The Kitten, the Witches and the Bad Wardrobe - Willow & Tara Forever

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 Post subject: Re: Original fiction - Through the earth
PostPosted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 1:58 am 
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9. Gay Now
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Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:22 pm
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Location: Australia
Yes, it has been over a year since I last updated this story. :blush I know some of my readers are still on this board and might still want to read this story. In the hope that you do, here is the next update.

5

I couldn’t stop myself from calling Laura, sometimes several times in a day. One afternoon, her sister, Katherine, answered the phone. She is ten years older than Laura and moved out of home when we were still in primary school. We often see each other at weddings, baby showers and parties, where we sit in a corner and drink whatever is available, no matter how cheap or bitter, and talk too loudly.

I was glad to hear Kat rather than Laura on the phone. I expected her to be a little more forthcoming with information, but each of my questions got the same “I don’t know” / "Be patient" / “The doctor is running some tests” responses that Laura had been feeding me for weeks.

At some point I stopped asking about Daniel and asked about Laura’s mental state. Laura was so detached and blank over the phone, and we hadn’t seen each other since our impromptu picnic, so I had no idea how she was coping.

Kat’s responses were vague, and she seemed more uncomfortable talking about Laura than she had been talking about Daniel. “Anna,” she said, after some more probing questioning. “I have to be honest here. I know you are interested in her, but as far as I know, she doesn’t feel that way about you. Can I strongly suggest that you find someone else? Particularly now, with everything going on?”

“What are you on about?” I asked, glib as ever. I think casual denial is very acceptable when put on the spot like that.

“She’s having a bad year. I don’t think she needs to have her one good friend fantasising about sleeping with her.” Kat sounded drained as well as embarrassed.

“Kat - I do have someone now.” As I told her this, I wondered why I didn’t think of saying this first.

“Do you?” Her voice was warmer, and… girlish? “Oh, look, Anna, I’m really happy for you. What’s her name? It is a woman, I presume.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, she’s a woman. The way things are going, she’s going to be moving all of her life possessions around to my place any minute now, so if you want proof, you can come over and see.” There was silence, so I continued. “I just gave up being the suitor. It’s getting old. I’m fucking middle aged, Kat.”

“Give yourself more credit, An,” she said. “We all get crushes. It’s not something you can control.”

I couldn’t believe how nice she was being simply because I admitted defeat. “Hmm. I see. You didn’t feel that way five minutes ago.”

“Yes, well, it’s my little sister that you are – sorry, were - in love with. So, back to the new lover, tell me more.”

“What more is there to say?” Wow, I deserve a gold star for being so convincing about my newfound love. “Uh. She’s great. She’s younger than me. She works in a café in Newtown.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You know Fortunata?” Being one of the 24-hour greasy cafes, it is usually filled with drunks, punks and all the array of life in between, like me. “She makes breakfasts and waits on tables. Oh, yeah, her name is Jo.”

“Cute name. What’s she like?”

Jo had short blond hair, piercing eyes and a chip on her shoulder – often literally, in her line of work. She held the belief that she had to work harder than most to support herself and her creative work, and brought this up in any vaguely related conversation or argument. The strange part about our relationship was that we didn’t actually like each other, and had both admitted this openly. Once she had listened to my end of a conversation with Laura, and at the end looked at me with wild eyes. “You become so saintly with some people,” she spat. “Why do you think you have to change yourself?”

Still, we were compatible in other important ways, so we veered away from talking about politics, health, diet, religion, environmental issues and art. Pretty much everything, in fact.

“She graduated last year from the College of Fine Arts. She’s a sculptor and sells her work at Balmain and Glebe Markets.” I thought hard, while Kat made appreciative and interested sounds. “She's a very passionate and intelligent person.” I considered adding “And I love her” to the end of this, but decided that would be too much.

“So she might move in? That’s a big step for the infamous Anna Mears.”

Hell, no. Jo and I would kill each other after a week. “Uh, possibly.”

“Does Laura know about Jo?” Kat asked.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.”

“You haven’t told her? She will be so excited for you!”

“Yeah.” I didn’t know about that, though. I thought Laura might secretly enjoy the way I was always looking at her and being caught, the way I held her jacket or handbag with such care and reverence when she asked me to hold them. The way I clearly hung on to her every word. I mean, even if she is as oblivious as they come, she has to notice that if she says “Could you…” I have done whatever it is before she completes the sentence.

I could hear voices in the background, and knew Laura was home. “I’ll let Laura know you called,” Kat said, finishing up hurriedly. She told me to have a great night.

