Saturday, May 18, 2019
Note: Last week I mentioned Dan was working on his own post about his part of the inspiration for the Doug Armstrong character. That is Dan’s Saturday post this week at his blog, No Facilities.
Welcome to my sanctuary at the crossroads. Relax and sit for awhile. It makes no difference what your name may be. Although there is oh so much in a name.
I tend to obsess about character names. In stories with a real world setting (even if they are also fantasy) I try to add authenticity through the names of some characters. With Atonement, Tennessee and Atonement in Bloom, I consulted a (public) government database that will show the most popular names, for a state, in a given year.
Last time in A Hymn, we met two new characters, a woman and a little girl. I had to give the girl a first name. To my those ever so handy databases I went. I chose four names from the 100 most popular names in Mississippi in 1960. (Since I haven’t established an exact year for the story, that’s smack in the middle of my range of when the story might take place.)
Then I sent my top choices to Dan Antion and asked if he’d mind choosing the name. He chose from Dorothy, Shirley, Sandra (Sandy), and Tammy. As you know, he picked Tammy.
One of Dan’s “things” for Chapter 4 is the number nine. This song came into the story. It also inspired a couple of street names.
For Chapter 4, the “things” from Dan are Round Domino and Nine (the number). The third thing is from V. M. Sang, Faberge egg. She had not left a comment before my “call for things,” but that’s perfectly fine.
This time I apologize and request your patience. I was barely able to get this chapter posted in time. It’s raw. You’ll undoubtedly see a lot of mistakes, but at least I managed to get it here.
It’s time to go to the crossroads.
Chapter 2. Doug Armstrong stopped at Birdie Devovo’s house at the crossroads moments after the lights went out. He said he saw someone moving around on the porch. Birdie certainly thought someone was inside. Yet, was it odd that Doug should be there at that specific moment? Was it random chance? Or did it happen by design? If so, then whose design?
Chapter 3. An unknown woman and a rather odd little girl stopped at the house at the crossroads asking for directions. They were looking for Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show. The woman said she believed Tammy could be healed of her hemophilia there.
Brother Love
4 — A Domino
Round Domino, Nine, and Faberge Egg
Even after I could no longer see or hear the Ford, I stood there, pondering the strangeness of the child.
Jinx fluttered down near my feet. He started pecking at something amid the gravels of the drive. I noticed a small black disk. With his beak, he tossed it into the air.
Sometimes when the magpie found bottle caps, he liked me to throw them for him to find. However, that was no metal cap.
I bent down for a closer look. A black disk with white dots. It was right beside where the woman had stopped her car.
While she had called the child by her name, Tammy, the woman had not given her own name. She was awfully nervous. I guessed that getting lost made her too flustered to think of social niceties. Although I didn’t feel she had been rude.
Jinx pecked at the disk again. I picked it up to investigate before he could fly off with it.
“Oh,” I felt so foolish that I said it aloud.
I had never seen a round domino. The game behind the regular kind mystified me. For the longest, I didn’t even know there was a game. Dominoes were just something you stood up to watch each one knock down the next. I wondered what you were supposed to do with round ones.
Jinx acted like he wanted it back.
“I know you found it, Jinx,” I told the bird. “It must belong to that strange little girl. If I see them again, I’ll give it to her.”
The magpie made a series of noises then started singing one of his favorites. He usually just repeated the simple chorus over and over again, but that time he sang most of a verse.
“When I kissed a cop on Thirty-fourth and Vine. Broke little bottle number nine,” he sang, getting most of the words.
“That’s a much better song than what you sang yesterday. Come on back to the house and I’ll give you another strawberry.”
That got his attention. For the next half hour, the magpie serenaded me with Love Potion Number Nine.
***
The song wouldn’t leave my head. I was still humming it the next morning when I got dressed to do errands.
I hated going into town. It didn’t matter whether people were uptown or down, or which side of the tracks, rich or poor, they… Well, let’s just say they didn’t approve of me. It’s hard to say which was worse, the spiteful remarks, or the cold, aloof behavior.
Granted, my mother had given them enough fuel for gossip to last several generations. They speculated about my parentage and then about whether I was legitimate. They cast doubt on my race, and even my sanity ― all knowing I could hear them.
