Friday August 27th, 2010

The exercise:

Four lines of prose about: partners.

We picked a ridiculous amount of tomatoes (cherry, roma, and beefsteak) this morning. Hopefully it all sells at the market tomorrow morning!

It should be a fairly busy one, as the Ironman competition is this Sunday and it starts in Penticton. I hope those crazy people and their friends/family/fans are hungry.

Mine:

I keep my gun leveled at the teller's head as he stuffs my bag full of cash and glance over at my partner. She's standing by the door, holding her gun loosely at her side, keeping an eye out for the cops outside and any potential trouble makers inside.

In her tight black dress and three inch heels she looks even more stunning than she did the day we first met, five long years ago.

It's almost enough to make me feel guilty about the double cross I'm about to pull... almost, but not quite.

5 comments:

Greg said...

Tomato plants always overproduce -- have you considered making and bottling your own tomato ketchup or chutney (depending what other vegetables you have) and selling that alongside the raw tomatoes? Preserving fruit is quite easy and quite relaxing :)

Oh, are you entering the Ironman then? (whistles innocently, staring at the sky).

Heh, yours sounds like a beautiful partnership about to come apart at the seams. Which reminds me, I shall find some time for How the Best was Won this weekend.

Partners

Rose has been my bridge partner for the last thirty years; North to my South, East to my West, and we've always played the Blue Club. But even now, standing over her twisted body at the bottom of the stairs, listening to the blare of the approaching sirens I can't bring myself to feel ashamed. Yes, I pushed her. But she bid six spades, vulnerable, knowing that we only had one ace between us.

Marc said...

We'll be saving most of them for ourselves - whole now, dried and in salsas in the coming weeks.

We'd love to sell that sort of thing at the market but once you start processing food there are all sorts of rules and regulations you need to follow. Perhaps we'll be up to the task one day.

I shall ignore your Ironman comment and simply say I look forward to reading your western chapter ;)

And I always had a sneaking suspicion that bridge was a dangerous game!

Heather said...

Marc- Fantastic! Seems to be a thing with betrayal in your stories as of late. Marriage not adding up to what you thought it would be?

From me, something less dark than the two of you. Sorry its late. Back to watching Shakespeare under the stars. If you ever make it this way, you must go!
------
"We'll win, ya know; we always win when we sit in line with the bathtub." I hated how he always presumed he was the best based on something ludicrous like a bathtub or the kitchen sink. Quickly he dealt the cards and I picked up my hand. Yep, I thought, he is presumptuous, but right again.

Zhongming said...

Marc - That is great! Your last line is particularly evocative!

Greg - That sounds like a great partner :)

Heather - That is really cool and quite a nice way to get going!

***

Mine:

Hey Jack, left side is all yours, remember to stay low and quiet and do not let the enemy spot your location! He kept it down with his face heavily camouflage and the rifle sit tightly on his right shoulder, index finger right inside ready to pull the trigger anytime. His commander out on the far right gave out a signal to fire. Boom, backfired, Jack assaulted from behind and is yelling painfully for help... help… help…

Marc said...

Heater - I assure you, married life is just as excellent as fianceed life :)

Some people say 'write what you know' - I say that's boring and insist on learning and writing what I don't, more often than not.

And that sounds like an oddly excellent partner to play cards with :)

Zhongming - thanks, and that is a great final line. Nicely done!