write a fiction or creative non-fiction piece set entirely in an airport. Take us on an adventure in 450 words or less.

I grabbed my coffee from the tired looking barista,the bags under her eyes suggested an early morning shift. I felt the outside of my jacket pocket making sure I had my phone and a pack of Marlboro. All I had to do was find an empty seat at the Delta waiting gate. Time was going by too slow for me. You would not know that by simply watching the comings and goings of the people in Sea-Tac airport. Everyone was in some kind of hurry, at least it seemed that way to an outsider.

The flight attendants rushing to make their flight as they glance down at their wrist for the time, the business men and women with their laptop and fancy matching bags, the solider who looked as if he was saying good bye to his wife,but maybe not? Don’t the soldiers leave with their platoon? Over by the soda machine looks to be a twenty something year old son who was joyfully greeting his parents. That’s how it should be. That will not be how I am greeted.

I should not even be here. I know he will not be on the plane. Things are different now and they have been for a very long time. Jack and I had no control over situations, yet here I am, and I am feeling like I am giving what little control I have over to the unknown.

It has been three years since I have seen my husband. Three years since that fateful night at our local Italian restaurant. The night where everything changed.

Our fate was chosen for us that night, and yet, here I am, waiting for him, knowing he wont show up. I should have just accepted it then.

“Delta flight number 502 is now approaching the terminal”

That’s his plane. Assuming he is on it of course. I need a smoke. There is nowhere to smoke in this airport without walking a mile outside.

I threw my already cold coffee away and waited. Should I put my hair up? He always liked my hair up. What am I talking about? After three years, the last thing he will notice is my hair. Do I even care anymore what he thinks about my freakin hair much less everything else?

I cannot do this;I have to do this. I have to wait.

Just like that night, I waited.

Slowly, one by one, passenger after passenger emerged from the gate. I did not see Jack, I already knew this, yet I could not leave. I had to wait to make sure every last person was off the plane.

There was an older man, early 70’s with an overcoat and fedora. As soon as he came through the gate he tipped his hat to security while a much younger, attractive female ran into his arms,then, then that’s when I saw the familiar face.

“Hey Gina,it’s been awhile”

I already knew the answer to my question.

“Where is Jack, where is my husband?”

This is a writing prompt from Mama Kat’s Writers Workshop

I chose……list 8 things you’re dreading about sending the kids back to school.

Here’s the thing. My youngest daughter, Sofia, will be starting kindergarten in just a few short weeks.

This is it folks, this is my last kid, my youngest, my baaaaaaby!!!!!

A new chapter of my life is about to begin! Up till this point, I have always had one of my kids at home, and come September, no more!!!!

This makes me both sad and and happy.

I am happy because for the first time in 18 years,I will actually have time to clean the house. My days will be free. No more little ones at home, (at least before 3pm)I can work on my writing, work on this blog, and as I said earlier, get the house organized.

But then again, I am sad, my baby is going off to kindergarten!!!

I have been through this three times before. I should be a pro at this by now, but it is till sad.

if my tubes were not tied, cut, burnt to a crisp,I would probably have another baby. Perhaps I will just get another cat?

Anyway, the writing prompt was to list 8 things I am dreading about sending the kids back to school…..so here it goes.

1. My youngest son, is starting middle school (6th grade) Can he handle it? Or better yet, can his teachers handle him?

2. Will Sofia be okay without me?

3. Will Sofia be okay without her pacifier? (Don’t ask)

4. Will people now judge me because I am home and have no kids at home? Will they look at me and be all like “What does SHE do all day, watch Soaps and eat bon-bons?”

5. Can I do this? Can I have four kids in three different schools, while taking my husband to work?

6. Can I really work on my writing? I mean I will have the time now, but will it work? Is this what I am suppose to be doing?

7. How will I cook dinner? Kids get off at 3:30, Husband gets off at 5 (I have to pick him up) Should I have dinner ready or cook it when we all get home? Seriously, these things keep me up at night!

