Welcome to another Open Book Blog Hop. Here’s this week’s question. “How do you know you’re going to become friends with a new person you’ve just met?”
My Answer
I rarely feel I’m going to be friends with people after I first meet them. But it eventually happens.
A Teaser
I’m going to share an excerpt from Living Vicariously in Wyoming, my new short story collection. Please see below for details and where to get it.
In “Pregnant,” Stephanie has what she thinks is the humiliation of her life when her English teacher, in front of her classmates, tells her she can’t use the word “pregnant” in an essay about John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath. If that isn’t bad enough, her mother doesn’t agree with the teacher’s objection and plans to challenge him. During a phone conversation with her best friend, Gwen reassures her. What are friends for, right?
***
Gwen called before dinner, and when I told her Mom might take my case all the way to the school board, she said, “I don’t think it’ll get that far. Miss Rutledge doesn’t like Mr. Hilton. So I’m sure she’ll side with your mom on this.”
“How do you know that?”
“Last year, Mr. Hilton and Miss Rutledge had an affair that ended bitterly.”
“Get out of here!”
“I’m serious. I overheard Dad telling Mom about it last year. As the school superintendent, he didn’t think it was appropriate for a principal and a teacher to be romantically involved. He went to Miss Rutledge and asked her to break off the relationship. Miss Rutledge refused, saying she loved Mr. Hilton and she’d go back to teaching if that would make their relationship more acceptable. She said she hated being a principal, anyway. Dad went to Mr. Hilton, and he broke it off. Miss Rutledge was really mad at him.”
“How do you know Miss Rutledge was mad at Mr. Hilton?”
“Dad told Mom they were both at a school board meeting soon after this happened, and Miss Rutledge wouldn’t even speak to Mr. Hilton.”
“So Miss Rutledge could fire Mr. Hilton if he gives me an F on my paper?”
“Not exactly. But she could make his life so miserable he’d quit.”
“She hasn’t done anything to make his life miserable so far, has she?”
“Not that I know of. She still hasn’t found a way to do it. Your situation could be it.”
“What if it isn’t? What if my mom takes this thing to your dad and the other school board members?”
“Trust me. It won’t get past Miss Rutledge. She’ll find a way to deal with this that will satisfy your mom. You wait and see.”
Back Story
I was inspired to write this years ago after reading a similar true story in Reader’s Digest, where the author talked about his fifth-grade teacher not allowing him to use the word “pregnant” in an essay about The Grapes of Wrath. I couldn’t help thinking that if I were in that situation, my parents would have objected. Hence, “Pregnant” was born.
Your Turn
How do you know if you’re going to be friends with someone after you meet that person? You can answer in the comment field or click below to participate on your blog. Thank you for stopping by.
InLinkz – Linkups & Link Parties for Bloggers
Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography
Photo Resize and Description
by Two Pentacles Publishing
New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories
Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor
Published independently with the help of DLD Books.
Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.
As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.
In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.
The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.
Click here for more information and ordering links.
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