to pull the door open the door knob came clean off, I flew across the room landing on an old rug that dispersed dust everywhere upon my landing. I fanned the ancient dust away from my mouth with my hands, squinting my eyes to see through the darkness I saw a table in the middle of the room with a large candle sat lonesome in the middle. I grabbed the matches out of my pocket and lit the candle, giving me some light to see.
The whole room was dimly lit with the flickering light, I could now see the plain white drapes hanging above the windows and down along the frame of the door; the beautifully carved wooden banister and basic wooden furniture around the room. I ran my fingers along the elaborately crafted banister, as I looked around to the other rooms. Two doors, both boarded shut were on the far right side of the room, I looked to the one door on the left. Picking up the candle and using it to illuminate the other room, I went to the windows, they were nailed shut. Walking back to the main hall I heard something, a low voiced chuckle, I turned the corner to see a shadowy figure on the stairs. I lifted the candle and saw Thomas's face, aged with a nefarious smile creeping across his face. Jaw hung low I had no words, "Well it took you long enough", Thomas said infuriated. "Thomas, what are you doing here! Why didn't you leave? The police searched the house, they didn't find anyone, I - I don't get it", Thomas began to laugh, "I couldn't leave, he wouldn't let me", Thomas pointed tot he top of the stairs in thin air, "Thomas no one's up there", I said concerned he had gone mad. His laugh became maniacal; his insane cackle filled the room. Laughing whilst looking at his feet, his head slowly crept up, "There's no way out", his laugh grew louder. "Thomas why are you doing th..", Thomas cut me off, "Why did you leave me?". I had no answer, "Tommy I'm so sorry", He slowly stood up and waltzed down the few steps, he turned his back foot sideways and planted his right into my chest knocking me back against the door, the candle in my hand flung out of my grasp and rolled across the floor, lighting the drapes on fire. Winded and woozy from hitting my head against the door I looked up to see the room filled with roaring flames and smoke; Thomas stood in front of me smiling down at me. I crammed my hand into my coat pocket, reaching out shakily I handed him the drawing; he took it from my fingers, perused the paper for a moment, crumpled it and threw it into the flames. Gasping for air, I passed out with my last sight, being Thomas's malicious smile.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Valentine's Day
Walter had always hated his job; he worked harder than anyone else at the restaurant, yet he still got no respect or credit from the management. On a regular basis he stayed past his shift to help out when ever he could and yet earlier this week he got the words, "I'd like you to show some effort, for once.", barked at him by his manager; after nine months of this monotonous and mind-numbing job, he was finding himself watching the hands on the clock, until he got to go home. It was a standard Thursday, he got out of school, drove home and worked on his homework. After feeding his dogs and talking with his mother about their days, he kissed her on the forehead and headed out to work.
He stood in front of the main doors to the restaurant and took a deep breath before begrudgingly opening the door. He punched his time card in and ventured his way back to the kitchen. He was a server, take your order, have small chit-chat and bring you your food. He liked it when he got to know his customers, when they were kind and indulged in the innocuous conversations; unfortunately he typically got assigned the party tables, ten or more people all yelling and being obnoxious. It was a quiet shift, only two people came in during the night so he was doing his school work in between his reoccurring, "How's everything going over here? Anything I can get for you?", check ups. Ten minutes before closing, when everyone was wiping down tables and stacking chairs, his manager came out from his office, "Meeting in the break room in five minutes!", he sighed deeply and continued stacking chairs.
He walked into the break room and saw mostly everyone was already there, staring at their manager standing in front of them. "Nice of you to join us.", "I was just finishing up..", he was cut off by the manager, "Don't give me some excuse", the manager said with such a demeaning tone that he didn't respond; he simply nodded as his hands coiled into fists. The others that were missing piled in the back quickly and were given a mere look of disapproval. Their manager cleared his throat, "So guys look, I know that no one wants to work tomorrow seeing as it's valentine's day..", Walters eyes dropped to the floor, "... so I will take volunteers first before I assign people, anyone willing to work tomorrow night?". Walters hand rose to the ceiling with his head hung low, as he knew he had no plans for valentine's day.
