RDP MONDAY: FLOUNCE

A long time ago,

my Great Grandmother told me one day

that the only way women could express their rage

in a socially acceptable way

was to gather up their skirts and angrily flounce away.

When did that change, I asked her

when were women  allowed to get really mad?

And my Great Grandmother told me, without a smile

Lizzy Borden changed all of that.

Lizzie Borden

RDP Friday: LURKING

Gertrude Abercrombie,
Reverie, 1947

” I’m just going to say it straight up. Your girlfriend isn’t very cool.” Calvin’s friend told him at the bus stop one day.

It was the Friday before Labor Day and most of the people who waited at the stop were  friends so Cal and Sam knew since the beginning of the week they’d be the only two there today. That’s why Sam had decided to bring up the Girlfriend topic.

” She’s just always there shooting us the stinkeye.”  Sam decided to soften his position because the bus was about 10 minutes away and he didn’t want to share this with some random commuters.  ” I mean why does she hang around  us if she doesn’t want to hang out with us? You know what I mean?”

Sam looked up Elm Way and  when he didn’t see the bus hissing it’s way towards them he decided to answer.

” No. No I don’t know what you mean.”

” She’s like a stalker or something Cal. She’s just there checking everyone out and she never says anything. She just stares at us like we’re a bunch of bastard children who showed up at a family reunion, see what I mean? “

” I really don’t Sam.”

“Well. She walks you to the bus stop everyday and she waits on the corner over there under the tree until the bus shows up. She never comes over here if I’m here or anyone else we ride with. She just looks all offended or pissed off if I even wave at her or smile.

The bus sailed towards them and Sam turned and waved to Calvin’s girlfriend- ” See man, Nothing. She’s not very friendly is she?”

The bus stopped  in front of them and the doors opened.

Calvin  stepped back and let Sam take the stairs up first. Then he turned around to the place under the tree where Sam had waved and like always there wasn’t anyone  there when Calvin turned around.

One of these days he was going to tell Sam he didn’t have a girlfriend.

However, Calvin  did have a wife and she wasn’t  standing under the tree on the corner.

She was buried next to it.

Calvin decided that this might not be the right time to have that conversation with Sam, but over the weekend when the street was quiet he might get around to doing a little more digging around that tree and then maybe- just maybe he would have a little talk with Sam.