We’ve hit another Wednesday and I have words–winning words as it turns out. I got another Honorable Mention last week. The prompt turned out to be an easy one for me to riff on. Sometimes I get lucky. LOL Can I have a drum roll please? It’s: “I took the long way home.” I don’t often do this but I’ll admit, the judge’s critique of my entry in last weeks Thursday Threads puffed me up big time! This is what she had to say: The final words of James’ entry “Those words never boded well” stuck with me and this entire story. The visuals of the coffee shop, the sounds of the song, the tallness of Lara’s visitor all paint a snapshot of this WIP that draws you in. It begs questions about who Misha is, how he knows Lara, why she was lying to him, and what he wants to talk about. This snippet of a larger work of James’ is perfect. The reader doesn’t need to know what happened before to understand what is going on in just this one scene, but it ensnares the reader to want to keep reading. Well done.

That said, no set-up for this week’s words:

****
Lara sat in the corner of the coffee shop, eyes closed, hands wrapped around the chill of her iced mocha. The music on the sound system cushioned the hum of conversations occurring around her. She sat up as familiar piano chords followed by the plaintiff harmonica tune penetrated her thoughts.

She hummed along until the song came to the part about settling down and the line Who’s to blame if you’re not around? rang true. “Yeah, she muttered. “I took the long way home.”

“But you did come home, solnishko.”

She looked up—and up and up—at the deep voice calling her sunshine in Russian. She always seemed to forget how very tall Misha had gotten in the years she’d been gone. “I’m not here to stay.”

He claimed the chair across from her. “You have never been able to lie to me. Why do you try now?”

Sighing, she leaned back against the padded bench. “Go away, Misha.”
His affable smile did not reach his eyes nor did it fool her. “Fine.” She slipped her purse strap over her shoulder and stood. “Then I’ll leave.”

She didn’t make it even a step before his hand wrapped around her forearm, not hard enough to bruise but with a gentle grip she knew she couldn’t break.

“Please.” Not a question nor an order, just a soft word from between lips that drew her eyes and made her wet her own. “We need to talk, Lara.”

Those words never boded well.
****

There it is. If the snippet gives you an earworm, you’re welcome. I happen to love the song and, yes, it has been popping up in my head periodically since last Thursday. What do y’all think? Is the judge right? I’m really starting to get a feel for Lara and Misha. Doesn’t mean I’m ready to start writing but there are ideas forming. 😉 In the meantime, writers, take the long road and do some writing with the prompt. Readers, when was the last time you took a detour where you discovered something cool?