8. I know I am going to cry on that first day. In fact, I will come home to an empty house, get my coffee and probably blog with tears in my eyes. So I hope some of you will be here to keep me company.

and hey, at least it is coffee I will be drinking and not vodka!!

Sofia, we love you!! Enjoy your journey, it all starts here.

When the school year ended for my kids (June 20 something) I thought “Oh heck ya, finally I can put some work into my blog.”

Here we are, August 14th and I have not written one blog post over the summer.

Damn kids!

And now, I have three weeks left of summer and nothing, I repeat NOTHING to show for it.

So, to make a long story short, I am back, hopefully with some new reading material.

Also, in the coming weeks, Vodka Calling will have a new look that I am pretty excited about. Stay tuned.

Anyway, I will leave will this little tid-bit of a story.

The other day “The Husband” actually had a day off from work, which meant I had to go pick “The Kid” up from work. (Yeah, since I was last here, my oldest got himself a job, no car yet, but a job, so The Husband and I have to tag team on who picks him up)

So, because The Husband was busy trying to reach a new level on one of his stupid xbox games, it was I who had to go pick up “The Kid.”

About 10 minutes before I had to leave, I threw a frozen pizza in the oven for The Husband and The Kids. As I was leaving I told The Husband “Can you take the pizza out in about 5-8 minutes?”

“Oh yeah,I got it”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I can handle taking a pizza out of the oven”

And……you see where this is going.

Not convinced he had everything under control,I turned to my 7yr old daughter “Gracie, remind dad to take the pizza out, okay?”

“Okay mom”

I gave them all one last chance “Are you sure you just do not want me to wait for the pizza to be done?”

“GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

and so I left.

FORTY FIVE minutes later The Kid and I come home. As we are waking up the stairs to our apartment I can smell pizza.

Oh god.

The Kid assured me that it was out of the oven.

Right.

I open the door, head straight to the kitchen, the smokey kitchen, open the oven, and there it is, a black pizza.

Like really?!?!!?!

I believe my neighbour, who also happens to be MY APARTMENT MANAGER, was ready to call the fire department.

All the while, there is my husband, still trying to reach a stupid level on his game.

As far as my daughter, well she got caught up watching the E True Hollywood Story of Justin Bieber.

I do not think anything more needs to be said in this post, other than

1. I AM ALWAYS RIGHT

and

2. Thank God for vodka.

I need to assume for my own peace of mind, that anyone reading this particular blog post are…..

1. Fans of NJ Housewives

or

2. Familiar with the show.

Otherwise, this post will not make any sense,and a few of you may be ready to call AA on me.

New Jersey Housewives have changed. The show is no longer fun and comical. It is quite sad and depressing.

Caroline~ Last season she is all bout family, this season she wants to break a family up. Also…she is not speaking to her own sister.

Jacqueline~ Spineless little twit, more on her later.

Melissa~ In my humble opinion, came onto the show for all the wrong reasons. Despite what she says, family is not first with her.

Kathy~ Her son reminds me of a young Ralph Macchio so that’s cool…other than that, snooze.

Teresa~ She is the one everyone loves to hate.

Every week, after the show, the NJ Housewives write a blog on the BRAVO web site. Every week Miss Jacqueline Lauritta feels the need to write AT LEAST a seven page blog explaining why she does not like Teresa. Oy.

Jacqueline decided to block me from her Twitter. All because I told her “Enough with the 7 page blogs, we get it, u don’t like Teresa”

Jacqueline is an idiot.

SHE puts herself and her life on a REALITY SHOW. We,as the fans, have every right to have our say in a respectable manner.

As soon as JACQUELINE reads something she does not like, she blocks us.

Classy Jackie!!

So, I am going to hope for the best, yet expect the worse and assume that one way or another Jacqueline will read this post.

