Tuesday Tales 2021-7-27 Board

This has been a devil of a week with a dire need for a new roof and dealing with a slooooow insurance company since March. The roofer guy was great though. Finally, a start date was set but then postponed (again) due to rain. I was excited on Wednesday when the roofers delivered boxes of shingles and placed them atop the house. Since the workers needed the driveway, I removed my car from the garage and parked it out on the lawn in case I needed to get out for some reason. At the end of the week, work commenced—what a banging racket! I swear some of the hammering was rat-a-tat-tat and quite rhythmic, like Paul Revere in the old days playing drums. If only Mark Lindsay had been here to sing Good Times. Quite a few puzzled looks came my way from Marigold. She didn’t appreciate the patio nearly as much during the drumming sessions. End result—the roof looks good in its new Thunderstorm Grey zoot suit. I got flak from the fam because I wanted to retain what they called “old-fashioned” air vents. I like vintage! Roofer guy listened and heeded my wishes well, installing new snazzy onyx colored ones of the same vintage variety.

Now it’s time for Tuesday Tales, with excerpts from authors writing a passage based on word or picture prompts. This week’s word prompt is board. The excerpt is from a cozy mystery. Visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.

After the fleeting, unsettling  moment when he told me he had dated Kitty a few times, he seemed the same Gage again. Friendly, magnetic, a little edgy. I leaned forward to set down my mug. The air had chilled my coffee a little too much, and it was now or never. “You know, speaking of Roy, he holds nothing against you. Nothing at all.”

He stood up, his chair squeaking against the cedar boards. With his back to me, he studied the wide expanse of green and blue splendor, finally muttering, “How do you know?”

“He told me—before, and then again the other day. It’s not something he would lie about.”

“What made me a topic of conversation?”

“It’s only natural. We were talking about the old days, how the three of you used to practically own the town, Johnny, and you and Roy, get into trouble, do everything together. He misses that. He talked about me always after trailing after you guys. I suppose I did.”

He turned toward me, his eyes haunted. “Yes, the three of us, with you trailing after.”

I let out a breath. “Little sister, you know, wanting to keep up.”

“I haven’t seen much of Roy since I’ve been back in town. Maybe he doesn’t blame me for coming home when Johnny didn’t. I don’t know. But you do, don’t you, Peri, blame me?” His eyes glittered.

Here it was, the moment I had been invoking and dreading. I swallowed, steeling myself to hold his gaze. “Only at first. It—it was hard for me. I was out of my mind. You know I was. But now, no.” My voice sounded dry and raspy. I shook my head vehemently and stood up, my injured leg buckling.

He caught me, clenching my arms, and eased me back into the chair.

I persisted. “You are not to blame for what happened.”

Some of the tension drained away, and a different look settled over his features. I wasn’t sure if it was relief or some degree of understanding. I didn’t think we were done, but he picked up the mugs. “I’ll refill the coffee. Then you can relax and enjoy the scenery while I see about breakfast. You’ve barely eaten a bite since the accident. Cinnamon scones still your favorite?”

I nodded, trying to smile. “Yes, with butter please.”

“Dripping with,” he assured me, heading inside.

I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the word prompt board. Thanks for stopping by. Check out the other authors at Tuesday Tales.

Happy Reading!

Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories

All rights reserved, copyright @ 2021 Flossie Benton Rogers