Gemini Rising

Just another day...

It's been kind of nice these past two days. Yesterday I was able to sit down and catch up on a bunch of emails, networking stuff, and misc. Today, I'm dedicating as much time as I can to WDC. Phewww...

Well, now that Wolf's Torment is out, I'm striving to find reviews. I've got one review coming from Kirkus, I just got another committment from Clairon (Foreword) and one from PageOneLit. I'm excited about that. One of friends, Judi, got the ebook of Torment and read it over the weekend. She said she loved it, so I figure I'm off to a good start.

WEIGHT WATCHERS

Well, yesterday I took Joseph to the Mommy & Me Weight Watcher's meeting. I had another slow week, but I'm not complaining. I now have a total weight loss of 11.8 pounds - and in fact - I can stuff myself into the next size down so I'm kind of excited about that. Joseph is such a flirt too. He just crawled right over to one of the women sitting in the audience and stood up next to her. Charmed her pants off.

A little later on, I'm taking the boys to see the great-grandparents. Grandma has a lemon tree in her backyard and I squeeze the lemon juice into my daily water bottles. Helps prevent bloating and is a natural dietric. (sp?)

Okay, as promised, here's an added scene for ACROSS THE FICKLE WINDS OF HISTORY. Mind you, this is a first draft, I still need to go through for spelling/punctutation:

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After dinner, I let Tatiana attend to our mother and I went to the library to read. Unfortunately, I found it hard to concentrate on my magazine. It was a British publication about recent inventions and what one might expect in the future. Mr. Guilliard rcommended it to me so as to keep up on world events. Such inventions as the automobile and even the airplane seemed so farfetched, unworkable, yet they did work – amazingly well. The more I thought about it, the more I was inclined to believe that the future could make anything possible.

After a while and trying to grapple with the dry reading, I put the magazine and the future aside, preferring to escape to the world I knew. I made my way to the conservatory, hoping to make use of the piano. As I opened the door, I discovered Anastasia and Stephanie in the corner. A small lamp burned on the mantle and Anastasia was trying to teach Stephanie how to play bezique.

“Hello, Olga,” said Stephanie politely.

“Why are you here?” questioned Anastasia with a frown.

“Anna, you shouldn’t be rude,” said Stephanie. She gave my sister the same frown she gave me. To my surprise, my sister grew contrite, as if Stephanie’s mild scolding hurt her deeply.

“I’m sorry, Olga,” said Anastasia.

“Apology accepted,” I replied. I walked over to the piano’s bench and sat down.

“Olga, you’re nt going to play are you? How can I teach Stephanie the game?” Anastasia protested.

I hestitated. The glist of disappointment in my youngest sister’s eyes moved me. She was thrilled to hold Stephanie’s attention, and reluctant to give it up.

“Well, I wanted to play―”

“Anna, before we chase Olga off, let’s visit a little with her,” Stephanie suggested with a smile. “Perhaps we can listen to her perform a song?”

“Sure,” signed Anastasia.

“Don’t pout, my friend,” said Stephanie. She reached out and grabbed Anastasia’s hand, squeezing it, reassuring my sister of her friendship. “I think it would be nice to hear Olga play first.”

Anastasia was silent, quietly accepting the decision by nodding her head.

“Thank you,” I replied. I turned around and checked the pitch to ensure the piano was still tuned. Then I shuffled some of the sheet music to play a composition written by Mr. Guilliard. It was meant to challenge me, but I had mastered it over a month ago. Slwoly, my fingers began to glide over the keyboard. Music filled the air. The piece started slow, with young lovers having a shy, first meeting, built to a fast pace climax with the consummation of their love, then feel into a sad lament as the young man dies in war. Mr. Guilliard told me the story to help me feel the passion and sentiment behind the music of the piece. It was his way to make me play with more feeling and emotion.

As I ended, I realized the room was very still. Finally, Anastasia spoke.

“Well done, Olga.”

“It was very nice,” added Stephanie. “There was a lot of feeling in the beginning.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you both liked it,” I replied.

Stephanie’s smile comforted me, and in that moment, I felt relaxed in her presence. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“No, go ahead.”

“Do you have autos in America? Do you know how to drive one?”

“I drove one once or twice. I think I prefer to be the passenger,” she replied. “And you?”

“I’ve never driven one.”

“If you want, we can sneek into the auto stables tomorrow and take one out for a spin?” suggested Anastasia.

“Anna!” I cried. Knowing her, not only would she do it, she’d get away with it.

“After you complete your studies,” replied Stephanie, chucking.

My eyes grew wide, surprised at Stephanie’s encouragement. Anna giggled. Stephanie reached for Anna’s hand again, but instead of grasping it, it almost seemed to have blended with my sister’s hand. Uncanny! I blinked my eyes, not once, but twice, only to discover Stephanie had jerked her hand away and shoved it into the pocket of her maid’s skirt. Surely my eyes were playing tricks on me – they had to be.

“Olga, are you all right? Your mouth is open,” Anastasia said.

“I’m fine,” I replied, closing my mouth. Stephanie said nothing and only a slight reddening of her cheeks seemed to reveal her embarrassement. At what? Were my eyes playing tricks on me or was Stephanie a ghost? I walked over to their table and put a hand on each of their shoulders as I spoke. “If you do decide to sneek into the auto stables and drive one off, don’t get hurt. Mother would be severly disappointed in you.”

Stephanie nodded her head. Her shoulder felt solid. It was have been a trick of the candlelight on my eyes, I concluded.

“Are you going to say anything, Olga?” Anastasia asked.

“No, it’s not my place. I would caution you not to do it, but I know you well enough to know you won’t pay any attention to my advice.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing will happen to her,” Stephanie said.

I smiled. Something in Stephanie’s tone of voice told me she considered herself not only my sister’s good friend, but her protector as well.

“Good night,” I said.

“Good night, Olga,” said Anastasia.

“Good night.”

Anastasia was eager to get back to her game, and a part of me was happy she’d found someone who would be her friend and give her the unconditional attention she craved. The other part of me was a little uncertain at what I’d seen. Still, when I touched Stephanie, I was convinced she was not a ghost, as she felt very solid and real. Hiding my uncertainty under a guide of happiness for Anastasia, I left.


END OF SCENE

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