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This thread is for participants in the Mead Hall Writers' Society writing group to post exercises from Lesson 11: Point of View.
After you've posted, you're encouraged to review other entries, and discuss the assignment over in the general discussion thread.
“Oh! Dearie Me!” I couldn’t stop myself from exclaiming as my trusty purse slipped from my shoulder to the drugstore’s cold floor. Little pill bottles rolled out. The boxes of medicated creams slid helter-skelter amongst them.
In the aisle with me were two teenagers. “The cat’s out of the bag now.” I thought to myself. I had tried my best to be a small time crook, and look where it’s gotten me. – Caught. I don’t have enough Italian in my blood for this sort of thing. I don’t think my heart can handle any time in a prison. I don’t know if they’d let me finish that blanket I’m croqueting for Clara’s baby. I wonder if prisoners are allowed a low-fat, low-sodium diet ? I’ll just have to bring along a few recipes to smuggle to the jailhouse cook.
But what about Harvey? Would they let him live with me in my cell? All this medicine was for him anyways. If those darn social-security checks would ever arrive on time I wouldn’t be here smuggling aspirin and hemorrhoid cream into my purse. Harvey’s blood certainly needs thinning-out, he was getting those chest pains again all last night. Although that could’ve been the sausage Uncle Al served us after the card party.
The girl in a jean jacket walks over. “May I help you with those?” She asks quietly while bending down to sweep the loose medicine back into my traitorous purse. I look at her in disbelief. She is now an accomplice. And at such a young age!
The teen boy with a bandana wrapped around his head is scowling at us both, but he doesn’t say anything. I wonder why kids these days were those things. Doesn’t he like styling his hair? My Harvey always used Dapper-Dan’s Styling Gell when we were courting. Mmm-hmmm. He did look so fine. What’s that she is saying? “Oh yes. Thank you dearie. I’ll be more careful next time.”
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I heard an “O Dearie! Me!” explode from an old lady in the aisle while I was trying to decide what color of polish to pick. My brother, Jed, was bored by it all. He refused to help me decide between cranberry and lime green. So anyways, I turned to look at the lady down the aisle and saw all this medicine just roll out from her purse! It was all over the floor! She looked soooo guilty, like. I knew she must’ve been stuffing it in when no one was looking. Poor old lady. Why would she do that?
Awww.. She reminds me of my aunt Georgia who has lots of cats. She spends all her money on catfood and never has any leftover for food for herself. This lady wouldn’t be taking this if she didn’t really need it.
I walk over quietly, bend down and scoop the medicines back into the purse. I hand it to her, but she looks like her thoughts are elsewhere. When I whisper to her “Be more careful next time!” ,she just stares blankly at me for a moment before blinking and stuttering “ Oh yes. Thank you dearie. I’ll be more careful next time.”
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Who cares if toenails are red or green? I was not going to be tricked into becoming some gay fashion consultant for my sister. Then some granny yells “Oh! Dearie Me!” like she’s having a heart attack or something. I turn and see her purse spilling medicine out all over the floor. “Busted!” I say to myself. Finally someone other than me.
It’ll be great to see the cops frisk her. Hope she gets the nasty ones I got last time they put me into juvie. Stupid granny. People check bags. Why not stuff the pills in her coat pockets? Big bags are always a give away.
Then Candy, my sister, starts walking over, and actually puts the goods back in her bag! Before anyone can call security. Softy! Loser. Whatever. No one ever gave me that kind of break.
My sister whispers something to the old lady who mumbles back “ Oh yes. Thank you dearie. I’ll be more careful next time.”
The Stolen wife
Point of view of Constantine Matsakes
Constantine Matsakes followed the maid who led him through the dark corridors of the house. As he approached his aim, he felt that strange and pleasant feeling of a man who had met the suitable woman. He knew his case was slightly different. There was no love with her, only passion. She was bored by her stupid and fat husband and he missed a company of a woman since he entered in service in the Doukas family. He could have bought a prostitute for the night but it lacked that challenge to seduce a woman. He could have tried to sleep with an ordinary woman as she did so many times. This could have saved him from the problems of the present situation. They were many: a jealous and relatively powerful husband who had the right to kill them both for adultery; sleeping with woman in higher social position also hid certain risks. The little problem was that he had a big mouth and few days before he claimed that he could bring such a noble woman in his bed with a single look. He did not want to lose face before his friends Nicephorus Doukas and Dyogenus Branas who were also risking much guarding the house.
Nicephorus was right to be against such an adventure. He could have persuaded Dyogenus not to help Constantine and maybe he, Constantine, would have sat patiently at home. Something different happened: Nicephorus changed his mind and joined them. Constantine was sure this decision was connected with the quarrel with his father. Constantine had to do something. He did not.