He got home after work on Thursday and the rest of the night became a blur. A storm of homework and chores, it whizzed past in a flash. Morning came quickly, propped up with pillows, a textbook in his lap; Walter was awoke by the deafening blare of his alarm clock. His mornings were all the same, let the dogs outside, pack his school bag, say goodbye to his mom and rush out while eating an improved breakfast, usually whatever fruit he could find. This morning however, everything was coated with cynicism because Walter simply despised valentine's day; not that the tradition isn't cute or anything, but he resented those who were happy whilst he was alone on such a romantic occasion. It didn't help that the one girl he had an eye on was in three of his classes on valentine's day. Gwynneth Peters, she went by Gwynn; he fell in love with her the first day of school. Much like the Sailor sees the nurse across the dance floor in a 1950's movie, he saw her and was rendered paralyzed by her light blue eyes.
In between Calculus and Government class, he and Gwynn were talking at her locker. "So have you got any plans for tonight Walt?", he loved that she called him Walt, "No, I can't say that I do, I have to work tonight.", he said with the best smile he could fabricate, "Well do you know where Pete is going to take me tonight?" she said with an eager smile while she bit her lip. "Oh come on Gwynn, Petey is my best friend but he doesn't tell me things like that! Sports, video games and what we're going to do in the summer, that's what we talk about.", Gwynn nodded, grinned halfheartedly and looked in her locker, "Well I know it'll be special, Petey's crazy about you", her smile widened and her eyes lit up, "Thanks Walt", two big forearms wrapper around her waist and picked her up, her feet dangling down. "Hello beautiful", Pete said with confidence, placed her down and kissed her. Breaking away from the tender kiss, he slugged Walter in the shoulder, "Hey bud! How goes it?", "It's all good Petey, I better head to Government, see you around man.". He scurried away, not wanting to see his best friend slobber all over his love.
The day continued as any other school day except it had an extra spoonful of couples kissing in the halls. He got an email from his manager saying that he started work at eight o'clock tonight until closing. He took the opportunity, drove home and started cooking for his mom and brothers. His two older brothers visit every year on valentines day to see their mother. She has been sick for a long time, a lot of medical jargon basically boils down to she can't breathe without an oxygen tank. It's been tough for Walter over the years looking after her but valentine's day was the hardest day because she reminisces about her husband and their father. He passed away when Walter was three.
Walter set the table as his brothers, Joe and Nate were arguing over who was taller; Chicken Alfredo pasta with broccoli, sat on the table with a bouquet of roses in the center that Nate had brought. Walter pulled the chair out for his mom, kissed her on the cheek and gave his brothers the two finger salute. He was off for work once again.
Walter walked into the restaurant and picked up his table assignments for the night out of his mail slot. It read, Table 9, Table 2, Table 8 and Table 16, those were all single pair tables so he was ecstatic. Walter was switching shifts in a minute with Frannie, a co-worker of his. Frannie came over in the break room, "Careful with table two, I think this girl got stood up, she's been there for an hour and a half just eating bread.", Walter nodded and got his order notebook. He greeted the first couple of the night and took them to the back, very nice, older couple he sat them down and they were too busy staring at one another to acknowledge his existence. He glimpsed over the booth wall to see the aforementioned girl and he saw Gwynn staring into the vase of flowers. "Gwynn, what's going on? Where's Petey?", hearing his name made her choke up, she tried to speak but was at a loss for words. Walter took her hands in his, "Breathe, it's okay, what happened?", she took a very slow breath, "I called him, when he was a half an hour late and a girl picked up the phone..", she lost her breath and a tear rolled down her cheek, "he grabbed the phone from her and started spouting off some bullshit about why he was late, he could barely talk.. he was clearly drunk."
