"Still feeling blocked?" Chuck asked. Sarah blinked at him as if she didn't understand the question. "Writer's block, I mean."
"Oh that," Sarah said. "The view is so lovely that I totally forgot about it."
"That's good. My plan is already working!" Chuck replied with a grin. "I packed a little writing exercise for us."
"You did?"
Chuck went into his backpack to collect the two notebooks and the two pens he'd brought with him. He handed one over to her.
"Now the idea is to try and write something down about where we are," Chuck said. "Descriptions and stuff."
She didn't start writing as he'd hoped. To his surprise, she was still looking very intently at the first page of her notebook. Chuck leaned over and instantly realized why. Without thinking, he snatched the notebook out of her hands.
"Sorry, I forgot that was in there," Chuck said, quickly.
"Hey, I was reading that," Sarah objected.
"It's nothing," Chuck said, ripping out the first couple pages of the notebook. "I forgot how old this notebook was."
"Did you write that?" Sarah asked.
"It was a school thing," Chuck explained. "A poem about ourselves."
"School, like high school?" Sarah asked.
"Yep," Chuck sighed. "I had one crazy creative English teacher who kept trying to think outside the box."
"It was a very lovely poem," she told him, but Chuck just rolled his eyes.
"This is about you writing something," Chuck reminded her.
"Why can't it be both?" she asked.
"Cause I don't write poems," Chuck replied.
"Oh, my mistake," Sarah teased. "That must have been computer code that only looked like a poem."
"Yes, exactly," Chuck replied, jokingly. Sarah was giggling and Chuck thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she saw them.
He unscrambled the paper and read the lines on it. Lines he'd all but forgotten were there.
C omputers are my thing, I love
H ow they know everything, a
U niverse of knowledge at my fingertips
C ome game with me and we'll
K ill some zombies
"Here," he said, handing it to her. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you read them."
Sarah looked down at the page for a moment and then she began to hum. Once she'd tried out a few tunes, Sarah started to sing Chuck his poem. She snapped her fingers to keep the beat, as if trying to make up for the lack of music.
"You said it yourself: songs are just poems put to music," Sarah explained. "That wasn't very good, but I am sure you have longer poems that might work better..."
"You are just looking for excuses to get the other one I ripped out, aren't you?" Chuck replied.
"Guilty," Sarah chuckled.
"What do I get out of this?" Chuck teased.
"I could sing to you," Sarah smiled. "A song for a poem?"
"Hmmm," Chuck pretended to think, tilted his head, but the effect was ruined by the smile on his face. "Alright then."
"The back of your hand touches my skin," Sarah sang softly. "As you walk by, I can feel you here. Know you're near. I'm aware of you." Sarah hummed the missing instrumentals before she continued, tapping her foot on the ground. "I'm aware, oh so aware of you. The lights go out, it's as if we are alone. I feel you in the room. I'm aware you are near me." Sarah let the last note slowly fade.
Chuck couldn't help but be mesmerized by her as she sang. He wasn't sure if it was the setting, her skill or just how much he liked her, but the moment was possibly perfect.
"Did that earn me a poem?" Sarah asked into the silence.
"That was beautiful," Chuck told her, awestruck. He didn't recognize the song. Chuck never knew the songs on the radio. His sister never failed to tease him about it. He couldn't help wondering what artist she was covering.
"It sounds better with music," Sarah dismissed the praise and held out her hand. "Poem, please." With a sigh, Chuck gave in.
"I wrote this last one in high school as well," Chuck said as he handed over the crumbled piece of paper. "It was a descriptive assignment for that same out-of-the-box English teacher. I wanted to describe a computer, but the teacher said it had to be something in nature or whatever, so I picked the ocean."
He glanced at the poem only once before handing it to Sarah.
The crashing of the waves
The sand crumbles as it braves
The harsh waters and the beating sun
The feet that tumble as they run
Seashells, sandals and boards
Stopping and starting as it moves towards
The ocean, the blue, the sparkling view
The sun and the gulls up as they flew
Stars, moon and night
Still as glass and just as bright
Under darkness, the water is black
But come sun up, the blue is back
"You must have got an A," Sarah said. "It's very descriptive. I will never look at the ocean the same again."
