(My Hero’s Blog Hop post is here.)
If you’re observing Tisha B’Av, may you have an easy and meaningful fast!
This week’s Six Sentence Sunday comes again from a work tentatively titled Newark Love Story, one of a number of story collections I originally wrote as ongoing subplots for my Atlantic City books and recently decided to expand into full novels in their own right, since they were all getting so long and involved.
Only a few days into 1952 and moving to Newark, 22-year-old Jozef Roblensky has run into a beautiful Serbian woman two years his senior and offered to help her with carrying her groceries home. She’s accepted, and they’ve exchanged smalltalk about their families and themselves on the way there. Svetlana finds a note from her mother, saying the other members of the household have gone to visit her oldest sister’s family. She says Jozef can hang up his coat and help with putting the groceries away, but Jozef suddenly has second thoughts when Svetlana sees the permanent reminder of his recent past.
***
Jozef stood on a chair to put some jars of dried goods on the top shelf as Svetlana got something out of the cabinet next to it. He didn’t realize his sleeves had slipped down until he saw her staring at his left arm. There it was, that ugly string of numbers he’d been branded with a month before his fourteenth birthday. Just as eagerly as he’d agreed to help her with putting the groceries away, he jumped off the chair and went to grab his coat.
“I’m sorry, but I must be going. Besides, you don’t want your mother to find you with a strange man in the house.”
My heart breaks for him!
LikeLike
Wow. I hope he’s misjudged her!
LikeLike
Why is he ashamed of it?
LikeLike
He’s not ashamed, more like he thinks she feels sorry for him, and he doesn’t want to be pitied.
LikeLike
Intense and emotional…nicely written six!
LikeLike
I want to know more about that number~and about their relationship!
LikeLike
Poor man! Great six but what a situation for him. He has to worry how she will now perceive him, given biases and pity would be the two most likely.
LikeLike
awww, what emotion in this!! fantastic!
LikeLike
Very emotional, can’t wait to keep reading. I am hoping she’s going to be sensitive in how she responds – I *like* him. Terrific six!
LikeLike
FIrst, I love your vinyl collection! So inspiring. I found my old Barry Manilow album from 7th grade and now have proudly displayed it in my office. On with snippet, he must learn to accept his past and live in the present, the challenge is going to be finding that balance and hopefully love. This is very dramatic and emotional. Well done.
LikeLike
What a vivid and heartbreaking six. You’ve set up such intrigue and character depth here!
LikeLike
Such an emotional blow for the reader! And such a realistic response. Very well done!
LikeLike
This story just grips me every Sunday when I read more…. amazing…
Hugs,
A
LikeLike
Very well drawn. So much implied by the string of numbers without any explanation needed. Great six!
LikeLike
Poor Jozef. He needs to give Svetlana a chance to not pity him. His reaction felt very real.
LikeLike
Wonderfully written scene. His reaction is very realistic–and heartbreaking. I wonder what her reaction will be? Great six!
LikeLike