Murder in a Literal Sense

Murder in a literal sense
Sharon and I were discussing my current project Case of the Dead Husband when she advised me that I need to kill Tom to cleanse my id so I could heal from the years of heartache and abuse. I agreed but I told her that I didn’t want my character to be a bad person because she had at least two more stories to be the heroine and I wanted her to be a fair and decent person except for the lusting after Kinky Friedman thing that seems to work its way into every story. Maybe I need to seek psychiatric help on that avenue. It does make for a funny twist to the two characters friendship though. I’m not sure how the real Kinky Friedman feels about this because he hasn’t voiced any concerns. Maybe he finds it funny too or just realizes that it is a work of fiction. I have already prepared the speech incase he does ask me why my character insist on lusting after his character. “Kinky it is a work of fiction” I advise smiling as I add a wink in for good measure. I am positive this will throw him off and he will change the subject. Regardless the abusive ass of a husband must die in the story so I can rid myself of him in a literal sense. Then hopefully the bad dreams I have been having with him in my life will stop and I can get a good nights sleep. I like the dreams of Kinky better they are fun and full of adventure and I don’t mind missing a little sleep for the Kinkster.

Thank you Kinky, Thank you very much!!

I had a surprising call last night from Kinky Friedman. He gave me permission to use his name in The Mystery of The Lady in the Mist. I enjoyed our conversation and congratulated him on his win in Vegas. He did forewarn me that the publishing business was a bit tricky so I am going into this with my eyes open. I submitted my manuscript this morning to Publish America and I continue to work on The Case of The Dead Husband which has taken another twist. My daughter Kikki and I had just talked earlier about heading over to one of his cigar event Friday for his Kinky Friedman Cigars. When he asked if I was going to pop by I replied yep.
See I told all you nay sayers that he was an upstanding guy. Besides you all know he is my Governor.

Thank you Kinky you’re the best.

Where am I headed?

Someone asked me a good question today. We were talking about the big changes I had made in my life in the past year and all that I had accomplished and what I was currently working on. The older couple was nice and amazed at what a person could do once they put their mind to it. The gentleman discussed introducing me to one of his friends in his early sixties when I said I love the older gentleman with their salt and pepper hair. I laughed and told him when I was ready for that step I would definitely let him know.
He told me I was just chicken and I really think he is right. Actully I think maybe I am afraid of getting into another relationship. We discussed the manuscript I had finished and the sequel that I was working on and he loved the intrigue in the Case of the Dead Husband and the ideas I had in the direction it would take. That was when he asked for my phone number so he could pass it on to his friend and I told him I was staring at Wal-Mart for the next few months so he could drop by and say hello there. That was when his wife asked me once I was a well known person how I would feel about being in the tabloids like Brittany Spears. I explained that I was not one to go to those extremes and besides I did not want to hurt my chances of running for Governor which really gave them something to talk about so I told them of my plans for Texas.
They were thrilled but then I had to burst their bubble by telling them no I wasn't running but I did feel the best man for the job was Kinky Friedman and suggested they vote for him in 2010. That was when they asked if I was working in his campaign and I laughed. I explained right now I would be happy just getting an answer out of the booger about The Mystery of the Lady in the Mist but I would definitely campaign for him I felt that strong about his capabilities. Once I was sure I had their votes we changed the subject back to my plans for the future.
Like I explained I wanted to move as far as I could away from the area so the soon to be ex could not make me feel sorry for him and pressure me to return. I asked if they knew of a woman looking for a man because I felt if I found him someone then maybe he would leave me alone. The wife said "Honey I don't think there is another woman alive that would have put up with him for as long as you did."
I agreed.
Talk turned back to their friend but soon changed when I mentioned my perfect man was intelligent, dressed like a Texan with the stetson and the cowboy boots, and sometimes wore overalls. The drinking and smoking thing did not bother me as long as he smoked a pipe or a cigar and not cigarettes. The wife said that suspiciously sounded like Kinky Friedman. I replied I have never seen him in overalls and laughed when I realized she was right. That was when I told her that Kinky was the Texas version of Hugh Hefner that he had women stashed all over the state and I doubted I was his type. She laughed and said if he is the Texas version of Hugh Hefner then any woman is his type. I did not agree on that one. I explained I just wrote fiction and any resemblance is accidentally on purpose. This gave them a good laugh.
I enjoyed the conversation with this couple and hated to part ways. She mentioned a nephew that lived somewhere west of San Antonio that was single and needed a good woman so she was going to go home and find his picture as they walked away. Shaking my head I walked over to my truck to unlock the door when they drove up and rolled the window down so they could comment on my taste in classic trucks and older men. My response was I like my men and trucks like I like my cheese and whiskey ....aged. As they were about to drive away they called out the window
"See ya later Governor"

Meeting couples like that makes my day so much brighter. I guess that is why I enjoy my job so much because you meet so many types of people and the conversations are such fun. When they return to the store then drop by your register to say hello or get in your line just to talk to you it makes life so wonderful.
I don't know where my life is headed but there is one thing I do know my future is bright and I have forward momentum going here. What is in the past will stay in the past because it has no place in the future. I have learned my life's lessons and I am ready to face the unknown that is ahead of me with open eyes and an eagerness that pulls me forward.
Let's just say that I am an intelligent woman with a great future and if there is a man out there that I am destined to be with then woooo whooo he better be prepared because I am on the way.