They sat talking for a few minutes until his manager came over, "Seriously? Get to work Walter.", "I'm sorry sir, right away.", he stormed off and closed his office door. "I will be right back, I'm so sorry.", she wiper her nose and sniffled, "Don't be silly, go", Walter got up and turned the corner around the booth, she looked down at her phone in her lap, she was startled when Walter came back, "You look gorgeous Gwynn.", she blushed and smiled, "Thanks Walt".
He quickly ran to the kitchen and began frantically dialing on his phone. He stood there tapping his foot impatiently waiting, "Hey Walt, what's up bud?", "Joe, man I need a favor.".
Still processing everything, Gwynn sat there spinning her phone on the table. Walter came jogging around the corner and out of breath, "Gwynn come with me", he put his hand out to grab, "Wh.. Where are we going?", she wiped her eyes carefully to not smudge her makeup; "Just trust me.", he smiled at her and she at him. She took his hand and they walked towards the front doors, "Walter! where do you think you're going! you have three hours left on your shift.", his manager barked at him from across the room. Walter squared up to him, about a foot away from him, "I quit.", took his order notebook and firmly placed it on his managers chest. He grabbed Gwynn's hand, "Let's go".
Walter pulled into his drive way and ran around to give a helping hand for her to get out of his truck. They walked around the garage, and he led her to the patio. Walking around her corner, Gwynn's face was illuminated by the path of candles leading to a table, neatly set up. Flowers in the middle, candles in the middle with two Cup-O-Noodles, one for each of them. She stood in awe, her gorgeous brown hair glimmering in the light and turned to see him smiling at her, "How.. How did you do th..", "My brother owed me one", he smiled and gestured towards the table. He pulled her chair out for her, sat down himself and said embarrassed, "I'm sorry for the food, my brother's not much of a chef", he rubbed his head and chuckled to himself. She thought it was adorable and grabbed his hand on the table, "Walt, thank you.", he turned pink in the cheeks, "It's my pleasure Gwynn".
They talked for hours, losing track of time, it was eleven o'clock. Walter noticed the time on his watch and quickly got up, "I better get you home.", he walked around the table, before she got up and kissed her on the cheek, "Happy Valentine's day gorgeous.", he began to walk away and was stopped when his wrist was grabbed, she pulled him back, coiled her hand around the back of his neck and kissed him. In that moment he realized, maybe valentine's day wasn't so bad after all.
He stood in front of the main doors to the restaurant and took a deep breath before begrudgingly opening the door. He punched his time card in and ventured his way back to the kitchen. He was a server, take your order, have small chit-chat and bring you your food. He liked it when he got to know his customers, when they were kind and indulged in the innocuous conversations; unfortunately he typically got assigned the party tables, ten or more people all yelling and being obnoxious. It was a quiet shift, only two people came in during the night so he was doing his school work in between his reoccurring, "How's everything going over here? Anything I can get for you?", check ups. Ten minutes before closing, when everyone was wiping down tables and stacking chairs, his manager came out from his office, "Meeting in the break room in five minutes!", he sighed deeply and continued stacking chairs.
He walked into the break room and saw mostly everyone was already there, staring at their manager standing in front of them. "Nice of you to join us.", "I was just finishing up..", he was cut off by the manager, "Don't give me some excuse", the manager said with such a demeaning tone that he didn't respond; he simply nodded as his hands coiled into fists. The others that were missing piled in the back quickly and were given a mere look of disapproval. Their manager cleared his throat, "So guys look, I know that no one wants to work tomorrow seeing as it's valentine's day..", Walters eyes dropped to the floor, "... so I will take volunteers first before I assign people, anyone willing to work tomorrow night?". Walters hand rose to the ceiling with his head hung low, as he knew he had no plans for valentine's day.
