Today People

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "No, I need to be too tired to think," he replied. "Worked so far." Sort of.

  "Oh. What happened with Bonnie?"

  He looked at her, surprised. "What makes you think it's Bonnie?" he snapped.

  She smiled fondly at him. "She's your weak spot," she said. "You love her too much."

  "Yeah, well, you can't really control these things, can you?" he muttered, lowering his eyes.

  "No. But if you want my advice, forget her. She doesn't deserve you."

  Again he looked at her, puzzled. "I thought you didn't give a damn about any of us."

  She giggled nervously. "I didn't," she admitted. "Then I met Carl, and he'd become my dream man, but didn't love me anymore, while I was feeling something, and he was sort of an asshole and I thought back to the past, to how I behaved with him and others..." She sighed. "I don't know, I guess I've been a bitch, but at least I didn't spend years with someone I didn't love."

  "You mean you knew Bonnie didn't love me?" he asked, frowning in concentration. He was meeting a new Pamela today, smarter than the one he was used to. He wasn't sure he liked it, though.

  "No, I mean, you two were doing just fine," she said. "So was I. Until Carl Martin came back into our lives."

  "He wasn't this devastating when we were younger..."

  She chuckled and put a hand on his.

  "He was your friend," she reminded him. "I used to think you were cute but couldn't choose your friends properly."

  He smiled against his will. "I used to think you were pretty but dumb," he replied.

  She squeezed his fingers. "So, what's with Bonnie?" she asked, serious again.

  He shrugged. "I left her. I quit. I guess she's with Carl now."

  She sighed loudly. "So you're all alone now?"

  He felt a weight lift off his chest. His dazzling smile came back. "Yeah, you?"

  She blew him a kiss. "So am I."

  ***

  Bonnie had to leave the little house she'd shared with Warren, since she couldn't pay the rent on her own and couldn't find anyone to share it. Even if Carl was the dream man she thought he was, she wasn't ready to move in with him.

  To her amazement, he offered his old apartment to her until she made up her mind. He took her to see where he'd lived before becoming rich and she looked around, pleasantly surprised.

  "Wow. At least I'm not intimidated by the sheer size of it." She didn't like his mansion – she thought that house wasn't him. But this almost felt like home.

  He chuckled. "It's smaller than your place."

  "But you own it. I'm paying a rent. How come you have a single bed?"

  He took her in his arms. "I have a confession. You're the first woman to set foot here."

  "So where did you meet your lovers?" she asked, a little incredulous.

  "At their places or in hotels. Until I bought the mansion."

  He grinned and she blushed. He made her feel so special! Not even Warren had ever made her feel that way. Or maybe she wasn't really listening. Poor Warren. What did Carl have that he lacked?

  "Do you want to bring your double bed here or will you come over to the mansion when you want to sleep with me?" Carl asked, his lips brushing her cheek and ear.

  She shivered. "Single bed is fine until I find the courage to move into the mansion," she whispered.

  His lips captured hers in a long, passionate kiss.

  ***

  Inside the Catholic church the priest, Danny Martin, looked very nervous while he waited. His brother John, with wife and children in tow, patted him on the shoulder.

  "You didn't mess up for me or Mary, you should be used to it by now!" John teased.

  Danny cleared his throat. "This is different," he said.

  Their sister, Mary, also joined them, followed by her husband and children. She hugged both brothers in greeting.

  "You're on the spot again, Danny!"

  Which made the priest blush and clear his throat again.

  "Here's the photographer!" John said, pointing at a glamorous blonde who'd just entered the church with her assistant. "Remember Carl's first love?"

  Danny stared disapprovingly at Pamela's cleavage. She flashed a smile at him and he forgave her.

  Carl came in with Bonnie and hugged Danny. "Next time it's going to be me, bro!"

  "Anytime, man, anytime," Danny grumbled, embarrassed.

  Then both Bonnie and Carl realized that Pamela's "assistant" was none other than Warren.

  "Great to see you, man!" Carl shook his friend's hand, feeling relieved. He glanced at Bonnie who looked quite amused by the new couple.

