Monday, April 04, 2011
Excerpt #12, from pages 70-71 from "Stream of Consciousness"
After dinner, we took out Jen’s mud-pie, well not hers, it was from Charthouse. Like Jen could cook! She could hardly make a piece of toast without the fire alarm going off. Seriously, without frozen dinners and salads, Jen would die of starvation. But she mostly ate out with her newest fling, whoever that happened to be that particular week or month. This month, it happened to be Jared, but I was starting to hope he’d stick around. For all I’d pre-judged about Jared, I was turning out to be surprisingly wrong. I bumped into him over by the silverware and napkins and we chatted about the success of my amazing plan.
“So Renee. You worked it all out. You saved the cruise. You got me and Jen back on track. So I owe you big-time,” he said giving me a huge hug.
“Thanks Jared. You know, you helped me too. I needed this to work for me too. The whole reason I wanted to go on the cruise in the first place was because I felt like I needed to protect Jen from you, in case you turned out to be some kind of weirdo freak,” I said nonchalantly as I counted out ten plates, enough for all of us plus the kids.
“Wow, that’s really something. Like I don’t even know how to respond to that, Renee. But since I like you now, I guess I’ll just decide to ignore how bizarre that sounded,” he said trying to muster up an authentic laugh.
“No, I’m mostly kidding. It’s jus that Jen’s seriously important to me. So I started getting concerned. Then my worry turned into this exciting plan and then I got to know you and I think you’re actually really great. So please don’t misinterpret me on this. I’m so glad it’s all working out,” I said as I joke-punched him in the arm.
“Okay, I’ll let it go,” he said pinching me on the arm a little bit harder than I’d liked.
“Don’t make me get my hubby over here to defend me. He’ll kick your white a--,” I halted in my words as my littlest wandered over begging me for some dessert.
“Mommy, Tangled is over now. Can we please have some dessert?” she asked with a red pizza sauce ring around her mouth.
“Of course you can. But I’m not sure you guys will like the mud-pie because it’s got coffee ice cream in it. So I’ll get you guys some rainbow sherbet or some chocolate chip ice cream instead. Go up and ask the big kids what they want and I’ll bring it up to you in a second. Ask Miss Chelsea if she wants anything,” I said running my fingers through her long curly brown hair.
“Okay Mama. I’d like some sherbet and some chocolate chip please,” she said as she raced back up the stairs.
Jared and I were done talking for the moment. Within half a second, I’d gotten the ice cream orders and soon thereafter handed out all of the desserts. U2 was playing in the background, so I knew Jadan had switched my music up again. But I didn’t mind because I liked them better than Mark Anthony as well. It really seemed like everything was going perfectly. Everyone devoured dessert. Then we all enjoyed ourselves for a few hours after that with great conversation, some dancing, and even a few laps in the pool.
The night was a huge success. Even I started to relax and took advantage of a few songs with my wonderful husband, who was elated about our upcoming cruise. Surprising him was the romantic edge we had needed for a pre-vacation you-know-what. Yes, snuggling turned into much more and we were both feeling really connected and stress-free before my mom got there the next morning.
The doorbell rang at like six thirty in the morning. I truly couldn’t believe my mom got there so early. So I rolled my eyes the minute I heard Nugget freaking at our front door. What was my mom thinking? She’s going to wake everyone up! I put on my slippers and grabbed my robe as I noticed Eric buried under his pillow. How is it that he can sleep under all those covers and pillows over his head? He’s so claustrophobic in most instances. It’s completely strange.
I could still smell the rich aroma of barbecue sauce and grilled veggies, along with the remnants of candle smoke and sweet sugar from some ice cream that had been left out by accident. I wondered what my mom would want for breakfast, since she’d chosen to come so early. But when I opened the front door, no-one was there. There was simply a note that said, “Lawn-care provider, back and front lawn, $50 per week.”