He got home after work on Thursday and the rest of the night became a blur. A storm of homework and chores, it whizzed past in a flash. Morning came quickly, propped up with pillows, a textbook in his lap; Walter was awoke by the deafening blare of his alarm clock. His mornings were all the same, let the dogs outside, pack his school bag, say goodbye to his mom and rush out while eating an improved breakfast, usually whatever fruit he could find. This morning however, everything was coated with cynicism because Walter simply despised valentine's day; not that the tradition isn't cute or anything, but he resented those who were happy whilst he was alone on such a romantic occasion. It didn't help that the one girl he had an eye on was in three of his classes on valentine's day. Gwynneth Peters, she went by Gwynn; he fell in love with her the first day of school. Much like the Sailor sees the nurse across the dance floor in a 1950's movie, he saw her and was rendered paralyzed by her light blue eyes.
In between Calculus and Government class, he and Gwynn were talking at her locker. "So have you got any plans for tonight Walt?", he loved that she called him Walt, "No, I can't say that I do, I have to work tonight.", he said with the best smile he could fabricate, "Well do you know where Pete is going to take me tonight?" she said with an eager smile while she bit her lip. "Oh come on Gwynn, Petey is my best friend but he doesn't tell me things like that! Sports, video games and what we're going to do in the summer, that's what we talk about.", Gwynn nodded, grinned halfheartedly and looked in her locker, "Well I know it'll be special, Petey's crazy about you", her smile widened and her eyes lit up, "Thanks Walt", two big forearms wrapper around her waist and picked her up, her feet dangling down. "Hello beautiful", Pete said with confidence, placed her down and kissed her. Breaking away from the tender kiss, he slugged Walter in the shoulder, "Hey bud! How goes it?", "It's all good Petey, I better head to Government, see you around man.". He scurried away, not wanting to see his best friend slobber all over his love.
The day continued as any other school day except it had an extra spoonful of couples kissing in the halls. He got an email from his manager saying that he started work at eight o'clock tonight until closing. He took the opportunity, drove home and started cooking for his mom and brothers. His two older brothers visit every year on valentines day to see their mother. She has been sick for a long time, a lot of medical jargon basically boils down to she can't breathe without an oxygen tank. It's been tough for Walter over the years looking after her but valentine's day was the hardest day because she reminisces about her husband and their father. He passed away when Walter was three.
Walter set the table as his brothers, Joe and Nate were arguing over who was taller; Chicken Alfredo pasta with broccoli, sat on the table with a bouquet of roses in the center that Nate had brought. Walter pulled the chair out for his mom, kissed her on the cheek and gave his brothers the two finger salute. He was off for work once again.
Walter walked into the restaurant and picked up his table assignments for the night out of his mail slot. It read, Table 9, Table 2, Table 8 and Table 16, those were all single pair tables so he was ecstatic. Walter was switching shifts in a minute with Frannie, a co-worker of his. Frannie came over in the break room, "Careful with table two, I think this girl got stood up, she's been there for an hour and a half just eating bread.", Walter nodded and got his order notebook. He greeted the first couple of the night and took them to the back, very nice, older couple he sat them down and they were too busy staring at one another to acknowledge his existence. He glimpsed over the booth wall to see the aforementioned girl and he saw Gwynn staring into the vase of flowers. "Gwynn, what's going on? Where's Petey?", hearing his name made her choke up, she tried to speak but was at a loss for words. Walter took her hands in his, "Breathe, it's okay, what happened?", she took a very slow breath, "I called him, when he was a half an hour late and a girl picked up the phone..", she lost her breath and a tear rolled down her cheek, "he grabbed the phone from her and started spouting off some bullshit about why he was late, he could barely talk.. he was clearly drunk."
They sat talking for a few minutes until his manager came over, "Seriously? Get to work Walter.", "I'm sorry sir, right away.", he stormed off and closed his office door. "I will be right back, I'm so sorry.", she wiper her nose and sniffled, "Don't be silly, go", Walter got up and turned the corner around the booth, she looked down at her phone in her lap, she was startled when Walter came back, "You look gorgeous Gwynn.", she blushed and smiled, "Thanks Walt".
