Running:
Some of my runs have ended with a period-kind of normal and expected. A few end with a question mark-- as in, exactly why did I run today? Most of them ended with a wonderful exclamation point of "That was great! Can't wait to do it again tomorrow!"
Writing:
I was told you get exactly three exclamation points in your entire career. Don't use them all up in one manuscript or there won't be another chance. I overuse exclamation points! I love them! I also hate them! Writing tip: limit question marks and exclamation points. If it's not obvious why, then carefully consider it!!!!!!
An exclamation point of color discovered in a desolate spot up Nine Mile Canyon.
Secrets at Midnight
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 32
“Jenn, I've got Nick,”
Matt whispered, shaking her awake.
Disoriented, Jenn
rolled over and sat up. “Here?”
“Text messaging.”
She grasped the phone
and wrote: Honey, I love you.
A reply came back:
Tess, love you 2.
Long ago Nick had
called her a queen and she'd hated it. He'd switched to Countess, then
shortened it to Tess, but she hadn’t heard that in years. Only he knew the
nickname, one she’d never mentioned to anyone. Come home, she wrote.
I will, he replied.
When?
Soon. Let Shoe Shine
Man take care of U.
There was no doubt she
was talking to Nick—they often joked about Matt's spit-polished shoes and had
invented the nickname. She wrote: I'm scared.
Don't B. Trust him.
She glanced at Matt.
Not much about the situation engendered trust—except having his spy phone in
her hand with Nick on the line. She wrote: R U sure?
His reply: Stick to
Shoes like glue.
She wanted to
tattle—disclose every rotten thing she'd encountered at Matt's insistence. She refrained
and wrote: I want U.
Miss U like crazy, he
wrote back.
When will U B home?
Soon. Keep me in your
heart & prayers.
Jenn had never prayed
before—too archaic—and Nick didn't pray either. She worried that they might need
to start now and wrote: U Okay?
A lag in time elapsed
before he replied: Yes.
It didn't feel
truthful—in her gut. She quickly wrote: U sure?
Faster now he replied:
Yes.
B careful.
His reply: Love U.
She wrote: Call. I
want 2 hear your voice.
No response came back.
She turned to Matt. “Is the battery dead?”
He took the phone and
examined it. “No. We lost contact. Do you want to read all of his message?” He
pushed a few buttons before handing back the phone. “Scroll down.”
She read: Where R U
& my gold?
Safe. U?
Safe. Hole shrinking.
Needs?
T & C.
So far Jenn thought
she’d understood everything, but now she was confused. “What do T & C
mean?”
“Time and contact. He
wants reliable information.”
“He has a phone. He
should have that, right?”
“Not necessarily. I
don't have it either.”
She nodded and
returned to the messages: Take T. Have little C. Will share.
Need 1 & 2 in
hole.
Done.
Holding up OK?
A+.
Jenn pointed at the
grade. “You think we're doing this well? I'd give myself a D- or lower.”
“You're a superb
faker. Attitudes matter, kid. It can make or break a person. Sometimes it
determines survival. What would you rather have me tell him?”
She bit her bottom lip.
“A+, but how is he, really?”
“You know him as well
as I do—he’s always A+ because he knows attitude tricks and uses them. He'll be
okay.”
Unwilling to consider
Nick hurting, she turned away and read on: C #1? She deciphered the message.
“He asked to have contact with me?”
Matt looked over her
shoulder and pointed at the single Y on the screen. “That means yes. That's
when I woke you up.”
Her texts to Nick
began and she read through them again, relishing the brief moment when he felt
close—not like in the next room or even the next state, but close enough to
believe he'd find her. Tears blurred her vision. She threw her arms around
Matt's neck and cried on his shoulder. “Thanks so much. These are tears of joy,
not depression.”
“Good. So far we've
proved it's possible to catch the toast before it hits the floor.”
“That's not how it's
felt to me.”
“Today wasn’t bad and
tomorrow will be better.”
She nodded and
released her hold and burrowed back under the blankets.
Matt rose and stepped
back. “That contact might get tracked. Carry your gun with you from now on.
Keep it loaded and don't hesitate using it.”
She sniffled. “That
could that have waited until morning.”
“Possibly. Sleep
tight.”
He disappeared and the
night plunged into utter blackness.
End Chapter 32
I've perfected writing short chapters. It has something to do with switching POV and scenery. Anyway, in this novel I like the short chapter. If you have a comment, go ahead and make it, and it doesn't have to do with chapter length.
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