Sunday Snippet: Fistful of Sorry

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. And if you're not a dad, happy weekend!

It's been a long week with back and forth temperatures that always wreak havoc with my allergies. Bleh. But… not a bad week for television viewing. I started out with more Mutant X and followed with Endeavor and Midsomer Murders.

Then I hit The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I'd forgotten how dramatic Derek's entrance to the fold was. I'm also a little more than halfway through Constantine and I liked the fallen angel episode.

I finished up The Batman season four and really enjoyed the series. I think there might be a few more episodes floating around but I'm not sure. I caught several episodes of Classic Who up through the third episode in the Key of Marinus arc.

Pensacola Wings of Gold isn't half bad. Fits in with my military-themed shows of Strike Back and Band of Brothers. Chicago Fire is just over the midway point and I'm hoping to finish out the season soon. I caught Sense8's "Demons" episode and really enjoyed it. It's not as hard to keep things straight as I thought it would be. Really, a great show.

Loved seeing Hurst go down on Blind Spot. I need to mainline some episodes because they're getting close to expiration. This makes me a little angry. I realize the season is over but, honestly, unless the DVD is going to be released within a month, keep the episode live, dammit. Just saying.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Fistful of Sorry, a novella about how the main characters approach their work from opposite angles and how not listening to each other can have harsh consequences.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Orly Manx and Cal Luminity always approach situations from opposite angles but usually end up on the same side. When Orly pushes a cadet too far during training, she apologizes to Cal for not following his advice. But Cal isn't interested in listening or quick to forgive, which drives a wedge between them and Orly realizes how much she needs Cal to play yin to her yang. Clearly in the wrong, Orly can't take back her actions, so making amends is all she has left.

And a preview snippet…

Orly answered the door only half-awake. "Cal, what's up?" She stepped back, letting him into her suite of rooms. "Is that coffee I smell?" Mmmm, gotta love a man who knew all her weaknesses.

Cal strolled over to the table and dropped a drink carrier in the middle. "Yeah, and…" He shook a bag filled with something in the food category. "Some of those glazed donut breakfast sandwiches you love so much." Reaching in, he pulled one out and handed it over.

She moaned. "What did I do to deserve such a decadent treat?" She unwrapped the pure goodness of an egg, sausage, cheese, bacon, ham, and a hashbrown stuffed between two pieces of a pan-fried glazed donut.

Sitting down, she motioned for him to join her. Considering the day of the week, she didn't expect to see him until class started. They saved hooking up for weekends when semesters were in session.

Cal settled across from her and popped the lid off his coffee. "I had a meeting with Barnabas Mikkleson this morning." He blew across the steaming brew, his face pensive.

Orly quirked a brow. "An elder mage first thing on a Monday? Did someone die?" She removed her cap from her cup and waited for it to cool.

Cal blinked and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. He's got a grandson coming into the program." He folded the wrapper back and took a bite of his sandwich. "Filled me in on some of his background." He finished chewing and swallowed. "We might want to look at a lighter approach with this kid." Setting the food aside, he took a long drink and eyed Orly over the rim of the cup.

She did a slow ten-count to move through the red haze of anger licking at her brain. One, two. Barnabas sucked for putting Cal in a position of suggesting a change. Three, four. And Cal sucked for making the damned suggestion. Five, six. She threw in Cal's connection to the elders through his grandfather. Seven, eight. And added how much drama the whole deal would create. Nine, ten. And finally arrived at her foregone conclusion. Not a chance in hell would she treat any cadet with kid gloves.

"No effing way." She got up and paced back and forth. "We're the best, Cal. We should be trusted to do the job the way we see fit." And not have anyone run interference for their family members.

Cal sighed and opened his mouth to speak.

Orly cut him off. "I'm not changing my methods. End of story." She dropped back down to her seat and folded her arms across her chest.

Cal's mouth thinned to straight line. "We've had this argument before. Will you never realize each mage has individual strengths and weaknesses?" He leaned forward, poking a finger in her direction. "Which means some need a different approach to learn."

Orly waved a hand. "Will you never learn our responsibility rests in breaking new recruits down and building them back up?" She huffed out breath. "We'll keep having this damn argument until you do."

Cal gathered the remnants of his breakfast and dumped the trash in the can. "Guess there's nothing for it but to brace for a bumpy ride." He shook his head. "Especially if you're going to remain inflexible."

Orly stood up and headed for her door. "Guess you're right." Twisting the knob, she pulled the heavy oak slab open.

She didn't want to argue and having him leave now would save them a huge fight. She truly hoped they could leave this conflict in the classroom and still have their weekends together.

Cal closed his eyes for a moment then slowly made his way to her side. "I'll be keeping an eye on things, Orly. Mikkleson's request wasn't made lightly."

Sweeping her arm toward the corridor, she nodded. "Whatever, Cal. What we do works and if Barnabas's grandkid can't cut it, it's not our problem."

Cal pinned her with his gaze. "I think you're going to discover it'll very much become our problem." He crossed the threshold. "See you in class later."

Orly resisted the urge to slam the door behind him. Wouldn't help the situation or make her feel better. And the loud sound would only serve to increase the dull headache that bloomed along her temples.

She might as well grab a shower and get ready for a challenging day in the classroom.

I truly love writing these characters. It's fun to show two sides of a challenge where both characters think they're right, then break it down from there.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye