Re-Entry's A Bitch: Stream of Consciousness Sunday

Thank goodness it's Sunday and Jana says we can brain dump today. I'm kidding about "Jana says" but I am a good listener and try to do as I'm told. It's Stream of Consciousness Sunday. So for five minutes I'm going to tell you things completely opposite of what I'd planned or originally thought. Timer set for five minutes then I won't edit. I hope it comes out appropriately because I'm pissed and its going the way of a total rant! *************************************************** I was so very lucky to be on vacation this past week. It was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed my husband and my friends and my friend's husbands (not in a kinky way). We are good friends that travel together often. And the week was wonderful.................But then you have to come home. To reality. And you're no longer living in the fake yet fantastic vacation dream world. My friend Susie always says, "Re-entry's a bitch!" and damn it, she was right tonight................. We walked into the house not long ago to what begins as a very nice welcome home letter from our friend, Jen, who stays with Addison (75 lbs. of naughty Chocolate Lab) and Henrietta, my daughter's fish (that somehow became my responsibility when Amanda came home from school in May)................"I hope you had a great trip. Blah, blah, blah." So here's the bad news...Henrietta joined Ellie (our old Lab that died in June) this week. The hard drive on your Desktop computer crapped out completely (Apple can't restore the thousands of pictures and documents on it and your external hard drive hasn't done it's job since January 2011. Okaaaaaaay!!!.................I decided to ignore all this for the evening and go through the mail. Why in the world would Matt (my naughty as the dog 19 year old) be getting a letter from Jesse White? Jesssie White is our Secretary of State...............The answer is simple, I guess. You can't have two speeding tickets in two years in the state of Illinois or your license gets suspended. Matt must overnight his license, from school in Indiana, by Tuesday or he's in bigger trouble. Glad I opened the letter but not happy I opened the letter.......................Susie, re-entry sure is a bitch!!!!.................AND I'm still writing on an iPad so my formatting sucks and I can't attach Jana's Stream of Consiousness Sunday Badge. So sorry. www.janasthinkingplace.com

Skinny Dipping, Partie Deux

Sleeplessness = Unplanned Trifextra Entry******************************************* For this weekend's Trifextra prompt, take one of our former 33 word entries and build upon it with another 33 words. Okedoke!!! ****************************** Something about this place; something about them alone in a rented Mackinaw cottage. Blistering heat at midnight seduced Gabby to skinny-dip purely to lower their bodies' heat breaking the awkwardness of their reconnection...... Conveniently clinging for warmth in black water, their familiarity felt like ghosts rushing through  intertwined bodies; riding a bike after far too long.  Whispering "I need you"s... Past encountering present. Wrong confronting right. www.trifectawritingchallenge.com

Being Myself

When I'm trusting and being myself... everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily, often miraculously. - Shakti Gawain- _(♥)_ (Found on my favorite Facebook page 2012 Healing The Planet) Today, I'm very thankful for the people who are in my life. Why don't I say that more? Acknowledge it more? I think it. I need to tell them, right? Rhetorical question!

Write On Edge: Writing Goals

Write On Edge would like to know what our writing ambitions and goals are in 300 words or less. Mine is really very basic but a goal none the less: What I'm really, really good at is throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. I'm Italian so there's lots of that. I may be patting myself on the back in this area. I generally have lots of ideas that translate into decent writing. Therein lies the problem. I never feel that it's enough. That my final product is good enough, clever enough, touching enough.... What to do about that? Do I keep writing as I am or do I change it up? My writing goal is to begin changing it up. Break out of my comfort zone and instead of writing mostly non-fiction, use what I know about life, God knows I lived long enough to know a lot, and turn it into engaging fiction. I need to break out of my square box and begin testing my wings of creativity. I know for a fact I can make up all kinds of things and I can verbally tell a funny tale. Just ask my friends and my kids who think I'm crazy. That's what I'm going to try and that will be my goal... Get the crazy (good crazy) out there on paper instead of letting it only reside in my brain or in the stories I tell people through my spoken words. I need to throw a different shape of pasta against the wall. One that's better than decent!

When Gaining Weight Becomes Sport

"When we lose twenty pounds… we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have!  We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty. "

 ~Woody Allen

To ensure my genius, humanity, love and honesty remain intact, I've indulged in BBQ pulled pork, hand cut french fries, and deep fried Oreos today. And crab and cheese grits and shrimp mac and cheese. At some point the ice cream sundae became a non-factor.

I love southern fried food but my clothes are boycotting! By the end of this vacation and at this rate, I will have those 20 that Woody contemplated! They will be hard earned. But at least, per him, I should be gaining or retaining my smartness, kindness, amorousness and truthfulness.

Pictures to follow of fried Oreos and a chubby girl (fried cookie for sure! Chubby girls, unlikely!)   

Monday's Music: Heart's Love Shack Baby Stings Alicia, She's Cryin' And Looking For Reasons

The ladies running the show over at Monday Music Moves Me (Xmas Dolly, Stacy Uncorked, Cathy Kennedy, and Shakira) have provided the most awesome theme for this week’s music selections!

SONGS FROM THE YEAR YOUR CHILDREN WERE BORN

My kids are old-ish so that means I must be too…nah! It’s all about the age you are in your head! At least to me. Here's to 1990 and 1993. While I was working, preparing bottles, warming jars of food and cutting up PB&J's, I was also listening and dancing!

In 1990, Phil Collins had several songs in the top 100. Wilson Phillips was new on the charts with harmonies and lyrics that drew me in so completely that I ran out for their album. Janet Jackson was making a run and Milli Vanilli hadn’t been “found out” yet.

It was difficult for me to choose just two songs from this year. So I picked one that I still love from Heart that’s a bit scandalous if you listen to the words. I’ve always loved those two rocker chicks!

And the other was the one I sang and danced to the most in the early 90’s playing at every single party for the next several years. Remember the B52?

1993 seemed to be all about Whitney and I Will Always Love You. Meatloaf was jamming I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) as she belted out those ballads. 

I was and still am touched by Stings song, Fields Of Gold. It makes my mind drift to places and people I love to remember.

I played Aerosmith’s Cryin’ constantly. Feel in love with the video on MTV and young Alicia Silverstone. Just wait until the end of this. Pretty damn good and a nice screw you!

And I just had to add a third. Rod might creep out some of you but he was all that back in the early days (despite the crazy stomach stories, if you know what I mean…) and this is my absolute, hands down, favorite song of his! He’s singing it live and I love that everyone sings it with him.

Happy Monday!

Eat This!

Yep! It’s Sunday again. Truly can’t believe it. Yet one of the best things about blogging on a Sunday is knowing a place, Jana's Thinking Place, where I can throw my random or prompted stream of consciousness writing.

Fortunately for me, but maybe not so for you, I’m going rando!

Five minutes with my phone’s stopwatch set and then I will post without editing. Oh, lucky you!

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

I will start by saying that I love food. My tastes run the mill of just about anything except Cheetos. Not a fan. Also, I don’t care for anchovies unless they are chopped up itty bitty. Everything else pretty much goes down the hatch. Oh, but I wouldn’t even think of eating sweetbreads. I will add those.

AND I'm a card carrying member of the clean plate club, just so ya know!

So I had the great fortune to dine at a favorite spot for brunch today. It’s a rather newish restaurant in Chicago’s Little Italy (one year maybe?). It’s called Davanti Enoteca. If you are ever in our fair city, hit it up. Lunch, Dinner, whatever. It is outstanding. Italian tapas. I digress...

On the weekends, in the morning, they open up their street front giant doors and sell fresh homemade donuts. They are on display for anyone walking by.

Okay, this may indeed gross some of you out but I just HAD to have the donut of the day. Today’s donut!

It was a soft and plush yeast raised long john (so moist that you thought there might be some custard inside at first), glazed generously with maple frosting and lastly, and most importantly….

A way thick strip of applesmoked bacon.

It was just about one of the most delicious sensations I have ever eaten. Not kidding.

If you ever run across something that looks like this (arrow pointing down)….EAT IT! You will not be disappointed. 

The Deal-Breaker

"Reads. Employed. Hot."

Her “must haves" became more loosely defined the longer she online dated.

Soon she’d change employed to part-time, hot to reasonably fit.

Maybe her picture too?

Reads…

The deal-breaker. Definitely.

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Check out Trifecta Writing Challenge where this weekend’s rules were:

We want you to give it back to us (based on a poem) in your own words, using your own subject matter.  Describe something that is three different things at the same time.  Oh, and do it in 33 words.

