Willfullness ~ by Jennifer a. Borthwick-Leslie
Destiny denies everything.
She wants – but no more than she needs.
Destiny is a slightly built, 37-year-old, dark red-head woman who lives with Will, an 8 month old German Sheppard pup who is going through an identity crisis. One month ago, Lucky, the town sheriff and Destiny’s next door neighbor, found Will abandoned at the intersection of Route 34 and Sandhill Rd.
They reside in a small, dove-gray, postmodern style house at 6-E Nuff Drive in fabulous Topeka, Kansas. She makes pies in the comfort of her carrot colored kitchen and sells hardware for a living. One day she hopes to realize her dream and open up a chain of successful Pie & Joe cafes in the Midwest.
Tonight, on the way home from shopping for pie ingredients… Scc-rr-e-e-ech. Whiiiirrrrrl, whhiiirrrrl. Eee-e-errr-k! SMACK- smack – smack, smack, SMACK! Each brown paper bag gyrates against the upholstered car interior while skyrocketing raw eggs soar through the air. Bags of flour explode upon decent – jars of cherry preserves shatter the front windshield making it impossible for Destiny to see the road ahead. A stillness overwhelms Destiny as her body bounces back from the propelling forward motion. She adjusts her seatbelt and shifts upright to assess for injuries. Her right hand is throbbing and bruised; a small jar of preserves must have clobbered her writing hand. She fixates on her pulse as she watches the dripping cherries meandering down the front window.
She presses her face against the driver’s side door window and is drawn to outside movement. Destiny peers through the cherry stain to see four caramel kittens laying in the grassy ditch off the road, shivering with fright.
Have they been abandoned?
She wants – but no more than she needs.
