Sunday, May 21, 2017

Sunday Snippet: A Very Awkward Evening

Wow. Next week my second kidlet graduates from high school. I'm excited for him, yet I'm also wistful for the toddler with an overly large head—it's a family thing and he completely grew into the large noggin—that used to lob blocks and legos across the kiddie gate to get my attention. Next week's post might be an emotional one.

Anyway… on to the week's TV fare. Gotham kept things nice and interesting. I love the twisty-twist with Selena and Bruce. I'm also enjoying Ivy with Oswald. She's a nice foil to his manic craziness, maybe even better than Ngyma. I do have to wonder if Jim or someone else will ever find the knife Mario tried to kill Leigh with. Honestly, her anger with him is the only thing that kind of pulls me out of the show, even though it's justified and makes complete sense.

The Flash needs a rewatch. I didn't catch all of the episode and came in late. I'm looking forward to the resolution and hope things pay off in a big way.

Arrow delivered, as usual. Even with the over the top and almost unbelievable things Chase seems to manipulate, I have no doubt the showdown on Lian Yu will be worth it. Have to admit seeing Merlyn kind of surprised me, only a little because his name was mentioned. LOL I'm really not sure how I feel about Arrow's move to Thursdays next season. I'll hold off judgment for now. But it's one more day I have to wait for new episodes and that doesn't make me happy.

Not excited about waiting until fall for new episodes of The Last Ship. It's my summer must watch show and now it's not going to be on in the summer. Bleh.

Still looking forward to the Friday night block on Syfy at the end of June. If this gets changed, be prepared for an epic rant. With Orphan Black airing its final season in June also, the month looks to be terrific.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from A Very Awkward Evening, a novella that got started with a prompt of "let's eat". I got a specific picture in my mind when I read it and, so far, it's holding up as I continue filling in the blanks.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Vi Palona's rock star mom wants a sit down meeting with Garwin Noth's academic parents, which Vi keeps putting off because her mother, Mina, has no edit button. When Mina crashes a birthday dinner, Vi figures her mom can't do much damage… but five minutes into the meal she learns how wrong she is.

And a snippety peek…

Mina made a show of waggling her eyebrows. "I gotta say, Lance, I'd have never let a smokin' hot man like you get away." She side-eyed everyone at the table then leaned in close to Gar's dad. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd keep you tied to my bed so you couldn't possibly escape."
Lance choked back a response. Janis, well, she definitely had a reaction. She balled up her napkin and half rose from her seat. Vi wanted to crawl under the table but the look of murder in Janis's eyes had her picking up her eating utensils instead.
She cut a healthy piece of chicken off her baked breast. "Let's eat. I'm starved." She sent Janis an apologetic glance then popped the bite into her mouth.
Hiding an inappropriate smile, Gar silently followed suit, scooping up some noodles and twirling them onto his fork.
Janis opened her mouth, closed it, then nodded and sat back down. "Yes, let's." She raised her wine glass and drained it in one long gulp.
Not very academic, but Vi gave the woman props for not tossing the liquid in her mother's face. Mina cheerfully refilled Janis's goblet and topped off everyone else's.
She raised her glass. "To a wonderful evening…" Glancing in Lance's direction, she smiled when everyone took a sip of their drink. "And maybe a steamy night."
Lance sputtered and broke out in a coughing fit. Janis drained her glass again. Gar threw his head back and laughed.
Vi closed her eyes and prayed for lightning to strike. Or a fire might be nice. Anything to shut her mom up.
After a ten count, Vi blinked and discovered her mom's gaze resting on Gar. "You know, Garwin, it's easy to tell where you got your incredible looks from." She jerked her head toward Lance. "I'll assume you got your smarts from him, too."
Gar opened his mouth then promptly closed it again. Lance kept his eating, not making eye contact with anyone. Janis squared her jaw, no doubt biting her tongue to stay silent. What the hell could anyone possibly say to Mina's blatant shit-stirring? Vi stared daggers in her mother's direction.
Mina's eyes went wide. "What? I'm just—"
Vi interrupted. "Doing and saying whatever the fuck you want? Waving your rock star notoriety at full mast? Yeah, Mina, we all get it." Burning with humiliation, Vi shoved her chair back and stood. "For you, being a bitch trumps all. So, thanks, Mom, for staying true to form and trashing everything within an hour of blowing into town." She tossed her napkin on the table and stalked from the room.
Mina could stay or go but Vi didn't want to be within three feet of the woman.
Ever. Again.

Honestly? This one is actually a lot of fun. Working through family drama is sometimes a challenge, but I'm loving this.



That's it for this week. Happy reading!


Skylin

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