Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Curated by Denise, it has one simple rule: use the week’s prompt word and keep it to six sentences.
This week is an Ian Devereaux week. Following is the latest installment in ‘the Case of the Missing Fig Leaf‘
The prompt:
JOURNEY
Sometimes I miss the years spent on a fishing trawler.
I’d met my former wife, Haley, through mutual friends of hers when we were at Harvard; Haley was a law student and I was a psych major.
We got married mid-semester and commuted from our apartment in Wakefield, Rhode Island, not Massachusetts; I graduated a year ahead of her and got a job on a fishing boat; seeing how my minor degree was law, it was the obvious career move.
Sitting now, in Terminal 3 at Orly, I began to have my doubts about the sage advice to idealistic young people down through the 20th century that it wasn’t the destination, it was the journey; the most varied, and, arguably, interesting trips are the ones that ensue when the map is wrong, the locals neglect street signage and the GPS signal flickers.
My client, Dr. Leanne Thunberg, decided that Anya Claireaux, the most powerful and feral human I’ve ever met would serve as the perfect resource as she sought the identity of her ex-husband’s murderer and so, I was off to London to find the connection between the people running the monastery at Eibingen, Germany and Jack the Ripper, who spent time in Victorian London working out his personal problems among the wretched-poor of Whitechapel.
Walking towards the boarding gate, looking for the energy to make what most men of my age, and a good percentage of the women, might note, “Hey, dude, traveling on a first class expense account, researching fascinating tales and mysteries, where do I sign up,” when a memory of my dog grew in that part of the mind where we save the private and precious parts of ourselves and I smiled as, out the the wet-blanket din of languages that fill every busy airport, I heard, “The White Zone is for loading and unloading only.”
About clarkscottroger
Perfect music for this six.
It reminds me that I sold my Dad’s yacht to a 4 year old German Shepherd.
It doesn’t get better than this.
Perfection as always
Memories of one’s dog(s) creep into our thoughts when least expected. I am glad it made him smile. I had to google, “white zone.”
I trust it yield the proper result
The journey is the best part if you don’t have a deadline.
Well done, as always.
true dat
Ian doesn’t have such a bad gig does he? Now he’s off to London. I’d say that beats being out on a fishing trawler, lol.
So there is a connection. Crossover time?! Cool!
Love Lyle.
crossover seems likely to some extend, after all, both concern Adam’s first wife
Good Six. I didn’t begin enjoying/appreciating the journey till I matured significantly–it’s fairly golden now, and the end…the reward, is in sight. May your writing prosper.
Thank, Z writing serials this way (SoP) is sometimes enlightening and often challenging, to wait for the characters to tell us the story
First class is the only way to travel (so I’m told). Great gig!
If I ever get to… totally will have some posts to write. For now, I’ll have to enjoy it vicariously through the characters
Those can be the most frustrating trips when the maps are wrong and the worries start that we’ll never get back on course.
what’s the old saying? ‘You can’t step in the same river twice?’
Despite the hurly-burly, sometimes an airport can be a good place to think, or allow memories (of past dogs, yes) come into mind. You mentioned trawling a while back during one of our comments (virtual coffee table at the caff) sessions. Interesting to see it crop up here as the prelude thought of Mr Devereaux’s.
yeah…major mini-series on my life movie… (produced good stories and imparted the skill to stand outdoors silently, gaze at the ground, look back up and, finally, after spitting on the ground say, “Looks like we’re in for some rain”)
And, thanks to the genii who created Airplane! (the movie) I can’t even think about terminals without thinking…’The White Zone has never not been for…’
(how do they get the voices all to sound like the movie?)