Striking The Deal, Making It Happen

Five Minute Friday is stream of consciousness writing hosted over here.

The word today was WIDE and we write for five minutes and post what we got without editing (much or at all). I really like writing this way especially on a busy day.

GO CUBS (Sorry Gal, they stink. I’m only going for food and beverage!)

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There was a time in my life that I loved to strike them! And I was good at it believe it or not. It was actually my job to negotiate and close “the deal”. It’s how I made money, my living!

I am a long way gone from those days but every now and then I am called on to do the deed and especially when it’s for my own benefit. I must admit I’m not as comfortable as I once was.

I’ve been car shopping this week because my car is not one I’d wish to hang on to beyond its warranty, which is virtually up, and it’s sort of a lemon.  

Tonight I got all the pricing and trade in values, all the info I needed to make my decision between two cars and tomorrow, I need to make the call and negotiate the final deal. There’s a problem though. The gap between what I’d like to pay and what they would like me to pay is WIDE.

It’s not my favorite thing to do anymore but I’ll do it.

My husband’s working. He knows I can fully handle it. He trusts me to do a decent job with the price AND he hopes I’ll walk away if I’m not feeling it.

Uggggghhhh!

It’s just not my favorite thing to do anymore but I’ll do it. (I know I said it twice…)

It used to give me a rush.

Now, it makes me uncomfortable. Don’t’ know why. Maybe Eric will feel sorry for me and give me what I'm asking...

Wish me luck!

Maybe tomorrow night I’ll be smelling a new leather interior instead of  one that smells like stinky dog.

Do You Still Like Me?

1.)  Six Word Memoir: Write about a significant time in your life in just six words.

So here are my six words: 

They’re Gone…

Still like me?
Phew!!!

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

I woke up this morning thinking I was going to be a lazy blogger and “phone in” a post. So for Mama Kat’s Writing Challenge, I picked the shortest prompt, definitely, but also the one I believed to be the easiest…at the time.

You know what?

I’ve spent way too much time deciding and choosing which six words define my life right now. 

So a month ago, we began our second year as empty nesters!

Believe me. You will all get there sooner rather than later and at times you’ll wish that your house was full again but not with toddlers or little people under the age of, oh I don’t know, say 12.

The first year of empty nesting is so very exciting. It’s full of possibilities and wonderment and the world is your oyster syndrome (if there is such a thing) and TIME!

 (Courtesy of DAMNYOUAUTOCORRECT.com)

For once, you have space and breathing room and less stress (except when you think about multiple college tuitions…word of advice, tune that out!).

YOU get to choose what it is you’d like to do. Sounds ideal, yes?

Well it is and it’s not.

Because the second year rolls around…

And the newness, as with most things in life, has worn off…

And you still have someone important to think about; someone else's happiness to factor into your equation of fun…that wonderful partner you chose 23.5 years ago. When you actually write the number, it sounds really long! I was in my 20’s when I enthusiastically said "I do!" for Pete’s sake!

You hope 25 years down the line, you still enjoy doing the same things and, more importantly, you still like each other.

We still do.

PHEW!

Not that I was worried or anything…

Sunrise At The Lake, My Perfect Neck, And Naughty Copilots

I have probably put over a thousand miles on my car in the last five days all in the state of Indiana. Yah, baby!!!!

No time for major creativity so here I share with you my Wednesday in pictures.

Just before sunrise…

The glow on the right is the reflection of the sun from the other side of the lake as it rises but I can’t see it yet except on the water.

It is not often that I see the sunrise living in Chicago (CST and too early) but in northwestern Indiana (EST), it rises at about 7:15am right now. That’s more doable for me! Here it is in all its rising glory! It will be a long time before I see it again, I’m sure!

I graduated today. My broken neck has been deemed extremely sturdy, perfect and I am released from duty…or at least from revisiting the orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Handsome As Hell (HAH) said my bone grafts (drugged up, I agreed to cadaver and I hope it was someone young!) look beautiful. He’s so charming! I told him I’d miss him and send him some cookies…I don’t bake so let’s see how much I really like him! Don't my teeth look really white?

My naughty co-pilot thought the Diet Coke was hers and took a nip off it! Nothing, I mean NOTHING is mine, I swear. She only took a sip. Not going to let a little doggie spit come between me and my DC!