He quickly ran to the kitchen and began frantically dialing on his phone. He stood there tapping his foot impatiently waiting, "Hey Walt, what's up bud?", "Joe, man I need a favor.".
Still processing everything, Gwynn sat there spinning her phone on the table. Walter came jogging around the corner and out of breath, "Gwynn come with me", he put his hand out to grab, "Wh.. Where are we going?", she wiped her eyes carefully to not smudge her makeup; "Just trust me.", he smiled at her and she at him. She took his hand and they walked towards the front doors, "Walter! where do you think you're going! you have three hours left on your shift.", his manager barked at him from across the room. Walter squared up to him, about a foot away from him, "I quit.", took his order notebook and firmly placed it on his managers chest. He grabbed Gwynn's hand, "Let's go".
Walter pulled into his drive way and ran around to give a helping hand for her to get out of his truck. They walked around the garage, and he led her to the patio. Walking around her corner, Gwynn's face was illuminated by the path of candles leading to a table, neatly set up. Flowers in the middle, candles in the middle with two Cup-O-Noodles, one for each of them. She stood in awe, her gorgeous brown hair glimmering in the light and turned to see him smiling at her, "How.. How did you do th..", "My brother owed me one", he smiled and gestured towards the table. He pulled her chair out for her, sat down himself and said embarrassed, "I'm sorry for the food, my brother's not much of a chef", he rubbed his head and chuckled to himself. She thought it was adorable and grabbed his hand on the table, "Walt, thank you.", he turned pink in the cheeks, "It's my pleasure Gwynn".
They talked for hours, losing track of time, it was eleven o'clock. Walter noticed the time on his watch and quickly got up, "I better get you home.", he walked around the table, before she got up and kissed her on the cheek, "Happy Valentine's day gorgeous.", he began to walk away and was stopped when his wrist was grabbed, she pulled him back, coiled her hand around the back of his neck and kissed him. In that moment he realized, maybe valentine's day wasn't so bad after all.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
The Question
He had a feeling of emptiness in his stomach, a certain queasiness that flowed through his veins like a virus. About a month of planning went into this and the uncertainty of it all drove him mad, whether she'd say yes, whether she'd say no; hell maybe it'd flip a switch in her brain that might cause her to go on an arsonist rampage. Every conceivable, ridiculous notion passed through his mind like a wave of insanity washing over him. He worried whether he placed everything correctly, whether she would be willing to jump through all the hoops, whether she'd get all the way there and bestow upon him the ugliest word in the English language, "No". All he could do was wait for his chance, he only had one more step.
She woke up on a regular Saturday morning and begrudgingly walked down her long, winding driveway to grab the mail. Shuffling through the usual pile of bills and catalogs for her parents she found herself holding a white envelope with an artfully drawn red heart. She examined the envelope, lifting it towards the sun to see if she could see through it. The red heart on the envelope induced a wide smile and she clawed it open, she began to read, "Good morning beautiful! you have begun your journey. Go to the coffee shop at once!". Confused and awfully zealous she got her keys and drove to the local coffee place where she went everyday before school. She walked in the shop and was timorous for what awaited her; she was shocked to discover it empty. Disappointed and morose, she walked to the counter to order, "I'll have a...", "A large coffee, two creams, one sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon." the barista said with a smile. "How did you know that?", "He's been making me practice all week to get it right.", he placed the cup down in front of her with an envelope placed on top. Her eyes lit up when she saw the envelope resting there, the letter inside said "Now that you've gotten your daily caffeine, it's time to have a good read". She rushed to the bench in the park near her house, where she sat and read on a daily basis, and once more an envelope awaited her perusal.