Other comments spoken in hushed, sometimes fearful tones made me wonder if people really did think I was some sort of devil, just because I lived at the crossroads on the outside of town.
People could be so foolish. As if there weren’t crossroads all over town. As if there wasn’t a crossroad anywhere two roads met, I thought.
Regardless, I had things to do that wouldn’t do themselves. So, I got up and pulled my brown ringlet curls into a ponytail and got dressed.
Women in cities might have started wearing slim cigarette or capri pants out in public, but that hadn’t become acceptable in Parliament, Mississippi. I already attracted enough frowns and gossip, just from my mother’s reputation, so I didn’t wear those out in public.
I tried to banish the thoughts as I put on a yellow gingham, shirt-dress. It had a little bow at the neck from the same check fabric. Then I tied on my blue denim Keds. New white laces kept the wear and tear from being as noticeable. Nobody would know the soles were worn slick.
When I drove the old Nash Rambler wagon into Parliament, I turned onto Fourth Street. That took me past the First Methodist Church.
I noticed several cars in the parking lot. Among them was a late model Ford. When I saw a bleached blond head, I knew it was the car from the evening before.
Then I gave myself a mental kick for the uncharitable sound of the word. Describing a woman’s hair as bleached was insulting, even if that was obviously the case. I never wanted to treat others the way I was treated.
I saw Tammy getting into the car. The woman stood near the vehicle, talking to the preacher and some other people. One of them handed her an envelope.
For a moment I considered stopping. I was sure the domino must belong to Tammy so I had put it in my pocketbook just in case I saw them again. What good was a game with a missing piece?
As the woman put the packet into her white handbag, I realized it contained cash. She had mentioned Tammy’s medical bills taking all their money. It was not unusual for families with a sickly child to go to churches in their area for donations.
But they aren’t from around here, I thought. She must be in terrible need to ask for help outside their own community. It would embarrass them if they knew I saw.
So, I continued on my way. I stayed on Fourth Street to stop at the bakery. A loaf of freshly baked bread was my reward for going into town. Then I headed to the Post Office on Vine Street.
At the corner I noticed they had put up a street sign for the intersection of Fourth and Vine. The visual of the sign made me think of Love Potion Number Nine again. Parliament, Mississippi was nowhere near big enough to have a 34th Street, as in the song. However, Fourth and Vine was close enough to make me chuckle.
The Post Office was one of the prettiest buildings in Parliament. It was also one of the oldest. I liked the cooling marble floors and arched doorways.
Inside, a policeman removed a picture from the “most wanted” wall. When he looked up I saw it was Lamar Poole. He wasn’t originally from Mississippi, but he had been with our police force for many years.
The lawmen weren’t as bad as most of the rest of the people. Maybe it was because they had seen some truly bad people. Anyhow I felt comfortable enough to say hello.
“Caught one!” I said in a go-team sort of way.
“Unfortunately, there’s always at least one more to replace the ones that get caught,” Sargent Poole replied in a friendly voice.
He held out a newspaper with an article about “grand larceny” and a valuable Faberge egg.
“Are those things really worth that much?” I exclaimed.
Lamar’s expression showed skepticism, but he nodded. Fancy baubles were apparently not to his taste.
My mouth dropped open when he showed me the wanted-picture of the criminal.
I knew that face.
End Chapter 4.
***
Thank you kindly for reading Brother Love! If you want to participate by leaving a “thing” to be included in a future episode, please make a comment. Remember this is a mysterious story, set in rural Mississippi of the late 1950s to early 1960s.
I’ll meet you at the crossroads again next Saturday! Hugs on the wing.
***
Universal link to my Amazon Author Page
USA: The Three Things Serial Story: A Little 1920s Story Kindle
USA: Murder at the Bijou — Three Ingredients I
USA: Atonement in Bloom
USA: The Glowing Pigs, Snort Stories of Atonement, Tennessee
USA: Atonement, Tennessee
(E-book still on sale at 99¢ )
This is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.
