10. Snippets

These are snippets - short, short stories about Ian and Chrissy:

(Warning - contains strong language and adult themes)

~*~

“Ian? Are you still awake?” she asked softly. His bedroom was nearly dark with only a touch of light leaking in from the hallway through the partially open door.

“Yeah, Babe”

After a pause she said, “If we're going to be a 'couple', there's something you should know about me.”

“I'm listening.”

There was a long silence before she finally continued. “When I was an addict, I did some stupid things. I have a record. Misdemeanor assault, theft, possession... if you want the details, I'll tell you about each one. I don't care. It's up to you. But there's one I should tell you about.” There was another long pause. He sensed that she was gathering the courage to continue. She went on, “I was standing in front of a convenience store one night waiting for a ride from Suzee. Some guy must've thought I was a hooker. He offered me money for sex... I'd never done that! Ever!” She paused again. “But I was strung out and broke, so I said 'okay'. Turned out he was a cop, and he arrested me for prostitution. It was a good thing in a way. While I was in jail, it hit me what I had done - how low I had sunk. I realized I had hit bottom. I stopped using then and there. That's when I quit. Anyway, I thought you should know that about me.”

He didn't respond right away. Finally he said, “I'm glad you told me about it. I'd hate to hear about something like that from another source.  It doesn't make any difference in how I feel about you, though.”

She rolled over on top of him and looked at him. Even in the near darkness he could see the intensity of her blue eyes. “What if he hadn't been a cop?” she asked, “And what if I had gone with him?!” Her eyes were fiercely penetrating.

He calmly returned her gaze, shrugged and said, “It still wouldn't make any difference. I've never been an addict, so I can't judge you.”

She continued to stare at him with a discerning look. He could tell she was searching his eyes for any sign of a lie. After several seconds, her look softened into one of belief and acceptance. Then she kissed him. It was unlike any kiss she had given him before. Instead of hot and passionate, it was soft and affectionate. She buried her face in the crook of his neck.

“Just don't turn into an a*****e,” she whispered.

“Okay,” he answered, “I won't.”

~*~

Because she was inclined to be temperamental and moody, Chrissy didn't often make jokes. When she did say something funny, it was made even funnier by the fact that it was so unexpected.

She was sitting at Ian's little kitchen table checking the news sites on her lap-top while munching a bagel. He sipped his coffee and stared out the window at the morning snowfall. It was promising to be a lazy, stay inside kind of day.

“I don't know what to call you,” he said, breaking the silence.

Chrissy looked up from her surfing, “What do mean?” she asked with mild annoyance at the interruption.

“Well, I'm not going to call you my 'girlfriend'. I'm too old to have a girlfriend. And I absolutely hate 'significant other'! I don't want to call you my 'mistress'.”

“You'd better not!” Her blue eyes flashed.

“What about you?” he asked her, “What do you call me when you talk about me?”

She shrugged. “The guy I'm boinking right now,” she answered.

He almost spit his coffee out.

~*~

Ian had just finished filling the tank and was tearing off the credit card receipt when Chrissy came out of the store with a cup of coffee in each hand. They got into the car and Ian started the motor and drove off. As he merged into traffic, Chrissy tore open a bag of M&Ms, poured some out into her hand and started popping them into her mouth. She held the bag toward Ian and said, “Here, have some.”

“No thanks,” he replied.

“You're turning down M&Ms? They're your favorite!”

“I never eat M&Ms while I'm driving,” he answered.

“Why not?”

“Because I'm always afraid I'll drop one down my shirt. Then, when I try to get it out, it'll work its way down into my pants. Then I'll put my hand into my pants to get it, but it'll keep going down deeper until I have half my arm down my pants. Then I'll get into a wreck and that's how they'll find me.”

Chrissy stared at him with a furrowed brow for a full thirty seconds before she said, “Jesus Christ, Ian!! Where do you come up with such s**t?!”

He smiled and shrugged. She started to pour some more M&Ms into her hand but stopped and looked at the bag for several moments. Then she rolled it closed and stuffed it into her purse.

“Goddamn you!” she muttered.

~*~

Ian had just left his apartment and was walking toward his car when he noticed an elderly woman struggling to get two bags of groceries out of her car. “Here! Let me help you,” he said as he hurried over and took the groceries from her.

“Oh, thank you very much!” she said gratefully, “I guess I'm just not as spry as I used to be.”

“None of us is,” he replied. He adjusted the groceries in his arms and stuck out his hand. “I'm Ian Stewart. I live right there in number sixteen. I'm an artist.”

“How nice. I'm Marge Gann,” she responded, and shook his hand. “I live in number twenty with my husband, Henry.”

“Let me carry these for you.”

“You're such a gentleman!” As they started toward her door she looked at the sky and said conversationally, “It looks like rain, but the weatherman said there was only a thirty percent probability.”

“Ahh, probabilities!” answered Ian, “I love probabilities. The entire universe's existence is the sum of probabilities, you know.”

“Oh... is that so?” she said hesitantly.

“Yes,” he continued, “Did you know there is actually a probability that we don't even exist? But the probability that we do exist is far greater, so here we are!” He smiled at her.

