My blog is late today! Why, you ask? Because I have a new-ish Tuesday ritual--I meet two good friends on Tuesday mornings at Denny's. My gurls--Tina and Petrina--and I all started at my town's new Target together. The three of us were on the crew hired to not only work the store, but to build it from the ground up. No, not the structure, but the interior. We put together shelves, learned planograms, and a million other things no one but Target peeps care about!
We all three worked on the Softlines side. Fitting Room, mostly. We bonded over too much work in not enough time and irritable guests and all the craziness of the holidays! We're friends beyond the walls of Target.
We talk about everything but Target. Tina recently lost her mother. My daughter has been going through a real tough time. Petrina's son is handicapped. We love one another. We help make it through. The good times? Bonus!
Do you have friends like this?
Do your characters?
Show me! Put up a short, 250 words or less, scene of friendship between some of your characters!
Or tell me about your real-life friends!
We all three worked on the Softlines side. Fitting Room, mostly. We bonded over too much work in not enough time and irritable guests and all the craziness of the holidays! We're friends beyond the walls of Target.
We talk about everything but Target. Tina recently lost her mother. My daughter has been going through a real tough time. Petrina's son is handicapped. We love one another. We help make it through. The good times? Bonus!
Do you have friends like this?
Do your characters?
Show me! Put up a short, 250 words or less, scene of friendship between some of your characters!
Or tell me about your real-life friends!
I do have friends like that, but I'd much rather show you my character's friends. This is from The Temptation of Lady Serena, currently available from all on-line ebook stores.
ReplyDeleteSerena jumped up and pulled her cousin into the room. “Phoebe, oh, Phoebe! I have been such a fool, and I think I am well and truly caught. I don’t know what to do. I cannot marry him, and I’m ruined.” A tear slipped down Serena’s cheek.
Phoebe opened the door and asked Mary to have tea and sherry brought, then placed an arm around Serena, and led her back to the sofa.
“Now, tell me what happened. Nothing is ever as bad as it might appear. Whatever it is, we shall find a way to help you.”
“It is Lord Beaumont.” Serena sobbed. “He—he has destroyed me.” Serena tried to hold back the bitter tears as Phoebe comforted her.
“How?”
“We were at Merton, and he took me into the bluebell wood. We were discovered kissing and he told them we were betrothed. Yet he looked so smug, I know he purposely created the opportunity. Phoebe, I trusted him.”
Phoebe gasped. “I never thought Robert would do something like this.”
Serena’s voice broke. “I cannot marry him if he doesn’t love me and Robert as much as confirmed he doesn’t.”
Phoebe was still for several moments. “We need reinforcements.” She rose to tug the bell pull. Mary answered.
“Please ask Lady Ware and Lady St. Eth to attend to us here.”
Mary nodded and left.
“Serena, we will think of something. Robert shall not get away with this.”
Great post, D'Ann! I have a couple of very good friends just like yours. And I love writing about friendships - here's a glimpse at the friendship shared between the sisters in my Texas books:
ReplyDeletefrom What a Texas Girl Dreams:
She knew it. Her sisters wanted the skinny on her date with Trick. A date she’d been replaying in her mind since he’d dropped her off at the ranch just before supper.
A date she didn’t care to analyze with her love-obsessed sisters. And not because he hadn't so much as texted her since leaving her on the doorstep.
Monica shrugged as if her day with Trick was as normal as a hot, Texas afternoon. “It was fine.” She sipped her tea and bit into her chicken-salad sandwich. Fine didn’t begin to cover it, but what her sisters didn’t know wouldn’t hurt Monica.
“Fine?” Vanessa asked, finishing off her tea and refilling her glass.
Monica nodded.
“Fine?” Kathleen polished off her second half sandwich and shot a look at Vanessa.
“Fine.” Monica said again, a little more forcefully this time. She took another bite and washed it down.
Her sisters busted up laughing. Monica looked from one to the other. “I don’t get it. Are pregnancy hormones like laughing gas?”
