Chatterbox: Come Sit With Me, Darlin'

Here's another snippet of prose, again written in response to The Inkpen Authoress' Chatterbox event. The theme for this month is
Obviously, such a topic could get rather weird and decidedly creepy. I decided to take a more...gentle and homespun route, which seems to have sprouted effortlessly from the place where I grew up. This is a conglomerate of family story, personal memories, and imagination (of course). Maybe I'm just a tad homesick? Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

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Come Sit 
With Me,
Darlin' 






   "The moonlight's like silver on the gravestones."
   "Pretty, isn't it? Like bein' in a whole different sorta world."
   "And so warm...spring's got here at last."
   "Here, come sit with me, darlin', and tell me how you've been."
   "Well, Jim brought the wife and kids over this afternoon. It was a real nice visit. I knew they were comin' this morning, so I baked up some of those molasses cookies that you always like so much."
   "Finally decided to re-connect the phone?"
   "Why'd I want to do a thing like that? It's only salesmen who call, anyway."
   "So...your old silverware trick, huh?"
   "I dropped a spoon, knife and fork, so I knew it'd be a family comin'."
   "You and your superstitions..."
   "Oh, now, I know you like to tease me. But it's always accurate."
   "Folks just remember the times when the signs come true instead o' the times when they don't. How many times've you dropped the silverware without anyone showin' up at the door?"
   "How many years we been arguin' this?"
   "Seventy, I guess."
   "Doesn't seem so long. Remember that first night we came out here?"
   "Sure I do. I figured you'd be scared, but you came with me. That's when I knew you were the right girl."
   "Well, I wasn't going to let a fine, handsome feller like you get away because o' a coupla gravestones."
   "I always thought there was something kinda special about this old place."
   "It's our place now, isn't it?"
   "Guess so. No-one else comes out here much any more. Sad. There's somethin' so peaceful about the grass and the stones."
   "Sorta like being in church. Though maybe it's sacrilegious to say that."
   "God's here as much as He's anywhere else. I guess He doesn't mind."
   "Oh, Bob! Listen to you!"
   "That's why you married me, isn't it?"
   "Maybe so..."
   "Hey, did the kids eat all those cookies?"
   "Every one. But I can make some more."
   "You're a good wife, you know that?"
   "You've told me so about a million times."
   "Doesn't hurt to tell you again. But you'd better go inside now. Dew's fallin' and you'll get your shoes all wet."
   "I'll make those cookies tomorrow."
   "Don't drop any more silverware. I want some this time."
   "I'll try not to."
   "I miss you."
   "I miss you, too. These evenin's aren't the same without you. O' course, I know all the things you'd say, but I miss you sayin' them."
   "Goodnight, love."
   "Sleep well."

Comments

  1. Wow, this was pretty special. I cozied up with it right away. The ending surprised me...i didn't see that coming...but it was sweet. Thanks for writing!
    Commandedwriter.blogspot.com

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  2. This was hauntingly beautiful! The dialogue between the two was just like an old married couple -- still arguing and finishing each other's sentences, even beyond the grave. Really, I found the writing taking me in, bringing me right into the story, as if I was a ghost lingering nearby in the same graveyard. Again, this was truly hauntingly beautiful! The characters are so endearing, you could make this a part of a bigger piece!

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad that you enjoyed the dialogue...maybe my years spent cleaning houses for elderly people and listening to their stories payed off in more ways than the moment's enjoyment.

      I think I have mentioned elsewhere that my characters have a propensity to outgrow their short stories and demand longer pieces of their own.

      Who knows? It could happen with these two, also!

      Delete

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