Chapter Two: Birthdays in the Winters’ House – First Draft

Photo by: D Sharon Pruitt
Pink, purple and yellow chiffon was everywhere. Pink and purple balloons tied to every fence post. And that was just near the main house. Corianne’s father had the lawn boy and his friends tie pink and purple bows on each of the posts around all two hundred acres when they did the rushed trim job after the rainstorm. And every horse in the paddock had pink and purple ribbons braided into their tails and manes. Corianne hadn’t asked for it. But birthdays were special to her father, so one day out of the year, he was overindulgent.
Huddled in one corner were all the mothers, cocktails in hand, occasionally calling out to their children to stop that or do this or take that. Corianne’s mother was pressed up against her father feeding him bits of celery and cherry tomatoes from her own plate. Her father had his arm around her waist and kept calling out to Corianne for help between bites. Corianne giggled, baring perfect white teeth and adorable dimples.
“Mommy! You’re gonna kill Daddy with vegetables! Leave him be!” she exclaimed, good-naturedly, before spinning back to her friends. “Aren’t they funny?”
“They’re in love, stupid. I wish my parents were. All they do is fight. Look! My mom’s over there talking to Mrs. Brackwith. Probably about how much of an asshole my father is. And my dad’s too busy ogling your mom to notice.” Jenny Prat’s parents were on the verge of divorce. Everyone was talking about it.
Corianne didn’t know what a divorce was. She was afraid to ask because Jenny Prat ran away any time anyone mentioned it. So instead, she studied her parents as they continued to flirt back and forth.
“Okay, Celia. We should probably tend to our guests.” Corianne’s father said just loud enough for her to hear. “Besides… we have a spy.”
Corianne rolled her eyes. “Daddy,” she groaned. “I am not a spy.”
He laughed and closed the distance between them. He squatted down to be eye level with his daughter. “Corianne Winters, P.I.” he quipped as he wrapped his hands around Cori’s waist and lifted her high above his head.
Cori squealed with delight and screamed, “Down! Put me down!”
Her father spun to the left, “Who said that?”
“Daddy!”
He swung to face her mother. “Celia? Did you hear something? I thought I heard Cori say my name.” Read more…







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