Optimist

Lavender Green (kittenlover and I)

"Calm down. I'm not a complete fool. I've got my savings with me and I can work as a farm hand or as a mechanic. I promise you won't starve Rose. As to where we will live, I don't know yet. We can..." He was about to say get a hotel, but that would hardly work. They were not married and it was still 1955, not some distant future where such things would not matter. "We'll work something out. I can sleep in the car and we will get you a room for the night."

Soon they were across the state line, headed into Ohio. The long, flat farming country started up on either side of his car.

Back in town, Bobby Lee came out of the local bar, smelling like cheap whiskey and cigarettes. He had been drinking and playing poker all morning and now it was time to check on his girl. He jumped into his black car and started off toward the barn where the dance was to be held.

The Learning Curve (Luna and I)

Steven frowned slightly at the woman with the ear buds, but said nothing. He did not really care that she had been listening to music, but he knew that he was still in a poor mood. Shaking his head, he tried to dispel his demons. It was not his students' faults that he was having a crappy day.

"Good morning class. Ah, why don't we go around in a circle, and tell everyone our name and something about ourselves? I will start. I am Steven and I teach sociology here. I am recently divorced, have a dog named Hobo and I like jogging and reading novels in my spare time." He turned and pointed at the woman, who was just putting away her ear buds.

Crimson Tide (MegaraFoxfire and I)

The baroness shook her head. "I don't think you understand. I hate the scum of the ocean as well. To think about you out on the waves, fighting them, would stir my heart. I have more money than God and little enough of it is spent on decent goals. You must let me do this. As to what Mr. Hawthorne wishes to do, he is a grown man and you can not very well tell him what to do."

Witness Protection

Samuel Powers hated prison. He hated the orange jumpsuits, being locked in a tiny cell with a smelly bunk mate and he hated the food. It was nothing to his hatred for his wife though. The bitch should have kept her mouth shut, but instead he was in prison. The law said she did not have to testify against her husband, so this had been her choice. She had chosen to send him to prison.

He had contacts though, and money. A few bribes, and he knew just where she was, who was babysitting her and what they were having for breakfast. Revenge would be his.

Rafael made breakfast early the following morning. He fried up some eggs and bacon and had toast in the toaster. Seth was grumpy, as usual, though a cup of coffee was in his hands. They were waiting for Mrs. Powers to emerge from dreamland.

Lavender Green (kittenlover and I)

Bert could hardly believe that she was leaning in to kiss him, so quickly, especially after the way he had treated her. He did not question it though, put simply kissed her soft lips with his. He reached up to put his hands on her shoulders for a moment. The kiss lasted a good twenty seconds and he could feel an electricity spark between them as it did. He felt hot in the collar. Eventually, they parted and he put his hands back on the steering wheel.

"O.K. then. Well, that was... Just wow." If he had not already loved her, that would have done it. He aimed the car toward the outskirts of town and put the peddle to the metal. They were really moving by the time the car passed the local high school. Bert still did not know where they were headed. He could hardly bring her home to meet his parents. They would never approve of some strange girl he just showed up with. As it was, he decided to head for the state line.

There were many flowers blooming alongside of the road, as they headed out of the town. Roger hardly saw them. His mind was on the companion by his sit. He was aware of her like the flowers were aware of the morning sun.

Witness Protection

Seth could not believe what a waste of time the last few minutes had been. It was almost ten o'clock and he hoped that their charge would just go to bed soon, so he could work in peace. He sighed and walked over to the television cabinet, before opening it up. "Look, the agency provides cable, a DVR, a gaming system and a library of movies. If you want books, we can provide those if you tell us the titles and such." He turned toward his partner. "Mr. Arboleda, can I talk with you, in the kitchen, now?" He walked to the kitchen, fulling expecting his partner to follow.

From the kitchen he could here Rafael apologizing for him. If anything, Rafael should apologize for himself. He was unprofessional and someday it was going to get someone hurt, or worse.

The Learning Curve (Luna and I)

Doctor Steven Chambers crossed the campus of Wayland University, dodging thrown frisbees and student questions. "My office hours are posted," was all that he would say. He was tired and angry. Summer session was about to start, with its smaller class sizes and more serious students. No one took summer course who was not serious about their studies. It should have been a good start to one of his favorite times of year to teach, but he had just had a fight with Dr. Wright, the head of the sociology department. He could not imagine a more disagreeable old man than Wright. The argument had been over his use of department funds to fund his latest research. He had the support of the university, but not that old busybody. Wright thought that he should have to qualify for a special grant, rather than using funds which had already been agreed upon in his contract.

Dr. Chambers, was a tall, slender fellow with long, lean muscles and wavy brown hair. He had a straight nose, a thin face and brown eyes. A pair of rounded spectacles threatened to fall down his nose, and he angrily shoved them back up. He was wearing a brown suit, with patches on the elbows and a pair of brown leather suits.

He entered Andrews Hall, a red brick building, and walked down the hall to his first class, a class in the sociology of aging. It was a graduate class, and he was not in the mood to teach it, but time waited for no man. With a sigh, he tried to calm down, and forced a smile on his face. He walked through the door, and entered the tiny conference room where the class was to be held. There were six graduate students sitting around the table. He did not know them all, since some were transfers.

The Learning Curve (Luna and I)

Here We Go.

Once Upon a Time...

Who is still around anyway? I just got back home a few hours ago. I am still here.

Crimson Tide (MegaraFoxfire and I)

The baroness was silent for a moment, and then spoke. "I have a small sloop of my own. It is my personal vessel, for quick runs. Could it get your there and back, in one piece? Do you think you could avoid pirates? It only has ten guns and can't carry much of a crew compliment."

Roger held up a hand for a moment. "I am going too, if you go, and don't try to tell me no. This is the most alive I have felt... for a long time."