Categotry Archives: Suzie’s House
Suzie’s House 188: Buying Books
He found me in the tables set up in front of the Eastside branch of the public library during one of their sporadic sales. Ben hopped off his skateboard, tucked it under one arm, and ambled up with his oh-so-serious curious puppy look. “What are you doing?” He leaned over the table to see which books I’d pulled from the boxes set on the table. They were, of course, Romance novels. He wrinkled his nose and looked away.
Suzie’s House 187: Like a Movie Star
“What are you writing?” Lisa leaned into Ben’s back. “Nothing.” He covered the paper, not wanting her to see. He knew he shouldn’t have tried to write something like this when Lisa was around. She always wanted to help. Most of the time he liked it, but this time he didn’t feel comfortable sharing.
Suzie’s House 186: It’s Like, You Know, Right?
If he smirked one more time, Tracy was going to bop him . Hard. “So you know what they were doing, right?” Gene grinned. At least he wasn’t grinning at her, but that might only be because he was walking her home and had to pay attention to the sidewalk so he didn’t stumble in the dark and look all un-cool. “Yeah, yeah. I know. They weren’t beating on each other, and that’s what matters.”
Suzie’s House 185 : Crowded
“Ahhhh. That felt goooood.” Miranda rolled over in bed and grinned at Vin. She felt like the cat that ate the cannery. “Happy?” “Very.” “I can only think of one thing that would make it better.” “Hmmm?” He closed his eye, a wisp of a smile on his lips, clearly convinced nothing could be better. “Ice-cream.”
Suzie’s House 184 : Knocking Her Up
Ben could tell by the way Gene was trying not to smile that something was up even before Lisa said anything to Tracy. “Hey. You ready to go home?” “Not yet.” Tracy marched past, shouldering her way through the kitchen. “We’re going to rescue Miranda.”
Suzie’s House 183: Thump
“What are they doing up there anyway?” Tracy leaned back as if leaning would make it easier to look into a second floor window from the driveway. “You don’t want to know,” Gene muttered from his seat on the back stoop. All kinds of thumps and bumps went on. You could hear them right through the walls. Gene couldn’t be sure, but knowing Vin and Miranda, it probably had something to do with sex. He wasn’t about to say anything […]
Suzie’s House 182: Boom! Tee-Hee
Vin knew it wasn’t fair to blame Miranda for chasing after Drew before she finally fell in love with the right man – himself. Still, it rankled. He yanked off his socks, then leaned back in the chair to see she still stood by the closet, her fingers twisting a button on her metallic red blouse. “Hey. I really am sorry.” She frowned and turned away as if the earth might swallow her up if she actually looked him in […]
Suzie’s House 181: Tick, Tick, Tick
“Did you see the way she looked at me? I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with Gene’s girlfriend.” Miranda closed the door to their room, then gave the lock a decisive turn, as if it were perfectly normal to lock their door. “Girlfriend? She’s just a buddy,” Vin scoffed. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and unlaced his shoes. “Girlfriend. Buddy. What’s the difference?” She gestured impatiently as she drifted to the bed, then back to […]
Suzie’s House 180: Inviting a Lawyer to Lunch
Buttered green beans, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, dinner rolls, Jeff’s mouth watered as he watched what all hit the dinner table. Cole slaw, grilled chicken, steak, he started getting nervous, though there were plenty of people sitting around the table, so maybe this much food was justified. Peach pie, salad, croissants, another chicken, Jeff broke out in a sweat. When Suzie cooked this much, even with Vin, Miranda, Suzie, Ben and Gene and two girls Jeff didn’t recognize […]
Suzie’s House 179: A Boy’s Opinion
“It’s not my fault,” Gene growled as he followed Ben and into Ben’s room. “I never told her to do it.” Lisa let the two boys charge ahead. They were so full of testosterone it was better to just get out of their way. She waited for Tracy to pass through, too, because walking in front of Tracy tended to be an iffy proposition. It meant she went unnoticed as she entered the room, which suited her just fine. “Well […]
Suzie’s House 178: Adoption
“Tracy, I found your ring.” Mrs. H walked into the room without knocking. Seemed like she’d done a lot more of that since Tracy started hanging out with him in his room, but Gene couldn’t really say anything because he knew he was lucky to have a room at all. It’s not like they were really going to do anything in Mrs. H’s house. Tracy crawled off the bed where she’d been curled up next to him and took the […]
Suzie’s House 177: A Ticking Bomb
Vin had one knee between Suzie’s legs and a hand on either side of her chest. If Miranda had seen this a couple of months ago, she’d have ripped both of them up one side and down the other. Now, she simply tilted her head, and considered various possibilities, including that the two of them were doing something perfectly innocent. “Hey, Miranda. Did you want to see how Teflon tape works, too?”
Suzie’s House 176: For Want of Teflon Tape
“What does Teflon tape look like?” “It’s that white stuff on a plastic spool. It feels kind of dusty and kind of oily but not really either.” Well, that was clear as mud. At least he knew to look for spools instead of something like a tape measure or a roll of masking tape. He picked through the tool chest, and actually found it fairly quickly. If only he could drop the solution to dealing with Gene into her palm […]
Suzie’s House 175: The Slip of the Wrench
Suzie swore. Actual cuss words. Vin couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Suzy swear. He could hear her over the low drone of the TV, which made him realize he wasn’t watching anyway and shouldn’t waste his entire life like this, constantly changing channels and feeling dissatisfied. So, in a rare break in his own habits, Vin turned the idiot box off, and went to see what had Suzie so upset.
Suzie’s House 174: His Call
“I hate her.” Gene slammed the phone into the receiver, the plastic thud of it echoing through downstairs hall. “Who?” Mrs. H said from the kitchen. “My mother.”