He saw his window of opportunity and acted quickly to get the finishing touches squared away. She found herself on the bench carefully opening the envelope. "I know how much stress you've been under lately; with schoolwork, your dad's health issues and the way your friends were treating you this school year. . .", she was flabbergasted, "how could this person know so much?" she thought to herself, she thought back to who she may have told and there were quite a few people, she couldn't pick out who it was. ". . . you deserve a day of pampering, you should go visit your mother at work". She quickly got into her car and drove across town to her mother's spa. She arrived and saw that there were no lights on, but that a envelope was hanging inside the door. She reached for the door handle and pulled it open cautiously. Standing in the waiting room, she opened the envelope, "I worked with your mother to make this work, you have a spa treatment waiting for you in the backroom". She opened the door and saw her mother smiling beautifully. "Mom, what's going on? Who's doing this?", "I don't know what you mean honey.", her smile became devious. "Oh come on! Tell me!", "That's not why your here, you're here to relax.", her mother gestured towards a masseuse's table with a robe and towel on it. She begrudgingly changed and lied down on the table; she drifted away into the smell of the candles, the soothing tone of her mothers voice and she was finally relaxed.
"I'll be right back honey, i have to use the restroom" her mom scurried away for a moment and called him, "You'd better hurry up, we're nearing the end over here.", "It's almost ready, give me a few more minutes and it will be perfect!". He had gathered his closest friends and they were all working together at her house. She dozed into slumber as her mother rubbed her shoulders. She was awoken by the slam of a door, she quickly jerked up and looked to see what it was; "Mom?" she projected her voice throughout the room and got no response. She quickly went for her clothes and found yet again, an envelope. She got dressed and tore it open, "Now that you're relaxed and worry free, meet me at your favorite place, where it all began". Her eyes welled up as she came to the realization of whose treasure hunt she was following. It was her childhood neighbor that she grew up with, he moved away when they were thirteen and recently moved back this school year.
She rushed out of the spa and saw the sun setting over the trees while she unlocked her car. She had a posted note on her steering wheel from her mother, "Hi honey, i had to rush out, park on the street tonight, we're having people over". She parked on the street and walked along the tree line towards her drive way; she turned the corner and stopped in her tracks. She stood in awe as she looked at her candle lined driveway, all the way up the winding drive way were lit white candles. She slowly walked to the house while she admired the ornate driveway. Up the three steps to the porch she saw him sitting on the swing where they used to talk when they were kids. "I don't know if your favorite place changed while i was away, but i took a leap of faith", "Will you go to prom with me?" she blushed and looked away from him and down at her feet. He stepped closer, lifted her chin with his finger and brushed her hair back behind her ear. He placed his hand on her hip, she stood on the tips of her toes and leaned in and kissed him. He wrapped both arms around her back and lifted her off the floor. Their ethereal moment ended as she broke away, she smiled wide and tenderly let out "Yes".
She woke up on a regular Saturday morning and begrudgingly walked down her long, winding driveway to grab the mail. Shuffling through the usual pile of bills and catalogs for her parents she found herself holding a white envelope with an artfully drawn red heart. She examined the envelope, lifting it towards the sun to see if she could see through it. The red heart on the envelope induced a wide smile and she clawed it open, she began to read, "Good morning beautiful! you have begun your journey. Go to the coffee shop at once!". Confused and awfully zealous she got her keys and drove to the local coffee place where she went everyday before school. She walked in the shop and was timorous for what awaited her; she was shocked to discover it empty. Disappointed and morose, she walked to the counter to order, "I'll have a...", "A large coffee, two creams, one sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon." the barista said with a smile. "How did you know that?", "He's been making me practice all week to get it right.", he placed the cup down in front of her with an envelope placed on top. Her eyes lit up when she saw the envelope resting there, the letter inside said "Now that you've gotten your daily caffeine, it's time to have a good read". She rushed to the bench in the park near her house, where she sat and read on a daily basis, and once more an envelope awaited her perusal.