A little tease of The case of the Dead Husband

Okay here is a little tease of what I am working on in The Case of the Dead Husband. It starts where we are leaving a restaurant just after he arrives to help me get out of the new mess I'm in. Kinky gives some great advice. LOL
_____________________________________________________________

I was so taken by the kindness of the manager and of this sweet cowboy that walked at my side. How in the world I was able to get myself in such a mess was beyond me but the fact that this man had traveled over three hundred miles to come help me had me flabbergasted. I know Kinky had a busy life with his cigar company and his writing and raising money to run the rescue ranch and everything else he did so I was shocked that he had came to help me. Glancing over I saw the worry in his face and it broke my heart.

Once we were seated in his car Kinky lit up a cigar and we sat there silently as he puffed away. I lay my head back on the seat and inhaled the wonderful scent of his cigar smoke. When those old familiar yearning started to come back I had to just push them back to that dark space where I hide my true feelings. I did not want to be the aggressor. With my eyes closed I sat there and enjoyed the closeness and the scent of the man that had captured my heart when he took me in and cared for me as if I were an old friend. I knew why I was so drawn to him it was because he was my hero and his intelligence and the things he had experienced through his life intrigued me. I just wanted to sit there and relive his life through his words and actions so I could feel just a pinch of the exciting life he had led. I had felt my life had been so ordinary compared to the adventures he had been through. Then I realized that I had lived the life I was supposed to live. I had to travel the roads that I traveled to bring me to this moment sitting here with this fascinating man. I had to endure the hurt and pain because those were the lessons I had to learn to be able to be the person I am supposed to be tomorrow. I knew we have the control to shape our destiny but it is our past that shapes us to be able to know how to handle our future. The weird thing of it was if I had a choice of changing any one thing I wouldn’t. I would still have traveled to San Antonio for that job thus putting my life in danger. I would have still endured that frightful night of running from a crazed madman through dark woods and down that rocky creek bed. I would have still chanced my life because if that had not happened then I would not have met Kinky Friedman. Of course then I would not have fallen for the man and I would not be sitting here questioning his feelings for me. That was the only part I did not like. I did not know how he felt but he did make a valid point as we sat there by the little lake. He had said love is not something you need to figure out you just have to let the feelings hold you and accept them for what they are. He was so right about that. I was too analytical when it came to something so simple you didn’t need to know a why or how you just had to know that it was what it was.
Glancing over I saw he was watching me again. I felt like I had gotten my hand caught in the cookie jar again so I smiled as a blush crept across my face.

“Cindy what are you thinking about over there? I can see those wheels just a spinning away in that head of yours.”

“Sorry Kinky I was just thinking about what you told me earlier about not trying to figure out if you were in love just to accept it for what it was.”

“Well I’m glad something I have said has sunk into that thick stubborn head of yours.”

“Kinky I have the utmost respect for you and believe it or not I do listen to you. It’s just that sometimes I don’t listen to the good advice I get because I feel I have to do what is in my heart. I know I should let my brain rule over my heart but I’m just the kind of woman that lets my heart rule.”

“Did you stay with your husband because you let your heart rule or was it your brain?”

“Oh tough question there Kinky, I don’t know I stayed because I thought that was what marriage was giving, taking, sacrificing and enduring. I stayed because I had made a promise and I thought that was what I was supposed to do.”

“Cindy marriage is giving and taking and sacrificing but it is based on love and happiness. The way you tell it you were not happy from day one. You sacrificed your life for something you believed in even though you knew it was not as you hoped.”

“Okay Kinky I was stupid to begin with. I tried okay doesn’t that account for something. I gave my all and it still failed don’t I get a pat on the back for trying. I guess there was a lesson there for me to learn or maybe I just had to travel that road to get me to this spot because I need to be here for some reason. Maybe my being accused of conspiracy has its reason maybe someone else will learn from this.”

“Cindy that is one way to look at it but you’re talking about losing your freedom and possibly your life for someone else to learn a lesson. Do you see yourself as a martyr?”

“No.”

“That’s what it sounds like. Here scoot over here closer to me Hon.”
Scooting over closer I couldn’t help but think about what he had just said. I didn’t think I was a martyr. He placed his arm across my shoulder and I lay my head against his chest. We sat there in his car in that empty parking lot as he smoked his cigar and I just sat there and enjoyed the closeness of this wonderful cowboy.
__________________________________________________________________

Remember this is just a work of fiction. The character feelings do not necessarily reflect my own or his.