The project would take weeks to complete especially since there would no doubt be unexpected interruptions as well as ones that would zap her of the physical and emotional energy she needed to reach her goal, or rather his goal.
The old once-painted-white wooden kitchen table had been stored in the barn after its new red Formica and chrome successor took its place in the kitchen.
Perhaps her dad considered the old table as possibly a future wedding gift for his daughter while at the same time an opportunity for her to develop a new skill, one of many he knew would lie ahead for her.
Warm summer evenings and Saturdays provided some time to begin sanding the chipped white paint on the table, but her heart wasn’t in it, especially after finding out her fiancé had found an available furnished student apartment where they could live after they got married.
A lot of her evenings were taken up using her already acquired sewing abilities to sew her wedding dress and going-away outfit, and of course writing letters to her fiancé who was stationed with a fire suppression crew fighting forest fires all summer.
Now many years later, it was just one of many random thoughts that sometimes interrupted her sleep, but whatever happened to that unfinished table?
May that table show up and bring more memories. I like how she sewed her own wedding dress.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Frank.
DeleteEnjoyed this six. Funny how items of furniture crop up in memories, especially old family pieces. They played an important role in our lives once then got replaced or we moved away.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Ford TVTA
Thanks. So true.
DeleteThe stories we all have, not so much 'locked away' as put away in a place not ordinarily looked in; waiting perhaps for the need that the memory might supply.
ReplyDeleteLike in a SSS maybe. . .
DeleteTables tell stories. My sister has our grandmother's porcelain topped kitchen table and TLW and I have her grandmother's tiger oak dining room set. Both hold teriffic memories of random conversations and dinners. Great job on this. I like where it took me.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am glad it took you down memory lane BTW what is a TLW? I googled, but I still wasn't able to figure it out.
DeleteIt leaves me wondering if her fiance survived his dangerous summer work. An interesting take on the prompt for sure. (It also reminded me of how much I dislike refinishing furniture!)
ReplyDeleteHe survived. 😊
DeleteI love seeing the results of a refinished piece of furniture that someone else has done. HaHa
It's funny how these random thoughts pop into our heads at any given moment.
ReplyDeleteWhen it is during my awake hours, I can handle it, but random thoughts that keep me from getting back to sleep is another matter.
DeleteLet's hope it went to someone who would love it and give it a new lease on life, as she had planned to do.
ReplyDeleteMaybe so. Many a treasure has been found at estate sales.
DeleteI guess I'm following the same tack as Clark - I can't help but wonder if perhaps the table was stand in for something else. What might it have represented? (I love analyzing dreams, lol)
ReplyDeleteOf course, not everything has to "mean" something else or anything in particular :)
I enjoyed your lead up to using the prompt word. You give the reader sufficient information about the protagonist and her circumstances to give us a glimpse into the various states of mind she might have been experiencing.
Analyzing dreams is interesting. The only time I have tried to understand dreams is if there is a repetitious theme.
DeleteI appreciate your comments.
Your story reminded me of my grandmothers dining room table. I would love to have inherited it but my cousin ended up with it due to circumstances.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I think where people are living and other circumstances does enter into the picture.
DeleteMy niece loves to refinish furniture. That gene skipped me. Nice story.
ReplyDeleteTrue story? Where DID that table end up?
ReplyDeleteRefinishing furniture is HARRRRRD! I started a cabinet over a year ago, and I STILL need to give it one more coat of paint and a coat of varnish on the outside and paint the inside.