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 95: At the hostess stand, Margaret requested a table inside.
At the hostess stand, Margaret requested a table inside. Gwen kept silent until they were seated and the waiter left, promising to be right back with their waters. “I take it that was Jenny Wallace?” Gwen asked.
“It was,” Margaret said.
“Is it going to be an issue if I see Michael?” Gwen asked. She suspected that her grandmother wouldn’t say too much in public but couldn’t resist asking.
“Ah,” Margaret said. Her eyes darted around making certain to note who was in hearing range. “No, you are free to spend your free time as you wish, of course. I’m sure Michael is a delightful person if he is your friend.”
Gwen nodded. The waiter returned with waters and Menus and they looked over their options. Gwen suspected that there was something else going on. She thought of Sharron. There were people that she wanted to impress in town and was always happy when they took an interest in her. ‘I wonder if Grandmother is considered someone to know.’
Gwen knew that part of the reason Sharron wanted to make a good impression was that she started the affair with her father well before Gwen’s mother became sick. They got married after her mother died, but Sharron always thought some of the other wives in their social circle looked down on her because they suspected she was a mistress before she was a wife. Gwen didn’t know the details of Michael’s family but thought it could be something like that. If nothing else her grandmother seemed respectable.
As she looked over the menu Gwen felt a small sting of guilt over using the fact that others knew about Sharron having the affair with her dad before they got married as an insult in her argument with Sharron. It was mean and even though she was still mad about the dress, she felt a little guilty about being that mean. ‘I suppose if I see her again I should apologize.’
Even with the flare of guilt, Sharron didn’t occupy her thoughts for long and Gwen easily set her to the side, mentally, as she looked over the menu for items that looked interesting but contained things she had never tried before. By the time the waiter returned, they both made their selections and he took moth the menus and their orders with him.
“Look,” Margaret began, clearly having her own mental calculations while choosing lunch. “You are always free to choose whatever friends you want. I don’t want anything other than who you enjoy spending time with to influence you. I have never met Michael. I am on several charity boards with his step-mother and she is not someone I would choose as a close personal friend. Which is no reflection on Michael.”
“But it does affect you,” Gwen said.
“She will seek me out for more conversations and perhaps issue more invitations. But you are not three years old and we are not arranging playdates. While I would love to meet your friends I don’t think that spending time with his parents is a necessity unless you choose to marry the young man.”
“I don’t think it’s come to that,” Gwen said with a smile.
Ten til Midnight 