The exercise:
The end of our last weekend in Osoyoos. The end of the first month of the year. Tomorrow Kat will bring the boys to get the keys and move a van-ful of stuff into our new home - mostly kitchen boxes we pulled out of storage yesterday.
A day that seemed so far away in mid-November is now fast approaching.
Write about: don't blink or you'll miss it.
2 comments:
You have a nice coincidence of endings here! I hope that first trip with stuff to the new house is as magical as you're making it sound, and that there's at least a chance of a cup of coffee when you arrive back from work and step into your new home :)
Don't blink or you'll miss it
Berthil turned to face his client; a ferret-faced man with a sparse moustache along his upper lip that looked like it had been coaxed reluctantly into being there, a pointy nose that glistened, ready to drip, and bright eyes that looked feverish. They were red-rimmed as well, as though the man had not slept well last night -- or even for several nights previous. He was wearing a large overcoat, navy blue and heavy wool, something that sailors wore on cold nights when standing watch of the decks of ships, and there was a faint smell of woodsmoke and fish markets drifting around him.
"Do you have eyes in the back of your head?" The man sounded waspish, not angry exactly but still annoyed that he'd tried to catch the Notary out and been caught out instead.
"I pay attention," said Berthil, and that was all he had to say on the matter. "How are you, Joaquin? I think I have told you already that my services are not what you require, and are also out of reach of your insalubrious pockets. Yet here you are again, sitting across my desk and glaring at me as though I am a bone out of reach and you are a hungry mutt."
"You're a notary," said Joaquin. He clenched as he spoke, holding himself stiffly upright and little red dots of anger appeared in his taut cheeks.
"I'm a Notary," said Berthil, adding stress where Joaquin had omitted it. "That's different. I am tasked with slightly different things, mostly for the Thrones. Sometimes for the Seers and the Sages, but they have been quiet of late. Ever since the fogs drifted up the river there has been much rumour but little of substance. And little for me to do for them."
"This is significant too," said Joaquin. He tried to sit up a little straighter but was already so tense that he ended up lifting himself slightly from the chair so that his bent knees were now supporting all his weight. "There's be a Seer there, and she'll See what's happening. You have to come and Notarise what she Sees."
Berthil tapped a long, fleshy finger on the leather pad that covered much of his desk. It made writing easier. "Which Seer?" he said after a pause.
"Madame Sosotris," said Joaquin quickly. He sounded stressed, and a bead of sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Ah." Berthil's finger was joined by another and then another, and he drummed a little paradiddle. "Well. Her."
"She's a Seer!"
"True. Although sometimes of the 'don't blink or you'll miss it' kind."
"So you have to come!" More drops of sweat broke out on Joaquin's face.
"I shall have to think about it." Berthil noticed his fingers and drew his hand back, resting it in his lap. His face was impassive, but his eyes were darting here and there as he thought about what Joaquin had said. Events Seen by Madame Sosotris might go by like a flash of lightning, but they tended to have long-lasting repercussions.
Joaquin's legs gave way and he sank back down onto the seat. "That's it?" he said, not trying to keep bitterness out of his voice. "You'll think about it?"
"You're holding up my next client," said Berthil. "He's a powerful man, he might not like that."
Greg - I'm taking Friday off work to help with the move. And the following Monday, just to get settled in. So a week today I'll be coming home from work to the new home for the first time. Looking forward to it!
Okay,now I definitely like Bert. I can call him Bert, right? Yeah, maybe don't check with him on that...
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