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Six Sentence Story- the Wakefield Doctrine-

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Café, le soir (van Gogh)

 

This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop

Denise is the host.

Hey, we so enjoyed being back in the 1880’s for our Six last week, catching up with Brother Abbott on his secret mission, we couldn’t resist hanging out a little longer. (Hint: when we talk about doing ‘walk-ons’ when writing stories? this week’s Six is a good example. To follow an ancillary character in a scene to see where they might lead.)

 

Prompt word:

HARMONY

Angelique Déchue, stepping from the café’s small kitchen, launched herself into the early-evening crowd, swerving and side-stepping as she moved, a sleek Bermuda cutter returning to a crowded harbor, the empty right sleeve pinned to her chartreuse tea gown like a torn sail lashed to a broken spar; her shift now ended, she lay claim to a table affording a view of the river of pedestrians filling the Rue Norvins, the evening flood tide heralded by the army of allumeurs chasing the darkness from the narrow streets of Montmartre.

I have been invited… Wonderful news from my family in America… my dream… our life can grow together,” the young woman, unaware her heart contributed a whispered harmony to the words, ignored the curious but benign glances of the other patrons, as she rehearsed in her mind the contents of the telegram she’d carried throughout the day from her morning cleaning job at the Théâtre du Vaudeville, into the afternoon spent serving tables.

Nick Létranger, who laughed when referred to as a bronze hoplite of a young man, was monolithic when still, a contradiction when in motion; seeing Angelique, he moved through the crowded café, veering breath-close past stationary obstacles, the mobile diners becoming silent dance partners, found himself standing uncharacteristically mute before the girl, breath chased away not by exertion, rather, love.

Angelique’s hair was a cheerfully uncomplicated blonde, inclined to take the sunlight hostage during the daytime; at night, in the light of a thousand poor relatives of the sun, it was in it’s glory, golden highlights and diamond-white reflections played in the flickering gaslight, a transformation both of mind and body.

“I’ve been invited to join a party of distant relatives, they are emigrating to America,” despite the storm that, billowing in her friend’s eyes and felt like sleet on a morning face, Angelique pushed on, opposing emotions a call to arms, “What I’ve often dreamt of is becoming a granted wish, surely a dream come true can be nothing but wonderful?”

The thunder he felt growing, retreated at the sight of the woman who Nick described in a diary, (which was from all, even his brother back home, a secret), as ‘his broken caryatid’, reached out to touch her face, “It’s decided then, we’ll go together to the New World”.

 

 

 

 

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clarkscottroger About clarkscottroger
Well, what exactly do you want to know? Whether I am a clark or a scott or roger? If you have to ask, then you need to keep reading the Posts for two reasons: a)to get a clear enough understanding to be able to make the determination of which type I am and 2) to realize that by definition I am all three.* *which is true for you as well, all three...but mostly one

Comments

  1. UP says:

    one of my favorite van gogh’s good six

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      thanks, Paul… not much of an art guy, but stumbled across the pitcha and really liked it

  2. ceayr says:

    I especially like Angelique’s nom de famille, and Nick’s is cool too.

    PS ‘caryatid’

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      yeah, forget the process that lead me on the path to Angelique’s name, Nick’s was just a variation on ‘outsider’

      PPS thanks, c

  3. Chris Hall says:

    Splendid Six in every way, Clark! I also relished the nomenclature.
    Bonus fact: I’ve sipped gin sitting at that very café of Van Gogh’s, which you cleverly translocated (via the google maps accelerator, perhaps?) from Arles to Paris. Ah, rue Norvin, where I’ve also imbibed… another gin joint. Santé!

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      how much is that business of (‘You’ve never been to Paris… where’s the google streetview?) finding/creating/mashup-ing story locations… While it’s always possible to make up a scene, seeing it surely does not hurt. (Don’t tell anyone, but not being an art guy but knowing I wanted to continue last week’s Six I spent a fair amount of time online. Glad I did since I stumbled over the van Gogh… which led to time spent ‘running down library aisles’….
      thanks was good to learn something about the origin story of two of the Proprietors, the Bartender and Nick

      hey! before you start writing your next book, we should talk about doing an online serial story*

      * yeah, still some logistics left as to a website and such, but the base idea, i.e. the on-going adventures of the Proprietors, sounds like a damn marketable idea…

  4. phyllis0711 says:

    Oh how I enjoy a good love story.
    Thank you.

  5. Spira says:

    ” was monolithic when still, a contradiction when in motion” 🤯

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      np*

      * in the post modern use… (insert emoji suggestive of the feeling shared by the first wakees of a weekend houseparty)

  6. Frank Hubeny says:

    Nice description of Angelique’s blonde hair taking “the sunlight hostage during the daytime; at night, in the light of a thousand poor relatives of the sun, it was in it’s glory”. She also has romantic occupations with her “cleaning job at the Théâtre du Vaudeville, into the afternoon spent serving table.”. She reminds me of Cinderella waiting for a prince. I wonder what is going to happen to her.

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      Thanks, Frank… she (Angelique) has been one of those self-developing characters that, on too rare an occasion, we can be blessed with… (in part, this whole Six was an exercise in description writing)

  7. Zelda Winter says:

    There’s so much that is beyond “good, great, brilliant” in this–my pick for the week is: “empty right sleeve pinned to her chartreuse tea gown like a torn sail lashed to a broken spar”. Bravo on the whole 6!!

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      Thank you, Z. (I enjoyed trying to convey such a significant physical characteristic with out getting too downer about it)

  8. The “swerving and side-stepping as she moved” was a brilliant picture of a determined person moving through a crowd. It’s like a dance if it’s done right.

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      it was one of those sets of words that were gathered (over a few hours) in response to the movie in my head

  9. emkingston says:

    I love how the imagery came through to me while he made his way to her through the diners and the objects. My favorite line is “the mobile diners becoming silent dance partners”. Brilliant six!

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      Thank you… that was one of mine and (one) that I struggled with right to ‘Publish’

  10. I love a happy ending. *Sighs*

  11. There’s so much movement throughout! But I was most moved by the last sentence.

  12. Artistically written story, you are a closet romantic, Clark.
    The first part of your Six especially, I had a sense of stumbling upon a live web cam on the Youtube, following Angelique out of the cafe, so vivid the imagery.
    Who doesn’t love an origin story!

  13. Some of us describe a scene as best we can, other’s transport us there though their words. The latter, you’ve done grandly sir.

  14. Liz H says:

    Brilliant vivid imagery. Lovely!

  15. Enjoyed the setting plus the vibes of a SSC&B backstory! I recently watched At Eternity’s Gate starring Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh… a touching and devastating portrayal of the artist and a mesmerising film. Van Gogh died in 1890, so the timeline is almost shoulder to shoulder with your episode.

    • clarkscottroger clarkscottroger says:

      it was fun to write… not sure the starting point… prob at the cafe (in the imaginary world) and Denise and Nick being knocked down by fortunately temporary conditions… then, (separate but equal) was the thought ‘How about a walk-on off the last Six?) the rest was just plain fun (imagine the World Atlas when compiled from all writer’s imaged locations and such! lol)

      see ya at the Café