I’ve joined the Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook. From their description: “Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).” Pretty cool, eh? Don’t forget to “Like” my Facebook page and/or my Facebook profile while you’re over there checking out this fantastic group!
Lately I’ve been sharing from my WIP, To Love and To Cherish. Today I’m giving a snippet from my other WIP, titled From This Day Forward, which is a short story and direct sequel to ’Til Death Do Us Part (now available at JMS Books). I’m planning to submit it for JMS’s Summer Lovin’ submissions call.
A little background leading into this week’s snippet:
Henry and Buddy–who has decided he wants to go by his real name (Aiden) after all–were very recently rescued from an island where they spent years, marooned, after surviving an airplane crash. They are with Sam (Henry’s husband, whom Aiden refers to as “Dad”) at a “welcome home” picnic being held by Henry and Sam’s department chairman. Randall is a colleague who made a brief/minor appearance in ’Til Death. The rest I think can be figured out from context.
Sorry, I pretty much said “fuck it” to the 6-sentence guideline this week. I hope you’ll think it was worth it. This is told from Henry’s 1st-person POV:
Aiden tore across the lawn toward us and ran up to Sam, panting. “Dad, what’s a ‘doofus’?”
Sam winced and replied, “I’m afraid it’s an insult. Don’t worry about it. You’re not one.”
Damn it. I knew kids would be kids, and I knew Aiden was bound to be a target since he was completely unaware of the typical dynamic of children interacting with one another. I hated to see it, but on the overall scale of insults, at least ‘doofus’ didn’t rate particularly high.
Randall squinted and asked, “It wasn’t Zachary who called you that, was it?”
Aiden shook his head. “That’s the kid with orange hair like yours, right?”
“Uh, yeah.” Randall grimaced a bit, probably at having his auburn hair described as “orange.” I stifled a snicker, apparently not particularly well, since Randall directed a mild side-eye smirk at me.
“No, nobody called me a doofus. Some girl called Zachary a doofus. He told me she was a doody-head, but he didn’t call her one, he just told me it.” Aiden turned back to Sam. “Also, what’s a ‘doody-head’?”
#RainbowSnippets
You need a spew alert for that last line! I’m glad I wasn’t drinking anything!
🙂
LOL – that’s just what kids are like! 😀
They’re an interesting mix of innocence and curiosity and precocious, eh?
yes, spew alert needed or spew added 🙂
Whew! That was the goal… glad it worked. 🙂
Bahahaha! Great exchange here. Gotta say…I laughed, but then I remembered that their insults get more, uh, graphic as they get older. I wasn’t thrilled at having to explain some of the things my son heard on the bus last year. :/
Oh, dear. I’ll bet that was an interesting conversation!
It certainly was!
Oh, brilliant! I love how enduring years of hardship on the desert island has done very little to prepare Henry for the trials of parenthood back in civilisation! 😀
Indeed. It’s a completely different set of challenges. 🙂
This is very cute. Doody head indeed
Thanks! Not sure how I’d answer that question, myself. 🙂
LOL! Yet adorable at the same time! 🙂
Thank you!
“snorting” at the orange hair comment, lol 🙂
😀
Hahaha! I bet this would be a highly entertaining read. 😀
That’s the goal, anyway! 😉
Cute and doofus isn’t too bad. Orange hair rocks.
Yes it does! 🙂
Intriguing blurb and set up. Love the interactions…
Thank you! 🙂
XD Love the humour here and the overall sense of warmth and friendship in the scene.
Thanks! 🙂