What a proud photo of Jinx! We used to have a cat called Tammy. She wasn’t really our cat though, she was a stray that we took under our wing for a while. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tee-hee! I thought it represented him well. There aren’t magpies in my part of the country or Dan’s. Sometimes I use Dan’s crow photos, but other times I want to show a real magpie. I found some beauties like that one at Pixabay. Hugs on magpie wings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, you both did a fabulific job! 😀
LikeLike
That was an interesting chapter, Teagan. I was wondering how you were going to fit the Faberge egg into a Mississippi story. That was clever. A great cliffhanger. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Suzanne. No kidding. The egg went to the bottom of my list, because it just didn’t fit the setting. (Not to mention that the contributor never leaves a comment.) However, when I unexpectedly (rolls eyes — everything is unexpected to me with these stories!) needed a way for the wanted person to basically accidentally be wanted for a bigger crime, the egg fit the bill.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this episode. Your purple lamp is not forgotten. Dan has made several photos for me to choose from. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Teagan. I know you’ll do a good job with the lamp. Hugs to you also and have a great weekend. 🙂 — Suzanne
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another intriguing episode, Teagan – and Love Potion #9 playing in my head. Have a great week!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m afraid I’ve caused an ear-worm epidemic, Teri. It’s stuck in my head too! 😀 Huge thanks for catching up here. Chin rubs to Bond. Hugs on magpie wings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, great episode. I’m still singing Love Potion #9 in my thoughts and wondering about the next install. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oops! Sorry, Gwen — I can’t get that darned song out of my head even now. Just be careful what cops you kiss! 😀
I’m so happy you enjoyed this. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Being as you are so terrific writing fantasy, I thought you might be interested in this….
https://beetleypete.com/2019/05/21/mythaxis-a-new-concept-online-magazine/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi GP. You are so kind. Thanks for thinking that.
I appreciate the link. Pete is a terrific storyteller. I see that they are looking for stories using metaphor… So the magazine and I are likely not eachother’s cup of tea-gan. Wishing them success though. Hugs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on No Facilities and commented:
A round domino? A Faberge Egg? The Searchers? Teagan weaves another great chapter out of random things, setting the stage for another amazing story. Join her for her latest serial in Parliment, Mississippi.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Many thanks for giving this chapter a boost from No Facilities, Dan.
I just figured out how to let Jinx introduce Chapter 5 — so that’s progress.
Hugs on magpie wings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, Teagan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love Dan’s pics sprinkled throughout….onto the installment….can we say….i almost walked over the cliff on this one….I was so not ready to come to the close of this installment…talk about the perfect cliff hanger…another well done installment! Love it!! (hope New Mexico is treating you well)
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s great to see you Kirt. Thanks for giving me a big smile.
Well… I’m having some utterly over the top allergy problems. Hopefully it’s just part of my body continuing to acclimate. (A bad allergic reaction got into my system and now any little thing creates more itching and hives. They say up to 6 weeks to run its course… it’s been 3.) Regardless I still love my new location and my cottage. Love, love, love it. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Best of luck with the allergic reaction…bummer!! Take care of yourself and have a great week!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my!! What a riveting ending. She knew that face! Now my mind is speculating. Who could it be? This may have been rushed, Teagan, but I saw no errors and it is a GREAT segment! I can’t wait to see where this story goes. And now, I’m humming, “Love Potion #9!” 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Jan, it’s good to see you. LOL, that is such an ear worm, isn’t it? But it’s a fun song. I need to get Chapter 5 written and maybe a new song!
This part is becoming more fun than I expected. Huge thanks for your comment. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As always, your endings are perfect for leaving me hanging. Can’t wait to see what happens next.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for reading, Staci. Building up to something I hope will be unique. Hugs on the wings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooooh…a suspenseful cliffhanger! Another excellent chapter, Teagan. You’ve made me love a singing bird, have great sympathy for the ostracized, and left me wondering what will come next.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for this comment, Mary J. I never know when I’m getting it right. The magpie will be up to more hi-jinks! LOL. Hugs on the wing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Now I’m all curious who is in the picture:) Great chapter– that wasn’t raw at all!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I really appreciate you saying that, Denise. By Friday morning I was planing a place-holder post stating a delay. At the very end of my day, I finally saw how to round out that scene. No time for polishing. I’m happy you liked it. Chin rubs to the kitties. Hugs on the wing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
A great chapter, Teagan. And now I’m wondering who does that face belong too? Great cliff-hanger ending!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so very much, Mae. It can be hard to make a serial-suitable cliffhanger without life or death action. I appreciate you reading. Chin rubs to Raven. Hugs on the wing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Not rough in my opinion. Just right! I can’t get enough of this serial. The dominoes made me remember playing shoot the moon and 42 with my grandma. I wish I could ask her if she’d ever seen round dominoes.
