WEEK 15 CLOUDING YOUR WAY TO A STORY

Character: H.

lonely, wants approval, feels she is aging and it makes her self-conscious, she has recently turned to religion for solace and comfort

Situations that provoke emotional states

lost her job at a doctor's office, working part-time as a sales assistant at a make-up counter and tries to make the best of it because of her natural cheerfulness, mother talks repeatedly about losing weight which deepens her lack of self worth

Secondary characters

W. is the minister of the church that H. has recently joined; married to I.  Heather is secretly in love with him but does not admit this even to herself.  She marries S.in an effort to emulate the peaceful, godly life that she sees I. living.

Standing at the Altar

H. stood at the altar in a short white lace dress, white waist length jacket with large gold buttons that caught the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows of Christ Lutheran Church, near her suburban home.  She wore a white pillbox hat on her blond bobbed hair. She would turn 50 in September and R. wondered if the brief two month engagement was orchestrated so H. could have the relief of beginning her new life with S. before she turned 50.  J., leaned toward R. and commented that H. looked lovely. 

            'Yes,' R. whispered as she watched the players on the altar having their pictures taken. H.'s  cheeks were flushed and her eyes smiled, thought R.  J. added with emphasis and a note of pride that H. had lost nearly 60 pounds for the wedding. No small feat in three months.   That had always been a point of concern for J.  H. was overweight, had divorced after her son was born and her ex-husband had died two years ago from cirrhosis but the weight issue was something that J. came back to more than any other.  She  called H. on a daily basis to ask her if she had gotten exercise, when H. answered that she had been busy and forgotten, J. invited her on 'nature walks' so they could talk.  With the best of intentions, the talks were usually about the solutions that J. suggested H. put in place to fix her disheveled life. Not surprisingly, H. carried a slightly startled look on her face. 

            'He's not got personality, he's bland.'

  H. needed this, she needed a husband like the air she breathed.  Her divorce had blindsided everyone.  Everyone except perhaps H.