Cassandra – Part III

On By DanicaPicheIn Creative Writing

Cassandra had the cab driver drop her off at The Palace Diner.  Tired, she deposited her shopping bags onto the padded red bench and sank down next to them.

“Any specials today?” she asked, in the mood for something different.

“The chef is making jambalaya.  It’s not on the menu.”  Khean said.  She nodded.  “Cornbread?”  He asked.  She nodded again.  He poured her a cup of coffee.  “Good memory,” she said.

“Hey, Cal,” Khean walked into the kitchen.  “I sold a batch of your jambalaya experiment.  You can see if real people like it!”

“Oh…okay,” Cal was surprised.  How should he serve it?  “Does the customer like spicy or mild, do you know?”

“Una blanquita,” Khean explained, then remembered the hot sauce.  “Spicy.”

Cal nodded.  “Hey, when did you start speaking English like Mateo?”  Khean shrugged.  “I told her you had cornbread too, Casper.”  Khean grinned and Cal rolled his eyes.

Cassandra pulled her new outfits from her shopping bags.  She’d selected mostly white for the effect in the club’s lighting.  She raised her cup to Khean as signal for a refill and gazed out the window.

I’m getting too old for this, she sighed.  But, the cash…. She liked to carry a month’s take with her.  She could do what she wanted.  She’d even been able to pay her cosmetology school in full, in advance.

Speaking of which, she sighed again.  Her hair highlighting exam yesterday had been a disaster.  She’d created knots in the model’s hair, dropped foils and was clumsy enough that her model stopped the procedure.  The instructor was outraged.  “We have our reputation to uphold!”  He relegated her to assisting senior students for the next two weeks.

“We hope you will like the chef’s speciality,” Khean put her meal on the side of the table, away from the white clothes.  “With freshly made cornbread.”

“That smells like heaven!”  She tossed the clothes in a pile atop the bags.  Inhaling the savory steam she gently stirred the sauce, releasing more of the rich aroma.

Cal watched in anticipation from the kitchen.

She skimmed the sauce and brought the spoon to her lips.  Oh, wow.  She tried the rice and sausage next.  Then, the shrimp and tomato.  She closed her eyes in concentration, trying to identify the herbs and spices.  She sampled the onion and peppers next, and suddenly remembered the cornbread.  This is just what I needed.  Forgetting her manners she sopped up the juices with the cornbread, pieces splashing into the dish and staining her sleeve.  Her hiccups sent Khean rushing over with water, but she didn’t put down her spoon.

“Delicious!” she managed to declare.

Cal broke into a smile that lit up his whole face.

 

 

_________

Here is Part 2:  Cassandra – Part II
Here is Part 1:  Cassandra

This is also:  Sunrise at The Palace Diner, Scene 13

Here is the rest of the story (so far):  Sunrise at The Palace Diner

_________

******

35 thoughts on “Cassandra – Part III”

    1. Excellent question, Kevin! She’s 5’6″ with a slender build, like a ballerina. She changes her hair frequently and right now it’s honey blonde. Her eyes are hazel and can look grey depending on the light.

      I’ve omitted physical descriptions of characters in an effort to streamline and keep the stories at bite-sized easy reads. Physical traits are mentioned in upcoming posts, but maybe more is needed?

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  3. Kevin

    I first wondered what she looked like when she was on stage (my inner pervert, needing a visual). I wanted to “see” her. Personally, I like to know physical characteristics, but that could be a case of my own limited imagination. There is certainly merit in letting the reader determine such things, too, like when a songwriter doesn’t divulge exactly what a song is about, letting the listener interpret it however he/she feels it.

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    1. Ah, yes! I made the decision to omit her physical description when she was on stage — except for tousled curls — so that she could belong to the reader. I also wanted her allure to be based on her personality, energy and charisma rather than at a purely physical level.

      Very interesting point about a songwriter not divulging what a song is about… I tend to avoid listening to songwriters talk because I like to keep my own interpretations of songs.

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      1. Kevin

        I kind of pictured her as just an average looking girl, Not typical dancer/stripper with bleach blond hair and fake boobs. She relies on her personality, energy and charisma to get by in that profession, and she knows how.

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        1. I love that! You’re pretty much on the mark with what I had in mind… and she does, indeed, do very well in that profession even though (or, because?) she doesn’t have the typical stripper look.

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            1. Haha 🙂 You write lots of other stuff — fantastic stuff!
              You are so right about that, Rob. The writing that hurts is definitely where the best stuff is… was it Hemingway who said there’s nothing to writing “all you have to do is sit at the typewriter and bleed”….

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                    1. A schedule will help a lot with multiple social media accounts. Try a master calendar to plan or outline all your social media posts and activity. Funny you mention this — I just reduced my social media to focus on a smaller number. I’d love to include Pinterest, for example, but quality would probably suffer. Hopefully I can do more in the future.

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                    3. That seems like a very good approach. I’ve started a twice-a-week post schedule on my blog. I started a couple of weeks ago and it’s the first time I’ve ever had a schedule. So far it seems good… there’s less spontaneity but the tradeoff might be worth it. A predictable schedule might be better for me as well as readers… we’ll find out! 🙂

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  8. Pingback: Cassandra – Part IV – Living a Beautiful Life

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