The exercise:
Write about something that is: close to home.
While Max was at daycare today Kat and I took a trip up to Penticton for a couple (doula and midwife) appointments. Our doula, who we also had for Max's birth, has recently renovated a suite in the downstairs of her house to be used for home births and we wanted to check it out before fully committing to using it for this birth (since we can't do it in our own home, as we're too far away from both the midwives and the nearest hospital).
Yeah, we're fully on board now.
It's a beautiful space, with everything we could need. We'd already heard rave reviews from one of our midwives who had done a birth there but it was good to see it for ourselves. And, should something go awry, it's about a two minute drive from the hospital.
Though hopefully this time around a visit to the hospital won't be required.
Mine:
"Hey! You watch your mouth, kid."
"What? What did I say?"
"Don't play stupid with me, all right? We both know what you were just talking about."
"Well, yeah. I just don't see what your problem is with-"
"It hits a little too close to home, that's all."
"... what? Seriously?"
"I already told you to watch your mouth. Don't make me knock some teeth out of it too."
"Okay, okay! Relax. I wouldn't... it's just that... I mean, a bearded lady? Really?"
2 comments:
That sounds like a productive day! And I can imagine that having seen the spawning pond (or whatever the home birth suite is called) you're much more comfortable with the procedure that's going to be happening. I'm also pretty certain that it being the second time you've done this will help a lot as well since you'll know what to expect.
I'm not entirely sure I understand your piece today because I can't quite work out why the first speaker is upset about the second talking about a bearded lady... maybe I just see more bearded ladies around the place? :) Still, you convey the emotion very well and it made me laugh!
Close to home
"Close to home, start again; it's the origin of time,
Twice repeated in memory, it's the way to end this rhyme."
Marvin stared at the crossword, his eyes blurring as he forgot to blink. The setter was an long-standing enemy of his – even at school they'd fought tooth and nail to be top of the class, and he was sure that this clue was a dig at him. But the meaning was eluding him at the moment, and he could feel frustration building.
He sipped his coffee and noted that it had gone cold. He let his gaze wander and read an advert of the other page of the newspaper for beekeeping gear, and then returned to the clue. Somehow the pause had helped.
"Close to home – the letter 'E'," he muttered. "Start again – that's an 'A'. The origin of time must be 'T'. Then twice repeated in memory – only the letter 'M' appears twice... EAT ME."
He put the crossword in the bin and poured his cold coffee over it.
Greg - hah, spawning pond. Funny man.
I was thinking the offended speaker either had a bearded lady for a mother or an ex-wife. Maybe a daughter? I don't know, someone close to him in some fashion or another.
I quite like the idea of a feud between crossword setters, played out in their individual (public) crosswords. War being acted out in plain sight, with only the rare few being able to see it.
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