Dear Jacqueline,

What has happened to you? You were so real, raw, and had an innocence about you in the first season. We, as your fans, saw you struggle with miscarriages, trying to conceive. A lot of us were able to relate to you. Somewhere along the way you went from having real life problems to spending all your time bashing Teresa.

I am no longer a fan. You need to leave The Housewives, if for no one else, do it for your kids. You do not belong, and quite honestly, seem like a little “Kiss @SS”.

and…you blocked me from Twitter….and I did not even say anything bad!!

Everyone one of you gals needs to STOP talking the talk and START walking the walk. We only have one chance at this life, ONE CHANCE. Make it count. Because when you are at those pearly gates…..do you really think the big man upstairs is going to care that you were on a show, he cares about your heart….and right now it is not looking too good.

Now, I need vodka!

The other day I was doing some work on the computer, and by work I mean blogging and facebook. You bloggers back me up here. Blogging is work, you have to find time to write your post, make connections all while trying keep up w/ house, kids, spouses, etc. It’s work I tell ya!!!

Facebook, not so much, but it’s fun so whatever.

I am doing work on the computer when Vinnie (the infamous 11 yr old) ask if I have any gum.

“It’s in my purse, give me a second and I will get it for you”

Yeah, right.

“No mom, it’s fine, I will get it, see your purse is right here.”

Why do I even bother wasting my breath anymore?

My back is towards him as I am typing away. I can here him empty the contents of my purse all over the floor while trying to find a piece of gum.

“Hey Mom, what’s this?”

There he is. Holding one of my perfectly folded maxi pads, in the cool neon colors, that I keep in my secret compartment of my purse for those unexpected surprises.

“It’s for my period Vinnie, put it away and…..”

“OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, GROSS MOM GROSS,OH MY GOD AND I TOUCHED IT,OH MY GOD”

“Ummm, it’s not like it is used or anything”

“GROSS MOM, I NEED THERAPY NOW”

“Then just stay out of my purse!!”

Enter the girls.

Of course because it sounds like I am beating him, the girls come running to see what’s going on.

Little Gracie innocently ask, with the slightest bit of concern.

“What’s wrong with Vinnie?”

*sigh*

“He is just being dramatic”

“MOM HAS A BUTT PILLOW IN HER PURSE!”

Oy!

He is lucky he did not find my vodka!

The Saturday before Easter we went over to my husbands family house for a get together. My husbands sister and her husband had just moved into a new home. We would spend the day just hanging out,doing prayer and later some karaoke ( FYI I have mastered Elvis Presley’s “In The Ghetto”)

I have been married for about 7 years now. It has taking me a long time to feel comfortable with this family. My in laws are old school Samoan, and for the longest time I felt that they had wished their youngest son would have married a Samoan girl. But he got me instead!

They are good people,just old school.

All was going well. Everyone was enjoying themselves, my kids were actually behaving and not embarrassing me.

And then, it was time for prayer.

My husbands family and I have slightly different religious beliefs, so anytime prayer goes on I participate from a safe distance. I took a seat at their kitchen bar, which faces into their living room. The grandparents my sister in law and her son were sitting on the sectional, along with an Aunt. Joe and my kids were sitting on the floor. From my spot, I could see everything yet remain at a comfortable distance.

My brother in law also was at the kitchen bar. I am just going to assume he feels the same way I do, not that that is important to my little story.

My father in law started things out by having everyone sing some Samoan songs. I do not know how to speak Samoan so I usually just sit there and pretend someone very important called me.

After the singing, father-in-law asked the kids if they know what the true meaning of Easter is.

Silence.

I just knew that my 11 yr old (Vinnie) would come up with something spiffy such as “The real meaning of Easter is about the Easter Bunny”

I was ready for it, I had already planned my exit if any mention of the Easter Bunny came out of his mouth.

However,this is not how it happened.

All of a sudden, little Gracie (7) decides to tell my in laws, as loud as she can “MOM AND DAD WERE FIGHTING LAST NIGHT”

Just shoot me now.

