I did it! I took the plunge!

I finally sent in a story for a Short Story Competition! (: I don't think anything will come of it - but it's my first time and I'm hoping to have some luck! They get over 40,000 entries each time anyone can submit... so I'm probably low on the totem pole! The best part is how proud I feel about myself right now! I took something from my mind, put it on paper, and sent it into let a literary magazine editor read it, and maybe pick & publish it! Who knows what the future will bring, but I hope that eventually, as long as I keep writing, that something WILL come of it! (:

For those of you who want to read what I submitted, here it is!

Emotional Discomfort

“Name’s Abby” is what I say to my customer’s at the diner - there is no reason to tell them more than that. The required uniform is a pastel pink polo that reads Dine & Dash on it accompanied by a black poodle skirt. You know the ones – they have dogs on leashes on them, circa 1950. I look like a waitress and I probably smell like a waitress; so they know I will be taking their order.

Most of the customers here are tourists anyways; passing through on their vacation road trips to Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head Island. These are the people I treat extra nice – mostly because they leave good tips. The regulars tend not to tip. Go figure.

Today was no different than any other day really, just wiping down the diner bar, the smell of hamburger grease stuck in my nostrils. The lunch rush was just finishing up. Marlene yelled at me from the back room, “Got any customers out there?”
Her lazy ass is in the office talking on the phone to her boyfriend while I am stuck working mine off out here, alone. Guess that’s the privilege of owning your own business.

“Nope” I replied, sourly. Being bitter is a common part of my attitude at work. I hate my job, but it helps me pay the bills.

Typically, I’m an outgoing person, really bubbly and usually considered ‘the life of the party’. Here at Dine & Dash – I’m just another cute twenty-three year old girl with a cute butt for all the truckers to stop in and stare at. Fresh meat.

When everything was clean for the night, the clock on the diner wall said ten pm. “Bye guys” I called as I grabbed my messenger bag and purse from under the bar, hung up my apron and walked out the front door. I’ve been on my feet way too long already.

I don’t own a car, and it just so happens I don’t live far from the square at the middle of town. So I usually walk. Not to mention it saves me a ton of money on gas.

Usually my ex-boyfriend meets me at closing time to walk me home. He says it’s for my protection, but I know it’s because he just wanted to spend time with me. That relationship ended a year ago, but I can’t help thinking about him when I pass his apartment in town. I almost married him. Good going, Abigail.

By the time I get home, my feet are aching and I’m ready to crash. I lock the front door behind me, and head up the stairs to run a hot bath. It’s time to relax!
I turned the knob on the tub and heard a “POP” sound and a few other random noises from the pipes in the walls. I look behind the tub and there is water everywhere. I go to the hall and scream, at the top of my lungs, “JAMIE”!! As I re-enter the room, of course, I slip and fall flat on my butt – right into the water. Nice.

Apparently the bathtub in my upstairs bathroom has a leak in the line somewhere and water covered the floor. “I think a pipe busted,” I said to Jamie when he appeared in the doorway. My wet poodle skirt covered butt facing him as I lean over the tub, he nodded at me and said “Yes, Doctor. I think we need to perform surgery.”
I smiled, but then realized I was actually ankle deep in water and shot him a look of desperation. He rolled up his pant legs and took a step in to the bathroom, laughing. I rolled my eyes at him, “Sorry for screaming, but I don’t know how to fix this and I am hoping that you do…” I started to grab towels out of an overhead cabinet to dry the floor as he crawled around the side of my claw foot tub.

“That should turn the water off,” he said as he turned a valve. “As long as there isn’t a lot of water in the pipes, we shouldn’t have anymore flooding. Let’s get this cleaned up and I will get CW over tomorrow to help me fix it.” He smiled at me and grabbed some more towels to help dry the floor.

“Great, thanks” was all I could muster.

CW stands for Chandler Wade. Not only is he the hottest bachelor in town, but he’s also my ex-boyfriend. He manages the Tractor Supply store in town, and has his own Dairy farm. He’s a few years older then me, but I never let that bother me when we were dating. Lucky for me, he is still a best friend to my brother. I was not happy with this sudden turn of events. He’s the last person on earth I want to see right now.

James is my older, but not wiser, brother. He’s a total cowboy, but he’s also a slob. I have to mother him most of the time to pick up after him self. The best thing about him is his protective nature over me, even if it annoys me sometimes. Jamie is a middle school science teacher. On weekends, he likes to ride horses out at a local farm and tends to the stables. It brings in some extra money for the bills… so I try not to complain about the stench he brings home. I rarely see him at all. Ever since Momma and Daddy died, it’s just been the two of us. We both work extra hard to make ends meet.

****************

I got up the next morning dreading the thought of seeing Chandler Wade again in my house. This is my house. I know that Jamie would never be able to fix the busted pipe on his own; at least CW has the professional expertise needed to get the job done. I do trust him to do a good job. It’s just a tad weird that he will be here in my house, working in my bathroom, so close to my bedroom. That was where it happened, when he broke up with me. It actually makes me a little anxious thinking about it. He always knew how to make me tense up when he was near. He asked me to marry him.

I don’t have to go in to work until later in the afternoon. There I was, in the kitchen, warming up some frozen waffles for breakfast when I heard the doorbell ring. I listened as Jamie bounded down the stairs, and greeted CW. I put my waffles on a plate and sat down at the table as I heard the boys enter the kitchen.

“Hello Abigail” said Chandler Wade, all proper and charming at the same time. I cringed as I took a bite of waffle and waved slightly with my left hand, since my right was holding a fork. I didn’t look up from my plate and the newspaper sitting in front of me.

I didn’t want to talk to him, or even look at him for that matter. How could I have said no? It didn’t take long for them to leave the kitchen after that. I heard Jamie faintly say, “The busted pipe is in Abby’s bathroom” as they ascended the stairs.
I couldn’t believe he was here, in this house. It had been at least a year since he had been here; since before my parents had been in the car accident that killed them. I felt tears welling in my eyes. There was no way I could deny still having feelings for him.

I can’t be here anymore, I thought to myself. After cleaning up my breakfast dishes, I finished off the milk in the fridge - straight from the jug, and walked out the front door. I had no idea where I was going to go, or what I was going to do. Being in that house with him there felt wrong, on so many levels. I didn’t even remember to grab my purse.

When I returned to the house hours later to get ready for work, CW was on the front steps. Obviously waiting for me.

I wasn’t sure what to think… so I sat down next to him. Not saying a word. I could feel the tension between us, it was anger mixed with passion. All he did was take my hand in his, kissing the back of it.

“I’ve missed you,” he said. Three little words that made my heart melt into a warm liquid.

“I missed you too, “ I replied. I scooted in closer to him, allowing his arm to drape over my shoulders. Then the tears came. He leaned in and kissed me. I knew then that all my problems were solved. He still cared and that was all the comfort I needed.