This story was another creative writing assignment: Write 10
pages of straight dialogue--no dialogue tags, scene descriptions, or thought
fillers. Write a dialogue between two people, add nothing else.
It actually turned out to be a lot easier than I expected, and
I also learned that dialogue is my forte. Not only that, but when I realized I
could fit it into my book about the first year of marriage, I was pretty
excited. So, I went back in an added those things that I wasn't allowed to put
in before, and voila.
This story isn't actually about the first year, per
se, because the couple in question is engaged, but I think it still fits. It
highlights an important theme: Trying to figure out your relationship with your
parents and in-laws once you've flown the nest and started your own
family.
You don't just gain a husband or wife when you marry: You gain
an entire family. However, the most important
thing is to be committed to your spouse first and foremost. Your relationship
must come before all others, no matter what, if you are going to really make
things work (though, it does help to have those other relationships in tact!).
So now, I hope you enjoy the first
portion of chapter five, "Commitment."
Chapter Five:
Commitment
“Well that was fun,” Mom said,
climbing into the passenger seat and slamming the door of my black Jeep Patriot
behind her.
I didn’t know what to say. I stared at
my hands, knuckles white on the steering wheel.
“What’s the matter, Parker?” she asked.
I clenched my teeth. “Are you serious?”
“There is no need to be rude.”
“Sorry.” I reached for my seat belt,
wishing I had the guts to tell off my mother, knowing that she was the one
person on earth who could truly scare me.
“It’s not as though I had a choice.”
I rolled my eyes and took off the
parking brake. “Didn’t you?”
“Of course not.”
“Well thanks,” I said, as I eased the
car away from the curb. Sometimes, I really missed my old stick shift. It made
me feel better to gun the engine at times like this, which was so much harder
to do in an automatic.
“You are being rude.”
My face started getting hot. “Like you
were rude to Vanessa?”
Instantly, the car, icy cold from
sitting outside on a January night, grew even icier. “Don’t you dare,” she
said.
One of the things Vanessa admired about
my personality was that I didn’t let things bother me. I didn’t fight. I just
let go. She was wrong though. It very much bothered me that she and my mom
couldn’t get along. I couldn’t stand that my mom didn’t respect or trust me
enough to make my own decisions, and I hated that I had to hold back what I was
really thinking, only because my mom wouldn’t bend, regardless of what I said.
That’s why I didn’t usually fight. There really was no point.
“And for the record, I was not being
rude. I merely commented on the poor-quality of your fiancée’s cooking.”
I turned sharply onto Main Street.
“First of all, she was trying to impress you. She just tried something a little
too complicated. Second–”
“Impress me? Hmph.”
I saw her cross her arms over her chest
out of the corner of my eye as I turned on to Fifth.
“She’s never going to do that, is she?”
“What?”
“Impress you.”
“Oh please.”
“Come on, Mom. Just admit it. You’ve
never liked Vanessa.”
“I liked her just fine when she was a
friend who would help you with your college papers.”
“She’s more than that now, and you’re
just going to have to accept that.”
“She just isn’t good enough,
Parker.”
I squeezed the steering wheel. “How do
you know that, when you haven’t even taken the time to get to know her?”
“I don’t need to take any time.”
“Why not?”
The brakes protested as I slowed for a
red light. The engine hummed idly as we waited. My eyes started to sting, but I
was in control. I had to stay in control. The light finally turned green, and I
eased out into the intersection, my fingers cramping as I clutched the steering
wheel. “You’re not being fair,” I said.
“She is a horrible cook. That’s all I
need to know.”
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