Ashes & Alms

Happy Saturday! I’m currently sitting in Tim Hortons while I wait for my older kid at yet another rehearsal. This time, he’s in the opening number (Hamilton theme!) for the local high school version of the Tony Awards, along with 5 of his cast mates.

Here’s another snippet from Ashes & Alms. Jo’s gone to see her elderly mother to talk about something regarding Jo’s adult daughter, Cindy.

Sliding into a seat across from Jo, Mom said, “What did you want to talk to me about?” She reached for the milk.

To give herself something to do, Jo stirred her coffee even though she hadn’t put anything in it. Eventually she looked up at her mother and said, “Cindy.”

Mom’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, really. What’s she done this time?”

Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!

Happy Saturday! Last weekend’s concert was amazing. Shockingly, we have this weekend free. I don’t think that happens again until May.

Lots of weird stuff happening this week. Most significantly, a bunch of us emailed Pixabay because pictures of cigarettes were showing up in searches for “gay.” Their first reaction was to shame and scold people who messaged, but ultimately, they removed the tags that allowed this to happen. I’m torn on whether to use the site. They fixed the issue, but not until after harassing people over it.

Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get me your submissions for the upcoming Supposed Crimes anthology, Upstaged! This is all about women who love women in performing arts, and I’d love to see what you all could do with this.

Anyway, on to the snippet. I’m sharing again from “Ashes & Alms,” my short story in the Never Too Late anthology from Beaten Track. Last week, Annie asked Jo if she was coming to the reunion of their missionary team. This week, Jo’s answer.

“Well, that’s what I’m not sure about.” Jo’s mind whirled as she tried to come up with an excuse not to go. “I haven’t been to any of the others—”

Annie scoffed. “That’s because there weren’t any. No one organized them. But it’s been forty years, and…well, I wanted to have a go.” Annie was quiet on the other end. “I really think you should come.”

“I don’t know…” Jo didn’t add that she thought the others might not even want to see her.

“That’s it, you’re coming.” The bounce was back. “Everyone will be so excited when I tell them. Trust me, you’ll have a great time catching up with them. Oh, I can’t wait!”

Jo sighed. “All right. I’ll be there.”

Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!

Happy (and thank God it’s) Saturday! It’s been a week, and I’m sure lots of us are feeling the strain. But I’m going to focus right now on a happy thing, which is that my older kid is performing in a county-wide chorus later today. He sings Tenor 2. Apparently, he made a new friend yesterday, which isn’t surprising. It’s not an exaggeration to say my son is the happiest person I’ve ever met, and people are drawn to his sunny nature.

I’m working away on multiple projects, but I feel a bit like writing has stalled out again. It’s feeling directionless to me, and I’m not sure what I want out of my writing life. I need a change, but I’m not sure what that looks like.

Anyway, I’m still snipping from “Ashes & Alms.” It’s a second-chances story about a woman seeing her first love after 40 years apart. Last week, she picked up the phone and made the call.

“Jo!” Annie’s mellow tones were replaced with the bright enthusiasm Jo remembered, and it made her smile in spite of the situation. “How are you these days?”

“I’m doing all right. Yourself?” She felt oddly formal.

“Fine, fine. You’re calling about the reunion, right?”

“I am. I’m not sure—”

“So you’re coming?” Annie sounded so excited that Jo pictured her bouncing on her toes.

Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!

Happy Saturday! It’s my first weekend off in what feels like forever. No more early mornings, rushing to get the kids to rehearsals. At least, not for the next 6 months or so. The show went well, though, so all those Saturdays we gave up paid off.

I’m still snipping from “Ashes & Alms,” my short story featuring characters over 50. Last week, Jo was about to call Annie. Here, she’s finally making the call.

After several minutes of indecision, Jo dialed the number on the post card. She bounced her knee while she listened to it ring.

“Hello?” Annie’s voice was warmer than Jo remembered.

“Is this Annie Tomassino?”

“Yes, it is. May I ask who’s calling?”

Jo swallowed before answering, trying to settle her nerves. “It’s Jo Brighton, formerly Hodges.”

Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!