Good morning. Today is a cloudy and rainy day. Its that cold wintery rain kind of day where you know those drops are going to be just shy of ice cubes dropped down upon your head when you step outside. I think I am going to find reasons to stay inside. Still the morning has begun. Shall we kick off with the morning prompt? Fabulous, Set the timers to fifteen minutes and lets begin.
I think it took me until almost the end of time to figure out where I was going with this. I did a lot of word fumbling in this section. but eventually I got to a thought. Only time will tell if it is a good thought though.
Tuesday, February 22nd: Steve knew he heard the name before, but he couldn’t place it.
Steve knew he heard the name before, but he couldn’t place it. He rolled it around in his mind testing and probing it as though it was a piece of candy with a strangely flavored center. Royce Witherspoon.
It was an unusual name. He knew that he wouldn’t know several people named Royce. There had to simply be one. But where would he have met someone named Royce?
Steve grew up with people who had versions of their father’s names or even grandfather’s names. None of his friend’s parents were that creative in the naming process. He doubted there was very much discussion. His older brother was a Junior. He was named for his mother’s father and his younger brother was named for his father’s father. His little sister, as she was the last child his parents wanted to have had a hyphenated version of his two grandmother’s names. Luckily for her Margaret Rose worked well together.
He knew a host of Johns, Bills, Richards and Timothys. ‘But no Royce,’ he thought.
Coming up blank in his circle of friends he tried expanding to places he would have met others who might have had the name Royce. After a few minutes a thought hit him. He blinked. That work event, two, no, three years ago. There was a Witherspoon there.
Steve tried not to frown into his glass of champagne as he tried to remember the first names. There were several men named Witherspoon at the event. They were all from the same family company.
‘There was some sort of problem at the time.’ Steve started into the distance. He remembered some sort of kerfuffle involving the company, but at the time he had been too wrapped up with his own affairs to pay much attention to anything else. He and Jessica were in the last death throes of their sensationally toxic relationship. Knowing he was away for work, she made unreasonable demands upon his time and claimed that he didn’t love her because he wouldn’t leave the work event for her.
The fact that the event was taking place quite far away and even if he wanted to return, travel access was limited hadn’t been a factor in the decisions. There were arguments, hang-ups, call backs and recriminations. All fit in between the events his company required he attend. By the time he made it back he was exhausted and knew that he had to end it with Jessica before dating her killed him. The break up was bad, but once he was through it things got better. He rarely thought of that time.
‘Which is why I couldn’t place Royce.’ He knew he had to have heard it that week. He also knew there was something important that he should remember. As the group began to split into smaller factions, Steve wondered if he could slip off and call Kevin. He was there that week and without the personal tragedy, he would have better recall.
Ten til Midnight 