In July, I set a goal for myself to push hard and get as much writing completed in my new book as possible. However, I also accomplished a personal goal of growing my family, and unfortunately, pregnancy interfered with my writing goal! Ive been too sick and tired to get much done. Lol But at 16 weeks, Im on the mend from nausea and fatigue, so Im crossing my fingers that my writing brain will work again from here on out! A very raw, unedited excerpt from Bens perspective: It was strange having Kristina sitting in the passenger seat of my car. It was even stranger to know she still didn’t know who I was. In the apartment minutes ago, when she looked at me in such surprise and confusion, I misunderstood her words. For one brief, wishful moment, when she said, “It’s you”, I thought…I hoped…that she remembered me from our days together in foster care, even if they weren’t always good memories. I still debated off and on when I should even tell her, or if I even should. I didn’t know if it was fair to bring her back into this disparaging world that I couldn’t leave behind. But it was a lonely existence hiding from one’s past with an identity no one recognized or remembered. I knew I was going to be selfish by bringing her into it. But that conversation would not be for today. There were still kinks in my plan that I needed to work out before I risked her involvement. “So, Ben,” Kristina said, her tone casual. “What’s your story, anyway?” “Uh, my story? I don’t have a story.” “Sure you do,” she said, rubbing Chap Stick over her lips. She paused to look at me. Everyone has one.” “Ok,” I said, ready to challenge her. “You start then. What’s yours?” Warmth spread over her face as she probably realized, as I suspected, that she wasn’t willing to answer her own question. “Touché,” she said with a pink smile. “I withdraw my question.” Relieved, I put both hands on the wheel, not hiding my satisfaction. Kristina scoffed at me quietly but didn’t give up. “Well, how about just one question then. Nothing scary,” she reassured me with me a laugh. She took my silence as approval. “What brings you to Davis? I’ll even answer the question first.” She paused, making a point of speaking formally, “My name is Kris and I’m here in Davis to save up money and go to school. Ok, your turn.” She turned slightly towards me with an attentive expression. Amused, I decided to give her a little something. “Work,” I responded. “Like you. I’m just working and saving up money.” A lot of money. “The guys told me you’re a mechanic.” When I nodded, she continued, eying me for a moment. “You must have gotten into the trade pretty young. You don’t look that old. Even with the goatee.” She smiled at me, and although I was wary about her questions, I liked that she was teasing me. She always had a sense of humor. “I’m nineteen, so just a year older than you.” Then I added, “I’m guessing.” She nodded. “I just turned eighteen in July. So did you take a crash course for your job?” “Yeah, something like that. It was a four or five month training, but I went through it back when I lived in Sacra—” I stopped, not having meant to divulge that part. Her ears perked up and she leaned towards me from her chair. “Sacramento? I lived there for a while, too.” The interest in both her voice and expression suddenly faltered, like a match that had been lit and then snuffed out. Lucky for me, she obviously didn’t want to talk about her life in Sacramento either. “Um, so what about school?” she said with a swift change in conversation. “Whatever happened to ‘just one question’?” She put out her hands with a sheepish grin. “I’m just making small talk. After all, if you’re Josh’s roommate and you’re giving me a ride to work, it’s only fair to know a little something about you. Stranger Danger, you know…”
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 16:47:55 +0000
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