"Wait, you actually like it?" Chuck said, surprised.
"Like it! No. I love it."
"Thanks," Chuck mumbled. Sarah put the papers aside and pulled him close for a kiss.
"Did you write anymore?" she asked.
"Nope," Chuck said. "I didn't even know those two were in this notebook. I did most of my homework on a computer, but I must have written those offline and then typed them out. I totally forgot."
"Well I'm glad you did," Sarah said. "Or I would never have been able to read them."
"On another note, I think I have an idea for your writing exercise," Chuck said. He pulled out his phone and then spent a moment copying from the cell screen into his notebook.
Haiku: Syllables per line 5,7,5
-Usually about nature or scenery and often holds a surprise.
Sonnet: Rhyming pattern of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
-Often references Shakespeare and tells a story
Limerick: Rhyming pattern AABBA but also has a syllable rhythm.
-Always humorous, never serious.
Acrostic Poems: First letter of each line must spell a word.
-Often that word is a person but sometimes also a time of year.
"Here," he said, handing it to Sarah. "This might help you get started with some poems."
Sarah took the offered notebook and read what he'd written. "You want me to write poems?" she said.
"Yeah, I think it might help with your song writing," Chuck explained. "The haiku might be a good place to start."
"Oh, the limerick looks like fun," Sarah exclaimed. "But I agree. Let's start with a haiku. And you have to write one, too."
Chuck sighed. "Deal," he said.
For the next few minutes they poured over their notebooks, occasionally counting syllables on their fingers.
"Wri-ter's block," Sarah said, counting syllables on her fingers. "Sucks." She paused and counted again, then her shoulders slumped. "There, only four syllables!"
"Nice," Chuck said, encouragingly.
"Writer's block sucks lots," Sarah said, triumphantly. "There, that's five."
"But you need two more lines," Chuck reminded her.
"Oh right," Sarah laid back on the grass, chewing on her pen as she thought about what else to add.
"Staring at the blank page-" Sarah said, then repeated the phrase again, trying to find words to add to it.
"Why does frustration have so many syllables," she grumbled to the sky. "It's so frustrating."
Chuck wasn't bothering with the writing exercise anymore. Instead he was gazing at the beautiful sight in front of him.
The sun wasn't shining much, but it was just enough to make her glow. Her eyes in particular were dazzling in this setting. Most would have called them blue, but if you looked long enough, there was more to them than that. When he focused, Chuck could see hints of a light grey mixed into the blue hues.
If he were a painter or photographer, he would have wanted to capture this moment with a camera or canvas, but he was just a computer guy. Not really artistic at all. He didn't think he could turn this moment into a computer program. All he had to work with was his paper and pen and no drawing skills of any kind.
Oh, and his cell phone camera. That would do.
"Do you mind if I take a picture," he asked. "With the view and the sun it's too perfect not to capture." Sarah nodded and Chuck took her picture.
"Beautiful," Chuck said as he looked at the photo. No matter how this ended, Chuck felt sure he'd always cherish this photo.
Looking down at his notepad again he thought he should probably get started on something. The acrostic seemed like the easiest one to write. He decided to use Sarah's name and before long he had a simple poem written out.
S exy as hell, she walked into my life
A nd turned it upside down
R everent joy found in her smile
A casual encounter could lead to love, but alas
H eartbreak much more likely to follow
He smiled down at the acrostic poem for only a moment before ripping out the embarrassing piece of paper and crumbling it in his hand.
"Oh no, Chuck!" Sarah gasped. "Nothing you write could be that bad." Despite crumpling it up, he rather liked the poem. Chuck just didn't want Sarah to see it. To get rid of that sad look in her eyes, Chuck smoothed out the poem, folded it up into a small square and stuck it in his pocket.
"Much better," Sarah told him. "But I suppose that means I'm not allowed to read that one."
