CAMERA

Read a selection of Brian Gillespie's poetry, reviews and stories here on Sensitize ©. Brian has worked with Upstate Renegade Productions on a voluntary basis as production co-ordinator on some of our projects. This forum is moderated by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh for Brian Gillespie.

Moderators: Louis P. Burns aka Lugh, Brian Gillespie

Post Reply
User avatar
Brian Gillespie
guest writer
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:56 pm
Location: derry, ireland
Contact:

CAMERA

Post by Brian Gillespie »

"You know," she said, "I have a picture of the two of us that I've never shown you. We look happy in it."

He knew then that she meant it. He watched as she stretched her arms in front of her and studied her hands. First one side, then the other. She didn't look at him at all.

"Remember that time we decided to go to the seaside? It began raining so heavily that we went to this little cafe and sat there all day, drinking tea and talking about our plans together. God, I drank so much tea that day I thought my stomach was going to burst!"

He remembered every detail of it: the small seafront cafe with the flashing welcome sign, the red and white checked tablecloths, and the smiling, overweight waitress who kept bringing them refills and seemed overjoyed when asked to take a photograph of the two of them.

"I remember. Why didn't you show me that picture?"

She turned and looked at him now. "I don't know. I guess I felt that it belonged to me only. I wanted something that you couldn't belittle."

The remark tore into him because he knew it was true. He had been like that - selfish, cruel even. It may have been unintentional, but that matters little to the person on the receiving end. He wanted to pull her close to him and stroke her long black hair like he used to do, but that would serve no purpose now.

They lay side by side on the bed, a space between them as thin and as definite as the glass which prevented the wind from blowing through the bedroom. He moved his hand to touch hers and, unsurprisingly, she pulled away.

"So when did you find out?" he asked.

A cold stare. "Oh, I've known for days. But only this morning have I made my mind up."

"And you're sure you want to do this?"

He hoped to see some sign of indecision in her eyes, a lack of resolve.

"I am," she said.

She rose from the bed and crossed over to the full-length mirror. She stared at her naked reflection. She still had a great looking body, he thought. That body that he had once known and caressed every inch of. But now, somehow, it seemed foreign to him - abstract, even. He watched her every move as she stood sideways to look at her profile in the mirror. She placed a hand on her stomach and inhaled, and then exhaled slowly. She moved her face close to the glass and studied its features. He was taking every detail in, to be memorised and catalogued in a special folder in his mind called: the final moments. Their eyes met across the distance.

"You know, I used to love listening to you telling me all those stories in the beginning," she said. "How this was going to be one of those great romances. Ha!"

"look, if there is anything I can..." but her reflection threw such a glare back at him that he didn't finish the sentence. She moved over to the dresser and began to brush her hair. The strokes became ever more vigorous, as though it were all memory of him that she was brushing away.

"Karen, you know I love you, don't you?"

She paused and turned to him. "Yes. In your own pathetic way, I believe you do. But it's not enough - not now. I mean she was my best friend, for God's sake!"

He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, and her fighting to hold them back.

"Listen, Karen, I was so drunk that night..."

The hairbrush missed his head by an inch and thwacked against the wall. She looked around in desperation for something else to throw, and then stormed into the bathroom instead. He could hear the sound of the tap being turned on and water being splashed on her face. He picked up the hairbrush and plucked one strand of dark hair from its bristles. He held it before him and turned it in his fingers. So this is it, he thought. In a moment she will return to the bedroom, search for the old tattered leather suitcase, pack some clothes and accessories into it, and then leave me. I will probably say some things to her on the stairs and at the front door, attempt to regain her trust again, but it will be futile. If only I hadn't gone to the pub that night without her, if only I hadn't ended up at that party with her flirtatious friend, if only I hadn't... But what is done is done. The cords have been severed, he decided, and he wondered if he had ever heard that line in a song or in a movie.

He listened as she blew her nose and flushed the toilet. She came back into the bedroom with a bath towel tied around her body. She was making it clear that he no longer had permission to see her naked. She opened the wardrobe doors and bent down to search through the mess. This is it, he thought. If there is anything you can do or say to stop this happening it is now.

"Karen?"

She stood up straight and turned to him with her arms folded across her breasts, and he thought that she had never seemed so beautiful as she did to him at that moment.

"Yes?"

"Would you show me that photograph now? The one from the cafe?"

She stood pondering the request for a few seconds, and then she mouthed a silent no, and bent down to retrieve the tattered suitcase.

Click!
Bri.
User avatar
Andrew West
guest member, dj & music producer
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:26 pm
Location: Stevenage, HERTS. England.

Post by Andrew West »

Good stuff Bri'
My version of events would be :

He awoke from what seemed to be a drug induced coma, the room had a somewhat unsteady feel to it. Was that wild party at the weekend finally catching up with him?
Karen stood in the doorway laden with bags, silently pointing to a photograph on the sideboard beside the bed, "I have a picture I've never shown you before" She said, "Because I took it this morning when I nailed your testicles to that tarts front door." she said abruptly as she slammed the door.
User avatar
Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
site owner, media producer & writer
Posts: 2185
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:32 am
Location: Derry, Ireland
Contact:

Re: CAMERA

Post by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh »

Brian Gillespie wrote:"You know," she said, "I have a picture of the two of us that I've never shown you. We look happy in it."