The maid reached to a small door and opened it. She was so discrete than Constantine was no longer disturbed by her presence, though he was sure she was waiting before the door and probably would overhear everything. Constantine hesitated only for a moment and entered in the chamber. He knew he was not alone. On the large bed there was a silhouette of a woman. He felt her perfume. He approached her. She rose and stared at his eyes. She was slightly trembling but Constantine knew she did not fear him. He had a mask on his face, his black cowl and black gloves but she felt it as a part of the game. She needed his body. He needed hers. Faces were not necessary: they only make everything more difficult. They both had come to enjoy themselves. He felt her hands on his chest and in the next moment he felt her lips on his own. She sighed and he started kissing her neck. He started to remove her dressing gown… They soon were naked with their bodies twined into one.
Point of view of Dyogenus Branas
He was watching the house. For him this was the way to get rid of his problems. In fact his problems were not very important. It was Nicephorus who had real problems. Nicephorus had to hide his secrets from his father, Nicephorus had to bear all these humiliations. Alexius was a horrible example and Dyogenus Branas feared this might influence Nicephorus badly. The case with Constantine was slightly different. The whole story was slightly funny. They were feeding the peacocks in the Doukas family house and suddenly they saw very strange couple: beautiful woman and fat and ugly husband. Constantine was watching them with interest and when Nicephorus asked him what he saw, Constantine replied “ Cuckold and his wife” . A conversation started and Constantine was trying to persuade them how easy he could seduce that woman. Dyogenus decided to check that. Now he wondered if he had gone too far If Constantine was caught by the husband the whole story could end in very tragic way. This made the story more different than the adventures of his cousin Theophil Branas. Theophil never seduced married noblewoman in their own houses. Nicephorus also participated and Dyogenus did not want even to think about the reaction of his father. In fact, Dyogenus had evidence to think that Nicephorus changed his mind namely because of that slap from his father.
“ He must hurry on, if he wants to get out of this place “ somebody close to Dyogenus hissed. Dyogenus looked at Nicephorus and tried to ease him
“ You should not worry. I am sure everything will be fine “
“ It won’t. “ Nicephorus said and went out of the small forest. It seemed he was leaving them.
“Nicephorus what are you doing “
“ Look who is coming and then we will speak, “ Nicephorus said with silent but determined voice. Somebody was really approaching them. This was the fat figure of the husband. He had to warn Constantine as soon as possible.
Point of view of Nicephorus Doukas
Nicephorus touched his swollen lip with his tongue. One day his father would pass and he would face his judgement. What he had to do was to wait patiently. Just like now. He did not know what made him change his mind. Maybe he feared Constantine could make anything stupid without him. At least he was there to prevent it. Maybe he went with his friends since he was hurt again by his father and wanted to cause pain to the others as well. He knew it was probably the both of them. This was a mistake. He had to show more will and to stop it. Thus any accidents would have been avoided and nobody would have suffered because of his inferiority complex. In such moments Nicephorus hated himself.
He was not sure if the others caught the irony of the present situation. This was both funny and tragic. Nicephorus spent much of his time with the peacocks in the garden. They distracted him with their beauty and helped him to forget his humiliation. They also could not hurt him in the way the human beings could. The husband of this wife resembled them: he had forgotten the good feather was not enough in the world of the humans. He faced the consequences. It was tragic because this story could end very badly for the participants and because even in a ‘good end ‘ nothing would be the same again. Nicephorus was not sure that anybody of his fellows realized that. None of them was a fool but they were still behaved slightly immaturely. He knew the wife would never be again after these meeting. Thanks to the skills of Constantine she had stepped that line she would probably continue with her adulteries. Nicephorus had also learned she was separated by the man she loved and sent far away from him. He wondered if this would be his own fate when he married Anna Angelina, his fiancee. Finally, he could not hide his irritation
“ He must hurry on, if he wants to get out of this place “
He met the eys of Dyogenus for a while and then looked at the street. He saw riders. He recognized their leader: the fat and ugly husband. He knew what was going to happen if he did not interfere. Dyogenus Branas would go to call Constantine but he would be short of time and who knew what would happen. In addition the poor woman could suffer even more.
“ You should not worry. I am sure everything will be fine, “ heard the answer of Dyogenus who obviously did not see them.
“ It won’t. “ Nicephorus said and went out of the small forest. He climbed on his horse and ride it towards the other horsemen. He had no other choice.
“Nicephorus what are you doing? “
“ Look who is coming and then we will speak “ Nicephorus whispered. Finally, Dyogenus had seen the threat and disappeared. He had gone to warn Constantine.
Nicephorus was alone. He knew what he had to do. He knew he was son of his father. He also wore grain of that evil, which obsessed his father. Nicephorus knew he could influence the people when he needed. However, unlike his father he used it without that devilish pleasure and he did only when there was no other way to help his friends. Constantine was in trouble. He had to put the mask of the monster once again. He had to make the nobleman listen to him and to give some time to Constantine to leave the house. He knew he would do it. This was not a trap. The men looked calm and were not many. He always won unlike his father. His father would lose one day and he would be there to watch his downfall.
When the distance became short enough, Nicephorus spoke with determined voice,
“ Good evening, Kir Tarchaniottes. I waited for you. “
Closing for evaluation...