Week 1 - The Prompt and First Draft
It's that time again! Writer in Motion is in full swing. I waffled on whether or not I wanted to participate again. Last time was so much fun, but I've got a few things going on and I wasn't sure if I'd have the time to dedicate to this. Then I kicked myself in the butt, said "It's only a thousand words." and added my name to the list of participants. I am so glad I did. The prompt is awesome and I already love the story that I've started.
If you aren't familiar with Writer in Motion or don't remember how it works, here's the Reader's Digest explanation. Writer in Motion is a chance for writers to show your our writing process from rough draft to final draft and all the edits in between. Using the prompt provided, we're supposed to write a 1,000 word (less) story. That's it in a nutshell. If you want to know all the details, check out the Writer in Motion website here.
Now onto the prompt and first (rough) draft. From the moment I saw this prompt I fell in love, even though I had no idea what my story would be. In fact, it took me until the last minute (now) to even come up with a starting point. After brainstorming with my writing group (a godsend in so many ways) I came up with the first few words and then took off. I hope you enjoy!
Photo by Rahul Pandit on Unsplash
The sun dipped beneath the hill in front of me, turning the sky into the perfect palette of pinks and purples. Images filled my thoughts. I couldn’t wait to get to my hotel room so I could break out one of the canvases I’d brought with me.
But first, I had a date with my dad. A man I’d never met. The explosion of colors dulled with the clouds moving in just like the shift in my mood. Eighteen years and not a single letter or phone call. A few of my friends didn’t know one of their parents, but they’d at least gotten the obligatory birthday and Christmas cards. Me…nothing. Nada. Zilch.
My mom didn’t help either. She never talked bad about my dad, but she didn’t give me any legitimate reasons why he didn’t stick around. The only answer I ever heard was it had been a mutual decision and the best for our whole family.
I checked my phone. We were supposed to meet in a couple of hours. The lump in my throat made it hard to breath. The bees swarming around in my stomach made it hard to concentrate. A thousand and one questions floated through my thoughts. The same ones that I’d been contemplating on the entire eight-hour trip to South Dakota. One question stood out more than all the rest.
Why did he leave? Well, two questions. Why didn’t he want to know me?
The stories Mom told made me think they’d been happy together up until I arrived. She admitted to making mistakes and poor choices, but she never regretted having me. If he’d made her happy then I couldn’t help but wonder, why it would have been so hard to stick around.
My hands shook as I turned the wheel toward the exit ramp. According to my GPS, I was less than an hour away from the hotel. The more I thought about meeting him, the less I wanted to. The screen on my car flashed.
“Rerouting,” the computer navigator said.
I wasn’t supposed to exit, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. It wouldn’t have been too hard to turn around and head straight to Boulder. School started in a couple of weeks, I was supposed to be there next week for Freshmen Orientation. Mom would understand if I skipped time with Dad and went straight to school.
A buzz came from the passenger seat. My best friend’s face lit up on the screen. With my eyes still on the road, I reached over and hit accept.
“Hey, Riley,” I answered.
“Oh, babe. You sound miserable. I thought you were excited to see your dad.”
Riley and I had been friends since fourth grade. We’d done the elementary school-kid crush for a while then he told me he was interested in guys. Our friendship was solidified that day and I vowed to him to always have his back. He said he’d have mine too. So far, that’s been true.
“I was thinking about skipping it and going straight to school.” I flipped my turn signal on before pulling into a gas station.
This was not a conversation I wanted to try having while driving.
“Cas, no. You’ve dreamed of this. Literally. It’s time to see your dad.” Riley had a touch of softness in his command. He wasn’t wrong, I had dreamed of meeting Dad.
“But what if he’s not at all like I’ve pictured?” It was an old argument, but one what I still worried about.
In my head Dad had moved on. He had a family. More kids. Maybe he was even rich, which would suck since Mom and I always seemed to struggle when it came to money.
“What if he’s a super hero and needs you to be his sidekick in training? Maybe he’s ready to train you to be the next Wonder Woman. There are so many what if’s, Cas. These are excuses. You’ve got to get over them.”
Ugh. I didn’t want to get over them. I wanted my dad to care about me. I wanted him to not leave before I was born. I wanted…
My thoughts trailed off just as little drops of rain fell onto my windshield. All I wanted was a father who loved me. It was the one birthday wish I made every year for as long as I could remember.
“I can’t do this, Riley. I can’t face the truth that he wants nothing to do with me.”
A tear fell down my cheek. The warmth not comforting at all. Outside, the rain drops landed harder on the windshield. If I didn’t get moving soon I wouldn’t make dinner anyway. There was no way I’d drive somewhere I’d never been in a storm as bad as the one looming overhead seemed.
Riley gave a long sigh on the other end of the line. I didn’t blame him for being annoyed with me. I was annoyed with myself. If I were braver, I’d already be at the hotel getting ready to meet him. Only I wasn’t. I was a coward and I’d made the eight-hour trip take a lot longer than it should have.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
I stared out the window toward an opening in the trees at the bottom of the hills. A small house set off the road, lights illuminated the brick building. It was rundown and looked like it hadn’t been used in years. Maybe I could stay there for a while. Hang out while the storm passed.
“I don’t know,” I lied.
It wasn’t fair to lie to my best friend, but if I told him about the plan forming he’d try to talk me out of it. The truth was, I wasn’t ready to meet the man who abandoned me. Not yet. Tomorrow I’d try again. Maybe.
“Well, whatever you decide, promise to text me later so I know you’re safe. I won’t make influence you, Cas. You know how I feel and I hope you do what’s best for you. I’ve got your back no matter what.”
I nodded. I did know.
“Love you, Ri.” I squeaked.
As soon as I ended our call a flood of tears poured out of the corner of my eyes. A sob caught in my throat. There was no way I was going to dinner. Carefully, I pulled out of the gas station and headed toward the building in front of me. Abandoned just like I’d been. I parked in the open grass and turned off my car.
“Sorry. The rain is making it too hard to drive. I won’t make dinner. Maybe another time.” I hit send on the text, laid my head back on the head rest and closed my eyes.
He hadn’t tried in eighteen years. What was another twenty-four hours?