“Well... isn't that... um... interesting,” she said as they reached her door. She hurriedly unlocked it and took the groceries from him. “Thank you, I'll get it from here. Nice meeting you. Have a nice day!” She closed the door abruptly.

"Nice meeting you, too, he called through the door."  He turned and continued on his way.

~*~

Chrissy leaned over in front of Ian to look at the gauges on the dash board.

“Chrissy!” he said with annoyance, “Come on! I'm trying to drive!”

“We're on empty!” she said angrily, “Why didn't you get gas back there?”

“It was too expensive!” he replied, “Don't worry, we'll find another station before we run out.”

“Out here in the middle of nowhere? Why did you get off of the highway, anyway?!”

“This way is more scenic. I thought we could stop and you could take some pictures if we saw something interesting.”

“There's no time for that!” she snapped, “We're running late as it is! And on top of everything else, I have to pee!”

“Why didn't you go before we left?!”

“I did! I have to go again.”

“Well, it's no wonder with all that orange juice you drank this morning!”

“I was thirsty!”

“Yeah, with a hangover!”

“I don't have a hangover! I only had four beers last night.”

“Four beers is a lot for your tiny frame! Besides, those cream-ales you drink are twice as strong as regular beer.”

“Never-mind! Just find me a place to pee before we run out of gas!” She grabbed the newspaper and turned to the crossword puzzle to take her mind off her bladder. After several minutes of sullen silence she asked, “What's a five letter word for 'dimwit'? Starts with an 'M'.”

"Moron!"

"Go to hell!!... Oh... yeah... that fits, thanks."

~*~

Chrissy pushed back from her desk and stretched. She needed a short break! She decided to get up and get another cup of coffee. As she headed for the small kitchenette where the coffee maker was located she noticed the office of one of the sales reps was dark and empty.

Patrick, the office manager, was just coming out of the kitchenette with a cup of coffee when she got there. She didn't care much for him.

“Good morning, Chrissy!” he said jovially as she passed him.

“Jack off today?” she asked.

“Wha - what did you just ask me?!” he said with a look of horror.

“I noticed Jack's not here. Is he off today?” she replied, filling her cup.

“Oh... um... yeah... he's got the flu,” stammered Patrick.

“Too bad. I hear that's going around.” It was all she could do to suppress a smile as she squeezed past him in the doorway on her way back to her desk.

~*~

So far it had been a very mild October, but as soon as November came the weather turned more seasonal. The first three days of the month were grey and drizzley. Ian wasn't surprised that Chrissy didn't show up at his studio after work. It definitely wasn't motorcycle weather. He wondered what would happen when the weather really turned cold.

On the fourth day the rain quit, but it was still chilly and damp. He was surprised to see her motorcycle there when he pulled up in front of his studio. When he entered he found her sitting on the sofa wrapped from her feet to her neck in the blanket that he usually kept draped over the back of it. His first thought was that the heat must have cut out again, but the studio seemed warm enough.

“Cold?” he asked her.

“Nope... naked,” she answered. She threw back the blanket to illustrate.

“Oh... um... I... I guess that makes me overdressed,” he stammered.

“Yeah! Do something about it!” she answered with a wicked smile.

~*~

Reviews

[John Lauterbach]

I like this break from the storyline. There's no progression, but it's big to the characters and that's why it matters. It's all the little memories lovers accumulate that usually get left to the reader's imagination. My favorite one is the M&Ms one.

You go back to Octover/November after the Christmas chapter. Could that last one-shot be worked in somewhere around Thanksgiving?

[C. L. Aemon]

I am inclined to agree with Talismanic on this one. I rather appreciate the final short the most though. Very simple, but well written and amusing.

[Craig2591]

Thanks.

[Bella Luna]

I loved seeing different situations with Chrissy and Ian! My favorite is the M&Ms in the car!!! Ian has such a vivid imagination and I love how Chrissy judges him hard for it, but then gets the same paranoia after! Such a great chapter!

[Talismanic]

This is my favourite i think, i love how the fragments give us windows into Ian and Chrissy; there's a beautiful devlopment and lyricism to each scene. To begin with, it might just be me, they seemed a little wooden, for e.g. how he says, 'I'd hate to hear about something like that from another source;' it seems a bit mechanical or distant for a personal converstion. Maybe there's some over-wording- "she asked with mild annoyance at the interruption" could be simplified to something vivid and emotive, like "she muttered distractedly." You communicate so much through your characters words and body language that the narraton at times feels a little like seeing the strings. I love their reactions when we can imagine between the lines... 'He almost spit his coffee out.' And the M&Ms really brings a smile everytime...

[Craig2591]

Thanks for the review and the helpful suggestions. I will return the favor very soon.

[Tina Kline]

Enjoyable collection of short pieces of their lives.

[Tabitha t]

this was really entertaining! I love the way the characters feed off of eacother! great comedy between them with just enough of a dark past to keep the reader in a state of shock.
btw.... I dont eat candy while im driving because of basically the same reasons.

[Faith]

This allows the reader to start to really know the characters. Great idea!

[Misty_Prophet]

These are great! The chemistry between the characters is amazing. You could turn this into a book, just add an important event to connect these little stories, and voilà! Not sure if talent or skills are writing this, but honestly it's great