Some Goodbyes Are Forever And Ever...

He proclaimed it her best attribute and what he noticed first, her ample chest. Gabby’s response, always, “Gee, thanks Pal.” accompanied by a good, hard punch to the ribs. “That’s it? That’s what you like most about me?”

“Well, I am a guy.” Will responded and with a smirk added. “You could tell me which part you like best about me.”

“You wish!”

He looked deeply into her light blue eyes resting his palm in his true favorite spot, “No. This is my favorite part of you.” His hand lay gently over her heart and he could feel it pounding.

“Yeah, right! That’s pretty darn close to your real spot! I know you!” Gabby replied, knowing he was speaking the truth, but she loved to tease him about this very thing.

The electricity and passion between them never failed to cause her to melt.

Into him. Into one.

But they were a long way away from where this word game of theirs started. Thirty years away to be exact.

The question before both of them this time around, and again, was...

“What are we doing?”

Both her ample parts began to heave, in sadness, because she knew.

Gabby’s cheeks were streaked black; mascara running down her face. She kissed him tenderly knowing it would be the last one, softly uttering a final goodbye and got in her car.

Peeling out of the driveway, spewing gravel in her haste, she needed to put as much distance between the two of them as she could. Proximity had been their foe and distance a dear friend.

As she drove, her mind changed as it always did. About Will. Gabby dialed his number?

“This is Will. Leave a message.” God, she loved his voice.

“Okay! I just left you. Please call me. I can’t do it this. There’s never not been an “us”. Please!”

Gabby pulled over and waited.

Thirty minutes later, the text came through…

“No. Your goodbyes hurt me too much.”

Could this be forever?

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

In a roundabout way, I fell into this song, Under Your Spell by Desire, from a movie recommendation on a blog I follow. I’m obsessed with it but then I'm obsessed with a whole lot of things. I think it’s perfect for the love story of Gabby and Will.

Written for Trifecta’s prompt.

AMPLE: 3. Buxom, portly.

I'm Lovin' It with Pink, Da-Da-Da-DA-Da, And A World Class Chef!

I woke up this morning so very excited. Today, for me, is a BIG day.

I set my DVR for the Today Show’s 9:00 hour. I don’t have the TV on during the day…Ever…and I did not want to miss this.

I probably don’t need one more thing in my life to be obsessed with but anything Pink (not the color) is grandfathered in, in my opinion.

                   (I want those shoes and leggings!)

Why couldn’t I be in NYC today instead of three and a half weeks from now so I could be in Rockefeller Center watching my favorite gal sing two of her new songs? She is such a stud! She sung in the cold rain without skipping a beat or making a fuss. Gotta love those low maintenance girls! She was more than fantastic but I’m extremely partial!

Today was the release of Pink’s new CD called “The Truth About Love”. I downloaded it from iTunes not too early, waited until a respectable 7am, and have listened to the whole thing. Forewarning, it has “swears” in many of the songs so if that bothers you, you can listen to the “clean” versions on YouTube no doubt.

So I’m thinking a new album means A TOUR in the near future. Because dog gone it!!! she went and had a baby with that skateboarding husband of hers that she’s just nuts about which put off a show for her fans by two years!

Her concert was at the tippy top of my list of most entertaining concerts to which I have ever had the good fortune to attend! It was outstanding. She did this trapeze-y thing with long drapery type material. At the end of the song, the material lowered her into a "below stage level tank" of water, brought her up and spun her around. Extremely mesmerizing and beautifully lit!

Finished gushing!!!

I’m not a bad wife but I’ve not been as good as I was last year…in the cooking department. Last year was our first as empty nesters and I chef-ed (not a word, I know) it up pretty darn good. We ate healthy and fresh and extremely well. An added and unexpected bonus, we both lost 5 lbs. Not bad.

Well, that was then and this is now. Cooking has become lackluster to me lately. Something about fall does that to me. Okay, I’m blaming a season. I just don’t feel like it.

But my favorite season means I can start making grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner. Not to boast, but I’m a world famous maker of a stellar grilled cheese. Just ask my “not at all picky or fussy” husband. Fixing a great grilled cheese is almost an art. It must be really crispy on the outside using real butter and gooey on the inside. Two great sensations!

