This is my entry to @mariannewest’s 3-Part Weekend Freewrite. Details here. Prompt sentences in bold italics.
Bumpy Ride
"I know how protective you are where my sister's is concerned," Max said. “You have to let her live. You can’t condemn her for Lisa’s mistakes.”
The mother kept pressing the dough. “I know what I’m doing. You won’t be there when she gets in trouble. I won’t allow another son of a bitch to ruin my last daughter’s life.”
Max finished his coffee and got up. He hug his mother, kissed her cheek, and left. “She won’t know who is who, unless you let her know men and make her own mistakes,” he said from the door.
“It’s easy for a man to say that,” his mother said while she put the dough in the oven. “Men do not have to deal with pregnancy, rejection, or sleepless nights. You mess up and can still study, work, or find love.”
“Times have changed, Mom.”
“Some things never change. Have you seen Jesus’ second coming?” she challenged while she cleaned her hands from her apron and stood tall. “They keep preaching about it and every few days are the last days. Yet, the world is still spinning and making us alldizzy.”
"I'll text you when I leave." Lilah told his brother on the phone. “Thanks for doing this for us," she said in tears.
“Don’t mention it. I promised Mom I’ll always be for you. Just hurry and keep my niece warm.”
Max's sister had proved her mother right. Her naiveté and her desire of independence drove her to the first man who was clever enough to penetrate her mother’s defenses. He was a charmer who could not believe his luck. A hot virgin in her late twenties; a home-maker with good manners and no history. Of course he would behave up to the old lady’s expectations.
Max’s mother gave them her blessings reluctantly. She had lived enough to catch a fake gentleman, but she was tired and ready to let go. She admired roosters for their honesty. Unlike men, they never hid their violence behind unnecessary courtship.
A full moon gave light to a nervous young man waiting under the rain at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere. The water from the rain had washed down the last cigarette butt. His sister's message suggested she must have arrived hours ago, but she never showed up.
Max felt he had failed both his sister and his mother. The peacock was a rooster after all and Lilah was too eager to be loved to see it coming.
When he got the call from the police, he knew that the worst had happened. The baby had miraculously survived the angry rooster’s outburst. Max promised to raise her just like his mother would have, but without the cage. This little girl would be as smart, strong, andBold independent as no other. No peacock would be flashy enough to blind her. She would know how to handle their kind and enjoy the ride.
Thanks for your visit
Make sure you visit the Freewrite House!!!
Well done! I, too, was a disappointed about the sad ending, but life happens that way many times.
Thanks, @scribblingramma
It does. Here, it does more often than we wish. Every time a woman goes missing, most people asume the worst and often times those crimes go unpunished, even when the killer is arrested. Too much impunity and corruption.
Great story!!!
These three part freewrites are a huge challenge. You went from one prompt to the next seamlessly.
Bummer ending though. I suppose it's good the child has an uncle who will love her, but still...
Hi, @owasco
Thanks. These are challenging indeed. Most weekends I fail at putting together a coherent story.
I thought about a different ending, but somehow the accumulation of real-life bad endings imposed themselves over a more hopeful outcome.
Thanks!