Six Sentence Sunday: Mothballs and Bourbon

Hello everyone! 

Thank you for stopping by this week. I've been on hiatus for a while. Lots of overtime hours at the “paying” job has kept me busy and exhausted, so writing and blog hopping has been nil. I have missed out on L.J. Kentowski’s wonderful “What’s Your Take Wednesdays”, that one however is due, as much or more, to the challenge of it. Some really amazing writers over there can take a writing prompt and create a scene in moments off the seat of their pants. I wish I had that talent. I could percolate for a few days on a prompt and only come up with a meager attempt at something clever. However, L.J. I will try to do better in the future.

Because I didn’t get my name on the Six Sentence Sunday Linky list this week, I’m going to cheat. This is much longer than six sentences. This scene from Squishing Whistle Pigs comes after Rachael, Ben and the kids reach the church. My favorite scene from Squishing Whistle Pigs, which appears just prior to the one I'm about to post, I’ve already posted many weeks ago and it can be found here. It can give you a bit more build up. It’s also more than six sentences, though quite short and very funny!

In this scene, Ben enters the church for the first time. I have drawn from a variety of personal experiences with my visits to several different churches and created this scene, so all this stuff actually happened to me at some point in my personal, spiritual search.

“Ben?” Rachael stands by the double doors. She motions with her head that I should join her. A staunch gentleman stands on her left. Nice shirt, tie and Dockers. “This is Pastor Hinckley and his wife,” she says.

            I shake his hand. His wife is elegant, and drop dead beautiful. She winks at me through seductive eyes. I feel like a schoolboy and step on my tongue when I move forward to greet her. Her name is Secret. I wonder how many she had and if she’d be willing to tell me.

            The people inside didn’t resemble my anticipated church going fare.

            We meet Billy Thomas in the foyer just outside the Chapel. Afterwards, he staggers into his pew reaching out for it as if to stop it from moving. He smelled of mothballs and bourbon.

            Sue Swanson meets us in the aisle and introduces herself. She shakes my hand and won’t let go. Her eyes rape me. It felt appropriate to offer her a cigarette when she finally let loose. Her husband takes her by the hand. He smiles at me and then leads her away.

            I enter the pew after Rachael and the girls, squirm against the black cherry wood, and then settle in. I can’t beat away thoughts of overdraft fees, and repo notices. Troubles had piled up like cold Hoary Marmots. They wouldn’t stop popping in and out of the holes in my brain. I imagine the little boy stomping on them.

I hope you enjoy this short passage. Thank you again, so much for your visit here. Please visit the official Six Sentence Sunday site for more great writers who actually follow the rules, and click on some of my favorite Sixer’s here: Wendy S. Russo, L.J. Kentowski, Loni Flowers, Kelly Seguin, Mae Clair, Daniela Renelt, Karen de Lange, Mackenzie Crowne, and Steven Montano.  

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