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 171: Gwen sighed to herself when the door was closed.
Gwen sighed to herself when the door was closed. She knew from the calls about the wedding planning earlier in the summer that Lisa thought things would eventually go back to the way they were before.
‘But even she can’t be delusional enough to think that I’d be coming back and sharing an apartment with her.’ Gwen shook her head. ‘Even if I came back I wouldn’t live with her.’
She sighed again, her anger deflating with it. She suspected that Lisa identified Gwen forgiving her and everything going back to normal as the easiest course of action and therefore expected it to happen.
Gwen saw the clock on the wall and pushed off the door with a start. While her talk with Lisa allowed her temper to cool, she was still sweaty and nasty from her run. “And I still have a lot of work to do.”
Gwen thought about skipping the shower until after she did her packing for the day but couldn’t leave it. She hadn’t showered the night before and now had the travel funk as well as the sweat from her morning run. “And I can always shower again later.”
Gwen raced up the stares eager to get started and to leave her conversation with Lisa behind.
A short while later, freshly scrubbed and in old clothes, Gwen took the first drawer out of her dresser. She dumped the contents on the bed making sure nothing was left behind. Whatever she was not taking with her would have to go into either the donations pile or into the trash. It made matters fairly simple.
As Gwen sorted things into three piles, she left what she was taking with her on the bed and took the bags of what she was leaving down stairs to the living room. Gwen wanted to see how much was left and then possibly take another pass through if there was still too much.
To fill the silence of the room, Gwen turned on her stereo and let the music flood her room and flow down into the hall. With no Sharron around there was no one to tell her to turn it down or to criticize her taste in music. Gwen danced as she sorted and wiggled her way across the room moving from bed to dresser until it was emptied completely and then she went to work on her closet.
Her stomach started to rumble around lunch time so she turned off the music and went downstairs to make a sandwich. While her culinary skills blossomed, there wasn’t much use for them here. The staples her father picked up for her were simple and quick to assemble. She quickly put together a sandwich and flipped through her phone as she ate.
Gwen was pleased to see she got three texts from friends, all inviting her to the same gathering. Michael shot her a text as well letting her know that he would be going. Gwen knew her dad was coming by around dinner time but she didn’t know anything else. She shot a text with a conditional acceptance depending on what came up and asking about lunch the following day if something did happen so everyone knew she wasn’t avoiding them.
Messages sent, Gwen finished her sandwich, washed everything she used and headed back upstairs for the next round of sorting. The stereo was turned back on as soon as she was upstairs.
Ten til Midnight 