He loved the house, for sure. A beautiful colonial. The best part was the property, which was on the bay with a big yard, with dozens of grand oak trees. But his regrets had more to do with what happened there: the times he spent with the kids in the yard, climbing on the play gym and up to the tree house, going out on the sail boat, looking for Easter eggs, planting a Christmas tree.
With all those memories, Mike was looking for a change. He bought a downtown condo. He decorated it with art deco antiques and bought modern furntiure when the older stuff wasn't available, like couches and coffee tables.
His first opportunity to show off the condo was unexpected. He had a date with Michele, with whom he had a business relationship for several years. They planned to meet at the condo and go to the history museum, a few blocks away. Michele arrived about 15 minutes early and Mike was still in the shower. As he scrambled to pull on his jeans and grab his shirt, he asked Michele upstairs while he put on his sneakers.
As his first visitor, he was nervous about Michele's reaction to the condo and his decision to mix two styles of furniture. She loved it and that immediately kicked off a day long conversation about art deco architecture and house decorating.
In time, Mike's kids came over and spent lots of time there and Michele, and her kids, were frequent visitors too.
And Mike came to realize; this was home.
___________
This was written in response to the Week 38 Trifecta Writing Challenge. While this is a "prequel" to my earlier post called, "The Movie", it was not written to tell the story of Mike and Michele's relationship, which I expect will be the subject of future posts.
Of course, he loved the Colonial for the memories because a house isn't a home without them. But Mike had to make a change and I love his decorating style, mixing modern with antiques. It's how I decorate as well, eclectic. Home, eventually, is were you become comfortable. I'm glad Mike found comfort in his condo as did his kids (and Michele and hers, as well).
ReplyDeleteGina, thank you for all of those kind words. I had some trouble with this prompt, because the sentimental story seemed like the likely one, and I went with it. I was looking to write something humorous, but nothing came to me.
Deletehome isn't about the structure so much as the moments within it. and the way one decorates a home is merely a reflection of themselves. a home is so much more than just a home. lovely piece.
ReplyDeleteThanks Renada. I appreciate your comments.
DeleteThe second paragraph's my favorite; it shows what "home" is really about.
ReplyDeleteThanks Annabelle. That paragraph flowed easily because I was relating my vivid memories.
DeleteI think the vision of home is related to fond memories associated with the house, not the structure itself. I also enjoyed the images of the second paragraph. Sounds like a nice house/home!
ReplyDeleteThank you Janna.
DeleteVery nice. That really captures the true meaning of home. Change is really hard, especially when it involves good memories, but with time you adjust. This perfectly captured the moment.
ReplyDeleteHobbs, thanks for saying that. I was afraid the story was a little blah, not having any real conflict.
DeleteSorry Hobbles. I misspelled your name :/
DeleteYou gripped me with the first sentence. I love these precise little slices of life. You made this highly relateable. I felt like I knew him. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. I'm always nervous about these slice of life pieces because I'm not sure they have enough conflict to keep up the interest. On the other hand, I really try to make it real. Thanks, too, for the comment on the first sentence. It came out a little quirky in my first draft, but I kept it for that reason.
DeleteMY first visit and wow, you just blew me away with your words and your images of Home and House, of where your heart settles in. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteand I felt for him, after the divorce, the first date, I felt the butterflies for him.
so glad you came by my blog, now you're a must read.
Kir, thank you so much. Your comments mean a lot coming from such a great writer. You can catch a glimpse of the second date in my post, "The Movie", which I posted a few weeks ago. Sorry for the shameless self promotion. I do plan to write more about Mike and Michele.
Deletenice story - I like the little touches, like that his first visitor arrived early, with him still in the shower. I like that it's a happy ending - he did love the memories and the old house, but he's created a new home within his new place :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I'm glad you liked the little touches because I always have fun trying to use them for reality's sake, without having them distract from the story.
DeleteThe poignancy of that sentence where Mike is remembering the things he did in that house. Youch. I would have had a hard time moving on from those memories, too. But I loved the way he did it, with a complete break from his old style!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. Youch pretty well describes it!
DeleteThere is a nice simmering hope in this story piece. Longing for what is past, but moving on...and finding a new place in the world. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm glad you see the hope.
DeleteI like the way you use the furniture to symbolize his move from his old life into his new life. Great job with the prompt. Hope you'll come back and see us again soon.
ReplyDelete