Friday Fictioneers: Away for the holidays

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

 

The house was dressed for Christmas, marble staircase aglow with lights, candles scenting the air with smoke and wax, the hint of church and austerity at odds with the excesses to come.

Soon gilded guests would fill every glittering corner, the best food and wine would flow from extra staff in midnight black and starchy white, with eyes cast down, seen but never heard.

Meg stopped at the front door, carpet bag knocking her shins. He would be waiting, collar too tight, elbows pressing through his threadbare jacket.

She had everything, but was nothing without him.

 

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Field’s Friday Fictioneers. See the (glorious) photo and write a 100 word story to go along with it. See here to join in and to read the other super stories.

85 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers: Away for the holidays”

  3. Took me a couple of reads, she was leaving to meet up with someone of a “lower station”? Got it. Very well written piece, flows nicely.

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  10. Aw sounds like she is risking a lot for this guy. Must love him if she’s giving up a place with this kind of party for a guy of lower class. Great take Lynn.

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  12. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, Lynn! I could hear the strains of, “I thought love was overrated/Highly complicated, too/What’s this dream that you’ve created?/You make it easy to be true.” From, yes, Affair To Remember. And why not? One of my favorite movies and, therefore, story lines.

    Five out of five Cary Grants.

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    1. Ha! Love Cary Grant! Did you know Archie Leach – dear Cary Grant – was born not more than a few miles from where I sit and type right now? Sunny Horfield in Bristol. Funny to think he would have originally sounded light the good folk round here, rolling his ‘r’s and calling people ‘my lover’.
      Thanks so much and for referencing such a great film 🙂

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      1. That is SO awesome! I’m sure there’s a statue or a sign or something to commemorate that. Yes, I knew about him. I’m a classic film buff and even studied it in college. I think what’s hilarious is hearing his voice in one of the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation shows as the character of the commander of some kind of organization. I know it’s not actually him, it’s someone else (and I’ve forgotten the voice artist’s name) but it’s so DEAD ON! I laugh every time I see the clips because it makes it look like Cary Grant is what we would call “slumming” (doing minor jobs for little pay). 😀

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      2. You’re right, I think I even looked up the actor to see if it was Cary Grant and it’s an English actor called Francis Matthews. What convinced me for a while it was really Cary Grant was an actor called Cy Grant voiced one of the other characters – confusing or what? Yes, there is a sculpture of Cary Grant looking typically dapper in the centre of Bristol in a nice square near some fountains. I’m sure others might say otherwise, but he was one of my favourite actors of that era – some people just have a natural charm and charisma, don’t they?

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      3. Francis Matthews, tes. I saw him in an interview on a documentary special on Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation shows. In fact he, himself, said he imitated Cary Grant because the puppet looked like and was, in fact, modeled off of Cary Grant. Spot on! Yeah, that natural charm and charisma is unmistakeable — to the point where even Archie Leach himself said HE’D like to be like Cary Grant. Haha!

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      4. Haha! I like that. He was charming and there are few stars who have that now. George Clooney has a glint in his eye, but few others have it in my view. I remember watching Arsenic and Old Lace with my mum years ago – funniest, darkest film for its time. We laughed so hard 🙂

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      8. Ah, perhaps there’s the problem. Do you and Rochelle fancy penning a Capra-esque script then? Perhaps with George Clooney as the lead? 🙂

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      9. Ohhhh, don’t TEMPT me! Haha! Actually, it would be nice … that is, if she ever consents to sit down and learn the craft of screenwriting. Maybe one day. I, however, will keep on going. I’m working on one now.

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      10. A screenplay? Ooh, great! Comedy, tragedy? Crime, fantasy? Blockbuster or art house movie? Was this one of the projects you mentioned before?

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    1. I think you’re absolutely right, but she’s in that early head of heels stage of love where she feels incomplete without him. That will change over time, I’m sure 🙂 Thanks very much for reading

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    2. It’s an adaptation of a play we did eleven years ago. In fact, I’m working on a rewrite of the play so I can rewrite the movie script. Got all that?

      A young man, very ambitious, wants to make the world a better place. However, in doing so, he loses the real love of his life. There’s comedy mixed with tragic elements.

      It’s not completed yet. Hopefully, I’ll have a draft ready soon and I’ll send it to you in a pdf form. I have your e-mail.

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      1. What a great idea! Which will he choose – personal fulfillment or doing things for the greater good. Brilliant dilemma, though I do hope he can have both. 🙂 Looking forward to seeing it

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      2. I’d say the personal fulfillment is trying to save the world (because it’s impossible) and the greater good is keeping the family together through a crisis.

