Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Wriite, Edit, Publish, Taking Chances

Time for another story for Write...Edit...Publish. Brain child of Denise Covey. to participate or read other stories go here

Taking Chances

Louise avoided black cats and ladders along with Friday the 13th. In fact, Louise avoided most everything. Why take a chance that something would go wrong?

Why then had Frank left her? She knew the answer. It was precisely because she avoided life. Frank was a dare devil. He had jumped from a plane, leapt from a rock wall with a bungee cord, and climbed a mountain alone. Yes, Frank loved adventure. Louise supposed he thought he could change her. She’d tried to change him. Neither was successful.

“Come on.” Paula whined. “It will be fun.”

Louise doubted that the local dance club would be fun. Just the thought of the loud music gave her a headache. But…thoughts of Frank sneering at her lack of adventure made her consider what others thought of her.

“Okay,’ Louise said.
*
7 P.M. came much sooner than Louise thought possible. She did have one party dress, about five years old, but a dress that she hoped was suitable. Listen to me, she thought. Why should I care?

Paula rang the bell and laughed at Louise’s hot pink shift.
“What’s wrong?” Louise asked.

“Nothing,” Paula said. “I just never imagined you in hot pink. You look great.”

Louise tucked a strand of her auburn hair into the single braid she had managed to create.  

*
The night club was just as loud and boisterous as Louise had imagined. Couples jostled for position on the dance floor. Liquor was passed between friends. Feeling nauseated, Louise ran the bathroom were she discovered a young girl sniffing cocaine. That was the last straw. Louise escaped through the front door to the crisp Colorado night air and debated if she should go back in to tell Paula and her other co-workers that she was going home.

“Not the right scene for you?” A man said.

Louise spun around and found herself face to face with a red haired playboy. He had a white cotton shirt on and dark blue jeans with a dark belt around his waist. Red cowboy boots completed his outfit.

He trust out his hand. “I’m Brad.”

“Louise,” she said, and shook his hand.

“Not my thing either,” Brad said. “I much prefer sunshine and horseback riding in the mountains.”

Another dare devil, Louise thought, but then she thought that of every man she met.

“Can I offer you a ride home?” Brad said.

Risky. Louise knew better than to go with someone she’d just met. “No.”

“I won’t bite, I promise.”

“I think Ted Bundy might have said that before he murdered a dozen young girls,” Louise said.

Brad chuckled. The sound was like the wind through aspen leaves. Louise felt more at ease with this man, perhaps, perhaps, if only she could take a chance.

“If not a ride home than how about coffee at the place across the street?” Brad asked.

Louise turned to see a restaurant with glass windows displaying numerous happy patrons. Safe enough. “Sure.”

Brad extended his arm and they crossed the street. Inside, the warm atmosphere helped to ease Louise’s nerves. They were seated in a booth toward the back of the restaurant.

“Do you mind if I eat something?” Louise said. “I haven’t had dinner.”

“No problem, I’m hungry too.”

“What can I get for you?” The waitress asked.

“The club sandwich for me with French onion soup and iced tea,” Louise said.

“The all American grilled burger, French fries and coffee,” Brad said.

Typical, Louise thought.

“Tell me about yourself,” Brad said.

Hunger made Louise’s stomach protest. “Not much to tell,” she said.

“Come on, where do you work?”

“Downtown.”

“What do you do?”

“Stuff.”

Brad chuckled again. Louise felt a quiver rumble through her body.

“Well mystery Lady, I’m not as shy about my job. I drive a forklift for Stevens Construction.”

“What’s with the cowboy boots?” Louise asked, he’d surprised her.

“My inner child wants to be a cattleman.”

“Oh.”

“I’m saving up to buy a ranch. A man’s got to dream.”

“I guess. Have you ever jumped off a cliff or strapped yourself to a para-sail?”

Brad grinned, Louise was hopeful.

“Nope, never did either and I don’t ride the roller coaster. Not much of a risk taker. I prefer the sure thing.”

Their food came and Louise found herself relaxing. Brad began to tell her about cattle and the different breeds. Horses came next, she’d never learned so much before this.

“An Arabian makes a good race horse but not so good at herding cattle,” Brad said, in answer to her question.

An hour later, their plates cleared, her tea gone and his third cup of coffee found them both simply gazing at each other and smiling.

“My I call on you again?” Brad asked.

“Yes,” Louise said.

“Tomorrow night, how about a movie and dinner?”

“Depends on the movie,” Louise said.

“We’ll decide together. May I take you home now?”

“Yes,” Louise said.

*
Three years later on a ranch in Wyoming, Louise held her newborn baby boy with a tuff of red hair and smiled at her husband. She’d taken a chance on Brad and it was the best decision of her life.

Word count: 865

I hope you enjoyed this tale. I’m sure there are faeries on the ranch but they haven’t told me their stories yet.

Nancy

18 comments:

Denise Covey said...

Nancy I smiled most of the way through this. What a delightful use of the prompt. I was with her at the party and applauded her turning down the ride home. But I'm glad he persevered and spent the time getting to know Louise. What a HEA!

I hope you are well.

Thanks for posting to WEP. Yes, the time goes so fast. Now I've got to think about changing places!

Denise

Denise Covey said...

Sorry! Next prompt is CHANGING FACES! Maybe we'll see the faeries!!

Lisa said...

Oh I LOVED this!!! I'm a sucker for happy endings. But truly, I liked your character development. I felt they stayed true throughout and the scenes felt real. Good job!!!

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks Denise and Lisa
Nancy

D.G. Hudson said...

I really liked this story. We all need to find our comfort level, and this story illustrates that well. Compatibility is important for a couple to survive.

The story drew me right in, with her pre-judgments and her sense of futility.

Sally said...

A lovely story with a happy ending, just my cup of tea. Well done.

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks D.G., and Sally
Nancy

Scheherazade said...

Thanks for sharing a happy story about taking a chance!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nancy - that was a lovely real life fairy story .. with a real happy ending - sounds blissful .. and so many people want just that in life don't they ..

Great story telling .. cheers Hilary

Adura Ojo said...

Hi Nancy. This was heart-warming and I enjoyed reading although I'm not really into faeries as you know:)
Everyone's into them except me. I must have had my faerie loving bone removed at birth...seriously;)

I put my post up yesterday.

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks Linda.

Hi Hilary,
People do want that.

Hi Adura
Perhaps I'll run across your faerie funny bone in my faerie travels. I'll let you know.

Nancy

Nilanjana Bose said...

Delightful and satisfying story, so glad she took the chance. The characters are convincing and true to life.

Hopefully you'll meet the faeries soon too :)

Nilanjana.

Trisha said...

Aww, I loved this story! A nice, happy ending, and gives me hope that my perfect match is out there too. :D

Nice work!

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks Nil and Trisha.
Nancy

Anne said...

Nancy, this made me smile. Just what I needed. It's great to read your stories again and hopefully, I can join the next WEP challenge again. I haven't blogged for some time but I'm back at my blog www.anne-writersspace.blogspot.com. Hope you can come and drop by :)

N. R. Williams said...

Hi Anne
Welcome back, I'm on my way.
Nancy

Yolanda Renée said...

Truly lovely story, I'm a sucker for a happy ending! Louise reminded me of me, at a time long past! LOL

Reading all these WEP entries is helping to inspire me - such good writing!

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks Yolanda
Nancy