  Then Vanessa arrived with her new boyfriend. Paul showed his own girlfriend where to sit and then waited by the door for Mr. Gold.

  Anthony Gold thought this would be the best day of his life. He went to shake the priest's hand – his soon-to-be step-son – and turned back towards the church's door, waiting for his bride. The music started and everybody took his or her place.

  Christine Martin came in, veiled and alone. She smiled proudly at her grownup children and her groom. Danny took in a deep breath.

  Later, at the wedding banquet, Pamela and Warren cuddled each other, laughing with Carl and Bonnie. Paul, Vanessa and their new partners danced wildly. Danny was surrounded by nephews and looked panicked; Mary and John laughed among themselves at his expression.

  The not-so-young newly-weds observed their extended family proudly. Then they looked each other in the eyes and kissed.

  THE END

  THE NEW STORIES

  Openings – Writing Prompts

  These stories were born from an online workshop – writing prompts for openings of 300-400 words. I wrote three out of four stories.

  In 2015 I did the Depth workshop online. I had to write story openings according to a prompt. The last story opening was so well done, that the teacher said, "Go write that story." So I did.

  The first prompt I couldn't rewrite or continue, in spite of the two attempts. But these are the other three and the stories that sprang out of them.

  Meeting in Kyoto (Bettie and her ex-spouse)

  Wishing Parenthood (Ben finds a child)

  Christmas Gifts (Nancy in the snowstorm)

  Dedicated to my writing guru, Dean Wesley Smith.

  Meeting in Kyoto

  Bettie thought the giant crab over the door was a little kitch, but it made Jennifer squeal in delight, while Peter was more interested in the stuffed crabs in the restaurant's window. Bettie exchanged a glance with her husband, Rob, as the children chattered and pointed at the various features of the famous crab restaurant Kani Doraku in Kyoto.

  The family of four was at the end of their Japanese vacation. After three nights in Tokyo and two in Takayama, they had now landed in Kyoto and their guide had mentioned the Kani Doraku served only crab dishes.

  Bettie had asked the hotel to book them a table and they'd taken a cab. The taxi driver, who spoke a very bad English, had left them half a block away since cars couldn't reach the restaurant.

  Bettie opened the sliding door to let in the children, eleven-year-old Jennifer – the sushi lover – and nine-year-old Peter – who only wanted to see his manga heroes. The waitress wore a kimono and asked them if they had a reservation. They had to take off their shoes to go to the first floor, where the actual restaurant was.

  The low table had some kind of hole underneath, so they could sit as if they were on chairs. Jennifer, in spite of her red hair and blue eyes, knelt like a true Japanese girl on the flat pillow. She was the most proficient at eating with chopsticks and the main reason they'd chosen to visit Japan.

  Bettie sat next to Jennifer and they glanced at the colorful menu, all written in Japanese, while Peter joked with his father Rob and looked around at the paintings of crabs on the walls. The various low tables were separated by blond-wood-and-paper walls to give some privacy.

  "I like this place," Jennifer declared. She had loved all the Japanese-style restaurants they'd seen so far
, but this one was special.

  Bettie agreed it was beautiful, with its paintings and low tables and flat pillows to sit upon in "modernized" traditional style.

  The waiter was male, but still wore some kind of kimono, with the upper vest sky-blue and the pants dark blue. He was tall and knelt at the side of the table, offering an iPad where Bettie could select the language – choosing between English, Chinese and some other language unreadable to her – so they'd know what they ordered. His English was good, and he said he'd be back when they had chosen.

  Bettie held the tablet with one hand and Rob helped her, so the children could both see the scrolling menu. Vinegared crab, crab sashimi, grilled crab, BBQ king crab, about ten different ways and easy to eat even with the provided sticks. Peter had to be helped to choose, but Jennifer pointed to exactly what she wanted and licked her lips in anticipation.

  They placed their order and soon enjoyed the taste of the crab – tender, juicy and tasty. Peter had fun "torturing" the pieces of crab in his plate, to the disgust of his sister, and Rob said it was the best crab he'd ever had.

  Bettie could only agree about the crab feast. It didn't quite beat the crab skewers she'd bought for 500yen each at a stall in Asakusa, Tokyo, but it was better than the sashimi she found at home.

