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 162: Then before she knew it, Gwen was in the airport with Michael.
Then before she knew it, Gwen was in the airport with Michael. They were traveling light. Each of them had one carryon with the essentials and no checked luggage. The luggage they packed would fill the car. If it did more than fill the car, they would be getting a little trailer to put on the back of her car to tow back with them.
‘But that we won’t know until we figure out how much we each have.’ Gwen was fairly confident she could fit everything she was taking in the car, she just didn’t know what Michael’s contributions would do to the packing.
As they boarded the plane Gwen thought of how different this trip was to her trip out. This time she didn’t feel like she was going into exile, but as though this was a piece of a plan. Even though her father was selling the house and thus eliminating the place she always called home, it felt less like she was jettisoned from her life. Part of that she knew was the company and part of it was due to the fact that in her bag her carryon reading material was the paperwork for her upcoming classes and details for her part-time job at the bakery. She would be reading the information on the plane so she would be ready.
The two of them settled into their seats. “Thanks for coming with me,” Gwen said as they fastened their seatbelts.
“No problem,” Michael said. “I had to go back for my stuff anyway and at least this way I didn’t have to try cramming it all into my suitcase to fly back.”
“True,” she said. “Was that the plan?”
“Sort of,” Michael said. “As much as there really was a plan. At the beginning of summer, I didn’t know if I was staying in town or not. Everyone thought it likely, but it wasn’t a done deal, so I have some stuff at mom’s and some stuff at dads. Now I’ll have all my stuff in one place.”
She nodded. “You feeling okay with staying at you’re dad’s?” she asked.
Michael shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never spent much time with the steps so I don’t know what it will be like with them always around. I’m probably not going to spend that much time there once school starts, and I’m sure they’ll settle down once classes start too.” He looked at her. “You okay with going back?”
“Yeah,” Gwen said. “I guess it will be kind of sad to see the house empty and Dad getting ready to sell it, but I can’t see him rattling around in it by himself.”
“And seeing Toby or Lisa?”
This time Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know if I will. I hadn’t planned to see either of them.”
“You don’t think they’ll stop by?”
“I wouldn’t think so,” Gwen said. “I blocked them both and haven’t spoken to them since.”
Michael smiled. “I betcha they’ll stop by.”
“You think so?”
“Sure,” he said. “They’ll want to see how you are doing. I’m betting they want you to be crushed by their absence and wanting them back. Or at least willing to forgive and take one of them back. Not sure which one. They both are probably missing you.”
“They aren’t missing me,” Gwen said.
“Maybe they are missing what you did for them,” Michael said.
“What I did?”
Michael laughed. “You are forgetting I spent the summer with you.”
Ten til Midnight 