I bury my head under my arms, while the room fills with that awkward kind of laughter. The kind where you just laugh to fill the silence,not because anything is really funny.

Again….

“I SAID MOM AND DAD WERE FIGHTING LAST NIGHT”

insert more pretend laughter.

My brother in law who is also with me at the bar is trying his hardest not to laugh “Boy, Gracie is really trying to throw you under the bus huh?”

“Shut up Mike”

Joe discreetly told Gracie to pretty much shut up.

“I SAID MOM AND DAD WERE FIGHTING LAST NIGHT A THEN THEY WERE GOING TO MAKE A BABY”

Oh my god where does this kid come up with this stuff? Like does her 7 yr old brain plot ways to humiliate me, in front of my in laws of all people?!

I just know my mother in law is probably thinking what kind of woman did her son marry?

“MOM AND DAD WERE FIGHTING AND MAKING BABIES”

It was then that my father in law decided who really cares what the true meaning of Easter is, lets eat!

At that point,I did not care about food. I left Joe to tend to the kids,I heard my vodka calling and I was gong to find it.

This was a writing prompt from Mama Kat’s Writers Workshop. I chose the prompt Write about a time your child embarrassed you in public.

I messed up. Granted it does not happen often, but this was pretty bad.

My younger sister is pregnant with her first child. As soon as we found out she was pregnant, my mother, my other sister and myself have been bombarding “Pregnant Sis” w/ baby names, especially girl baby names because everyone believes “Pregnant Sis” will have a girl. Some of my personal picks are…

Anninston Hope
Kennis Tru

and that’s about it. Unusual names, but nothing like Apple or Pear, or even Squash.

My mother and other sister enjoy the more common names, Lacy, Faith, Madison, etc.

Anyway….none of that matters because every name we come up with for the baby, “Pregnant Sis” happens to have an ex boyfriend who had a sister who had a boyfriend who kicked his dog and the dogs name was Anninston.

You see?!

So the other day “Pregnant Sis” calls me out of the blue w/ exciting news. She has FINALLY decided on the name for her baby assuming the baby is a girl.

“Okay, tell me what is it?….Wait…do I need vodka for this?”

“Pregnant Sis” took a quick little “sigh” and told me

“You may actually need a drink for this.”

Well considering it was only noon, I could not drink. Perhaps in hindsight if I had had my vodka the following events would not have happened.

I am on the phone, outside on our balcony, talking to “Pregnant Sis” who is so excited to tell me the name she and “Baby Daddy” picked out for their daughter. I anxiously await. “Pregnant Sis” takes a deep breath then as proud as she could she reveals the names. Yes, I said names, first, middle, and a hyphenated last name.

Silence. I was speechless for about two seconds and then the uncontrollable laughter set in. Yes…I, the older and wiser sister laughed….uncontrollably.

Just kill me now!!!

“I knew you would not like it”

As I am trying desperately to catch my breath, I tell “Pregnant Sis” to give me a second, let the name sink in. It did not work.

I am the worse sister ever!!!

And now “Pregnant Sis” will not answer my calls.

So, in the hopes of “Pregnant Sis” reading this blog, I want to here by publicly apologize to you for laughing. Any name you decide on for your baby is perfect!!! The name is a little bit quirky just like you…and that my dear is a compliment!!

I know you, my faithful readers are just dying to know exactly what kind of name had me busting out laughing. I cannot say. I actually have other family members who on occasion read this blog and “Pregnant Sis” wants to be the one to tell everyone the name. As soon as she gives me her okay, I will reveal the name. Then you all can tell me what a cute name it is and how I am a horrible sister who lacks creativity.

If I had only had my vodka none of this would happen.

Tommy’s crossed arms answered my question before he spoke.

“She called again didn’t she?” I asked, there in the open doorway,one hand on my hip, the other clutching my bag and briefcase. I already knew the answer, I just needed to hear him say so.