"That would be correct," Chuck said.
"In that case you can help me with mine," Sarah said, holding out her notebook for him to read.
Chuck read:
Writer's Block Sucks Lots
Staring at the Blank Page Frustrated
"It doesn't really work," Sarah confessed.
"You could try to approach it from another angle," Chuck offered. "Like getting rid of lots and using another one syllable word for that line. Frustrated could still work just on the last line."
"Oh good idea," Sarah said and she started scribbling again. A few moments later, she showed Chuck the poem again.
He read:
My Writer's Block Sucks
Fixating on the Blank Page
I am Frustrated
"That's great!" Chuck said.
"Thanks," Sarah replied. "It is easier with a pattern to follow."
"Can you write songs that way?" he asked.
"I can," she said. "But using a template feels kinda like cheating."
Chuck laughed. "You take your writing seriously," he said.
"If I'm gonna cheat on something, it's gonna be something I don't enjoy," Sarah explained. "Like a chore. Song writing is supposed to be fun."
"I get that," Chuck replied. "It's like borrowing someone else's code."
"I'll take your word for it," Sarah continued. "I confess, I don't know alot about computers."
"Computers aren't really that complicated," Chuck explained. "They are like really obedient pets, just kinda simpler."
"Ah yes, that changes everything," Sarah said sarcastically. "Now I completely understand computers."
Chuck laughed. "You know what I mean. They just do what they are told. It really is just about how well the person using the computer knows how to tell it what to do."
"I'm picturing a PC on a leash trying to pee on a fire hydrant," Sarah said and Chuck burst out laughing.
"Now that's an image," he said.
They settled into a comfortable silence after that, both writing in their notebooks. Chuck managed a couple simple poems he could show Sarah. Meanwhile she finished her haiku and moved onto a limerick.
Eventually they gave up on poem writing in favour of making out on the blanket. Long, slow kisses turned his brain to mush in the most wonderful way possible.
Slowly the light faded as the sun threatened to set. Chuck didn't want to head back, but he knew biking in the dark wasn't the best idea. Reluctantly, Chuck packed everything back into his backpack - including the garbage which he'd brought a bag for - and they walked back to their locked bikes.
Chuck led the way back to his parents place, so they could put the bikes back in the shed. Then he offered to walk Sarah home. She accepted and together they walked to the sidewalk. He started to slow down when they got close to her hotel. Chuck didn't want the night to end, but he didn't have the guts to ask her if he could come inside her hotel room either.
"Do you want to get breakfast tomorrow?" Sarah asked when they were close to her hotel.
"I'd love to, but I have to work tomorrow," Chuck said. "I'm opening and closing and I don't think I can convince anyone to cover my shift for me this time."
"Well then, why don't I bring you breakfast at work," Sarah suggested cheerfully.
"That's nice of you," Chuck smiled. "But you really don't have to."
"I want to," Sarah said. "And then I thought I could hang around for a bit."
"Are you sure?" Chuck asked, surprised by her plan. "It will be boring."
"I'm completely sure," Sarah stated, firmly.
"Well alright then," Chuck replied. He was glad he'd get to see her tomorrow, but very sure she'd be bored out of her mind watching him work.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Sarah said with a smile. They kissed goodnight before she turned and disappeared behind the doors to the hotel lobby.
On his way home, Chuck made a mental note to suggest she take in some tourist sites after a few hours, just to make sure she didn't get bored. He also decided it might not be a bad idea to double his morning coffee order.
I decided to try and update while the toddler was playing with the kitchen sink lol. The baby is supervising. And I'm back again. The toddler decided he was done with the soap and the sink. He needed a dry shirt and the baby wanted a bottle. Sigh. That didn't exactly work. Oh well.
Anyway fanfic doesn't let you format things as nicely as my google doc so I did what I could to make the poems work, but they looked way better in my google doc.
Also to the guest reviewer who said Chuck is being reticent. Yes, you noticed that correctly. It's kinda plot relevant. You shall see. ^_^