Kathleen shook her head, bright sunlight catching the red highlights in her hair. “You’re the laughing gas, kiddo. Fine? I saw the way you looked at Trick and the way he looked at you before you left. I’d say a six-hour date is better than ‘fine.’”
“He took me to Canyon Lake. It wasn’t a big deal,” Monica said defensively.
Vanessa nodded. “We know all about how those extra-long dates don’t mean a thing.”
“We went on a picnic. That’s it.”
“I’ve been on that kind of picnic.” Kathleen’s green eyes danced. “That kind of picnic can change a girl’s outlook.”
“He didn’t change my outlook. He took me to lunch and showed me a piece of Texas I’d never seen before.” Too late, Monica realized how that sounded. Her sisters hooted.
“I’ll bet he did. Tell me, Monica, is the ‘scenery’ as irresistible up close?” Vanessa leaned forward, delight gleaming in her ice-blue eyes at Monica’s discomfort. “Because that boy can definitely fill out a pair of Levi’s.”
I'd rather share about friends... It sounds like your friends are wonderful and sometimes a stressful situation brings people together.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend from High School lives in Boulder. She's been an inspiration to me. She has worked as a back-up singer in a recording studio with the likes of Elton John, has her own company and recordings on breathing techniques to deal with pain, and yet she's handicapped now. Her neck broke for the third time about two years ago and the plates that were already in there shifted. She had a screw pushing into her esophagus. I flew to Boulder to be with her and help out as she decided whether to undergo another surgery which would do little to help with the pain. Even though we don't see each other for years at a time, we are always there for each other.
I'm so lucky to have friends like the ones you're sharing Tuesdays with. But this is a scene from ONE MORE SUMMER, still the book of my heart.
ReplyDelete“The oncologist’s nurse suggested I cut my hair.” Promise’s knuckles were white where she held the glass of sweet tea. “She said it makes the hair loss less traumatic if you’ve already gotten used to not having a whole bunch of it.” She set down the glass and reached for Grace’s hands, holding them in a painful grasp. “I don’t know if I can do this, Grace.” Her breath caught on a sob. “It sounds so stupid, but losing my hair horrifies me more than the mastectomy. And right now, they both horrify me more than the idea of dying. How can that be?”
“One step at a time.” Grace caught and held Promise’s gaze. “Today you get your hair cut, and that’s all you have to handle. Tomorrow you can help me with Mrs. Rountree’s laundry. We’ll think about Wednesday later.” Don’t do this, Promise. Don’t talk about dying.
“I’ll go to Carol Whitney’s shop. That’s where Faith goes, and her hair’s always perfect,” Promise said after a minute. Her grip on Grace’s hands slackened. “We were all in high school together and I don’t mind if she knows what’s happening. Maybe she can even get me a wig. I’ll need one.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Grace gave her a measuring look. “I think bald might work for you.” Pick up the ball, Prom, and run with it. We can do this.
After a moment of tortured silence, Promise said, “But, my God, my makeup line would be somewhere back here.”
I have a friend like that and I am sad - because she is moving. Her life has fallen apart and she is going "home", where she grew up and is going to start over. Keeping this friendship of close to 15 years is going to take more work - but we'll figure it out.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post.
I'm sharing this from my WIP Gambling On A Dream (book 3 of the Colton Gamblers). The best friends in this scene are Dawn--the new sheriff of Colton and Zack who was the hero in book 2 and the ex sheriff.
ReplyDeleteThey were quiet for a long time. Dawn had called him after she heard Wyatt leave. There was no way she could stay in his house after what happened that morning. As she stared out the side window at the pastures, she sensed him glancing at her.
“Okay, color me nosy. What were you doing at Wyatt’s?”
With a sigh, she looked over at her best friend. “I’d spent the night.”
“Oh.”
She shook her head and bit her bottom lip. “Someone broke into my house and destroyed the place. All the furniture, my clothes...everything. But we are keeping it quiet since the last thing I want on the Grapevine is I was attacked. The accident was also an attempt on my life. My truck’s brakes were cut. I didn’t fall to sleep while driving.”
“Damn. Any idea who would’ve done either of them?”
