The Tissue Snippet

She looked down at the bedspread.“Well,” she said. “He’s died a couple times but the doctors brought him back.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? How could you keep that from me?”

“Shhh,” she said. “Hate it when you cry.” She jumped up and ran to the bathroom, coming back with a cheap, small no-named box of tissue. She pulled. It made a whoosh sound. She handed a wad of them to me.“Here, blow.”

I did.

“You know,” Cynthia said. Whoosh, whoosh, she handed me two more.

I took the tissue and blew my nose again.

“He and I had plans to sneak you onto a plane to Venezuela. But you derailed me every time, or should I say, your mother’s plans derailed me.”

“Okay. But why didn’t you tell me he died a couple times?” I asked, tossing my gob of used tissues into a wire wastebasket beside the bed.

“I didn’t think that part would matter.” Whoosh, whoosh. She tugged out two more tissues and dabbed at her eyes.

“Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

She shrugged and looked at the tissue box.

“Cynthia,” I said, grabbing her shoulders, new tears falling on my face.

Her whole body frowned, and she slumped. “There’s water on his brain.” Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. This time she yanked tissues out of the box and handed me one.

“Oh my God,” I sobbed.

She swabbed at her own tears with the other tissues.“The doctors are keeping him in a coma.”

“Why?”

Cynthia ran her hand under her runny nose. “Because they drilled a hole into his skull to relieve pressure from the fluid.” She took my hand off her shoulder, squeezed it, and sniffled. “I’m sorry, Lila. I should’ve told you sooner but I was afraid you’d—”

“Could he die and never come back no matter what the doctors do?” I asked.

“No, Lila.” Her teary eyes held mine. “I don’t know, but they’ve brought him back two times that I know of.”

“That explains the dreams.” I inhaled a slow breath and released it slowly.

Cynthia’s brows knitted together. “What are you talking about?”

“Julio’s visiting me in my dreams.”

Where I’m At

Well, I’m still writing and working out Lila’s stuff. You see, when someone like me, an aspiring author, does what we do, most times we have to work a day job. Sometimes those day jobs get in the way but we keep plugging along despite the curve balls. That’s what I’m doing.

I’ve got several more hills of editing and rewriting to do. Secondhand Shoes is rather action-packed. And to be honest, there aren’t too many resting points so I need to create some breather-chapters. I wouldn’t want any reader to pass out from a faint heart or because their blood pressure rose too high from reading the novel. I can remember a movie I went to see with my dad. He had to leave because his blood pressure went sky high and he needed a good dose of his meds to bring it back down. There  were no resting points for a good forty-five minutes.

So my friends, when will I be finished? Hopefully, soon. But I can’t publish something that’s not ready. It would be like eating a half-baked cake. That sounds pretty gross to me. How about you?

For me, it’s all about quality and entertaining you all properly….and to make you all happy campers. I never want my readers to have ask WTF?

My Critter’s Favorite Lines

The Creeps were on their way back. Crapity-crap-crap-crap.

Gram stood at the passenger side. “He thought he was being smart.” She held up a set of spark plugs. “Not everyone has a Gram to watch over them, you know.” She faded into the light as she dropped them into my hands.

My brain muddled memories of how to put the darned things in.

They didn’t seem to notice I was driving. They caught the backend of the Impala. When Vinny hung his arm out the passenger window to wave, I sped off leaving a trail of black smoke. Something Max would do.

Believe it or not, my critters have more favorites. Which one is yours?

Another Small Snippet

The following scene happens after Max and his motley crew catch up with Lila and her best friend, Cynthia.   They’re in a secluded swampy-pond area in the Florida backwoods.

 

Cockroach flipped out a Butterfly knife. “I’m going to use my favorite knife on you.” He drew air pictures with it, his lips pressing down on his tongue.

“I’m going to the truck now.” Coon muttered from behind.

Max shoved me forward. “All you had to do was act like you loved me. That’s all. You took a vow for better or worse, woman.” He pushed me again. I tripped over something sticking out of the mud and fell to my knees.

The black birds and the Cardinal chattered in a frenzy.

“Why’d you have to run from me? Why’d you spray that shit in my eyes? Why’d you steal my car?” His voice got louder and angrier with each question. “Why, woman?” He grabbed the hair at my nape where he butted me with the gun, pulling me up to my feet. “Why are you going to make me kill you, baby doll.”

The birds in the tree went silent again, their wings resting at their sides. A million bird eyes watched us all. Waiting.

Hair raised on the back of my arms and the scent of rosewater filled my nose.

Character Blog: Julio Velasquez

Julio Velasquez is Lila’s x-boyfriend. Unacceptable to Bab’s standards, mommy-dearest, made sure their relationship ended six months before she coerced her daughter into marrying Max.

Sometime before the Lila’s wedding, Julio was in a motorcycle accident.

Beep noises are filling my ears and all I can see is darkness. Sometimes familiar voices speak to me, but I can’t move. I heard the doctor say I was in a coma the other day, a medical induced one.

