[joycedb]

Hey everyone. I wasn't aware we could add snippets to our book posts. I started a thread for authors to post their snippets, but after a few posts it died a swift and painless death. So here's just a little teaser from Rubies and Other Gems - the Novel. The blurb is just above.

We pick up the story after Lily returns from the past. She thinks she’s only been gone the day, but it’s actually been two weeks. She’s already tried to explain to Sam, but he wasn’t ready to hear her out. Now, as they try to resume some semblance of normalcy for their son’s sake, he asks to see her proof.

* * *
At dinner’s end, Todd went to his room to do homework without being told, and Sam stayed behind to help clean up without being asked. Lily immediately tensed. Had he made a decision about their marriage? Would it be divorce court or the looney bin?

He fitted the salad bowl into the dishwasher, then turned to her. “You said you had pictures?”

“Yes,” she said, hopeful for the first time since her return.

“Show me.”

Aware that her sanity or faithfulness was in question, Lily quickly scraped their dinner plates into a bowl for Cookie, and then reached for her phone. With hands shaking, she scrolled through the photos, holding each one out for him to see. Sam said nothing during the slide show, his face a cold, hard mask. When she reached the end, he grabbed the phone from her trembling hands and scrutinized every picture.

“This is him, with the suspenders?” he said, voice cracking.

“Yes,” she said softly. “And you can see from the picture that there are no telephone poles anywhere around. It’s all rolling hills and pastures, the way it used to be long ago.”

He took his time going through the pictures again. Then he shoved the phone back at her. “These could’ve been taken anywhere.”

“But they weren’t, Sam. They were taken right here in town, where the industrial park is now. Look at the pictures from inside the cabin. Do you see modern kitchen appliances? No. There’s a wood stove and a pump for a well. There are no electrical outlets, no TV, no microwave on the counter. Hell, there isn’t even a counter, just a rickety, wooden table to work on. If this doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will.”

She didn’t realize her voice had risen until he shouted back at her. “I don’t know either, all right? Let me think.”

She moderated her tone. “I’m sorry. All I can say in my defense is that I believed it was just a harmless dream. When I realized it wasn’t, it never happened again.”

“Yeah, so you keep saying. It’s just so—so far out there.”

“I know how it sounds, and I don’t blame you for being skeptical. But you can’t honestly tell me you’ve never dreamt about making love to another woman.”

He slammed his fists on the table. “We’re not talking about me, dammit! And any fantasies I’ve ever had were just that, fantasies. I never cheated on you.”

“And it wasn’t my intention to cheat either. I was indulging in what I thought was a harmless fantasy. So, please, please don’t give up on our marriage, Sam. Give it some time before you decide. And give me time to make it up to you. We have too much history between us. Good history.”

Lily thought about that history. They may not have had the ideal marriage, and she may have toyed with the idea of leaving him on more than one occasion. But imagining their breakup and its aftermath was merely her way of dealing with the stress of headstrong children and an uncommunicative husband. Once she’d run the scenario through her mind, effectively purging it from her system, she’d always dismissed the notion. Would Sam also dismiss it?

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said after giving it some thought. “All I know is that the kids need both of us now. Yeah, even Molly, though she’d be the last one to admit it. But Todd for sure. And I don’t want to disrupt his life any more than these past two weeks already have. Do you know the poor kid blames himself for your leaving? He thinks he drove you away.”

“I know. But we had a good talk about it, and he understands now.”

“Yeah? Well, I wish I did.”

“So—are we all right?” she asked in a meek tone. With no leverage on her side, Lily hung her head as she waited to hear the verdict. When Sam cleared his throat, she raised her eyes to his, hoping and praying he’d be as lenient with her as he was with their children.

His hard eyes bored into her. “No,” he said, his voice barely audible. “We’re not all right. But until Todd’s out of school and on his own, I’m not making any decisions. After that, well, I don’t know about after that. But I’ll tell you what I do know: If you ever go back to see this guy again, don’t bother coming home.”

Lily’s eyes pooled. Although it hurt to hear Sam issue such an ultimatum, she knew it hurt him more.

“Thank you,” she said in a small voice.
* * *

And thank you for reading this far.

Joyce