Fiction

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is doing well. I just finished playing a fantastic concert. We performed Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony, which was a lot of fun. If you don’t know what the “surprise” is, you should find it on YouTube. Last week, we played it for several hundred third graders, and they all giggled when we got to it. As much as I love it, my favorite piece on the program was Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis:

 

On to the WIPpet. It’s bittersweet today because by the next time I post, it will no longer be a WIP. So this is my last Wednesday snippet of Keeping the Faith. I’ll have one last bit on Saturday, and then I’m on to the next thing. Funnily enough, that probably does involve more of Cat—I’m working on some short stories about their group of friends, and those are the only ones with enough to snippet from at the moment.

I thought I’d give you all this one, since at least one person asked what Cat would wear if he and Micah got married.

WIPmath: 2/15 = 1 + 5 = 6 paragraphs

They were married in May. The weather cooperated, dawning sunny and mild as the season shifted away from the cold of winter. The air was thick with the blossoms of spring trees floating away on the breeze, and everything smelled warm and green.

Cat had wanted something halfway between traditional and contemporary, so everything had an ethereal fairy tale quality to it. From the flowers to the elegant decorations to the soft beauty of the women’s dresses, it was all floating and dream-like. Even the music they’d chosen reflected the quiet holiness of the moment.

Micah half expected Cat to wear a dress—perhaps something lacy and delicate. Cat had refused to give him any clue, saying it was bad luck for them to know what the other was going to wear. He wouldn’t allow Micah to talk about what he’d chosen either, though Micah was sure he knew. Micah had picked out a soft, white linen suit with a jade green vest to match the greenery of their theme, and he couldn’t wait for Cat to see the tie he’d selected, knowing it would bring his eyes to life.

Right after they’d gotten engaged, Micah had finally gone out and had his ears pierced. For their wedding, he’d chosen jade earrings and bought two pairs, and they both planned to wear them at the wedding. For his part, Cat had chosen the dresses for the women—pale green, calf-length with an empire waist. The skirts and sleeves were some kind of gauzy, soft material. The men—and Pam—had on white shirts and green ties that matched Micah’s. Pam had a tan skirt, and the men had tan trousers.

Micah met Cat to walk down the aisle together. To his surprise, Cat hadn’t worn a dress. Instead, he had a pair of white pants and a silk blouse, both billowy and flowing. The green of his sash matched their colors, and, to Micah’s great delight, so did Cat’s brand-new Converse. Only he would wear them with such a gorgeous outfit.

Just before they proceeded, Cat leaned in and murmured, “There’s one more surprise waiting for you.” The scent of his peppermint lip gloss wafted to Micah’s nostrils.

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

I usually try to keep the tone of my WIPpet posts light, but I’m just not feeling it today. It’s one of those days when I’m not sure I want to finish editing this project or start anything new. I wrote a blog post on Monday, in hopes of having an actual conversation about it. It turns out most people are probably looking for validation rather than action, and true to form, I’m sure I misread that. I’ve never been great with that kind of social cue. Some of the things that have been said to me since have left me feeling…well, not much like writing, anyway. I’m pretty sure that taking my thoughts public effectively destroyed any hope I have as an author, which makes it all feel pointless. (If you’re curious, you can read that post here.)

Anyway, whether it’s pointless or not, I’m still going to share a bit of my WIP because this is one place I do feel like I belong. So I’m sharing from my almost-complete work-in-edits, Keeping the Faith. When we last saw Micah, he was meeting a new coworker. Here’s a bit more.

WIPmath: 2/8/17 = 2 + 8 + 7 = 17 sentences.

“You’ll love it here,” Micah told her. “I’ve lived in town for nearly twelve years, and we’re our own little rainbow paradise on the lake. Probably a bit more small-town sheltered than most queer-friendly places, but it works for us. Pretty touristy in the summer, if you can handle that sort of thing.”

“Wow,” Jude said. Her expression was touched with a bit of sadness for a moment before her cheerful demeanor returned. “Well, I can’t wait to learn more. I don’t know anyone here yet—I meant it when I said I just moved, and not only to my classroom.”

“I should introduce you to a few people,” Micah said without thinking. He could have kicked himself. Surely someone as young and vivacious as Jude didn’t want to hang around with people twice her age.

Jude didn’t seem to be bothered. “Sure, that would be great.” She grinned. “Just so you know, though, I don’t date men or coworkers.”

Taken aback, Micah snorted a laugh. “Well, you’re in luck, because while I do date men—mostly—I’m in complete agreement about coworkers.”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

Happy Wednesday! I took a sick day yesterday due to the annoying cold my kids helpfully shared with me. The problem with a day “off” was that it left me more time to read the news. I’m trying to keep a balance of enough to stay informed but not enough to end up miserable and anxious. I mostly succeeded.

I seem to be better today, so I’m back to editing. If I can get two more chapters done by the end of the week, I can put the first part into my beta readers’ hands as soon as they’re ready. That will leave me with just a few chapters at the end to tidy up, and those are mostly done because I wrote this almost backwards.

Today’s snippet comes from back in the first chapter of Keeping the Faith. Micah is getting his classroom ready for the school year to start, and he meets one of his new coworkers. (Note: Micah uses gender-neutral pronouns here because he doesn’t know her, but she’s definitely a woman. There’s a reason why I chose to write her this way, which is complicated and would take a while to explain.)

WIPmath: First day of February, something from the first chapter.

The light, cheerful taps on his door startled him, and he looked down from the chair he was standing on. A young person stood in his doorway. They were dressed in neatly pressed trousers and a collared shirt with the top three buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. They had very short hair gelled into spikes, wire-framed glasses, and shoes with a bit of extra shine. The person was slim but curvy in the hips and chest. They were smiling but seemed a little nervous.

Micah hopped down from the chair and turned off the music. “Hey there,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

They stuck out a hand. “I’m Jude Lily. I just moved in.” They laughed, their voice a warm alto. “In many ways. I’m the new general music teacher.”

“Micah Forbes. Sixth grade language arts.” He took their hand and noticed the slight hesitation and the smallest slip of the smile.

Recovering, Jude accepted the handshake. “I saw your light on, so I figured I’d see who at least one of my neighbors will be.”

“I knew they’d hired someone, but I wasn’t on the committee. I think I remember seeing your name on the staff list, though. This your first job?”

Jude nodded. “How’d you guess?”

“You’re overdressed to get your classroom in order, for one thing.”

Cringing, Jude replied. “This is how I always dress.”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!