The last thing I remember was a broken heart I’d been trying to mend when I lost control of my motorcycle and crashed into a tree. Now my time is spent thinking about Lila and how I’m going to get her back.

And a strange thing happened, too. Her dead Gram visited me. Told me Lila’s in a heap of trouble after she married some creep named Max.

But, Gram says there’s a way. Body hopping into someone else's. All I have to do is astral project myself into a willing body. They’d go into my body and mine into theirs. One problem though, if I stay out of my own body too long it might die sending the other participant into the next world, leaving me trapped in theirs.

“Lila, if you can hear me. I love you. Always have and always will. And, I’ll do whatever I can to rescue you.”

Whoever this hot guy is, he would be perfect to play Julio. He’s got the same color eyes and skin. Anyone know who this is?

Chapter One- Rewritten

CHAPTER ONE

Second Thoughts
November 12, 1983

Except for the hiccups, the girl in the full-length mirror, stood, crying without sound, black mascara streaking her cheeks. I poked a couple fingers under the high lacey neckline and scratched.

Gram appeared behind me, wearing the same lavender chiffon dress she wore in her casket six months ago. “I’ve seen wrong in my life but this takes the cake,” she said, crinkling up her nose. “Forcing an eighteen-year-old girl to marry any twenty-seven year old, much less a scallywag. Your mother’s crazy.”

The tops of my arms itched, too, and I rubbed them, not responding to Gram’s comment, letting the lace do the scratching. My reflection squirmed in the white A-line dress. Its bodice and skirt were taffeta, the sleeves and fabric above the bustline to neck was lace. I hated the dress.

“It’s cheap-looking but pretty. More your mother’s taste.” She stepped beside me and fingered the lace on my sleeve and tisked. “What did they make this out of? Synthetic? It must itch like crazy.” She looked around the room. “Well, we’ll have to take care of this.”

“How?” I asked.

“The best thing you could do is take off that darned thing and run, child,” she said. “Pay no mind to your mother’s pooh either.”

“You know I can’t.”

“Then here,” Gram said, reaching for a pair of scissors in a near-by drawer. “Take these.”

“What on earth for?” I asked.

“To cut the lace off that darned thing. If it bothers you, get rid of it!”

“Mom’ll kill me if I do that. She’s so proud of this dress,” I said. “She bought it at a bridal shop auction in Georgia. It cost her one hundred and fifty-three dollars.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I know all about it,” Gram said. “Never thought to ask you to go along.”

“I was working,” I said.

Gram grunted and grabbed my right hand and shoved the scissors handle up into my palm. “Besides, you don’t want to go through with this day. Right?”

I nodded and said, “But Mom will be upset if I don’t.” According to her, I needed someone to take care of me since I see people no one else does. She believes I’m nuts.

“Pooh on your mother. Just cut that mess off!” She looked down, moving the skirt off my shoes. “And, take off those ridiculous things. They don’t fit. I’m sure they’re bunching up your toes.”

“But they sort of match the lace on my dress.” I’d had them on for five minutes, and I was already going from foot to foot to get relief.

“If you don’t look too close.” Gram crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t see how girls today can walk in skinny heels. What are they, five inches?”

“No Gram. Three.”

“What’d she pay for them? Ten dollars,” Gram said.

“Only eight,” I said.

“Your mother ought to be shot,” Gram groaned. “She couldn’t even get you new ones.”

“She got them at an exclusive bridal boutique, Gram.”

She looked the scissors in my trembling hand. “Now, cut.”

“No, Gram.”

“Don’t make me come and do it. There’s no telling what I’ll do with my energies. You know how it is with me now.”

“Okay. But —” My hand shook as I held the scissors up and wiggled their beaks into the lacey sleeve.

“Hurry before they come,” Gram said.

I swallowed a ragged lump, readying myself to snip. “But, you know how she is.”

“Today’s a good day to stand up to her, dear.”

The door to the bridal room creaked opened.

Small Excerpt Sunday

Lila’s waiting at the Motel 6 for her best friend, Cynthia, to come pick her up, but she has a bad dream, foretelling some future event.

 

I closed my eyes and everything went dark – but not for long. I found myself standing in a white sterile room. B.J. Clemmons stood over a bed. A man lie in it. Tubes surrounded him and something beeped beside his bed. I walked toward both of them. Julio lie in the bed, eyes closed, looking lifeless.

B.J.‘s head stayed lowered and stared at my boyfriend. Well, my used-to-be boyfriend.

“B.J.,” I said. “What’re you doing here?”

He didn’t answer. I tapped his shoulder, but he didn’t respond.

A whirlwind entered the center of the room and twirled beside me. I tried to move away, but it followed me, and sucked me into its middle.

Thrown from side to side in the storm tunnel, I rolled onto the motel floor. Someone’s bare feet wiggled their toes at me. The left big toe nail looked bruised. Hair curled out around the person’s ankles. Max. How’d he get here?

“Room thirteen, baby doll,” he said. He read my mind. “You need to get up.”

Something wet ran down the side of my face and down my chin. I swiped at it.

“Baby doll, I’m coming for you.”

His laughter filled the room, and he vanished.