Wednesday's Words on a Friday

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles.

The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along and read it.

This month the words are supplied by ME! and can be found right here

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This week's words are: 

1. yellow
2. zinnias
3. adjust
4. boots
5. chicken
6. doomed

and/or:

1. extensively
2. flagstones
3. gingerly
4. holding
5. investigator
6. jerked

Here is my story:

 Barry Whitmore watched carefully as his Granny gingerly negotiated the newly laid flagstones. “If I’d known they were still a bit muddy, I’d have worn my rubber boots,” she said. He reached out a hand. “No, no, don’t help me. I’m not decrepit just yet. Getting on a bit, but I can still walk by myself, I just need to be slow and careful. I see the flowerbeds have been planted, the seedlings look like zinnias. Are they zinnias?” “Yes, Granny, yellow zinnias mostly, with a few other colours randomly spaced. Mum thought you’d like them.”

Granny reached the new front porch and slowly navigated the two broad steps leading up to it. “I like it this way,” she said. “Raised up a bit means the rain won’t come sweeping in under the front door anymore like it used to. What other work has been done while I was away?” Barry said, “The whole house has been extensively renovated. Mum wanted this and Dad wanted that and it just sort of snowballed. They were both real pleased when the insurance investigator deemed the kitchen fire an accident. Like it was, of course. Dad wouldn’t deliberately set the kitchen alight. They paid up enough to get the whole house done over.”

“Ah yes,” said Granny. “The fire. What was your dad cooking again? I don’t remember.” “That jerked chicken recipe he found in a Jamaican cookbook. Probably should have done it on the barbecue outside. But this way we got the kitchen Mum always wanted.” “She deserves it too,” said Granny. “Your Mum is a fabulous cook. I can hardly wait to taste one of her lemon chiffon cakes again.”

“Come and see the new kitchen then,” said Barry. “And there’s something else, a secret, just for you. If you want it that is.” After holding open the front door, Barry showed his Granny the hallway floor, newly polished, on the way to the kitchen. “I’ll show you the bedrooms after,” he said. “I want to show you the secret surprise first.”

They reached the kitchen and Granny gave a gasp of pure delight. “I love it,” she declared. “Look at all the counter space! And the sunshine flooding in so Cathy won’t have to have the electric light on all the time, like she used to.” Granny gave Barry a hug. “Was it nice staying with Aunty Pat out in the country? Mum was a bit worried about that, but she didn’t want you cramped up in that little caravan they rented while the house got done,” said Barry.

“Aunty Pat was nice, and those cousins too, so many cousins! but I had to adjust to the farm routine again. It’s been a very long time since I got up at the crack of dawn. These days I’m used to sleeping until seven o’clock. I’ll tell you one thing though, if that rooster of theirs had crowed under my bedroom window just one more time, he’d have been doomed. I might have chased him around the yard with an axe. He would have been soup!”

Barry had a good laugh at that mental image, his nearly ninety-year-old granny running around with an axe. “Now what’s this about a secret surprise?” Granny said. “Over here through this blue door,” said Barry flinging it open to reveal and entire suite of rooms decorated in Granny’s favourite colours. “This is all for you, if you want it. Mum and Dad would love to have you keep living with them. I’ll be coming home in the holidays too and Susie said she’ll bring the new baby to visit as soon as everyone is resettled.”

“I love it,” said Granny. “I’ll have to thank Cathy and John for thinking of it. It’s certainly a lot different now from the tiny cottage Seth and I moved into as newlyweds.”