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    1. Thank you Rochelle. Yes, we create these snippets and send our creatures out into their fictive worlds – who knows what becomes of them? Do you think they lurk somewhere, Frankenstein’s monster-like, resentful at being ignored by their parent? Be a nice fantasy idea, that’s for sure. Best wishes 🙂

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  21. It’s not particularly relevant, but as I read this I could hear my mum singing:
    I know where I’m going
    and I know who’s going with me
    I know who I love
    but the deer knows who I’ll marry.
    I hope none of the Bronte sisters don’t get wind of this elopement, and add a few choice paragraphs to scupper their chance of happiness 🙂

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    1. The path of true love never did run smooth, Jane. Maybe she’ll regret giving up her millions when she’s got raw onions for tea again and he’s spending the rent money on beer and trollops. Or maybe they’ll grow old and silvery grey together, who knows. What’s the song your mum used to sing? Do you know?

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      6. Dancing is fun. Late in the Evening by Paul Simon is my favourite track to dance to – good salsa rhythm. It used to be Rock Lobster by the B52s but I’m a bit too old for pogoing!

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      10. Years ago the other half and I were doing an impression of pogoing and he punched me in the face. A lot of Newcastle Brown Ale had been drunk as I recall. Still married him though

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      11. How the hell did he do that with his arms by his side? Or did you do it differently in Bristol? Sounds deliberate, but doesn’t stop me from laughing 😀 😀 😀

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      12. Haha! Yes, it was freestyle pogoing back during a gig in Manchester years ago. I’d say he resembled a windmill more closely than a pogo enthusiast. I still loved him though. 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much Pola. I’m terrifically flattered that you’ve enjoyed Word Shamble enough to nominate me for such a super award. I don’t really do awards – should have one of those signs up saying so, so I apologise for not doing so. What a very gorgeous blog you have – you thoroughly deserve the nomination yourself. Thanks so much for reading 🙂

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      1. Aww, you’re extremely lovely and it’s ridiculous that you’re so very hidden a gem, that’s all. I wish you well chasing whatever accolade you WANT to try for and I will definitely keep reading.

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      2. Pola, you always leave such kind and lovely comments! I started blogging to ‘build a readership’ for my writing and it has worked but I’ve also met some lovely people and improved my writing along the way. Now I just need to snag that publishing contract I covet! Thank you for your continued kindness 🙂

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    1. Thank you Jane! Yes, my parents watched it and as it was the seventies (before anyone bothered with watersheds) anything they watched I did too. I remember a paricularly upsetting scene where a bullied parlour maid hanged herself – gave me nightmares! I watched some reruns a few years ago and was quite impressed by it – much slower than modern telly of course but you did get to know the characters well and there was very little extraneous music which is always a bonus. Thank you for the comparison 🙂

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      1. It was on wicked ITV so not something we watched habitually, but my friends at school were hooked. The idea of a watershed would have struck people as strange in those days I think. Kids went to bed at a reasonable hour, and after that reasonable hour, the questionable stuff was aired. If parents allowed their children to watch late night TV that was their look out wasn’t it?

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      2. When I think of some of the stuff I was allowed to watch – late night horror movies, The Professionals, The Sweeny. Mind you even the Carry On films and Benny Hill looks questionable now and they were family viewing. How times have changed 🙂

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      3. I think Benny Hill was always vulgar, but when he got to be an old man, his vulgarity was just revolting. Carry On Cleo is one of my favourite films. I still find it funny though most of the carry ons were on the seaside postcard side of bad taste…

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      4. Yes, even as a kid I began to get bored by Benny Hill’s groping idiocy – just so unfunny. Cleo is good as are some of the early black and white ones. Though Screaming is my favourite. Harry H Corbett was born to play the role of the beleaguered policeman. And Fenella Fielding in that dress 🙂

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      5. I know it sounds like a nostalgia trip cliché, that the 70s were the golden years of British TV but I think that even if they’ve produced some good stuff since, good stuff was the norm then rather than the exception. TV was actually worth watching. We certainly watched less of it, and what we did watch was more memorable.

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      6. There were certainly more moments of talking point TV because there were so few channels most people you knew would have watched the big shows you did. TV’s pretty disparate these days, more channels to choose from and half of us watch on demand anyway, so you don’t have those collective moments so often. ‘Did you watch last night?’

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