Nice. So I was woken up from my sweet dream of Cosette and Marius from Les Miserables for this stupid lawn-care note. Like I’m gonna use their service now, I don’t think so. Plus, Eric really enjoys his chance to do his man-jobs. It’s so funny how he’ll say stuff like, “Honey, the yard’s my domain” or “Don’t mess with my garage!” At any rate, I’m up now, so I suppose I could take this next few hours of uninterrupted solitude to write another chapter of my book. But first, I need to make some coffee. Some seriously strong coffee. I guess I had one two many pina coladas last night since two is really my maximum without waking up with a huge headache. The coffee should definitely help. Maybe I should read just a few pages from Victor Hugo before I write my own stuff.
Ah, how romantic his stuff is. I mean, I know it’s the French Revolution and there’s lots of death and tragedy, but the love parts are so old fashioned and passionate. It would have been pretty wonderful to live in the 1800s with carriages and lovely dresses. A bit bumpy though and I probably would have been dead by now. So I guess I’ll enjoy the twenty-first century while I’m in it. Just think, I’d miss out on Coke, the gym, sunscreen, and my new swagger wagon, which I love. Plus, we wouldn’t have movies or the Wii. Oh my gosh, my kids would die if they didn’t have that. Maybe that would have been better, come to think of it. We all would have read more though, taken longer strolls, and had a lot more candles. Oh but not the fruity ones from Bath & Body. And I probably would have had like ten kids too and would have been required to use a man’s name as my writer's pseudonym, which would’ve sucked.
I opened up one of our copies of Victor Hugo from the downstairs office library and started reading smack dab in the middle. It was another one of those books where I could open up to any page and instantly be immersed in the poignant emotions and events of that particular chapter. I felt I had to stay downstairs because if I even stepped foot up one single stair, somehow one of the kids would sense that I was awake and beg me for a donut-run. It was best to find refuge on my dark leather couch with my fuzzy red throw blanket.
I loved my newly painted steel blue wall. Eric had done such a great job all by himself. And that is why I loved him so much. He served me like he truly cared. Of course he would have preferred to chill out on the couch with a beer and a game on television, but he stayed up until 2am because he knew it was important to me. My grapevine and ocean prints looked so crisp and artistic hanging on the new wall. Ah, I rolled my neck, took my slippers off and snuggled on the couch next to Nugget. Oh I love this part where Marius is spying on Cosette from behind the bushes. He convinces himself that she doesn't notice him, but his love is not as secret as he thinks. Remember when her dad notices his spying as well?
“So Renee. You worked it all out. You saved the cruise. You got me and Jen back on track. So I owe you big-time,” he said giving me a huge hug.
“Thanks Jared. You know, you helped me too. I needed this to work for me too. The whole reason I wanted to go on the cruise in the first place was because I felt like I needed to protect Jen from you, in case you turned out to be some kind of weirdo freak,” I said nonchalantly as I counted out ten plates, enough for all of us plus the kids.
“Wow, that’s really something. Like I don’t even know how to respond to that, Renee. But since I like you now, I guess I’ll just decide to ignore how bizarre that sounded,” he said trying to muster up an authentic laugh.
“No, I’m mostly kidding. It’s jus that Jen’s seriously important to me. So I started getting concerned. Then my worry turned into this exciting plan and then I got to know you and I think you’re actually really great. So please don’t misinterpret me on this. I’m so glad it’s all working out,” I said as I joke-punched him in the arm.
“Okay, I’ll let it go,” he said pinching me on the arm a little bit harder than I’d liked.
“Don’t make me get my hubby over here to defend me. He’ll kick your white a--,” I halted in my words as my littlest wandered over begging me for some dessert.
“Mommy, Tangled is over now. Can we please have some dessert?” she asked with a red pizza sauce ring around her mouth.
“Of course you can. But I’m not sure you guys will like the mud-pie because it’s got coffee ice cream in it. So I’ll get you guys some rainbow sherbet or some chocolate chip ice cream instead. Go up and ask the big kids what they want and I’ll bring it up to you in a second. Ask Miss Chelsea if she wants anything,” I said running my fingers through her long curly brown hair.
“Okay Mama. I’d like some sherbet and some chocolate chip please,” she said as she raced back up the stairs.
