Time for a new post

I've been informed that I need to update my blog more often LOL! Well since I dont really have any NEW news, I'll just post something fun to read... its just a little blob I write on from time to time... never goes anywhere, but maybe someday it will turn into something... here's chapter 1..

CHAPTER ONE
Beth sat staring out the picture window at the front of the house, through the white plantation shutters her father had installed nearly 25 years before. The paint had finally begun to peel and the white had yellowed after years of enduring the afternoon sun beating down its harsh rays. The lush green of the grass just outside demonstrated proof that life continued and that vibrancy existed in the world beyond those shades and those walls. In her heart however, all Beth could remember feeling since her husband had left her so abruptly was heartache and melancholy. She found herself epitomizing the worn, aged shades, keeping out the bright rays of sunlight, rather than the growing, resplendent grass that almost seemed to mock her now.
There was no hiding the fact that she had given everything to their life together. She had given up her dreams of going to school, and becoming a writer so that she could stay home and play the part of housewife that he had always asked her to. During their marriage, she didn’t mind giving up her dreams, because she felt like she had only traded them for something different, and in itself, wonderful. Had she known that the past four years of her life would come to mean nothing to him, perhaps she would have made different choices.
The pain of remembering his infidelity was sobering. She glanced over at her bags, regretting having packed anything at all, as it would remind her of their life together. In order to find even her shampoo and night clothes she would have to touch things such as her journal and her photographs, and in some distant way, touch the day that changed her life so terribly and deeply.
Her eyes closed in prayer, as she thought aloud, “Why did he have to do this, God? We had so many dreams! Why did he choose her over me… It must have been something I did God, or else he wouldn‘t have gone looking for someone different,” She looked down at her long denim skirt, crunched and folded several times over her crossed legs, and began picking at the sunbeams that streamed in upon it. Slowly one tear, and then another plopped down on the fabric, creating little dark circles that she couldn’t erase.
“Beth - supper time!” Amy shouted from somewhere across the house. Footsteps could be heard padding down the carpeted hallway to her door. “Beth?” she asked as the door creaked open. “Mom wants to know what you want to drink with your supper.”
Beth quickly wiped the streams of salt water from her rosy cheeks and turned her attention away from her concerns for a moment. I’ll have plenty of time to think some more later, she thought. For now I suppose I’d better go be social for a while. “I’m coming Sis. Tell Mom I’ll be in to help her in just a minute. I want to freshen up first,” she said and gave a half smile. She watched as the 8 year old trotted off down the hall again, yelling the message to her mother before she was even 2 feet out of the room. Beth couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s innocence and liveliness. It stirred up feelings in herself of being a little girl again, without a care in the world. Her heart ached as she considered that Amy would grow up one day and have to face whatever lied ahead for her as she grew older. God, let Amy be spared of the heartache I’ve endured, and please help her to keep her childlike spirit always, she silently prayed.
Realizing it had been more than the minute she promised, Beth stood up, quickly ran a beautiful antiqued silver brush through her hair to calm her wavy tresses and followed her sister’s path down the hallway, trying also to follow her leading in attitude.
She stopped just inside the door of the bright, cozy kitchen and leaned to take a slow, deep breath over one of the antique cast iron pots on the stove. Her mother used the same pots her mother used, always repeating her classic catchphrase, “70 years of love went into cookin’ this meal!” Amazingly, you could almost taste the care and love with which it was prepared when you took your first bite of the succlulent food. Her mother was an amazing cook, a talent which Beth longed to ascertain.
Amazingly, she found herself feeling immediately warmer inside. She took a moment to take in the familiar sight of her dad and sister lounging on the floor of the living room, watching television and waiting for the final dinner call. Her mother stood working over a batch of biscuits on the counter, kneading the dough and pounding it flat, her worn yellow apron habitually worn around her neck and full waist. She looked so peaceful, as if she knew some secret joy that fueled her from within. The soft lines on her face crinkled when she smiled, only further showing the soft tenderness and sincerity that reflected in her sharp green eyes. Standing there cooking, she looked like an artist at work on a masterpiece, deep in concentration, and filled with passion and determination.
Beth quickly found herself surrounded by the smell of fresh vegetables, tender meat, and some unidentifiable smell that just meant she was home again. She found that her surroundings were warming her insides already, and all the luscious smells were creating a grumbly feeling deep in her stomach. Her mouth began to water at the thought of finally eating at home again. This would be a wonderful meal, for body and soul, she decided.
“Hey sleepy head! Up from your nap I see,” Kate said with a motherly smile, filled with soft warm creases and a glimmer in her eye. “You must have been extra tired after that long trip today.”
Beth smiled what she hoped looked like a sleepy smile, though she hadn‘t slept a wink. She’d been unable to sleep much at all since Troy left. “Hey Mom, what can I help you with?” she said as she embraced her mother’s plump shoulders.
Taking a moment to think, Kate looked around at all her handiwork, evaluating what was left to complete. Finally she asked, “Could you pour the drinks Hon?” Returning to her work she finished, “You know where everything is, right Sweetie?”
“Yep, sure do,” she replied, feeling even more comforted and reassured that things hadn’t changed since she had last left. At least some things never change, she thought. She grabbed four glasses and began getting ice from the freezer before she poured the famous sweet sun tea her mother always made. She remembered as a child watching as her mother would fill gallon sized mason jars with water and tea bags, and sit it out on the back porch to steep in the hot summer sun. She would lay in the grass by the hot concrete and watch as the bags of tea leaves released their tasty brew in slow, silent plumes throughout the oversized jar.
“We’ll need five glasses tonight, Hun,” Kate said, waking Beth from her daydream. “Alex is coming for dinner. He has been helping your Dad and Papa out on the farm with the horses and cattle lately, and they worked especially late today. Thought maybe a good hearty meal would keep his spirits up,” she winked, a knowing sparkle in her eye.
Beth gave her that “not again” look. “Mom, I am not ready for another man in my life right now if that’s what you’re thinking. I just need some time to think for a while,” she said somberly, looking to Kate for an answer.
“I told you Hun, it’s just a friendly dinner with your dad’s co-worker. And anyway, he’s on his way over and will be here any minute. Don’t worry your little head about it one bit. We’ll just all sit down and enjoy this juicy roast and potatoes, and that will be that,” she said with a smile.
Beth looked at her mother quizzically, and realizing that it was a losing battle, she surrendered and grabbed the fifth glass from the cupboard. “Okay Mom, but no match-making, alright?”
“You have my word,” Kate replied dramatically, raising two joined fingers in salute. “Complete with “Mom’s Honor.”
Somehow, there was a slight glimmer in her eye that told Beth that perhaps “mom’s honor” wasn’t sealed as tight as she’d once thought.