The night before I dialed for Chinese. I’m being lazy but at least he has some leftovers while I’m out of town…at least for one night. He will just break out the chips and salsa anyway which is his go-to dinner when I’m not home (or Chipotle).

(Just kidding, Honey!)

Gotta get in the car and drive. To me, road trips mean DA-Da-Da-DA-Da, I’m lovin’ it! A #3 Meal, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, fries and a chocolate shake. Given the choice, I prefer a Whopper but there aren’t as many BK’s around. I know why that is but “WHY is that?”

I almost did last weekend’s 33-word Trifecta challenge about road trips and McDonalds.

Thanks to Stacy Uncorked and Impulsive Addict for always allowing such randomness to talk to them on Tuesday!

You And I Got Away Like A Prayer...

Another Music Moves Me Monday. Monday aren't generally my favorite day of the week. Ok, who am I kidding? I'm not a fan of Mondays at all. But thanks to Stacy Uncorked and Xmas Dolly and their friends, I get to put my music stuff out there for someone’s listening pleasure besides my own. And that makes ME very happy! A happy me is a good me. Trust me!

This week’s theme is “freebie” which works for me because it leads into part of my post for tomorrow where I will be writing about my favorite chick right before I run out to Target. It will make more sense tomorrow, I promise.

I’m a huge Lady Gaga fan. Sure, I think she’s wacky. I don’t “get” some of her outfits but I’m just going with what must be her artistic expression. Being a “live and let live” kind of person, I’m very cool with wacky people.

So this is my favorite Gaga song. Until today, I hadn’t seen the video. It’s kinda HOT especially the beginning. When you listen to the song, just by itself (meaning no video as a distraction; close your eyes), you can hear the pureness of her voice. It’s not a fussy, techno jazzed up version like most of her other stuff.

I am also a Katy Perry fan, sort of. Again, I appreciate her creativity, mostly, but not her gimmicky productions. This song is sweet and sad and my favorite of hers.

This may make me unpopular with some but I'm really no longer much a Madonna fan. Too much is too much with her. I’m not sure if it was the overexposure of her life for way too long but I have always loved this song.  For some reason, years ago (13 years, maybe), I used to run to this song. I played it at the very end of a running workout and it motivated me. Not sure what that says or why a mellow song would inspire me to hit the pavement extra hard for 5 more minutes but it did! Weird, I know!

Happy Music Monday!

When She Got Grounded...

Written for trifectawritingchallenge.com with the prompt “rule of three”.

When she got grounded she…

pushed their car down the drive in neutral to escape.

            pierced an extra hole using ice and potatoes.

            packed up her car, drove to school, hardly going home.

Where Babies Come From...

Being a mom for a while now, almost 22 years, I have more than a few instances where my child and I both lost something youthful and childlike. Me...just from a different angle. I know you'll get this…

So two definite standouts stories are when the wheels fell off the whole Santa, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy gigs all at the same time, in one fell swoop. Boy, did I feel rotten that day.

The other is the day I was forced to explain how babies were made to my oldest, who was/is a very sharp cookie.

I think I'll tell you "the birds and the bees" one. I’m not so sure I did a very good job so please don’t judge me. I was caught off guard with very little time to formulate a plan.

ADVICE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN’T GONE DOWN THIS PATH YET…HAVE A PLAN FORMULATED WAY AHEAD OF TIME!!!

Just saying it helps. And it goes for Daddies, too, because you get to do it with your boys (at least that’s how it worked in this household).

Each year, the kids in our schools spend some time at the Robert Crown Center, which is nationally recognized for teaching kids K – 8^th grade about healthy eating, puberty, human reproduction, tobacco, and alcohol and drug abuse prevention through science-based programs.

They do a fine job explaining things over there and we, parents, are quite happy for their support with all those tricked up things I mentioned above especially, you guessed it, human reproduction!

So in fifth grade, all the boys and girls go with a parent to an after school program to begin touching upon the topic of reproduction (in fourth grade, they learned a little about puberty and this was the add on piece to that).

The first half went swimmingly with both the boys and girls together. They each learned a bit of anatomy related to themselves and the opposite gender. Very nicely and scientifically presented, I thought.

Then the genders split up for the “big” stuff.

It was right about this time that my daughter began complaining of a headache. Go figure.

