Monday, 17 March 2014

codenamewanderlust: (Default)
Reconciliation

“It was a joke, you’re supposed to laugh.”
“It wasn't funny.”
“Of course it was you just weren't listening.”
“I’m always listening.”
“Yeah. Yeah, sure you are.” He readjusts his hand on the steering wheel. “Are you going to stay upset forever then?”
 “Maybe.” She sighs and lets her head fall gently against the window of the passenger door.

They drive in silence for another few miles.

She reads the names of the overpasses. She thinks maybe she should write them down; fill an entire notebook with the names of pedestrian bridges and highway overpasses. She looks at his reflection in the window for a moment. She studies the way his brow is slightly creased. It’s not her fault his jokes aren’t funny.

He clears his throat and she quickly flicks her eyes back to the road.

“You want to stop and get ice cream?” He asks. He turns his head to her and smiles but she just shrugs, doesn’t look back.

“Whatever you want to do is fine.” She says.

It takes all of his energy not to let out an exasperated sigh. Instead he continues, “Chocolate chip mint in a wafer cone? With rainbow sprinkles? Huh? Your favorite.”

She doesn’t say anything.

He considers changing the radio station but decides not to stir the pot even more. He steals another peek at her. She’s got her right elbow up on the arm rest and is resting her head on her hand.

He puts on his turn signal to pass a slow moving station wagon and glances in the rearview mirror. He thinks about the night they met, their first kiss, their first Christmas. The antique hair comb he got her for her last birthday. He thinks about that morning and how he’d said the wrong thing and how she’d been sullen the rest of the day. He tried telling jokes to lighten the mood but she’d refused to laugh. He knew she was refusing. Part of why he loves her is because she laughs at his jokes. He decides to try again.

“So an alien walks into a bar and there’s a live band playing. During a break he goes up to the stage and says he can play any instrument.”He pauses and she can see him turn his head in her peripheral vision. She keeps her eyes firmly on the car in front of them.

“So the guys in the band say, Really? and they hand over a guitar and the alien starts playing, better than Hendrix or Page or anybody. And the guys in the band are like, whoa this dude is really good, so they lead him over to the piano and he starts playing better than Billy Joel, better than Mozart and the guys in the band are really impressed and are like, okay how about this? and hand over a set of bag pipes--- Wait. Wait, it’s an octopus not an alien. An Octupus walks into a bar and - ”

She laughs. She laughs without meaning too. A small breathless chuckle that bubbles up in her chest so unexpected that she shakes her head.  She moves her left hand to land on his thigh. She finally turns to look at him for a moment.

He looks back at her confused but slightly relieved.

“Let’s go get ice cream.” She says patting his thigh.

He lets a hand fall from the steering wheel to rest over hers and squeezes gently. “I love you.” He says.

She squeezes back. “I love you too.”

He nods. “So an octopus walks into a bar…”



_____________________
*Jayus (Indonesian): a joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh.
codenamewanderlust: (Default)
Dear Friends and Family,

As most of you know on my good days I like to think I'm a writer.

Except lately I've been having a sort of writer's block or more like writer's blah. Even though I have plenty of time and the space and a pretty perfect environment in which to write these days I couldn't bring myself to actually do it. (Binge watching episodes of That 70's Show is so much easier....)

So what have I done? Signed up to participate in a writing competition of course! I mean prompts and deadlines are the perfect cure for being unmotivated and uninspired right? Right?

Anyway, It's Season 9 of LJ Idol ([livejournal.com profile] therealljidol ) and each week the host will post a topic and each contestant will post an entry based on that topic to their journal. Then there is a vote and contestants will be eliminated until there is only one person left. (You know, like that show with the singing.)

This was Week 1 and The Topic this week was Jayus an Indonesian word meaning a joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh
Here is my entry

I wanted to encourage people to follow along and read some of the entries. Here are a few that have stuck with me so far in no particular order:

Witchwife a brilliant take on the topic

Swirlsofblue a darker interpretation but perfectly written

alephz This one is most excellent, hilarious and slightly terrifying

I'm still working my way through this week's entries.
You can click on the link below to read more and vote for the ones you like.
http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/716621.html


I have no idea what will come next or how long I will get to stay in the game but for me it's about stretching my creative muscles and stepping outside the box I've built around myself in terms of my own self expression. I look forward to taking risks and enjoying amazing new art and connecting with other artists.

-------------------------
I am cross posting this to FB for friends and family  not on LJ (read:my grandmother) but who will be excited to hear that I am up to something crazy.  (I will be posting my entries from this journal so anyone can check back here if you just want to peek at what I'm writing.)

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