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 152: “It would be nice to have,” Gwen said.
“It would be nice to have,” Gwen said.
“Perhaps the two of you can fly down at the same time, pack and then drive back together,” George said. “I’d hate to see you drive all that way in a loaded car by yourself. And if he can’t go, I can take some time off and drive with you.” George smiled. “I haven’t been on a road trip in years. It could be fun.”
“Why don’t you look at class schedules for what you want to take, at least to see when the application deadlines and starting times are and figure out when the gaps between are,” Margaret suggested. “Then once you have that settled, we can figure out if Michael’s timeline works and if he is willing to drive back with you or if we need to make other arrangements.”
Gwen nodded. “That seems like a plan.” With that settled, they finished dinner with talk of what the others did for the day. Gwen felt a little breathless as she thought about it. She knew she was planning to start a new life. Somehow, she thought there would be more planning and a way to ease herself into a new life. This morning when she woke up she thought she might be staying longer with her grandparents than just the summer. Now, as they cleaned up from dinner she was preparing to go back to Westport, gather the last of her things and leave there completely.
‘I’ll probably go back at some point,’ she thought. ‘But the house will be someone else’s by then and it will no longer be home.’ It was a strange thought. Even though she was staying here, she thought of it as visiting, while Westport was still home. With one quick conversation that all changed.
It left her feeling almost dizzy.
‘But not in a bad way, exactly,’ she thought. Gwen shook off the feeling as she helped dry the dishes and then retreated to her room to begin working on the scheduling. She had piles of information about classes. She knew there was probably a set course of study. She searched through the paper work to find it and came across the most likely classes to start with. She put the dates of the start time down in her notebook and saw what she needed to do to apply for a place in those classes.
‘That will have to be done before I leave,’ she thought as she tried to work out her schedule. She made a list of things to complete before leaving. She tried to estimate how long it would take her to get them done and then saw she was left with a two-week window.
That should be enough time to pack, load the car and drive back,’ Gwen thought. Overall she thought that without the furniture she didn’t have a whole lot that she needed to pack. They weren’t the sort of family who filled attics and basements with outgrown clothing and worn-out toys. Anything still usable was donated in the once a year clear out and anything that couldn’t be used by anyone else was disposed of. The only thing that lived in their attic was insulation and the only thing in the basement was the water heater. All that was hers, was encapsulated within her bedroom and bathroom.
‘And half of that is already here with me. I just need the heavier clothes for autumn and winter.’
Ten til Midnight 