  At the other tables she noticed a group of Italians and a group of Japanese who were almost done. Towards the end of the meal, another group of people arrived and was seated at a corner table in Bettie's line of sight, but behind Rob's back.

  There were both Japanese and gaijin, a group of six probably colleagues who had come to dinner after work. The four almond-eyed men sat around the two blue-eyed ones, who seemed to be revered guests.

  When Bettie's gaze fell on the face of the white man opposite her, her heart missed a beat. Dave. Still too tall, although less skinny that what he used to be. He was in his forties now and his hair had started graying.

  Her never-forgotten first love. Best friend in college, first husband who had suddenly walked away from their marriage after only a few months of very little intimacy. He'd come out of the closet to himself and his family and her – all of a sudden, at twenty-four, taking her by surprise.

  It had been hard to get over him. And now she was happy with Rob. She needed to put Dave out of her mind again.

  Except she couldn't.

  "Mom, what are you looking at?" Jennifer whispered, following her gaze.

  "Mmm? Oh, nothing, I think I know that guy," she answered with a shrug.

  Rob turned to glance at the other table, then looked her in the eyes. "In Kyoto, of all places, you run into someone you know?"

  "He does look American," Jennifer said, while Peter fidgeted with his chopsticks.

  Bettie squeezed Rob's fingers across the table, with a trembling smile on her lips. "Just someone I haven't seen in a long time," she said. "He probably doesn't even remember me."

  Mostly because Dave preferred men. She doubted he'd remember his wife of a few months. He seemed to be very taken by the young Japanese man to his right, who was as cute as their waiter.

  "High school friend?" Rob teased.

  "College," she answered.

  She'd never told Rob she'd been married before. Dave's walking out had hurt so much that she'd done her best to forget everything about it. Even her parents had kept mum about the reason behind the failed marriage – her younger siblings had no idea of why Dave had left.

  And then Rob had come into her life and she'd fallen in love again. When she'd told her parents she wanted a second wedding, asking them for advice, they'd been very supportive.

  "You were young," they'd said. "Rob is a nice man. You don't need to tell him about Dave."

  She managed to concentrate on her family again as the waiter brought their check and told them they should pay downstairs.

  "I'll need to use the restrooms," Bettie said since they planned to go through the shopping center outside of the restaurant by night before heading back to their hotel. Jennifer went with her, though.

  "Mom, was that an ex-boyfriend you haven't mentioned to Dad?" she asked, excited.

  "Ah, no, he was just a very special friend," Bettie answered, embarrassed. "Like, really my best friend, but we lost track of each other after college."

  Bettie decided it wasn't worth trying to talk to Dave. He had obviously moved on, and so had she.

  ***

  When they returned to the RIHGA Royal Hotel, Peter was tired and grumpy, so Rob headed immediately for the four elevators. From the one that lead to the roof restaurant, two geisha in full attire emerged, which made Jennifer's jaw drop. Bettie signaled Rob to go up with Peter while she stayed in the lobby with Jennifer to watch the beautiful kimonos of the geisha.

  "Maybe some manager came to Kyoto and called a geisha to entertain him," Bettie whispered as the ladies left. "It's a western-style hotel, but it looks quite luxurious..."

  "We should have seen Gion by night," Jennifer complained. "Can we at least go and watch the geisha show tomorrow night after we come back from Nara?"

  "I'll take you there even if your father and brother don't want to come," Bettie promised as they turned back towards the elevators to go to their room on the seventh floor.

  Jennifer grinned.

  "Bettie? Bettie Palmer?" The male voice startled them and Bettie's heart jumped in her throat.

  Dave again. He was with the young, handsome Japanese man who waited one step behind as Dave walked up to her with his hand extended.

  "It's you, right?" he asked, stopping, uncertain.

  She snapped back to reality. "Yes, Dave, it's me," she said, shaking his hand and controlling her emotions. "I didn't think you'd remember me."

  "Of course I remember you." His grin was still the same. "And this young lady must be your daughter. She has your hair."