He knew then that she meant it. He watched as she stretched her arms in front of her and studied her hands. First one side, then the other. She didn't look at him at all.

"Remember that time we decided to go to the seaside? It began raining so heavily that we went to this little cafe and sat there all day, drinking tea and talking about our plans together. God, I drank so much tea that day I thought my stomach was going to burst!"

He remembered every detail of it: the small seafront cafe with the flashing welcome sign, the red and white checked tablecloths, and the smiling, overweight waitress who kept bringing them refills and seemed overjoyed when asked to take a photograph of the two of them.

"I remember. Why didn't you show me that picture?"

She turned and looked at him now. "I don't know. I guess I felt that it belonged to me only. I wanted something that you couldn't belittle."

The remark tore into him because he knew it was true. He had been like that - selfish, cruel even. It may have been unintentional, but that matters little to the person on the receiving end. He wanted to pull her close to him and stroke her long black hair like he used to do, but that would serve no purpose now.

They lay side by side on the bed, a space between them as thin and as definite as the glass which prevented the wind from blowing through the bedroom. He moved his hand to touch hers and, unsurprisingly, she pulled away.

"So when did you find out?" he asked.

A cold stare. "Oh, I've known for days. But only this morning have I made my mind up."

"And you're sure you want to do this?"

He hoped to see some sign of indecision in her eyes, a lack of resolve.

"I am," she said.

She rose from the bed and crossed over to the full-length mirror. She stared at her naked reflection. She still had a great looking body, he thought. That body that he had once known and caressed every inch of. But now, somehow, it seemed foreign to him - abstract, even. He watched her every move as she stood sideways to look at her profile in the mirror. She placed a hand on her stomach and inhaled, and then exhaled slowly. She moved her face close to the glass and studied its features. He was taking every detail in, to be memorised and catalogued in a special folder in his mind called: the final moments. Their eyes met across the distance.

"You know, I used to love listening to you telling me all those stories in the beginning," she said. "How this was going to be one of those great romances. Ha!"

"look, if there is anything I can..." but her reflection threw such a glare back at him that he didn't finish the sentence. She moved over to the dresser and began to brush her hair. The strokes became ever more vigorous, as though it were all memory of him that she was brushing away.

"Karen, you know I love you, don't you?"

She paused and turned to him. "Yes. In your own pathetic way, I believe you do. But it's not enough - not now. I mean she was my best friend, for God's sake!"

He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, and her fighting to hold them back.

"Listen, Karen, I was so drunk that night..."

The hairbrush missed his head by an inch and thwacked against the wall. She looked around in desperation for something else to throw, and then stormed into the bathroom instead. He could hear the sound of the tap being turned on and water being splashed on her face. He picked up the hairbrush and plucked one strand of dark hair from its bristles. He held it before him and turned it in his fingers. So this is it, he thought. In a moment she will return to the bedroom, search for the old tattered leather suitcase, pack some clothes and accessories into it, and then leave me. I will probably say some things to her on the stairs and at the front door, attempt to regain her trust again, but it will be futile. If only I hadn't gone to the pub that night without her, if only I hadn't ended up at that party with her flirtatious friend, if only I hadn't... But what is done is done. The cords have been severed, he decided, and he wondered if he had ever heard that line in a song or in a movie.

He listened as she blew her nose and flushed the toilet. She came back into the bedroom with a bath towel tied around her body. She was making it clear that he no longer had permission to see her naked. She opened the wardrobe doors and bent down to search through the mess. This is it, he thought. If there is anything you can do or say to stop this happening it is now.

"Karen?"

She stood up straight and turned to him with her arms folded across her breasts, and he thought that she had never seemed so beautiful as she did to him at that moment.

"Yes?"

"Would you show me that photograph now? The one from the cafe?"

She stood pondering the request for a few seconds, and then she mouthed a silent no, and bent down to retrieve the tattered suitcase.

Click!
Well, I love it. I could almost smell the room they were in and feel the unspoken tensions switching on and off between the characters. I believe I gave you a more lengthy bit of feedback on this by email a few months back Brian. I should still have that in my archives. I'll mouch around and see if I can dig it out later tonight mate.

Thanks for sharing :) ...
Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
Administrator, editor & owner of the Sensitize © online community of forums and domain for artists, e-poets, filmmakers, media/music producers and writers working through here. To buy the Kindle book of Illustrated Poetry, Sensitize © - Volume One / Poems that could be Films if they were Funded by myself with illustrations by Welsh filmmaker and graphic artist; Norris Nuvo click here for N. Ireland and UK sales. If purchasing in the U.S.A. or internationally then please click here.

ASIN B00L1RS0UI

My writing is not covered by Creative Commons policy and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. All Sensitize © Arts sponsorship donations and postal inquiries to:

Louis P. Burns
42 Farland Way
DERRY
N. Ireland.
BT48 0RS
Telephone (UK): 028 71219225


Click here to Join Sensitize © Arts via Facebook or to contact the site owner: Louis P. Burns aka Lugh with any forum hosting or site related inquiries.
Post Reply

Return to “Brian Gillespie on Sensitize ©”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest