Break My Heart: Part 4

Happy birthday to at least one of my readers. Here is a little more of the adventures of Winnie and clay hearts. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave comments right below this very entry!

“I’m disappointed in you, people. I made sure every station has a stylus for a reason. Be creative. Add a little zest to your next piece. Redeem yourselves. Show me your creativity.” As he concluded another impassioned speech, the teacher dropped his hands, which accented every word with a sweeping flourish.

As his voice faded, we all leaned over our work. I experimentally etched a swirl in a piece of clay before kneading the clay between my hands. As I rolled it out, Maribel scooted closer to me, working her own clay with strong hands.

“So did he like it?” She stage whispered.

I shook my head. “He didn’t even see it.”

Clay slapped the counter as she turned her full attention to me. “Oh no. What happened?”

“He broke up with me before we even ordered dinner.”

“You’re kidding?” Her mouth formed a round “O” of consternation.

“Nope.” I looked down at the thin sheet of clay awaiting my creative impressions.

“Did you have dinner together after that?”

“He said his mom was right and it was over. Then he walked out before I could respond.”

“That’s cold. What did you do?”

“I was already there so I ordered dinner.”

“I don’t think I’d be able to have dinner alone at a restaurant, especially not after breaking up with my boyfriend.” She shook her head softly.

“That’s the funny thing. A guy asked to join me for dinner. He got stood up and didn’t want to eat alone.” I felt my lips turn upward.

“So did you let him join you?”

“Of course. He said he’d pay.”  A soft laugh followed the words from my mouth.

“It sounds like you had more fun eating dinner with a stranger than you would have with Janson.” 

Mirabel offered with a suggestive chuckle as she gently etched a pattern in the clay before her.

“I had fun, but...” I sighed.

“You aren’t ready to start a new relationship.”

“That and I just don’t feel attracted to this guy.” Mirabel nodded as I continued. “But we’re going to see a movie this weekend.”

“Oh, really?” The mischievous twinkle returned to her eyes.

“Oh please.” I rolled my eyes and balled up a little scrap of clay to toss at her.

She laughed as it splatted against her counter. As the teacher turned toward us, we resumed shaping clay in earnest.

~~

“There you are.” William peered over the heads of the couples between us.

“Yes. Here I am.” A warm blush crept up my cheeks as I skirted around two of the couples to meet him.

“I’ve got your ticket. Now we just need to get some popcorn. You do like popcorn, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Butter?”

I nodded as a group of teenage boys pushed past us bumping me into William. He reached out a hand to steady me and quickly drew it back.

“What type of candy and soda do you want?” He surveyed the specials on the board.

“Just water. I don’t need candy.”

“Nonsense. What woman doesn’t want candy during a movie?” He elbowed me slightly so I would look up at his face. He wiggled his eyebrows and winked.

I laughed. “Peanut M&Ms then.”

“An excellent choice.”

He relayed our order to girl behind the counter, passing me my drink and the candy as he grabbed the popcorn and his soda. I followed him closely as we walked down a maze of hallways to our theater. 

We found a couple of seats in the middle and sat down.

He smiled as he offered me some popcorn. “I should have asked you this before…”

“Yes?” I asked as he paused.

“You’re not going to talk through the whole movie, are you?”

I snorted. “Only if you do.”

“Good. I love reserving my most meaningful conversations for the movie theater.”

“Me, too. I think the people around me enjoy it.” I winked at him as the lights dimmed and we turned our attention to the previews flashing across the screen.

About halfway through the movie, he leaned over to whisper in my ear. “You really shouldn’t talk so much.”

I shook my head and stifled a laugh. He didn’t lean away. Instead, he bumped his elbow against mine and reached for my hand. As I turned to him in the glow of the movie screen, I could tell he felt what I felt. He released my hand and we leaned away from each other.

When the movie ended, I got up from my seat without looking back to see if he followed.

“Should we talk?” His voice rumbled through my own jumbled thoughts.

My head jerked upward in surprise. “I never meant…”

“I know. I know.” He reassured me. “I figured as much, but I wanted to be sure before I said anything.”

“So where do we go from here?”

“We don’t have to date. Want to try the illusive boy/girl friendship?”

“We could try that.”

“How about grabbing some ice cream, my friend?” He offered me his elbow.

Break My Heart: Part 3

I thought this story was finished, but a comment from a friend made me realize this story had more to tell. My mind is debating where it shall go, so here is a snippet to get your mind moving forward. Happy birthday week to me. Please eat some cake, but eat responsibly.

As I tucked my creation back into the gift box, someone softly cleared their throat. I looked up to find a tall, lanky man smiling shyly down at me. As my eyes rested on his face, a soft pink flush infused his cheeks. He glanced away, back to my face, and then down at his hands.

“Yes?” I offered a single word like a lifeline.

“It appears we have the same problem.” The color in his cheeks deepened as he looked at me through his eyelashes.

My brows furrowed as I waited for him to elaborate. He wiped his hands nervously on his slacks before continuing.

“We both seem to be dining alone.”

“I didn’t notice.” I offered a smile that I hoped would prove discouraging.

“I was hoping maybe we could…” He shrugged his shoulders, waiting for me to fill in the details for myself.

I raised an eyebrow.

“I'll buy if you allow me to join you for dinner.”

“I’m not really looking for a date…” A sour note crept into my words.

“I didn’t mean a date. I just don’t like to eat alone.” His words tumbled over each other as he took a step backward. “I’m sorry. I’ll just go back to my seat.”

“Wait.” I gestured toward the chair across from mine. “Please have a seat.”

“It’s not a date.” He reassured me as he pulled out the chair and sat down. “My name is William, by the way.”

“I’m Winnie.” We shook hands quickly, pulling our hands apart in confused silence.

The waiter helped break the silence when he delivered my onion fries. He looked at my new eating companion in confusion for only a second before producing silverware from his pocket and taking our orders.

“So, William, what should we talk about?” I asked as the waiter walked away.

Break My Heart: Part 2

Presenting the conclusion of last week's story. Sorry I didn't post it all at once, but this section needed a little more revision. It may even need revision now. Let me know what you think.

I arrived on time to the second class and took the same station as before. Maribel joined me a couple of minutes later.

“Think they’re ready?” She offered an anxious smile as she glanced toward the locked cabinet.

“I hope so. This is the big weekend.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but the teacher interrupted. “I took the liberty of peeking at your pieces this morning. Now it is your turn to tell me whether they are leather hard and therefore ready to be fired. Ladies…”

As he walked past us to unlock the cabinet, Maribel and I stepped forward to claim our creations. As we gently placed them on the counter and removed the newspaper, all eyes in the room turned to us. As far as I knew, they looked ready to be fired. I tapped the clay tentatively with one fingernail. This produced a soft clicking sound.

“Don’t say anything yet. I’ll be coming around to ask each of you to tell me what you think when everyone has their piece in hand.”

I nodded and hazarded a peek at Mirabel. With a glance to make sure the teacher wasn’t looking, she raised one thumb and nodded her head. I smiled and looked back down at the interlocked hearts, relieved to see that they had maintained their original shape. After everyone whispered their assessment of their own work, he supervised as we placed our shaped clay into the kiln.

 “Don’t worry, we have plenty of space for all of your masterpieces.” The teacher offered reassurance as mutters arose from the men in the front row. “You’ll all have something beautiful to take home tonight. In the meantime, work on your next masterpiece. Try a different method of creation this time. If you used coils for your first piece, try slabs. I want to be sure you have a basic understanding of the clay before we try throwing pots on the wheel.”

Maribel and I turned to the fresh balls of clay that awaited us. As I began gently kneading the clay, I pondered what to make. Maribel leaned in to voice the question in my mind.

“What are you going to make this time?”

“I have no idea.”

“You could make your man’s mom an ashtray.” She giggled.

“Or a teacup.” I offered with a smirk.

I finally decided to make a slab box. Soon I was rolling the clay out gently between two thin boards to make sure the thickness remained consistent. No matter how intently I focused on the task at hand, my eyes always wandered back to the kiln. After waiting the suggested amount of time, I peeked into the kiln. Reassured, I raised my hand to get the teacher’s attention.

“It looks done to me.” I pointed to my creation to make sure he knew which one.

“I believe you’re right.” He nodded his head as he came to stand at my side.

I slipped on heavy gloves from a shelf beside the kilns and a pair of tongs. “May I?”

“Please do.” He stepped back to observe as I gently pulled out my creation.

Peering over my shoulder as I gently placed the warm clay on a rack to cool, Maribel offered. “I think mine is done, too.”