  Jennifer nodded regally and put her hand in her mother's, as if offering support. Mother and daughter exchanged a glance and Bettie read on Jennifer's face, "Don't worry, Mom, your secret is safe with me."

  "This is Jennifer Plass," Bettie said. "My husband and son have gone upstairs."

  "I thought I saw you all at Kani Doraku," Dave said. "But you left when we arrived. This is Takeshi, my assistant."

  Takeshi bowed and Bettie nodded a greeting.

  "So you're in Kyoto for work?" she asked.

  "Yes, there's a meeting. The company I work for wants to do business with the Japanese. Takeshi is our trustworthy interpreter, or we'd all be lost."

  "You're telling me!" Bettie rolled her eyes. "If it weren't for Hiroko, who took us around for the past few days, we'd be completely lost!"

  "So you're on vacation?" Dave asked, glancing at Jennifer.

  "Jennifer so wanted to see Japan, and I was curious, and we managed to put away some money, so we opted for a family vacation."

  "What does your husband do?"

  "He's a manager."

  "And what about you? Don't tell me you're a housewife and a mother."

  "Actually, I'm a part-time librarian at our local library. I've tried to study languages, but I'm hopeless. But Jennifer seems very promising."

  "I'd love to learn Japanese," Jennifer said, staring eagerly at Takeshi who smiled.

  "How old are you?" he asked.

  "I'm eleven."

  "Well, it's never too late to start..."

  "We met lots of school children this morning who were practicing English with us foreigners," Bettie said, amused. "I wonder if there could be some kind of school exchange at some point!"

  "What do you like about Japan, Jennifer?" Dave asked.

  "Sushi and manga," she answered promptly.

  "Ah, yes, shojo manga are much loved all over the world," Takeshi said.

  "It's because they're for girls! You don't have that in comics!" Jennifer said.

  "When did you get married?" Dave asked Bettie.

  "It's our fifteen-year anniversary," Bettie said, grateful he didn't say, "When did you remarry?"

>   "Well, it obviously needed to be celebrated with a wonderful trip to a wonderful country," Dave said. "Have you enjoyed Japan so far?"

  "The colors of the fall are amazing. The architecture is interesting. The people are quite nice, in spite of the lack of communication... yes, I have enjoyed Japan so far."

  "Me too!" Jennifer added, nodding enthusiastically.

  "How long are you staying?" Dave asked.

  "Tomorrow we take the train to Nara, and then Saturday we fly back home. Early wake up to get to Osaka airport and off we go," Bettie answered with a sigh.

  "What a pity! I'm taking the Shinkansen back to Tokyo tomorrow night, but won't fly back until next Tuesday."

  "Peter loved the bullet-train!" Jennifer said. "We took it from Tokyo to Nagoya, and we got off at Odawara to visit Hakone and Lake Ashi! But the other trains are just normal trains."

  "So you've seen lots of trains?" Dave asked, amused.

  "Tokyo to Takayama and Kanazawa to Kyoto," Bettie answered. "And the bullet-train only in the first part of the journey, last Monday. Like Jennifer said, up to Nagoya, then we changed to a regular train for Takayama."

  Dave looked impressed.

  "We should meet back in the US so we can tell each other about our trip," he said. He fished in his pockets for a business card. "Call me sometime next week." He gave Bettie the card and smiled. "You were probably going to bed, so I won't keep you any longer. Nice meeting you, Miss Jennifer and great seeing you again, Bettie."

  "Thank you, Dave. Good night."

  An elevator opened and poured out a group of Japanese. Bettie pushed Jennifer inside the vacated lift.

  "Are you coming up?" she asked.

  "No, thank you, the night is still young." Dave winked and Takeshi smiled, averting his eyes.

  Jennifer pushed the button for the seventh floor and the elevator door closed.

  "Do you think he sleeps with the interpreter?"

  "I don't know, honey."

  "He's definitely gay," Jennifer said, thoughtful.

  "How can you tell?" Bettie asked.

  "He always looked you in the eyes. Usually men stare at your breasts." A quick glance at her still flat chest and a small sigh. "He's nice, though. I'd love to hear his stories of Japan."