He saw his window of opportunity and acted quickly to get the finishing touches squared away. She found herself on the bench carefully opening the envelope. "I know how much stress you've been under lately; with schoolwork, your dad's health issues and the way your friends were treating you this school year. . .", she was flabbergasted, "how could this person know so much?" she thought to herself, she thought back to who she may have told and there were quite a few people, she couldn't pick out who it was. ". . . you deserve a day of pampering, you should go visit your mother at work". She quickly got into her car and drove across town to her mother's spa. She arrived and saw that there were no lights on, but that a envelope was hanging inside the door. She reached for the door handle and pulled it open cautiously. Standing in the waiting room, she opened the envelope, "I worked with your mother to make this work, you have a spa treatment waiting for you in the backroom". She opened the door and saw her mother smiling beautifully. "Mom, what's going on? Who's doing this?", "I don't know what you mean honey.", her smile became devious. "Oh come on! Tell me!", "That's not why your here, you're here to relax.", her mother gestured towards a masseuse's table with a robe and towel on it. She begrudgingly changed and lied down on the table; she drifted away into the smell of the candles, the soothing tone of her mothers voice and she was finally relaxed.
"I'll be right back honey, i have to use the restroom" her mom scurried away for a moment and called him, "You'd better hurry up, we're nearing the end over here.", "It's almost ready, give me a few more minutes and it will be perfect!". He had gathered his closest friends and they were all working together at her house. She dozed into slumber as her mother rubbed her shoulders. She was awoken by the slam of a door, she quickly jerked up and looked to see what it was; "Mom?" she projected her voice throughout the room and got no response. She quickly went for her clothes and found yet again, an envelope. She got dressed and tore it open, "Now that you're relaxed and worry free, meet me at your favorite place, where it all began". Her eyes welled up as she came to the realization of whose treasure hunt she was following. It was her childhood neighbor that she grew up with, he moved away when they were thirteen and recently moved back this school year.
She rushed out of the spa and saw the sun setting over the trees while she unlocked her car. She had a posted note on her steering wheel from her mother, "Hi honey, i had to rush out, park on the street tonight, we're having people over". She parked on the street and walked along the tree line towards her drive way; she turned the corner and stopped in her tracks. She stood in awe as she looked at her candle lined driveway, all the way up the winding drive way were lit white candles. She slowly walked to the house while she admired the ornate driveway. Up the three steps to the porch she saw him sitting on the swing where they used to talk when they were kids. "I don't know if your favorite place changed while i was away, but i took a leap of faith", "Will you go to prom with me?" she blushed and looked away from him and down at her feet. He stepped closer, lifted her chin with his finger and brushed her hair back behind her ear. He placed his hand on her hip, she stood on the tips of her toes and leaned in and kissed him. He wrapped both arms around her back and lifted her off the floor. Their ethereal moment ended as she broke away, she smiled wide and tenderly let out "Yes".
Friday, January 24, 2014
The First Date
It was a mere three days ago that he had the brightest moment of his life. With months of being paralyzed whenever she waltzed by, he finally found the courage, he stumbled to her door and knocked. She opened the door and flashed the grin that made his knees tremble, he was at a loss for words, as if her beauty whisked the oxygen out of the air; he couldn't speak. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stood in silence, "Is everything alright?" she asked as she placed her hand on his arm, her embrace lifted him over the psychological precipice of his mind that he'd been dangling from. He cleared his throat and blurted out "Would you like to uh... go on a date this weekend?" a brief moment of solipsistic silence was shattered by her timid voice, "I'd love to".
