The Fifteen Minute Novel is an attempt to take a single prompt and use the last sentence written each day as a start for the next day. This year I had several prompts circling around a similar story, so I have combined them. However, the story starts the same way each day, with the last line from the day before and a timer set for fifteen minutes. The hope is to end up with a complete, if very rough draft by the end of the year. Some stories are better than others, but I always learn a whole lot about my own writing when I do this so for me it is not only a nice way to work out a story, but it is a tool for helping my writing get better. And so, we continue this story for 2024 with…
Day 81: Another week passed with the strange sense of calm waiting.
Another week passed with the strange sense of calm waiting. The calm was appreciated, but the sense of waiting prevented her from enjoying it fully. Sophie’s one highlight was that she was becoming adept in keeping work at work and leaving it all behind when she clocked out for the day.
Instead, she focused more on her own sewing business. The sleep sets were selling well as were the general lightweight robes that were always good for summer wear. The few casual work outfits Sophie sent to Janine were doing pretty well also. As the season advanced, Sophie received the usually amount of wedding related additions and alterations and those she prioritized, not wanting to be the cause of any bridal angst.
In between she worked on the limited edition sets the company contracted with her for the holiday release. While she kept up her work in the office, even when an additional file for the new data base set up was sent down, once she clocked out it was her own business she focused on.
She didn’t forget her promise to have some sort of a life and in addition to visiting the restaurant for a fun night out, she and Janine started to make Saturday night out a regular thing. Sophie loved the way her world was expanding, but she found she had two nagging worries. One was the waiting feeling at work and the other was her taxes.
She had always worked in a straightforward manner. As a result her taxes were quite simple. She got her W2s from Havers and filled out the paperwork. She sent it in and was done. Sometimes she received a few dollars back. Other times she had to send a few dollars in. Over all though, it was pretty simple.
Looking at all of her records for the expanding sewing business, she knew it wasn’t going to be that simple anymore. ‘And while I like the savings, it would be nice to know what I can spend if I have to.’
At the moment she was so worried about what she might have to pay in taxes that she didn’t want to touch a penny. As a result the high interest savings account where she stashed the funds had grown quite large. ‘And the interest is adding up as well,’ she thought.
On one of her nights out with Janine, she brought it up.
“I went through something similar,” Janine said. “I was so worried I would get slapped with a large fine if I was a penny off. I have a good tax person though,” Janine said. “Maybe you can talk to him and get everything set up so you know what to expect when you file?”
Sophie eagerly took the number and decided to call as soon as possible. Given that it was the weekend, the earliest time ended up being during Monday’s lunch. No particularly wanting to be overheard, Sophie waited until everyone trooped out to the food trucks.
Hoping that she could leave a message or catch him before he left for his own lunch, Sophie dialed the number.
Ten til Midnight 