Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. Last time, Alex and family (hers and Nick's) left the police station. Each to their own home.
Snippet:
Pop punched in
the code to unlock the back door to the office then ushered me through. I’d
closed the agency for the wedding . . . and for the following week. Now, I wished I
hadn’t. I needed work. First, I needed to get out of the dress. Spanx held
everything in, but now it had to come off.
A rapid pounding on the door behind us stopped us both. Pop and I looked at each other. He checked the peephole then let in my two best friends and their husbands, their arms loaded with packages.
I so did not want company.
After hugs and
questions—which I didn’t/couldn’t answer—we all trooped upstairs to my
apartment.
“We gathered
the leftovers from the reception.” Practical Dottie explained the packages. “We
figured you all hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I called Tony and Maria. They’ll
be over shortly.”
More company.
Great. Just great.
Leaving the men
to deal with the packages, Dottie and Ellen followed me into my bedroom. Ellie
turned me around. I expected more questions. Instead, she said, “Let’s get you
out of your gown.”
Between her and
Dottie, I was soon free of the beautiful, white tulle and crepe. And the Spanx.
Now, I could breathe again.
“I can’t bear
to look at that dress.” Ignoring Ellie’s cringe, since the dress came from her
store, I said, “I don’t want to ever see it again.”
Without a word,
she hung the gown on the back of my closet door. Out of sight, out of mind. My
perfect day had been shot to shit. Sorry, Mom, I mentally apologized for cussing.
Mom would be so ashamed of me.
That’s when I
lost it. I sank down on my bed and burst into tears.
Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and healthy and have a great week.
"shot to shit" - her day in a nutshell. What a great scene-filled with bottled up emotion about to bubble over.
ReplyDeleteRereading this section brought up all those emotions.
DeleteGetting the spanx off was the highlight of a horrible day. Tweeted. My link is broken - https://daryldevore.blogspot.com/2023/03/with-each-movement-white-light-grew_02023260774.html
ReplyDeleteLOL Yep. Then everything came crashing down.
DeletePerfectly natural set of reactions for her to have! Lucky she's got such great friends. Loved the snippet.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Veronica. What would we do without friends?
DeleteI agree with Veronica - a very natural scene between friends.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aurora.
DeleteI want to give her a hug. This scene feels so real. Great writing!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Teresa.
DeleteIt's always the little things that undo us. I feel for her.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Viviana. You're right about the little things.
DeleteAwww, that poor girl. She should grab her friends and go enjoy a groom-free honeymoon.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Sometimes people assume too much. They think you want comfort, when all you want is to be alone.
ReplyDeleteEven though she didn't want company, I think she appreciated her friends helping free her of the trappings of the wedding. A very freeing experience she badly needed. Wonderful snippet! Tweeted.
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaking ending. This line "Spanx held everything in, but now it had to come off." left me a little afraid there would be an explosion before she got help with the spanx.
ReplyDeleteFriends can be wonderful and I'm sure she'll come to appreciate their presence soon. Great snippet.
ReplyDelete