Excerpt: Captive Films 2.1
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Maggie says, “But fuck yeah! I’m so proud of you for standing up to that asshole!” She studies me. “You know what. You look like you could use a glass of wine. Fortunately, that’s something we have plenty of here. Red or white?”
“White. I can’t believe I said all that. My dad is going to be mad at me when he finds out I lied to him.”
“And do you care about that?” she asks as she drags me out of her office, across the street to her house, and onto her front porch. “Sit and rock. I’ll be right back.”
I sit down and rock. And rock.
And feel a little calmer.
By the time she comes back with two glasses of a crisp Chardonnay, I say, “I’m proud of me too.”
“You should be. Can I see the Thanksgiving card?”
“Sure.” I hand her my phone.
“Oh, wow. You even made up a little rhyme.
We should thank you for your business this Thanksgiving day,
But, instead, we find Collin and his secretary rolling in the hay.
Yes, he has a wife who you all know,
But does that really matter?
Boys will be boys and all that chatter.
If you’re a wife and know how I feel,
Show Collin you won’t stand for this deal.
Move your business to someone worthy of your trust.
And not someone who just thinks about lust.
Maybe it’s time us women unite.
Like the Pilgrims and Indians did that night.
So Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your cranberry sauce And know I’m divorcing this asshole,
Love, Ariela Ross.”
“What do you think?”
“I think if you stop planning weddings, you could write divorce cards.”
“White. I can’t believe I said all that. My dad is going to be mad at me when he finds out I lied to him.”
“And do you care about that?” she asks as she drags me out of her office, across the street to her house, and onto her front porch. “Sit and rock. I’ll be right back.”
I sit down and rock. And rock.
And feel a little calmer.
By the time she comes back with two glasses of a crisp Chardonnay, I say, “I’m proud of me too.”
“You should be. Can I see the Thanksgiving card?”
“Sure.” I hand her my phone.
“Oh, wow. You even made up a little rhyme.
We should thank you for your business this Thanksgiving day,
But, instead, we find Collin and his secretary rolling in the hay.
Yes, he has a wife who you all know,
But does that really matter?
Boys will be boys and all that chatter.
If you’re a wife and know how I feel,
Show Collin you won’t stand for this deal.
Move your business to someone worthy of your trust.
And not someone who just thinks about lust.
Maybe it’s time us women unite.
Like the Pilgrims and Indians did that night.
So Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your cranberry sauce And know I’m divorcing this asshole,
Love, Ariela Ross.”
“What do you think?”
“I think if you stop planning weddings, you could write divorce cards.”
Excerpt: Captive Films 2.2
“Love requires work, Riley,” Aiden says. “It's risking your heart. It's wooing her when she has a boyfriend or is still seeing her ex. You and Ariela never had much drama. Once you asked her out, you never really broke up. I mean, until that day.”
“Graduation day,” I say, taking a gulp of milk and shoving another cookie into my mouth.
“Did you fight for her?”
I hang my head. “I was too devastated to fight. Then I was pissed. Then it was too late.”
“She's back. You have a chance. Why don’t you stop fucking around and take it?”
“If she—”
“If she breaks your heart, we’ll deal with it,” he tells me. “Call her and find out what really happened.”
“What do you mean? I know what happened.”
“Riley, you’re trying to fuck your feelings away. It’s not going to work.”
“Graduation day,” I say, taking a gulp of milk and shoving another cookie into my mouth.
“Did you fight for her?”
I hang my head. “I was too devastated to fight. Then I was pissed. Then it was too late.”
“She's back. You have a chance. Why don’t you stop fucking around and take it?”
“If she—”
“If she breaks your heart, we’ll deal with it,” he tells me. “Call her and find out what really happened.”
“What do you mean? I know what happened.”
“Riley, you’re trying to fuck your feelings away. It’s not going to work.”