sunday's stories waiting

At first the words from this week's prompt were a turn off. How was I going to use oily, and pious in a story anyone wanted to read? I read them to DH over the breakfast table, ready to dismiss this week's prompts. His response caused me to try again..."hmmm that's going to be a challenge"
Not one to turn from a challenge...I used all but survive and exit.
I didn't want to use them. I could have forced the issue but why?

THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "Warm Days in January" by Donald Revell: easy, bus, deny, survive, pious, oily, exit, adores, shoebox, waving, complicated, hunger (at sundayswhirligig)

Waiting...
As she sat on the bench, her mind wandered.

She spent a lot of her days waiting.
Waiting for the bus, waiting to be called on, waiting to hear from her kids, waiting to eat.


It was hard to eat in a healthy way, and hunger drove you to desire. She was trying to lose weight, but it wasn't easy. Food tempted her from tv ads, billboards, her own fridge. Pizza called the loudest! Oily cheese dripping off the point... yum! She loved pizza. too much. It was so hard to eat one piece, to deny herself the comfort of satiation.

She shifted the shoebox in her lap as she sat and waited. Waited.
She was still waiting to hear from her sister. It should be easy to call her but it was complicated. Their last call had ended badly... that pious tone in her sister's voice pushed old buttons in her. She adored her sister, had done from childhood, but as adults something changed inside and keeping in touch was complicated. She had left a message earlier that week so now she waited.
Waited to hear back.


That bus was running late, she thought... I'm so tired of waiting and I'm getting hungry again.
I wonder what my daughter is doing now at school. I wonder what I'll do for dinner.

She had long days to fill now, and wondered if she should take a class herself. She felt lonely and without a purpose. Glancing up as someone brushed past her knees as she sat on the bench, she wondered if they ever struggled with weight issues, or family issues, or hungered for more meaning.

It started to rain. Oh great! Where's that dang bus? She saw it coming on the busy road, so she waved at the driver, just in case they weren't going to stop.

It always stopped here. Why was she waving? It always stopped, she always had trouble with the first step, the driver always said Hi and she always sat in the front row.


I wonder what's in the fridge for dinner she thought as the bus pulled away from the curb. Then she looked up at the ads inside the bus. Of course there was an ad for the local pizza joint! But next to it was an ad for the community college... it asked if she wanted more from life? Why not consider a class... hmmm... well it's one way to stop thinking about pizza!

Linking to

sundays in the city