-to Lovejag The Lone Reviewer: thanks so much for ur encouragement.
-I am thinking about re-writing a couple more short stories. Have any of you read A Tangled Web?
-Chapter Six:
"Are you really thinking about eating that?" Melissa asked me scornfully as I opened the basket Issac had handed us before going back into his house.
"I'm hungry," I replied a bit sulkily.
"By eating that you'll show him that he's winning," my cousin persisted. "It'll show you're giving in. Besides...why would you want to eat food from a man like that?"
"Because I'm hungry."
Melissa huffily turned around.
"Why don't you eat something?" I asked. "It's so hot out and it's been a most distressing day."
"To say the least," she replied sarcastically. "But I am not weak and will not touch any of that food."
I opened the basket and spread out its contents...a canteen of milk, a couple apples, and a meat pie. There were also cups, plates, forks and a couple napkins. I picked up an apple...momentarily forgetting the heat. But right as I was about to put it into my mouth I noticed several bruised spots. I turned the apple around and saw that it was more bruised than not!
"Not enjoying your apple?" Melissa asked me.
"It's bruised!"
"That man probably doesn't know how to keep his apples!"
I placed the apple back into the basket and instead took out the meat pie. It looked alright but as I took a bit I found it hard to swallow for the bread crust was sour and the meat undercooked. I gulped down that one bite, but quickly drank a large amount of milk to get rid of the after taste.
"This pie is terrible!" I sputtered.
"Well you surely don't expect a bachelor to know how to cook?" Melissa asked me smugly.
Ignoring her I took the pie and, in disgust, threw it down next to Julius Caesar. The dog ate up the pie quite readily. This gave me an idea and taking an apple threw it as far as I could, hoping to distract the dog. But the dog merely watched me heave the fruit and never looked away.
"How does that man live on such food?" I asked myself.
As I turned around I caught Melissa taking a quick sip of milk! And her pretending to be a martyr!
"Will we be up here forever?" I asked. Clouds were coming in and the heat was less. But I still couldn't imagine staying up here much longer.
"I plan to stay up here until one of our neighbors realize we are missing and comes out to find us. Just wait until I tell the sheriff!"
For a moment I felt sorry for Issac...Melissa was such a gossip and if we did ever get down she would make life miserable for him.
Suddenly there was a large thunderclap! The clouds that had been giving me shade from the sun now turned out to be brewing a storm! I saw, a ways away, rain coming down, hard. I could hear it pounding in the distant fields and the black clouds were coming closer!
I sat up straight as a spark of lightning snaked it way's briefly through the sky.
"That's it!" I exclaimed, I was near hysteric. "There is no way I am going to let this ten-dollar hat get wet!" Then screaming at the top of my lungs, I called for Issac.