We distracted ourselves by continuing to prepare our new masterpieces, but we couldn’t keep our eyes off the cooling rack for long. By the time class ended, I couldn’t keep my feet from carrying me back to Janson’s gift.

Maribel joined me. “Think they’re cool enough?”

I nodded my head as I slowly placed my hand near the rack. Feeling no heat, I gently wrapped my fingers around the coiled hearts and picked them up. The clay warmed my hand though it had cooled enough to be handled.

“Do you think he’ll like it?” I turned my creation over in my hands, pleased to find that it had not cracked or slumped as it baked.

“I think as long as you like it, it is perfect.” Maribel offered me another smile.

“It is perfect.” I breathed a sigh of relief as I clutched the entwined hearts to my own.

~~

“Happy birthday.” I smiled as I opened the door for Janson.

His lips smiled back at me but his eyes looked past me. “Thank you.”

“Should I drive tonight since it’s your special day?” I offered as I pulled the door closed and dropped my keys into my purse next to my carefully wrapped present.

“That would be good. We should take separate cars.” He said distractedly.

“Okay?”

He ignored the question in my voice and turned toward his car. “I’ll meet you at Roberto’s.”

I paused to watch him get into his car and slam the door. He didn’t look back to make sure I was following as he drove away. I hurriedly opened my car door and slipped behind the wheel. As I merged with traffic and followed him, I bit my lip, searching for some clue as to what was happening.

At the restaurant, I ran to catch up to Janson before he reached the door. As I slipped my arm into his, he resisted. Then he stiffened up but allowed my arm to stay linked with him.

“Is something wrong?” I leaned in to whisper.

“Of course not.”

I didn’t pursue it as the restaurant door opened and a greeter with a warm smile under a thin mustache invited us to enter. The maître d’ offered us another warm smile and a slight bow as he checked our reservation and invited us to follow a third man to our table. The waiter held my chair out for me as Janson took his own seat.

“Maybe this will cheer you up.” I pulled my carefully wrapped gift from my purse and placed it on the table between us.

“Man, Winnie, can’t you give me one second to breath.”

“I’m sorry. What?” My forced smile faded.

“I just wanted to have a nice dinner and let you down easy, but…”

“Let me down…” As realization began to sink in, my mouth dropped open.

“I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but my mother told me I should at least see what your gift was. I just can’t do this…”

“Your mother told you…” Again my mouth gaped open with no words to fill it.

“Yes, apparently, she was right. We’re not compatible. I’m sorry. I have to go.” He almost knocked over the waiter coming to take our drink orders.

My whole body felt numb. I turned enough to watch him walk away, but no part of me wanted to follow or beg him to stay. After a few seconds of gazing after his retreating form, I turned back to the waiter.

“I’ll have a glass of ginger ale and some onion fries to start.”

“Yes, ma’am. And the gentleman?”

“I don’t think he’s coming back.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He offered no questions, just a slight bow as he removed the extra place setting.

I smiled and reached for the present. Carefully, unwrapping it, I lifted the lid to reveal the entwined hearts. I reached into the box to pull out the entwined hearts and hold them close to my own.

“This really is the perfect gift.” I whispered softly as all the worry and trepidation of the last few weeks rose from my shoulders and followed Janson out the door.

Break My Heart: Part 1

“His birthday is only a couple of weeks away. You really should buy him something nice.” Mrs. Adamson smiled at me over a porcelain teacup as she gingerly raised it to her lips.

I opened my mouth, but somehow managed to bite back the question on my tongue. Even though we both knew I never listened to my potential mother-in-law, wisdom dictated that I not admit to this flaw in my character.

“Would you like me to give you some suggestions?” Another sip of chamomile tea slid across her lips as she waited for my response.

My lips tilted upward in a soft smile as I lied. “I’ve got something special in mind.”

“I hope so. He deserves the best.” She frowned critically as she searched my face for signs of my lie.

I nodded agreement, avoiding more words by taking a long sip of the tepid tea. Her frown deepened as I lingered with the fine porcelain to my lips. My mind wandered to how sincerely I didn’t wish to be here. Clearly, she didn’t approve of me, so I couldn’t understand why Janson insisted I get to know his mother. He’d already admitted that he never intended to marry, so I was probably another in a long string of broken hearts he’d leave in his wake. I fidgeted a little as I tried to surreptitiously glance at my watch.

“So what is it?”

The broken silence returned as I gazed back at her through startled eyes. I struggled to keep from expressing my own annoyance at her questions. Mrs. Adamson tilted her head as if seeing me for the first time.