In the course of three days, he lost all the focus he previously had on his work and aligned his gaze on what to do for their date the upcoming weekend. He couldn't focus in school, he was sent to the nurse several times on suspicion of a concussion. His teachers were all concerned by the worry that washed over his face, the vague and empty answers that he gave during class unlike his typically insightful and meaningful points. His mind was off, running through a meadow of spring flowers with her as "You Make Me Feel So Young" by Frank Sinatra played in the background. His brain was unhinged for those few days, simple tasks like his chores had slipped his mind and he failed to do his homework for half of his classes. Nothing seemed to matter besides her.
Just grazing by the scolding he received from his parents about his improper behavior in school, he began to get ready for his date; four hours early. Three showers, countless outfits tried on and a myriad of attempts of how to greet her when he picked her up. Many options were tossed around his mind, "There's a party in my pants, and you're invited" and "If you were a booger, I'd pick you first" were both thrown around jokingly. His self-amusement calmed him down and he settled with a simple, "It's very nice to see you" not pushy, not too eager, it was the sensible way to start the date. He warmed up his voice as he drove over to her house, he tested his vocal cords as he sang along with Mr. Bing Crosby.
He pulled up in front of her house and walked to the door with an unprecedented swagger. He knocked a few times and was greeted in by her father who said "Come on in, she's still getting ready" they exchanged innocuous conversation talk about one another as well as a very firm handshake with an underlined 'Hurt my daughter and I'll hurt you' aura coming from the father's hand. A creak on the stairs drew the sudden attention and they both looked up to see her, wearing a simple attire of jeans and a sweatshirt, he had never seen someone so beautiful. She made it down the stairs to have another occurrence of his lack of words, ". . . you look gorgeous" he said with such sincerity she quickly turned a shade of pink he had never seen before. She sat down in the car and fiddled with the music, pressing play accidentally; with the press of a button she heard the velvet like baritone of Frank Sinatra, he quickly apologized and tried to turn it off as he had been forsaken by others in the past for listening to such old music, she grabbed his hand as he reached, "Why would you turn this off? This is such a great song.". They both smiled and said nothing more.
She waited in anticipation as he didn't tell her of what they would be doing on their date. She was gradually becoming more and more confused as they drove further out of town. He pulled into the drive in movie grounds that were deserted and parked smack in the middle. The screen lit up with the introduction to "It's A Wonderful Life", she slowly smiled and stared in awe, "How did you do this? How did you know i loved this movie?", he grinned and said "I know a guy, and you mentioned it freshmen year English.". Her eyes welled up while he got out of the car and gestured for her to join him in laying on the hood of the car. She leaned her head onto his chest and he coiled his arm around her shoulder.
The movie ended but they found themselves staring at the stars, she was an astronomy enthusiast so she began lecturing him on constellations. He didn't hear a word she was saying, he was too busy admiring her. They lied on the hood for an hour while she talked about the stars, "Did you know there are approximately four hundred billion stars in the galax. . ." she was cut off by him placing his hand on her neck and kissing her tenderly; "I'm sorry, i cut you off, what were you saying?", "Who cares." They both smiled and she leaned her head against his shoulder. Their fingers were inter-twined as he moved his thumb back and forth along her hand. The moment was perfect but was short lived as her phone illuminated her pocket; her father called her and said it was getting late, that she should head home.
She slid off the hood and landed wrong when she met the ground, she had sprained her ankle. He instinctively ran over and picked her up off the floor. He placed her in the passenger seat and she quickly cranked up the Sinatra. Windows down, the music blazing, the warm air washing over her face she hung her head out the window, he looked over and saw the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. They turned the music down as they arrived into her neighborhood, he pulled in front of the house and quickly ran to the passenger side and gave her a piggy-back ride to the house. "Thank you so much, this was perfect" she said with a medley of adorable things, her hair that was a mess, her red rosy cheeks from embarrassment and her standing on one leg. He kissed her vigorously and said goodnight.
Monday, he woke up just like any day, he got dressed, brushed his teeth and headed to school. He walked through the halls to class and ran into his buddy outside his Math class. "Hey man, did you do anything fun last night?", "No not really, but i had one hell of a dream."
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