“Sweetheart, hang in there. It’s almost finished then we can go.”

“Mom, I DON’T FEEL GOOD!” she whispered loudly. I’m diagnosing it as sensory overload but I'm not a doctor.

“Okay, then. Let’s go.” And I motioned to my friend, Susie, with my hand waving perpendicularly to my throat, mouthing “We’re outta here.”

Amanda was sleeping on the couch practically before the car was in park. She'd have just enough time to nap it off before her evening gymnastics.

That’s when I got the call from Susie who said, 

“Just so you know, Natasha asked to know exactly how the egg reaches the sperm for fertilization. The instructor felt as if she had to answer the question. So all the girls in the fifth grade, except Amanda, know exactly how a female egg is fertilized. Catch my drift?”

I might have said, “Oh, F-bomb. Figures Natasha!” I can’t remember.

So I will net out the conversation that took place in the car to gymnastics between my daughter and me. She was in the back seat and I was conversing with her through the rearview mirror.

Me: “Sweetheart, I understand at Robert Crown that Natasha asked a question and the answer was provided to the group and I feel you should have the answer, too. It’s pretty grown up information but I know you can handle it.”

Her: “Okkkkk?”

Me: “Well, you know that boys have a penis, right? And girls have the area where their periods come from (I just couldn’t say the “V” word). Men provide the sperm and women provide the egg in order for a baby to begin inside a woman. You with me.”

Her: “Yeeeeees?”

Me, blurting out rather quickly: “Well, when two married people like your daddy and mommy love each other so much and want to have a baby, they share a special hug where the man’s penis and the woman’s period area connect on the inside......of the woman. That’s how the sperm reaches the egg!”

Thinking I’d done a pretty good job with little collateral damage, I glanced in the mirror. I could actually see her thinking for a minute.

But then her face began to change, and kind of screw up. I got nervous.

She sort of shivered, winced and shouted:

"YOU. HAVE. GOT. TO. BE. KIDDING. ME!!!”

Me: “Sweetheart, it’s really no big deal. Thought you should know. Do you have any questions?”

Her: “ABSOLUTELY, NOT!”

She ran out of the car to gymnastics and never brought it up again… Thankfully. Until we had to go to Robert Crown... the next time.

Things changed a little for us going forward.

But I think I did pretty well on the fly. Don’t you?

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4.) Describe a moment where you or your child lost a part of childhood (realizing Santa isn’t real, etc.)

My Addictive Relationship Tendencies

Sometimes you're told things you don’t want to accept; refuse even!

It happens to me.

All. 
The. 
Time.

I have trouble with the word “NO”.

I definitely have documented difficulties with goodbye. And I especially don’t like them when they’re not my idea or I’ve no interest in ending something.

And some connections are just what they are; mostly for the better, some for the worse…

Such is my relationship with Pawel. Radical.

Frank, a long-time, mutual friend set us up. Frank’s known me forever and well, and definitely knows what’s best for me. I implicitly trust Frank in matters of mind and body.

It started very slowly which isn’t how my relationships generally go. But I really enjoyed Pawel so I let him lead here if he promised more attention in the future.

I’ve only known him personally for 4 weeks but had my eye on him for years. I noticed his comings and goings from my gym every single Wednesday. And it was common knowledge he had a string of women.

I wanted him badly. I didn’t care who else he saw.

The thing I really like about him are his hands. They're strong, almost god-like. I do have a thing for hands!

Don’t get the wrong impression of Pawel. He’s really sweet with a gentle demeanor, charming and discreet. He’s not a cad by any stretch.

I was ecstatic as my time with Pawel thankfully grew and I became even more enamored with this man’s skills.

Yes, he caused me pain. And I'll admit, I was embarrassingly vocal about the response his hands firmly touching me caused. But I do love the complicated feeling of the pleasure/pain sensation.

It’s only been four weeks but...

I am addicted to Pawel. It’s a personality flaw, I suppose.

Frank told me today Pawel thought he might end things with me soon.

I was heartsick!

“How could that be?” my throat squeezed out.

“Your insurance may stop covering Pawel’s massages after 8 weeks.”

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This was written for the Trifecta Writing Challenge and the Yeah Write Speakeasy. Trifecta's word prompt is:

Radical

3. a : very different from the usual or traditional