It’s Quadrille Monday at the dVerse Poets Pub
He had a white coat with oval-shaped specklings of black and dark gray.
People thought we should name him “Freckles”, but I thought that was much too common a name for such a serendipitous creature.
Instead, we decided on Domenic Andreas — Spot for short.
Today’s theme at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is ‘sunflowers.’
Their cheerful faces!
Sunflowers can make us smile —
even through the rain.
Today’s writing prompt over at the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie is “Wild Wild Life.”
It was inevitable. The entire town knew it was just a matter of time before the wild-ass Limbourg brothers and the duBerry twins, Dingle & Razz, would hook-up.
And they were afraid.
The Limbourgs and duBerrys were neighbors and the best of friends—kind of like the Ricardos and the Mertzes from I Love Lucy. Eventually, both couples decided to procreate, as couples are wont to do. First came the Limbourg brothers; Sebastian, and precisely one year and eleven days later François arrived on the scene.
Six months later, the duBerrys unleashed Dingle and Razz, identical twin girls, on the village and ultimately, the world.
The boys were two halves of a whole lotta trouble: What one didn’t explode, the other would implode…according to the townsfolk. Sebastian & François were a lethal, albeit amusing, fusion of fierce intellect and holy-crap imagination. Case in point: the two boys once transformed their Play-Doh® Fun Factory into a small-scale toxic waste producer. Fortunately, the Hazmat team arrived in time but remain flummoxed as to how the tykes managed it. All they could get out of Sebastian was something about gamma rays and hair tonic. François claimed to know nothing about anything.
Meanwhile, next door, Dingle & Razz were busy spaying Hello Kitty®—just doing their part in controlling the pet population. Barbie and Ken would have undergone similar surgeries, but to the girls’ dismay, the dolls were not only anatomically incorrect but the snub-nosed, preschooler scissors their mother had given them were no match for the dolls’ thick, plastic hides. So instead, they focused on Stretch Armstrong®, who was also lacking his definitive parts, but it didn’t matter. The girls were simply curious as to what made Stretch, stretch.
After the Fun Factory/Spaying incidents, the four prodigies were sent outdoors “to play,” while their respective parents settled in with several rounds of Singapore Slings.
“Why was Hazmat at your house, Frankie?” Dingle asked.
François shrugged. “Toxic waste. The usual.”
“Again?” Razz asked, lighting up a Virginia Slim. “Don’t you guys ever get tired of that?”
“Whaddaya talkin’ about?” Sebastian held up his thumb and forefinger. “We are this close to creating the most toxic toxin the world has ever seen!”
“Yep,” François added. “All we’re lacking is one stinkin’ element…and Ka-Boom!”
“Yeah, okay, Sebo.” Razz blew a smoke ring and rolled her eyes at Dingle.
“Well, what did you two accomplish today?” Sebastian challenged.
Razz & Dingle provided an animated, play-by-play account of Hello Kitty’s and Stretch Armstrong’s surgical procedures when suddenly François’ eyes lit up.
“Stretch Armstrong. Isn’t that the thing with the weird goo inside?”
The girls nodded. “Yeah, it’s wicked. Why?”
Sebastian seemed to read his brother’s mind. “Is there any left?”
Before the girls could answer, François implored, “We gotta borrow Stretch for a while.”
“Okay…but what are you going to do?” Razz asked.
The Limbourg brothers glanced at one another, grinning. “You’ll see.”
Carmen stared at the stately building through a hot splash of tears. It was 12:10 now, and it was over.
Everything was over.
Yet in another sense it was just beginning. Standing there in person on the edge of the narrow pathway added a whole new dimension to her grief.
She should have been the one to walk that path this morning. She should’ve been the woman in white, the radiant bride. It was she who should be packing for her honeymoon in Sardinia and starting a brand new life with Jake.
Apparently the universe had other ideas.
How bewildering, Carmen mused, that things, that people, can change so fast.
Carmen and Jake met as freshmen in high school Spanish class. One look at Jake was all it took. Fifteen years later Carmen is still hooked. Jake on the other hand, somehow became unhooked.
Two months ago, she and Jake were in love and planning for the future. A month later, he decided he “needed some time.” Today, Jake is married to some bartender and Carmen’s $2500 Christina Wu mermaid wedding gown is hanging in her closet, forever to remain in its protective plastic.
It wasn’t fair. She did nothing to deserve this. This was supposed to be her day and she’d be damned if anyone was going to ruin it.
Later that day…
Carmen admired her reflection in the mirror. The wedding gown was truly a work of art. Clearly, she thought, it had been designed with only her in mind. No one else could possibly wear it and look as beautiful. Her white silk pumps were a perfect match.
As the final touch Carmen took her grandmother’s pearl earrings from her jewelry box and carefully clipped one onto each earlobe.
“Sublime…” she smiled at the mirror. “I am ready.”
All dressed up with no place to go? Not exactly.
Carmen scooped up the small beaded pocketbook to hold her keys, lipstick and such, and glided out the front door.
She was unaware of the perplexed stares her shimmering gown and otherworldly demeanor provoked of passersby. As she made her way back to St. Paul’s, the four-foot train was stepped on more than a few times, but she didn’t notice that either.
Finally, Carmen was at the little path that lead to the chapel. She took a deep breath to calm herself, as well as to revel in the moment.
She drifted up the walkway, through the foyer and into the chapel. The church was empty of course, and there were no traces that anyone had been there. It was as if the wedding that should have been Carmen’s had never taken place.
Satisfied that things were as they should be, Carmen removed the pearl handled .380 from her beaded bag. She held the barrel to her temple, closed her eyes, and began her new life.
Today at Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, we have Heeding Haiku with Chèvrefeuille. Our prompt for today is “shadows on the wall.”
Our love cannot let
itself be seen: a secret
dance in the shadows.
Ergo, the Ogre 