Sunday August 14th, 2016

The exercise:

Write about: travel plans.

All right, time to lay out the next week for me.

Mine:

With me not getting the job at town hall, time has opened up to allow for a trip back home. My twenty year high school reunion is this coming Saturday so I'm using it as an excuse to visit old friends who will be in town and to bring Max and Miles to see my parents.

We'll be heading out Tuesday morning for Vancouver, where we'll be spending two nights with Kat's aunt. The hope is to take the boys to the Vancouver Aquarium Wednesday morning before we catch the ferry on Thursday to Vancouver Island.

Still making plans, but I'm sure there will end up being lots of get togethers with friends over the weekend, along with official high school reunion stuff. We'll leave Comox on Monday, spend the night in Vancouver, and then be back in Osoyoos on Tuesday.

I'm going to try to schedule a couple posts to get us through to Thursday, but if things go quiet for a couple days just know that things will be all caught up again by Thursday night.

Going to spend Monday packing and getting ready, so one more post tomorrow night before (hopefully) the scheduled posts start.

Looking forward to getting away for a week.

2 comments:

Greg said...

I'm a bit too late to say I hope the week goes well since I know it already did, but I do appreciate the chance to hear about your plans and then see them all play out. It's almost like you're a character in your own story!

Travel plans
The door opened despite my knowing it was locked. The key was in my pocket, I was sure of that. I turned, caught between fear and puzzlement, and as I recognised the uniform of the Unified Authority it crystallized into fear.
"Your travel plans were not approved."
I gestured, and the orphans hurried themselves through the kitchen door into the living room and then presumably out of the farmhouse altogether. I wanted to move the bottles of phlogistonic wine from the table but there were eight of them and I couldn't do it surreptitiously. Instead I sat down.
"I wasn't aware-" I started, and then a familiar face appeared behind the soldiers. "Ah." It was a lame way to finish, but I couldn't have said anything else at that point.
"Georges," said Eloise. Her face was so familiar that I wanted to cry. "Where is my sister?"
Cecilie, poor dead Cecilie who'd overdosed on phlogistonic wine, who'd brought us here in the first place. Cecilie who I blamed for the staining of my arms and the dreams that were becoming nightmares. Cecilie -- the good one of the pair.
"She left me," I said. I wasn't lying, but the omission of the truth hurt me in a way I thought I'd left behind. "She's not here." Still true, still a lie at the same time.
Eloise looked around and her lip curled in a sneer that made me want to punch her. "You thought this would be a suitable place to live? You're even more vile than I thought possible. Cecilie must surely have left you when she realised what vermin you are."
Even the soldiers couldn't hide the surprise on their faces from the hatred in her voice.
"Your travel plans were not approved. While I think you should certainly remain in this filthy hovel you must still understand that government in there to serve the people. When you ignore it and act for yourself you act against the better interests of everybody. This is selfish and unacceptable."
"Would you like a drink?" I gestured to the wine bottles.
"I -- " she paused. Like Cecilie she had a weakness. "I shall drink your wine while you are reprimanded. Understand that I take no pleasure in this, but by treating all infractions equally it is clear where Authority is and that no-one is exempt."
I might have believed someone else, but not Eloise. She intended to enjoy this. As the guards tied my hands behind me and my ankles to the legs of my chair she opened the first bottle and poured herself a glass of wine, and I wondered what she'd make of finally tasting the good stuff.

Marc said...

Greg - hah, yes, almost. If only I could author all the parts...

Quite pleased to see you return to this setting. And the introduction of Cecilie was expertly done and definitely makes for an intriguing addition to this tale.

Keep 'em coming!

Please? :)