“I know that face” … aaaahhhh I can’t wait until we know that face too.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Jill, you just gave me a big smile. I’m delighted you are enjoying this.
I’ve never played dominoes. Since I didn’t have research time last week, that meant that Birdie didn’t know anything about them either! LOL.
More about the face next time. Hugs on the wing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooh good, can’t wait 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love how you gently time more details about the town and about her life, such a great skill. And whose face is it? Plus I love Jinx. Can’t wait till next weeks instalment. xxx
LikeLiked by 2 people
You are so kind, Adele. That is wonderful feedback. Gently is a good word. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you are right about my caution. I want this story to be about the magic (whatever that turns out to be — I honestly don’t know yet). Not the racial issues of the time. I want Birdie’s background and her lack of relationship with the community to tie to the magic. Living in such a polarized country, I am indeed handling much of this story gently. I’m holding back hugely! LOL
Hugs on the wing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am loving it, Teagan and will wait patiently for more. Hugs to you and Crystal. xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Who? Who? Wonderful writing, Teagan and not rough at all. I like Birdie and the pace that you’re introducing her, the time period, and the plot. A thoroughly enjoyable read. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Diana, that means so much to me, even more so coming from you. Thank you for all your encouragement, and for this feedback. Hugs on magpie wings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
We had lots of magpies in Alberta- curious creatures! Hmm, my guess for the face on the wanted poster is the preacher who came to her house. Am I out to lunch? 🙂
Beautiful pics, Dan!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Jacquie. I’m waiting to see that poster, too.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s great to see you Jacquie. Doug Armstrong? Maybe yes, maybe no. 😉 Who knows, it might even be Jinx. 😉 🦅 😈😱
Thanks for taking time to visit. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tease! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A cliffhanger, and I don’t know if I can hold on for a week!! There’s a lot of “meat” in this chapter. I don’t work well under pressure, but you certainly do! Round dominos are new to me, and seemingly everyone else, so they must have some special meaning.
I hope the face Birdie recognized on the Wanted Poster isn’t ‘Guitar Man’. Boy! The plot really thickens now!!
Have a wonderful weekend. Hope you get some down time. Hope too your allergy problem is yesterday’s news.
🐾Ginger 🐾
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ginger. I’m relieved you felt that way. I’m always concerned when I feel like there isn’t enough action in a chapter. Although sometimes it’s necessary.
Actually I thought the same about round dominoes. I meant to work whatever the significance was into the story. But I can’t find anything about them. Dan might have found a rare treasure there.
Hey Dan — If you read this, you’d better get those appraised. Or if you didn’t get them, then run, don’t walk, back to that store! 😀
Thanks so much for visiting, Ginger. Hugs on magpie wings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha – Teagan – I’ll send you what I know about the round dominoes. I’m with Ginger, though, it’s going to be hard to wait.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never seen a round domino, but come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a magpie either.
I’m terrible at these guessing games as to who might be on the poster so I’ll just have to wait and see. Damn these cliffhangers!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Joanne. I haven’t seen either one in person. But hey– it’s fantasy. 😀
We’ll find out who is on the poster next time — although we might not find out who that is. Okay– I might give my own self a headache with that one.
Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wait – did I just get a clue, that isn’t a clue, but it’s a clue just the same? I might have a headache now too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed it’s a clue. If I keep that up, I might just be able to write a Doctor Who script! LOL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“I know that face.” A perfect way to leave us on the cliff with only a little scrub of a bush to hold onto. Good episode, Teagan. Hugs
LikeLiked by 2 people
Haha. That was something of a light-bulb moment, John. I was stuck on how to work the next thread into the story, and that scene was one end of that thread, but I couldn’t get it through the needle. Tied myself in a knot and suddenly saw, “Oh! I can just stop there.” 😉 Thank you so very much for visiting. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hugs.
LikeLike
Oh no! I hope it’s not the face of Tammy’s mother on that ‘wanted’ poster. If she’s taking suspicious-looking envelopes stuffed with what could be bank notes, she could be a prime suspect.
