“Mam, that yeller paint might be a bit bright.”
Lillian Walt rises a few inches taller within her thin
frame.” It will be fine.” She tells the painter before turning on her heels to meet the contractor in the
new home.
“Would you and your husband like a light installed on the
electric pole outside? They really don’t cost that much to
power.”
“I would love one. Except. my husband wants it nice and dark
at night. He plans to sit on the porch
and look at lightning bugs, study the stars.”
“I can see that.”
“Frankly, I can’t. Living in the city, you can see when you
wake in the middle of the night. I’m spooked
about no light.”
“You’ll be enjoying your new home soon. Are you sure about
that yellow paint?”
“I always have a yellow kitchen. . My kitchen is that same
color at home. That’s my son driving in, don’t let me keep you.”
Weeks later, the movers pull out of the driveway. Lillian
sits on the edge of a recliner.
“I need a shower, do you know which box has soap?”
Joe Walt shrugs. “That paint in the kitchen is bright.”
“I like it bright. If you remember correctly, that is the
color of the kitchen at our house.”
“Well it is the color now.” Joe walks off smiling.
“Soap, I said soap. Where’s soap?”
“It’s getting dark outside, too late to run by a store. Let’s
open boxes till we find some.”
“Viola, dishwashing liquid”
“That will do.”
After showering, Lillian made the bed and lay down. Pookie
hops on the bed and does his little night night growl.
Joe is walking through the house turning off lights. It gets
darker and darker. A bright glow comes through the bedroom window.
Somebody’s out there Joe.
Joe lies next to her. “Pookies not barking. Moon light is bright."
country vs city.
ReplyDelete"moon light is bright"
so lovely.
ive lived both...but my soul likes the stars..sans light pollution..
luckily i live near the observatory.
awe you made me nostalgic.
thank you :)
I love this one Anne! Your dialog is perfect! And it reminds me of my inlaws who just bought a house on the coast, craving the serenity of the sea-and now it's like gee, the ocean sure is loud!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
I grew up in the country. There is no dark quite like it, where the only light really is just the moon. Thanks for that memory.
ReplyDeleteGreat dialogue - such easy conversation about nothing much - just the way it often is. I wonder if this line should be the present tense, since the rest of it is? 'Lillian made the bed and lay down'
ReplyDeleteWord suggested I change the tense. I didn't like it. Being the country bumpkin I am, I assumed word was correct. Thanks.
DeleteI'm telling you. Full moon nights make my bedroom so bright. I need some of those darkening shades.
ReplyDeleteNice, Ann.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved from Brooklyn to Idaho the darkness and the quiet were absolutely overwhelming. This brought back all those memories.
ReplyDeleteI saw another type of darkness last December when i went to Belize on a mission trip. I saw so many more stars than I ever could here.
ReplyDeleteI love moonlight. It's so cool. Great piece!
ReplyDeleteAlong with the physical, you've captured the tension of change, moving, the ying and yang of relationships. Nice!
ReplyDeleteGreat writing Ann. Loved it :)
ReplyDeleteAh moonlight.. don't see that much now.... too much daylight
ReplyDeleteOwning a home. My second biggest dream!
ReplyDeleteI adore this. I live in a small town, population maybe 400, in the Blue Ridge Mts. My grandparents raised me here, grew up, stayed here and raising my daughters here. There is something about the country air and the moonlight that is beautiful. I have been to a lot of cities to visit. Still, this is home. It is perfect that she has the kitchen yellow, though the painters even was asking are you sure. Great writing and dialogue. You have my vote!!
ReplyDeleteShe has her yellow paint and he has his moon. They both got their light. Nice job.
ReplyDelete