You
Crossed the Line
“That’s it. I’ve had it. Things must change.”
Someone has reached the end of their patience. The situation could be a result of a long string of repeated offences or one very bad action. The frustrated response could be a measured change or an emotional over reaction. For a writer, the latter action opens the door for a wide range of possibilities. It makes a great hook for a story. A measured reaction in response to continuous undeserved treatment would be understandable and may even be expected. Response steps that depart from a character’s personality likely will lead the reader to see the power of the stress.
The latter strategy is one that I frequently use in my novel Baggage burdens. Jill is an honor student who normally thinks things through carefully. She chooses to run away from home because her alcoholic father frequently beats her. The failure of her previous actions to deal with her father’s mistreatment, confront him, call the police, lead her to a desperate move. Her stress-relieving action lacked planning. She had no place to sleep. It was not like her.
Joseph, Jill’s husband, suffers from Jill’s frequent nagging about his long hours at work. Her cheap shots about his lack of love for his family cross the line. Her criticism under minds his integrity, so he chooses to leave her. It is a measured response. His decision is well thought out. He writes a letter to each of his children expressing his love for them. He informs his boss he’s quitting and finds a replacement for him. Joseph has a new place to move into and a new short-term contract job.
Both characters come to a point in their life where someone has crossed the line. They cannot continue to live as they used.
“Now, you can tell me what’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Jill is a little surprised at the concern in Dave’s voice.
“You know what I mean. When I asked you how things were going at home, your whole demeanor changed.”
The conviction in his voice tells Jill there is no point in denying there’s something wrong. His hand lightly touches her chin and slowly raises her head. He looks into her eyes. “It’s your old man, isn’t it?”
Her dropped jaw answers his question.
“It’s that serious?”
Jill nods. “Only Robin knows.” With Dave’s nod, Jill believes he’ll keep her embarrassing secret. “I left home.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“What are you going to do? Where you going to stay?”
After hearing Jill’s arrangement with Robin, he is silent for a moment. “Only a temporary solution,” he adds thoughtfully.
“I’m thinking of seeing Gramma Maxwell,” she adds, looking down again.
“For a job?”
“Or a place to stay.”
Silence reigns between them. Jill feels like she is sitting under a heat lamp.
From the glove compartment, Joseph takes the brief handwritten letters, which he wrote to each of his children. He asked them to remember the special times they shared. It’s what he will do when he misses them. The letter ends with him telling them again he loves them very much. He asks them to forgive him for leaving. An envelope is placed on the pillow in each of the children’s rooms.
Joseph drives to the one-bedroom house he rented last night. The landlady wasn’t too keen on accepting him on such short notice. Joseph’s request for a month-to-month contract and a phone call to John Olsen for a reference helped. She remained hesitant until Joseph placed the first two months of rent in cash on the table before her.
This isn’t my home. It won’t be either.
Unpacking drags. Still some things need to be put away, even if it is only for a short time. Joseph forces himself to organize the place before he leaves for Martin Shopka’s. One last task—phone Daniel. Confirm he’ll still meet him there.
By the time Daniel arrives, Joseph has taken all his tools from his truck and set them up in a space that Martin cleared for him in the workshop.
“What do you think?” asks Joseph as he shows Daniel his compact work area.
“What’s going on?” Daniel’s surprise shows in his voice. “We weren’t going to start on Martin’s extension for another month.”
“That was before I decided I was going to quit working for Olsen Builders.”
Daniel eyes widened. “What!”
“I called you here because I wanted to see if I could convince you to take my position.”
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” cuts in Daniel. “Why are you quitting?”
“Daniel, I’ve decided it’s not the job for me.
haiku capsule:
too much to cope with
must change to save sanity
survival effort
Nextblog: Expression of Faith
Order the e-book from kindle or kobo now or your soft cover from Amazon.
What’s your strategy when you have been pushed too far?
I’d love to use it on my new website that’s being developed.
All comments will be entered for a draw on the Baggage burdens.companion novel.
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