Randell Jones
Daniel Boone Footsteps
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6-minute Stories

Everybody loves a good story
Listen to these 6-minute stories
from both new voices and experienced writers
from the Personal Story Publishing Project anthologies:
Bearing Up , Exploring , That Southern Thing , Luck & Opportunity,
Trouble , Curious Stuff , Twists and Turns , Sooner or Later , and Now or Never.
Copies of all 10 books in the series available here.
“6-minute Stories” episodes announced on Facebook @6minutestories

"Just Desserts" by Robin Russell Gaiser

 – “I’ll take care of this, Honey.”  

Eleanor and I dragged our stocky, dark, wooden desk chairs up to our door to peer over the open transom at the long hall.  

 

Robin Russell Gaiser

Robin majored in English at The College of William and Mary. In “those days,” creative writing was absent from the heady curriculum, although Robin wrote poetry which was published in several lit magazines. After college, she taught high school English in Fairfax, Virginia. Creative writing was included in Robin’s classrooms. Robin has written two memoirs, both published by Pisgah Press, multiple short stories and essays, and, of course, poetry. A third book, a collection of all genres of Robin’s writing, is nearing completion. Robin and her husband live in Asheville, NC. www.robingaiser.com  

Author’s Talk

I enjoy writing to prompts and would say that FOILED, along with other Personal Stories Publishing Project topics are just that - prompts. When a new topic is released, my pen, (yes, I am a longhand writer), has no trouble diving right into a 750-to-800-word story. My only problem is keeping the story to the desired word count. But I’ve discovered that trimming down word count offers opportunities to grow as a writer.   

Writing “Just Desserts” was no exception. Revisiting the timeframe and setting, my freshman year at The College of William and Mary in 1964, revived some long dormant but unforgettable memories. From the opening lines of “Just Desserts” to the final lines of the story, I leave the crazy antics of that year behind and become the decidedly mature, hopefully wise and compassionate woman I am today. All in 786 words!  -

Without giving away the story, after graduation I learned much more about the woman who shows up as the main character in “Just Desserts.” College reunions often fill in those blanks. This classmate became a highly regarded business consultant. That was no surprise. She was brilliant, a go getter. She also came out of the closet as gay, which entailed bravery and heartache in the late 60’s in the South. Sadly, she died much too young from alcoholism.  

What began as only a funny story, soon begged for a different ending, a disclaimer, of sorts. I learned a lot about myself as I wrote the last line. I offer you, the reader or listener, a chance to ponder what this may mean in your life.

Randell Jones