Waking Nell
an excerpt

Excerpt Chapter 1

His eyes were so soft and goey
She didn’t want to be captured by them
But she was
She chewed on her Snickers bar
The penuts were her favorite part
They reminded her of when
airplanes used to give out
roasted penuts
It’s so sad that they don’t anymore
because so many people are allergic
Little joys seemed to be taken away
everyday
She used to work
at an architectural firm
she was doing what she thought
she wanted
Interior Design
but she didn’t fit in
She brought in a CD of hers
for Friday, a happy music day
It was a CD that brought her
so much joy, but other people
saw as sad
It was Keane’s music
Keane meant so much to her
It was another place
that made her understand
Davy so much more
And it opened her up too.
But recently, nothing seemed
to feel right
She got fired from her job
for getting angry about what someone said
about her favorite music
The boss didn’t like conflict
and now she was adrift
doing her art
trying to make a living at it
She also has a part time job
Typing up people’s insurance
information at a doctor’s office
She’s ok with it
but she wishes she could find
what Davy found
Just so she could get up when she
wanted to get up

Sleep in
Eat whenever she wanted
Wherever she wanted
She hated authority
But was so cautious now
after getting fired
Drinking while taking
her medication
caused her to get angry
at something like that
She just didn’t fit into
the 9 to 5 lifestyle
It was probably
for the best
that she was “let go”
over personal differences
Lisa decided it was time
to go home

Excerpt Chapter 2

It was 8:00 am
when Lisa got the call
Davy’s aunt June was
on the end
“Can I speak to Lisa Harper please?” June said.
“This is she.” said Lisa.
“Lisa, I have something to tell you. Are you sitting down?”
“Yes” Lisa started to yawn.
“Davy has you listed as a contact for emergencies.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” June started to cry. “Davy has died. The police are
investigating to see if the death was accidental?”
Lisa put down the phone. She was in shock. She picked
it up again.
“Davy has died?”
“Yes. I think you should come over.”
“I will.”
Lisa stood up from the couch
She poured herself a glass of water
Drank the water
A tear dribbled down her cheek
She left her apartment
with trepedation
what was she going to see?

Lisa arrived to the scene
Davy’s aunt was talking to police
“How did Davy die?” Lisa asked June.
“He drowned. He was face down in the toilet bowl. “
Lisa knew she shouldn’t laugh, but she had remembered all of those drinks Davy had over the months that she knew him. He always managed to end up in the bathrroom head bent over the porcelin throne.
Police started to ask Lisa questions.
“Wnere were you last night at 1:00 am?” asked the police officer.
“I was at home.”
“Is there anyone who can coroborate that you were at home?”
“No.”
“Officer, there was a man outside when I left. He was at the end of Davy’s
driveway. I didn’t get a good look at him though.”
“Do you remember what the car looked like?”
“I think it was black. I don’t remember the licence number. It was a very basic car.”
“All right. We’ll look into it. Don’t leave too far out of town.”
“You can stay with me.” said June. She lived 20 miles away. Lisa lived 40 miles away. It would be a longer drive and the police wanted to keep her around for questioning.

Excerpt Chapter 3

Lisa looked on the last page
what she saw astounded her
She picked up a box
from Davy’s night table
It was a little
gold box
With an Indian deign
In addition to the gold
were flecks of
Teal and Royal Blue
She opened it up
inside was a ring of sorts
It was a cigar ring
painted with acrylic
to make it hard
Davy was going
to propose to her
It’s typical of Davy
to make something
as a token of affection
rather then buy it
And then Lisa thought
maybe it wasn’t about
commitment after all
Maybe it was love
but only for when they
needed it
Not everyday
not eternally
but for the moment
she liked that idea
She tried on the ring
It didn’t fit too well
It was too big
But she thought
Davy would have
adjusted it somehow
Then Lisa flipped back
she saw a passage
about the gallery
they wanted him
to stay and he
wanted to go somewhere
else
somewhere more
intimate
He didn’t like the fame
he didn’t like how the art
had become all about him
and how he led his life
Galval was the place
to get noticed
he had allready reached
fame
He wanted something
smaller
He was going to
build his own gallery
and feature lesser
known artists
he no longer wanted
to sell his paintings
at Galval
but instead over the
internet
Lisa knew that the gallery
would be asking for his
paintings
She was determined
to make sure
Davy’s wishes
were carried out
But first she had to
deal with the gallery
And not only that
she had to figure out
how to build
Davy’s dream Gallery