I loved this little journey into town, Teagan.
Have a great weekend.
Hugs.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Hugh! Thanks so much for visiting. It’s fun that you’ve hazarded a guess. While this is does not effect whether you are correct or not, let me point out a detail that *everyone has overlooked* — I never said “the woman” was Tammy’s mother. 😱 😈 😀 I’m so happy you enjoyed this chapter, my friend. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t it amazing how we can assume things and situations when reading, Teagan? That’s a detail I certainly did not take note of while reading the first three chapters. Thanks for pointing it out. Now you got me wondering who that woman is. 🤔
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL, well, I intentionally didn’t say it wasn’t the mother either. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Today, You Will Write and commented:
What you’ve been waiting for….check out the latest episode of Brother Love 4 — A Domino. Thanks, Teagan. Have a good weekend, everyone!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks again for reblogging, Melissa. Have a beautiful weekend. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLike
I like this episode, a lot, Teagan. I think you did a very good job in a busy week. Your descriptions around Jinx finding the round domino is pretty cool. I remember when bottle caps were everywhere and kids, and apparently magpies played with them. Birdie’s mental gyrations when she saw the woman and Tammy, is very well done. The mixing of memory and emotions as she processed her decision – it is exactly how we work through these things and it seems so real. Thanks for the shout out to my story, and thanks, (um maybe sarcasm…) for the great cliff-hanger ending.
I hope you have a great weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a terrific weekend. I’m happy you enjoyed this “setting up” part, Dan. One of these days I’ll get ahead of the game enough to send you a copy before the last minute…
I appreciate your feedback, especially about Birdie’s thought process. I always wonder if I get the story bogged down with that kind of thing.
The wanted poster will pave the way for one of the “what ifs” we bounced around.
I’ll email you what I’m thinking — Ha! in case I get overwhelmed and forget.
Hugs on magpie wings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha ha – I always love the things you do that make the story move from a story I can understand to a story I can feel I’m a part of.
I have a new crop of pictures to get you this week, unless I get bogged down 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks to you and your brother for the movie star name. 😀 ⭐
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was such a good episode, Teagan! And the world will be waiting with bated breath to find out who is on that Wanted poster!! I certainly will.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow, Jennie, thank you. I’d relieved that you enjoyed it. Have a beautiful weekend. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome, Teagan! 😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Who’s in the wanted picture? Guess we’ll have to wait until next time. Good installment!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Priscilla. I’m delighted you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking time to visit. Hugs on the wing!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on lampmagician and commented:
Faberge Egg, a piece of jewellery 😉 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you kindly for sharing, Magician. Have a beautiful weekend. Hugs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The excitement is mounting, Teagan. Who is in the picture? I like your character building in this episode.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much for that feedback, Robbie. That means a lot to me. I hope you can have a happy and relaxing weekend. Hugs on magpie wings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah the plot thickens! 😊 good episode Teagan.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Fraggle. Indeed it does seem to be getting less watery… I just wish I knew what it was bubbling up to! 😀 Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great episode, Teagan! Love the song and the images and I’m intrigued. I must add we visited the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg.The eggs, and all the rest of the things they did, are gorgeous. My mother is a big domino fan but I’d never heard of round dominoes. I’m off to check Dan’s blog.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, Olga. Your trip sounds amazing. I hope you enjoyed every moment. Will you treat us to some photos at your blog?
I haven’t been able to find anything on the round dominoes either. Dan seems to have come across a rare find.
Hugs on the wing!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Adored Ape, huge thanks for sharing this chapter from your tree-house. If you see Artie, tell him that Granny Phanny hasn’t stopped talking about how heroic he was. 😉
Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍😂😂😂 🦍❤️🦍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on ravenhawks' magazine and commented:
Birdie know the most wanted person, definitely want to know more!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m glad (& relieved) you want to know more, Dyanna. I had a busy week (on several different fronts), so admittedly I was easily distracted. However, once the idea (behind the wanted poster) occurred to me, I had a hard time figuring out how to work it into the chapter. Finally I streamlined and chose a stopping point.
Many thanks for reblogging from your magazine. Hugs on magpie wings
LikeLiked by 1 person