Jared and I were done talking for the moment. Within half a second, I’d gotten the ice cream orders and soon thereafter handed out all of the desserts. U2 was playing in the background, so I knew Jadan had switched my music up again. But I didn’t mind because I liked them better than Mark Anthony as well. It really seemed like everything was going perfectly. Everyone devoured dessert. Then we all enjoyed ourselves for a few hours after that with great conversation, some dancing, and even a few laps in the pool.
The night was a huge success. Even I started to relax and took advantage of a few songs with my wonderful husband, who was elated about our upcoming cruise. Surprising him was the romantic edge we had needed for a pre-vacation you-know-what. Yes, snuggling turned into much more and we were both feeling really connected and stress-free before my mom got there the next morning.
The doorbell rang at like six thirty in the morning. I truly couldn’t believe my mom got there so early. So I rolled my eyes the minute I heard Nugget freaking at our front door. What was my mom thinking? She’s going to wake everyone up! I put on my slippers and grabbed my robe as I noticed Eric buried under his pillow. How is it that he can sleep under all those covers and pillows over his head? He’s so claustrophobic in most instances. It’s completely strange.
I could still smell the rich aroma of barbecue sauce and grilled veggies, along with the remnants of candle smoke and sweet sugar from some ice cream that had been left out by accident. I wondered what my mom would want for breakfast, since she’d chosen to come so early. But when I opened the front door, no-one was there. There was simply a note that said, “Lawn-care provider, back and front lawn, $50 per week.”
Nice. So I was woken up from my sweet dream of Cosette and Marius from Les Miserables for this stupid lawn-care note. Like I’m gonna use their service now, I don’t think so. Plus, Eric really enjoys his chance to do his man-jobs. It’s so funny how he’ll say stuff like, “Honey, the yard’s my domain” or “Don’t mess with my garage!” At any rate, I’m up now, so I suppose I could take this next few hours of uninterrupted solitude to write another chapter of my book. But first, I need to make some coffee. Some seriously strong coffee. I guess I had one two many pina coladas last night since two is really my maximum without waking up with a huge headache. The coffee should definitely help. Maybe I should read just a few pages from Victor Hugo before I write my own stuff.
Ah, how romantic his stuff is. I mean, I know it’s the French Revolution and there’s lots of death and tragedy, but the love parts are so old fashioned and passionate. It would have been pretty wonderful to live in the 1800s with carriages and lovely dresses. A bit bumpy though and I probably would have been dead by now. So I guess I’ll enjoy the twenty-first century while I’m in it. Just think, I’d miss out on Coke, the gym, sunscreen, and my new swagger wagon, which I love. Plus, we wouldn’t have movies or the Wii. Oh my gosh, my kids would die if they didn’t have that. Maybe that would have been better, come to think of it. We all would have read more though, taken longer strolls, and had a lot more candles. Oh but not the fruity ones from Bath & Body. And I probably would have had like ten kids too and would have been required to use a man’s name as my writer's pseudonym, which would’ve sucked.
I opened up one of our copies of Victor Hugo from the downstairs office library and started reading smack dab in the middle. It was another one of those books where I could open up to any page and instantly be immersed in the poignant emotions and events of that particular chapter. I felt I had to stay downstairs because if I even stepped foot up one single stair, somehow one of the kids would sense that I was awake and beg me for a donut-run. It was best to find refuge on my dark leather couch with my fuzzy red throw blanket.
I loved my newly painted steel blue wall. Eric had done such a great job all by himself. And that is why I loved him so much. He served me like he truly cared. Of course he would have preferred to chill out on the couch with a beer and a game on television, but he stayed up until 2am because he knew it was important to me. My grapevine and ocean prints looked so crisp and artistic hanging on the new wall. Ah, I rolled my neck, took my slippers off and snuggled on the couch next to Nugget. Oh I love this part where Marius is spying on Cosette from behind the bushes. He convinces himself that she doesn't notice him, but his love is not as secret as he thinks. Remember when her dad notices his spying as well?
Labels: excerpt # 12, Stream of Consciousness
