I’m participating in a Boomer Blogging Extravaganza which will take place every Friday. It’s a way to bring attention to the new genre of books called Boomer Lit. Click here, Boomer Lit Friday to go to your one-stop shopping boomer lit blog which will feature snippets from a variety of boomer lit novels. It’a a good place to get a taste of what boomer authors are writing about.
Perigee Moon is the story of a man who has a life crisis, who comes to realize that he must be true to himself and makes the changes necessary to remove himself from a ruined marriage and the ”should do” world in order to have the lifestyle he craves.
This excerpt is some internalization by Abby, a few days after meeting up with Luke again, after 45 years. They had seen each other on Friday night at the Reunion, and gone out together on Saturday night and he’d asked if they could see each other when they got back to their respective cities. Abby thinks if he were serious, he’d have called by now. She was sure serious about getting together with him, and she is very disappointed that she hasn’t heard from him.
Abby is a left-winger, an earthy gardener type, who believes in doing the right thing. I liked the character of Abby, she was fun to write, but it was easy to stray into that goody-goody land which might make her character less appealing.
Abby wishes she’d have asked Luke for his numbers too. Women are now allowed to call men. It has long been an acceptable practice. She works outside in the garden for an hour or two each day, then goes inside. Maybe he’s called. She checks voicemail and caller id for a number which could be his. Sunday, after she’d got back home, Monday, Tuesday, then Wednesday. How long did he intend to wait? Maybe he’s had second thoughts. That was always the problem, people had second thoughts, decided no, that hadn’t really been such a good idea after all.
By Wednesday, she decides, figures out, that he probably won’t call. If he had been serious, surely he’d have done it by now. When the phone rings after dinner and caller id says “Private” she feels hopeless but answers it, just in case. It’s possible, people could be “Private” too, isn’t it? But it’s not a person, it’s the Democrats asking for donations, time or money. No, she wants to yell at them. Leave me alone, don’t ask me about this stuff now, I can’t think about it. She feels like crying, she’s that disappointed.
She pours a glass of Pinot Noir and lights several candles in the bathroom and soaks in the big tub until the water goes cold, so she lets some out and adds more hot, something she would never have done under normal circumstances. Usually she is conservative, about everything except politics. Conserving water and heat and gas, so she doesn’t consume more than necessary. Recycle, recycle. Recycling is the way of her life, preserve the earth, leave it in as good shape as possible, don’t be conspicuous in your consumption of anything.
What I found interesting about that passage was that even though Abby is an adult woman with decades of life behind her, she still frets over not getting a phone call just like a teenage girl would. Sometimes we don’t change as much as we think we do…
Right. Some things don’t change. She was disappointed because she thought he felt about her (as she did about him) that he would call immediately. And when he didn’t, well… bummer.
Yes, do we ever get too old for that?
I would hope that we did get too old for that.
I liked Abby from the first moment you introduced her early in the book and hoped she reappear later in Luke’s life. I can see why she was fun to write.
Yes, she was fun to write. She was so basically… good. Different from Kate, as he (Luke) says at one point, if there were a scale of women, Abby would be at one end and Kate at the other.
Nice job, Lynn. Looking forwarding to reading the whole thing.
Thanks Michael. I’m looking forward to your critique.
She’s very likable, and I feel her hope vs. fear.
Thanks, Beth. Abby is nice maybe TOO nice, as it turns out.
The only thing she doesn’t do (and probably only because she doesn’t have his number) is call him and then hang up when he answers! Great characterization and attention to detail.
Thank you, Shelley!
Nothing worse than waiting for a phone call – something I’ve HATED all my life, now as much as when I was young…Well done!