Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Wakefield Doctrine’s contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Hosted each week by Denise, all we’re asked to do is write a story of six (and only six) sentences.
So we continue this oddly interesting meeting of the Sophomore and the tall, thin man. Our last encounter.
Prompt word:
CRAFT
“Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, I accept your claim of being a time-traveler; as far as I can tell, you got the other Proprietors, if not believing you, at least are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt,” the fingers of the young man’s hands on the arms of his chair went from being triangles to lying in a row; spotting this reaction, the tall, thin man leaned forward, “aka humoring the kid’.”
“That’s not very ‘you’ of you to take that particular tact,” the Sophomore, marginally more upright in his chair, his pupils dilating as his nostrils flared, any prize fighter stepping into the ring.
Seeing uncertainty and anger grow in the older man’s face, he hastened to add, “What I mean to say is, courtesy of my putative knowledge of the past…. your past, that kinda sneery, faux-crafty response is for a personality type that you are not.”
The young man with long hair and a head full of fear added, “You, ‘Mr T. Thin Man’ sir, suspect I am who I say I am, but fear of the implications has you as tangled up as an octopus in a bowl of warm spaghetti.”
“Fuck you,” the Proprietor pushed away from the desk like a third grader from his cafeteria tray on Welsh Rarebit Day.
The phones on the desk began to ring, vibrate mode making them move randomly across the surface, digital Mexican jumping-Chiclets; a million miles, (and decades of life) away from the Six Sentence Café and Bistro, the tall, thin man considered which phone to answer first.
*
About clarkscottroger
It was about time the 5th ( sentence reply) to be said.
Excellent, master Weaver; you can ✅ from the list the entry:
Say Fuck you to my younger self.
lol
agree*
*but, and this is no not an original idea, imagine what you would tell your younger self… and, not simply because the path is Escher’d by multiple paradox but, can there be any advice other than don’t take it so personal
Tough to know which phone to answer & who is on the line and will say/ask what?! :)
agree!
Hey! You’re relatively new to Sixville, but we do a thing, from time-to-time, that we call a walk-on. This is when a common setting is established and two (or more) participants write a Six using the common setting (and, even characters).
There is the Six Sentence Cafe & Bistro that you will see referenced in several others stories, Denise and Mimi and Nick mostly.
The Cafe is a metaphorical gathering place.
There is one entrance (three granite steps down from the street) and once through a small foyer (with a cigarette machine on top of which are free shopper magazines and dog-eared issues of ‘The WatchTower’) a glass and stainless steel door.
Inside there is a long, mahogany wood bar running along the right hand wall. Mirrors behind the shelves of liquor reflect out to the Cafe proper. Halfway down the bar, on the back wall is the entrance to the kitchen. At the far end is the service station (and Mimi’s seat).
Beyond the bar is a hallway that turns to the right that leads to the Manager’s office. Beyond that, the hallway becomes gradually darker.
Opposite the bar is the open area of the Bistro. There’s a small stage halfway up the right hand wall and if you were to stand on the stage and look out, any number of round, heavily-lacquered wood tables and chairs for the audience. Beyond is the outer wall that you would see from the street. The columns that support the floors above form alcoves that are curtained off for privacy.
The building is in an under-redeveloped section of a mid-sized city. Granite, brick and cast iron are the predominant building materials.
…stop in some time! (lol)
An intriguing story I have stepped into. The phones are quite an image; I imagine getting a mallet and playing whack-a-phone with them.
lol agree (but expensive)
Nice description: “as tangled up as an octopus in a bowl of warm spaghetti”. I also like how those phones are vibrating like “digital Mexican jumping-Chiclets”.
thanks Frank
We are who we were, enhanced.
(who’d of thought*)
*among our six-year-selfs?**
** lol I agree… the clarks
Excellent, Clark (or rather, the Tall, Thin Man and the Sophomore). I’m loving this!
thank you, Chris
Thanks to your bolognatious analogy I will forever be visualising an octopus when forking my spaghetti.
Ha! Good for the Sophomore telling Mr. Tall Thin Man, er, “reminding” him of his predominant worldview (* music vid, bread crumb clue, nice touch)
I’m enjoying these Six vignettes.