*

At school the next day, I was a ‘real cow’; I even heard a couple of my students whisper as much. I had called Jo and broken things off after my conversation with Kat, which had seemed a moral and wise choice at the time, but now I realised it meant my bed would be empty for the first time in a while.

After work, I drove to Newtown, where I parked in an illegal spot and dashed past the restaurants and shops to Fortunata. Jo was leaning over one of the tables, smiling at a young woman as she put her bill on the table. I saw her pass her a piece of paper; I guessed from experience that it had her mobile number and a winking face scrawled on it.

She looked up at me, pushing back her hair with one hand, holding an empty glass in the other. “Hey.”

“Hi. Can we talk?” I waited as the other woman walked out, giving Jo a lingering glance and some coins in the tip jar.

“Of course we can. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine," I said. "Feeling a little regretful today.”

She smiled. “Were you drinking before you called me?”

“No, not before. But I definitely did afterwards.”

I leaned towards her and stroked her hair, looking at her face intently. I couldn’t resist kissing her, perhaps out of routine, and she took my arm and led me behind the counter, so that we were out of sight from the street. “Why are you so shy?” I asked. “I’m pretty sure that all waitresses in Newtown are lesbians.”

Jo kissed me this time, and it was sweeter and more intimate than any previous kiss between us. “I’m impressed with you, Anna,” she said. “We really needed to stop seeing each other, and I was so sure it would have been me making that call.”

I shrugged. “Don’t praise me. It was a rare moment of clarity.” We kissed once more and I walked out of the café.


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 Post subject: Re: Original fiction - Through the earth
PostPosted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 11:15 pm 
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3. Flaming O
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Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 12:58 pm
Posts: 134
You are great writer. The internal monlogue that tells the story is great, realistic and perfect!

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 Post subject: Re: Original fiction - Through the earth
PostPosted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:24 am 
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5. Willowhand
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Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:28 am
Posts: 305
Location: Down Under *grins*
I just found this gem and have absolutely fallen in love with it :) I was so engrossed as I was reading I forgot it wasn't a novel and when the last update ended I was left blinking owlishly wondering what had happened lol.

Beautifully written and enganging. Characters are lovely, and I can't wait to learn more about Laura and her and Anna's friendship, as it seems there is still so much to learn about her!

You've completely pulled me in, love it and can't wait for updates!

~Gabs

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 Post subject: Re: Original fiction - Through the earth
PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:43 am 
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13. Big Knowledge Woman

Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2005 4:08 pm
Posts: 1827
Location: Space, the final frontier
Ahh my dear, I feel so ashamed for having lost track of your story. I do love it so. While I agree with some things SQ mentioned previously, I'm not in total agreement with all of them. I guess one could call it personal preference.

That being said, I really want to examine this last update because I feel like I'm missing something.....there is this gap between Anna's conversation with Kat (whom I feel like slapping, btw, for her extreme lack of tact) and Anna's sudden decision to break up with Jo. What did they have to do with each other? And why should she break up with her in order to feel better? We seem to be missing some backstory that would help us understand her actions in that regard. I have a few other questions but I want to hash them out a bit, logically speaking, before posting.

Again, I love this and you always manage to leave me wanting to read more.

Cheers!
K.


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 Post subject: Re: Original fiction - Through the earth
PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:46 am 
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8. Vixen
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Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 2:33 pm
Posts: 876
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Wow... i haven't been on the IE for a while so i'm glad that i found your story bumped up to the top! I had wondered where you disappeared to! I've read the last few updates, ones that i regretfully missed, and your writing just... it gets better with every update! I love it. But still no sign of Philipa! So i'll just set up camp here and wait it ooout... :-D


Looking forward to more!

Stace xXx

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 Post subject: Re: Original fiction - Through the earth
PostPosted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:59 pm 
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9. Gay Now
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
Hey vix84! Blast from the past, but please update this! I love it! :love

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“It's just, we, well, we both really like cows. Really like them. To the extent of wanting to buy one, when we're older." - The Crying Game by vix84
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 Post subject: Re: Original fiction - Through the earth
PostPosted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:16 pm 
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9. Gay Now
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Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:17 pm
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
Still waiting! I :love this story!

Just brilliant!

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“It's just, we, well, we both really like cows. Really like them. To the extent of wanting to buy one, when we're older." - The Crying Game by vix84
♥♥♥ Mr. Happy and Mr. Eevil Forever ♥♥♥
~*@.......We are the weirdest person in the world.......@~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leap of Faith by Urn of Osiris: Read it, Love it! <-- Click here


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