“Nope.” God, she just wanted everything to get back to normal. “But I think it’s the murderer.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I can’t say I’m sorry I quit when I did, but I am sorry you fell into this.”
“Me too.”
“Are we done dancing around the bush?”
“Thought you enjoyed the two-step.” She wanted to tell Zack everything, but how did she spill her guts to him? They were still friends, but now he was so happy with Tracy and her life was such pile of flaming crap. They didn’t have as much in common as they used to.
“Not with you, I don’t. What the hell’s going on between you and Wyatt?”
I love this post....and am fortunate to have two best friends from high school that I can't live without. We bond in ways many others don't, and they are my lifeline in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteI also write a lot about friendships in my stories as well. One of my favorite scenes from The Melody In My Head, my best friend told me it reminded her of us and the way we are ALWAYS picking on each other in fun. So I'll share a bit from there.
"You both are sneaky, rotten brats!" Avery was the
first to say something after they all recovered from
the surprise that both Jameson and Lucas had been
listening in.
Just how much had Jameson heard? Did he hear
how much she'd wanted to know the fun details of
his childhood? Melody didn't know what to say.
Neither of the men could quit laughing.
"What did I do?" Lucas asked, pretending to be
hurt. He'd moved his chair closer to Avery and
hugged her. "I'm innocent. It really was Jameson's
idea."
"Gee thanks, Lucas! First, you got to hear all the
little details these girls love to hold over my head,
and now you rat me out? I appreciate your
support," Jameson quipped. "As for you, dear
sister, your time will come! And you, Avery …
Well, let's just say I have some details I can tell
Lucas about you that will probably be equally as
embarrassing as what y'all said about me!"
Jameson moved his chair over, sitting in between
Blaine and Melody. She laughed at the responses
until he turned those gorgeous eyes on her. "As for
you." He reached for her hand under the table. "If
you wanted to know details, you could have asked
me. Not the 'Embarrass Jameson' brigade over
there." The corners of his lips lifted as he squeezed
her hand.
Thank you for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteThis is from Betrothal. Geoffrey and Thomas have been best friends for a very long time and know each other well.
Geoffrey strode to the table, dressed in nothing but his chausses, and took a cup of the sweet wine for himself. He shook his head. “Nay, Thomas, I plan an early morning.”
“Hawking or hunting?”
“Most definitely hunting.”
Thomas sipped his wine. “What game?”
Geoffrey laughed. “A wide-eyed doe.”
An irritated glare sparked as Thomas sat up. “Oh, do not tell me you have been snared by that little wench you flaunted earlier tonight! You looked insufferably pleased with yourself, though I have no idea why. You did not even win her through your own efforts. Your father chose her, by Christ.” He glared at Geoffrey. "Though why he did not get you a better alliance, God knows. He made a much more illustrious match for your brother.” Thomas shook his head. “And yet you approve of it?”
Geoffrey grinned at the exasperated man. “Aye, I do. The match is better than you may think, Thomas. Her father has no sons and she is the eldest daughter, so his estates will pass to her and her husband on his death. A fair catch for a second son with no expectations, would you not say?” He sipped the wine and sighed. “And strange as it may seem, I liked the little maid.”
“An innocent who will not even know how to please a man properly. As I recall, you usually prefer more lively fare.”
Geoffrey grimaced. Thomas knew his appetites in women as well as his own.
Betrothal is currently FREE on Amazon!
I have a friend since kindergarten in NY...and we're both over 60 now! Even through my 15 moves and her 10 moves, we've stayed in touch and now live less than a mile from each other...in the Midwest. She's there for me when I need her...and I'm there for her. In fact, I introduced her to her husband! We both adopted our first children within less than a month's time, and our oldest are two weeks apart in age. Our bond is strong; we'll grow "old" together while having fun.
ReplyDeleteJust came back from a weekend with my "friend for life"... our friendship is 40 years old now, and I inherited her from my mother. They were best friends until my mom died. We've both moved all over the world, married, divorced, raised children, moved again, gone through everything one can imagine and then some. She is my giggle coordinator and I love her.
ReplyDelete