Welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Each morning I spend fifteen minutes writing on a singular story line. Each morning starts with the last line of the previous day. The goal is to get a (very) rough draft out of the simple story idea and to avoid letting the story idea languish in limbo forever, actually writing it out. This is the third year I have done this writing experiment and each year I learn just a little bit about myself and the way I write as well as creating a framework for the story. But without further ado…
Day 36: “We are so glad you are here. I’m guessing you have luggage?”
“We are so glad you are here. I’m guessing you have luggage?” She asked.
“Um yes,” Gwen said.
“Excellent, you go get the bags and we’ll get them to the car. I got this,” her grandmother rolled a luggage cart over as the luggage carousel began to spin.
“Thank you,” Gwen said as she took hold of the cart. She walked back to the baggage claim and placed her carry on onto the cart. Slowly the track inched by. At first it was empty, the track free of bags. Then they began to arrive. A few bags at first and then the baggage handlers got into the swing of things and a steady parade of luggage passed by.
Gwen was able to reclaim her bags without too much trouble. The largest of them almost toppled her as she hefted it off of the spinning track. She was trying to avoid someone’s packed skis as she lifted the heavy bag and was off balance. Somehow she kept her feet and managed to make it to the cart. She counted the bags, came up with the correct number and wheeled the cart back to her grandmother.
“Oh my,” her grandmother said. “Luckily we have Sebastian. He’s with the car.”
Wondering who Sebastian was, Gwen followed her grandmother out of the airport. The sound of traffic grew loud. A sleek black town car pulled up to the curb and the driver got out, the trunk popping open.
“Right on time,” her grandmother said. Sebastian smiled as he took the luggage cart from Gwen and began loading the bags into the trunk. Her grandmother opened the door to the car and slipped inside. Figuring Sebastian wasn’t going to run off with her luggage, Gwen got into the car as well.
With the car door shut the world was much quieter. The sound of the traffic and people was dimmed and Gwen realized how exhausted she was. The trip was long and even though she still had to get inside her grandparent’s house, she felt the relief of not having to find the house on her own.
Sebastian made short work of the luggage and was soon back behind the driver’s wheel and pulling away from the airport terminal. He merged into traffic and away they went. To Gwen it looked like a sea of slowly moving vehicles as far as the eye could see. She gave up looking ahead, figuring she didn’t actually need to know how to get from the airport to the house just yet.
She turned to her grandmother. “A bit of a change from Westport, I expect,” her grandmother said.
“Just a bit,” Gwen replied with a smile.
“Well, I am so very glad you are here. Finally. We wanted to have you stay with us for a while now but it never seemed to be the right time. I suppose it isn’t the best reason for a visit but it will give your father and Sharron some time to sort out the details.”
“The details,” Gwen said.
“Of the divorce,” she said. “Not that they have officially declared things that way. I think they ae still in the beginning of the separation phase. Oh,” her grandmother bit her lip. “They didn’t tell you?”
“Um no,” Gwen said. “I was sort of busy with my own things,” she admitted. “After graduation Dad said Sharron was going to stay with her sister, but they didn’t say why.”
“Oh,” her grandmother said. “I’m sorry to have broken it to you this way. I would have thought they said something.”
Ten til Midnight 