Friday Writing Response for June 5, 2009

So. That Colors prompt? I followed it loosely - too loosely. While this short piece does focus on descriptions, I found it much, much harder to focus on a color than I previously thought. Instead I focused on an aspect of a color and writing a little scene around that, using a character I've been playing around with for a while now. It's still practice, so the effort wasn't lost even if it wasn't as successful as I had hoped.

The color I chose was green, focusing on it being a sign of life and rebirth. I blame it on the weather being so nice up here for a change. Comments always appreciated.


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Adrie always noticed the same thing when she first stepped out her front door: the sunlight. It filtered through the trees, thick with late summer leaves; it spotted the roads, warming her feet as she walked through the patches. Everything always seemed so bright in Southampton, compared to the dark, claustrophobic halls of the manor where she grew up. She loved the openness of the town, the closeness of the water, the wonder of small town life.


People smiled here as she walked past them, out checking the mail or watering their gardens. Some stopped to ask her how things were going, how her husband was, what was new. Adrie had grown so accustomed to the jealousy, the fear, she'd seen in the eyes of her parents' friends. The difference was astounding, the freedom she could feel.

It was something she'd never realized, when she and her husband first came to Southampton. Josiah grew up here; his parents lived two streets away, and they'd welcomed her with open arms, like she was their daughter already. Southampton was a place to raise a family.

She laid a hand on the tiny bump of her stomach as she walked. Josiah had been beyond thrilled to learn he was going to be a father, and Adrie was even more pleased that she was starting to show. She couldn't wait to feel the baby move within her, to take on a life of his or her own, to know the baby was half her, half Josiah. Though she'd never been the kind of girl to have her children's names picked out or nurseries planned, she knew when the moment was right.

They'd have the baby in spring, just when the leaves returned to all the trees after winter's long stay. A new life as nature returned to life - Adrie thought it was fitting. She'd be able to show the little one the sun and the sky and the sea and all the things she loved about their port town.

A slow smile spread across Adrie's face as she reached the bottom of the hill, downtown Southampton spread out before her. The Owl's Nest Restaurant, the business her in-laws owned and where her husband was a chef, was at the end of the street. Josiah always seemed so surprised whenever Adrie visited him at work; he should be getting out soon, and they could walk together back to their new house. Their life was built on these quiet moments, and Adrie wouldn't have it any other way.

The hostess ushered her into the kitchen, and Adrie stood to the side, hand on her stomach, waiting. Her father-in-law caught her eye and smiled, knowing who she was here to see. Reaching over, he nudged his son's shoulder, where Josiah was flipping steaks over on the grill.

Josiah's eyes grew wide as he saw her standing there, the deepest shade of blue she'd ever seen; she hoped their child would have those eyes. "Adrie? What are you doing down here?"

Her smile matched his: mischievous, loving, promising. "Waiting for you, what else would I be doing?"