Tala and Manatua

I apologize from the start. This is part of an ongoing story which I never seem to organize.

While still concentrating on the smell of cookies,

 Anne tightens her grip on my hand.

"It's her, isn't it?"

Another squeeze.

I feel the cat bump her head against my leg.

I choose to take it for a gesture of support.

"Anne, 

  would you please bring our guest a cup of cocoa?"

Her next squeeze shows her displeasure,

 and once again I pay the price.

I am hoping by saying please,

 she won't let her feeling show.

I look up, 

 and offer a greeting.

"Manatua."

She pauses before sitting beside me,

 but showing a touch of civility,

 she responds.

"Jon."

We have a long history.

We also tend to irritate each other,

 while trying to get along.

Our jobs do overlap.

Tends to a little bit of stepping on toes.

She takes my hand,

 and while feeling a jolt of energy,

I know what is going to be said.

"You can't do this now."

Anne would be amazed by my restraint.

I ask a simple question,

 knowing it is a goad.

"Why do the people forget the stories?"

She has the decency to blush,

 but her grip shows her pique.

One of the things you learn over the years,

 is you wait for the answer.

You already know the answer,

 but you wait for the other to admit it.

Like I said,

 we have been around each other for awhile.

Marion appears with a cup,

 and I can barely smell the cocoa.

My little girls are not pleased.

I hide a smile.

Manatua slumps.

"I guess I deserve that."

Being suspicious,

 I can't help myself.

"Is it really that bad?"

She nods her head.

"They refuse to remember."

Timing is perfect.

I flicker for a moment.

Returning,

 she is looking at me with a sad smile.

I shrug my shoulders.

 

"Time for us to go someplace, and we should bring Fesili."

Time for another raised eyebrow.

"Where?"

I smile.

"Where else? A place full of memories, stories, and questions."

"Do they still have the clam chowder?"

I give her a smile.

"Long as they remembered..."

I earned another smack upside the head.

Reviews

[Papaya]

I always liked the easy dialogue you create between your characters.

There's something unfolding here and you leave us wanting to know what :)

[Jon Roggie]

I still have no clue where this is going!
It is getting easier to lengthen the conversations.
Still, it feels like a five minute conversation when you have no clue what is happening in a hour.

[Chris Shaw]

Awkward situations, people with history, especially if family have been involved, are never easy. This story didn't appear to end in a comfortable place Jon. I am left with unanswered questions too.

Hope you are doing OK.

Chris

[Jon Roggie]

I still blame Ana Papaya for these. Characters grew from a simple batch of writing. Manatua and Tala will never get along. One is memory, while the other is story. Fesili is question. I do need to try and organize the story!

[Chris Shaw]

Ah, so Ana has much to do with these characters. That does explain much.:)

[Jon Roggie]

Ana has put up with me for awhile. She even liked my versions of fables. I am trying to organize, but it means going through a few thousand writes!

[Chris Shaw]

She's a good contact to many.

[Lorry]

Long histories do tend to irritate each other Jon, but they do make for interesting games of verbal jousting as well as having the patience to wait for a reply. A dying trend, sadly.

[Jon Roggie]

You learn which buttons to avoid. This is a pet project of mine. It has grown. Still working on the conversations. I need to take the time to organize it, but I do get distracted!