He just stood there, trying as hard as he could to not look guilty. The right side of his mouth was clenched in a way that lead me to believe he was biting the inside of his cheek. His stiff tense arms resting on his chest, while leaning against the fridge. The eyes, those crystal clear blue eyes, always a sure giveaway to when he was lying. Tommy can make you think he is looking you dead in the eye but he isn’t. He is looking at the space right between your eyes. A little trick he had taught me when I had my first public speaking assignment.

“Look Jess, I did not have to tell you she called, I’m just being honest with you”

Angrily I threw my coat on the table, although it looks as if it made it to the floor. I don’t care.

“Actually you did not tell me, I guessed, and where was this new form of honesty six months ago?”

I walk towards my desk, not really having a reason to be there, just not wanting Tommy to see my eyes slowly starting to form with tears.

“Don’t start with me Jess”

I can hear the annoyance in his voice as he makes his way to the fridge to grab a Coors.

“Don’t start with you? You are the one who brought this person into our life, and you better be the one to get rid of her, or else I will.”

This was a writing prompt from

our task….

This week, focus on dialogue and body language to set a scene or move a story forward, limiting your use of narration. You have 450 words, beginning with the line: His crossed arms answered her question before he spoke.

If you are writing memoir this week and find the opening line too restrictive, incorporate the idea of crossed arms as close to the beginning of your piece as possible.

This was very new to me. I am a beginner and would appreciate and kind of constructive criticism….just be nice!!!

After this, I do believe my vodka is calling!

I keep my cell phone on me at all times. I have two main reasons for this, well, make that three.

1. I have OCD

2. My house phone is down (even though my husband and son “promised” they knew how to fix it.

3. I worry if something bad happens to someone in my family I will miss the call (especially since my house phone is down, see above!)

With that in mind, I will tell my story.

Tonight, like any other night, I did my usual routine. Check and reply to emails, feed kids dinner, find some way to disrupt my husband and his x-box game, make a drink and take a shower. This is my routine every night, and my cell is on me at all times.

I got as far as grabbing my pajamas, head to the bathroom w/ my drink in hand, turn on the water, start to get in and then I get the text from my 17 yr old niece.

Niece~ we have a problem

now see, this is exactly why I have my cell on me 24 hours a day, there is a problem.

Me~ What’s wrong?!?!?!

Niece~ The football game on Friday starts at 6:00 not 6:30

Granted this problem only applies to my niece, but still, it is a problem.

Me~ That’s not a problem, you will be home earlier

Okay, all is good on her end, she is just your typical 17 yr old teenager who believes everything is a problem, on with my shower!

About 4 minutes later another text.

Here lays the problem. I am already in said shower, shampoo in hair. My cell is safely beside the sink. What do I do? Is it my niece again with another “problem” or is it someone else with a real problem. Will I ever be able to forgive myself if it is someone with a real problem and I ignored this text because I was too busy enjoying my new Moroccan oil shampoo (awesome by the way). Of course I will never be able to forgive myself.

I ever so carefully reach from the shower to the counter where my cell phone lay, being careful not to allow any water to drip on it. My entire body is in the shower while my right arm with cell phone in hand is hanging over the toilet.

I already know what you are thinking, I closed the lid.

Niece~ So when you get a chance you have to go look at my facebook page, my uncle posted this awesome looking truck on my page.

Perhaps I should have ignored this text.

Me~ After shower.

Once again I make the long familiar reach from the shower to the sink.

Another text.

Oh-for-god-sakes!!

Niece~ Oh you freak, were you talking to me while in the shower?!?!?!

Well you kinda have to laugh here don’t you?

Me~ Well…that was not obvious was it?

I waited just a few more seconds or two before I laid the phone back down on the counter, and then, I just had to send one more text. I mean this was too good not to send.

Me~ that awkward moment when you realize the person you are texting is in the shower.

I still have not heard back from my niece.

So…Hollywood, here we come!!! Shall I expect the contract in the mail??