PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz
First love. Uncle Jack’s red Bugeye Sprite. Seven years old, twisting along the B roads, school tie tugging tight in the wind.
Second love. A black and gold Ford Capri straight off the forecourt. Driving the length of the M1 – Catthorpe Interchange to Gretna – just to see Eileen with the tawny eyes and endless legs.
Third love. A silver Bentley Continental bought with the commission from his first big deal.
Abandoned in Kielder Forest under a Hunter’s Moon. The smell of burnt rubber and oil. The ting of cooling metal. The Moon reflected in a pair of blank tawny eyes.
***
Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Field’s Friday Fictioneers. See the pic and write a tale. And what a cracking photo this week. Pop along here to join in.
Word Shamble 
Brilliantly structured. Poor Eileen. I guess nothing lasts.
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Thank you Neil, especially your comment on structure. Yes, poor Eileen with the tawny eyes
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I know I can just click the like button. But when I type in the comments that *I like this*, it means somewhat more than a casual ‘like’ 🙂
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Thank you Crispina 🙂
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I really like the history of love via cars. There are few of us who can’t name our first and subsequent cars; almost anywhere in the world, the car is still an important life line. The use of “tawny” twice makes me wonder if something happened to Eileen, or if there’s just a play on that word and the lifeless car? Nicely done.
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Yes, you were right to pick up on the use of tawny. Poor Eileen, dead in the wrecked car. Thank you very much for your thoughtful reading and comment
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Eileen didn’t stand a chance, did she?
Wonder if there any more like her, hidden away in different woods…
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Ooh, maybe. I suspect he’s been none to careful about other people and their feelings. Thank you for reading and the great comment Dale
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I suspect as well…
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I had a 1960 Austin Healey bugeye Sprite for a while, but my dad took it back. I love the tale of Love through cars. Well done
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They were certainly characterful little cars, weren’t they? Was it a favourite of your dad’s, or just too clapped out to drive safely? Thanks Josh
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More typical of my dad what’s that he blew it out and it sat outside in the yard for 15 years. At one point he gave it to me but then he took it back. I got to ride in it but I never got to drive it.
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So close and yet so far!
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Wonderful. My Dad had a blue Ford Capri, which he (and I) loved. Fortunately, as far as I know, nothing sinister attached to it!
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Thanks Iain. Yes, the Capri was my stepdad’s car of choice for years – nearly killed himself when he rolled one. Glad yours was free of nasty associations!
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It is so pathetic to know nothing really lasts. Like everyone, I wonder how many more like Eileen are there.
Regards, SLSM. 🙂
https://stilllovedstillmissed.wordpress.com/2019/01/27/in-search-of-love/
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Well, it’s true I guess, nothing does last forever. Thanks for reading
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Loved this. You at your best, Lynn.
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Thank you Sandra. That means a great deal coming from you
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Too bad for poor Eileen. We’re going to missed those endless legs.
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Bless her. Along for the ride and got more than she bargained for. Thanks for reading Russell
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Poor Eileen, those endless legs obviously did not hold their allure as long as the cars!
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I think you may be right. Thanks for reading Clare
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Dear Lynn,
Once more you’ve taken my breath away. “tawny eyes and endless legs.” Apparently they did have an end. Poor Eileen.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you so much Rochelle, for the kindest of comments. Thank you for reading
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Super story, well constructed and realised. You showed his priorities very pointedly by contrasting the love for the cars while Eileen just had tawny eyes and endless legs (I love tawny as a description of her eye-colour). The black and gold Capri was the John Player Special model, if I remember correctly. A bit of a bad boys car! Clever you, trading on its connotations!
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Thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment Penny. Glad you picked up on his ‘love’ of the cars, whereas poor Eileen doesn’t make the list. And well spotted with the JPS! My stepdad had one, wrote it off the first day he had it, cutting off part of his ear in the process. A bad boy? Perhaps at the time 😉 Thanks so much for reading and the lovely comment
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His life remembered by what car he drove. I love the Bugeye Sprite. My first car was a red Karmann Ghia. I miss that car. Lovely story, Lynn!
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Thank you Brenda 🙂
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This was so well done, Lynn. I love the framing with the cars. The description is excellent, as always. Now I want to know if he killed her or if there was an accident.
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Thank you Sascha! I wonder that myself. I suspect he was driving like a fool, rolled the car and ran, leaving poor Eileen behind. Nasty fella. Thanks for reading
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Perfect!
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Thanks Dawn
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From innocence to death in three sections, like Neil I thought the structure, tied in by the tawny eyes was special, Lynn
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Thank you so much Michael. Very kind of you
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Your story recalled for me many happy days in a Ford Capri,
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Thank you Michael 🙂
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Beautifully constructed.
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Thank you so much. You’re very kind
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Damn, wasn’t expecting that. I like the way you structured this story.
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Thank you very much
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