“What is this special something you have planned for my son?” Disdain chased the words from her mouth to my ear.

Warm blood blushed through my fair skin from feet to hairline as I searched for a response. I finally stammered a few words of defense. “Um. Well. I want to keep it a secret for now.”

“I see.” I knew she didn’t but she would never admit it.

Instead, she tried to wheedle information from me as we continued to sip tea and nibble tiny cakes coated in crystalized icing. Had I actually planned something already, I would have cracked and revealed everything in the hope of being released. It may have been better that I didn’t know yet.

~~

By the time the great inquisitor permitted me to leave, exhaustion ruled me. I drove home in a foggy haze and passed out on my couch without even removing my shoes. The next morning, my first thought upon waking drove me to stumble down the stairs and across the street to the local newsstand in search of a newspaper and, hopefully, some inspiration. After acquiring the local paper, I barely crossed my threshold before opening its pages and scanning the classifieds.

“Chasetown Community College Offers Continuing Education” leapt out from a half page ad. Underneath this promising headline, a list of classes filled the rest of the space. My eyes rested on the offering of “pottery basics”. Scenes from an old movie drifted into my head and I smiled.

“That’s perfect.” A soft smile played along my lips.

~~

I arrived late to the first pottery class. Slipping into an empty station at the back of the room, I offered a tentative smile to the redhead at the station next to mine. She smiled back as she raised one hand to wipe a bead of sweat from her brow. My own skin already released its own thin layer of moisture as the heat of the kilns reached me. As the teacher began preparing us to sink our fingers into the balls of clay that nestled under moist cloths in front of us, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out and carefully flipped it open under the tabletop. Janson wanted to know what I was doing. I spent the rest of the lecture reassuring him that I’d see him later. During our conversation, I only managed to catch a few of the instructions from our teacher. Determined to create a beautiful gift anyway, I began rolling the clay into the snake. When the snake was as thick as a pencil, I cut it into eight equal pieces and formed each coil into a heart shape, one on top of the other. After some hesitation, I reformed it into two interlocking hearts. I lifted my creation gently and turned toward the kiln.

The girl with the flaming red hair noticed and called out in a slow, southern drawl. “Honey, you have to wait…”

“I don’t need help.” Impatience brought the words to my lips.

“But you do need to let the clay dry before you fire it.” She forced a smile as she stepped closer to me.

“It dries in the kiln.” I responded.

“The professor says it needs to air dry first.” Her eyes wandered to my phone, which I had placed on the countertop.

“Oh.” I gently placed my hearts back on the counter.

I felt the warmth of the other woman’s hand as she placed it on my wrist. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Let’s start over.”

I looked at her for a moment in silence, gently pulling my wrist away. I turned to look at my coiled hearts. After exaggerated scrutiny, I gently pressed a few of the coils more tightly together.

“My name is Maribel.” She filled the silence, extending her hand to me.

As I turned back to her, I found my own hand engulfed in a warm handshake. “Winnie.” I breathed my name as my rigid body relaxed.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Despite my initial reluctance, we talked like old friends. Somehow, she softened the sharp edges of my personality and opened me up. I explained why I had decided to take the pottery class. She repeated more of the instructor’s advice as I worked to make my piece ready for the kiln. By the time the teacher circled around to offer assistance and criticism, newspaper covered our works as we leaned against the counter.

He lifted the corner of one of the newspapers to peer at the clay underneath. “Good. Good. A little patience merits great rewards.”

I inclined my head in a slight nod. He lifted the second newspaper and offered similar platitudes to Maribel. She smiled and thanked him. We continued to lean against the counter in companionable silence as the teacher took his place at the front of the room.

“I know you are all impatient to take home the fruit of your labors, but you’re going to have to wait. As I said before, we have to let the clay dry before firing it. I have reserved some cabinets in the back to store your pieces until you return next week. They should be ready to go into the kiln then.”

A rustle went through the room as we all turned to pick up our creations. The professor cleared his throat. “Let’s not rush. We need to do this in an orderly fashion.”

He pointed at a few men in the front row, inviting them to be the first to stow their work until next week. Being closest to cabinets, Maribel and I were the last to place our items in storage.

“See you next week.” She called out as we separated to go to our cars.

“And our masterpieces. At last.” I replied with a dramatic flourish.

We both laughed.