2016 – Day 21

A character-writing exercise from the Writing Excuses podcast, episode 10.5

Take three different characters and walk them through a scene. Convey their emotional states, their jobs, and their hobbies without directly stating any of those. The scene in question: walking through a marketplace, and they need to do a dead-drop.

-------

Character 2:

"Honey, do you have this one?"

Jerry turned to look at his wife. She waved a shot glass toward him then brought it close to her face.

"It says 'Cold River Vodka,'" she said.

"No, not that one." he said.

"I'll get it for you, then."

"Okay, thanks." Jerry looked past her at the nearby tables of the farmer's market, now packed with post-lunch crowds searching for squash, artisanal cheeses, and locally-brewed beer. He had wanted to come earlier, but Donna had arranged to go to morning yoga with a friend, and insisted that he wait for her. Probably better to have the cover of a crowd, he told himself.

"Jerry!"

Jerry turned toward the deep baritone voice calling his name and recognized one of his neighbors.

"Hey, Frank. How's it going?"

They shook hands and gave each other a hearty slap on the back.

"Good! How're our boys looking this year?" Frank said.

"They're good," Jerry said. "Working hard at practice."

"That's great. Hey, any truth to this rumor that Donaldson may be pulled from Saturday's game? I heard he wasn't passing some classes or something."

Jerry's pulse quickened and he felt a warmth creep up from his neck to his cheeks.

"Nah," he said, pulling up his baseball cap to wipe his forehead. "He's got to pass a test tomorrow, but he'll do fine. He's been studying."

"I hope so. That kid's not the brightest crayon in the pack, but he's a kick-ass running back, pardon my French."

"That he is," Jerry said, forcing himself to take slower breaths.

"Okay, good luck. We'll see you on Saturday!" Frank gave Jerry another slap on the back and walked off in the direction of the local brewery tables.

Jerry took a deep breath and looked at his watch. 2:14 p.m. He had 31 minutes left until Donaldson would come looking for the test answer sheet. They couldn't be seen together. He'd have to do the drop right away.

"Donna, I'm going to check out the pickles," he said to his wife, who had moved on to a booth selling homemade jewelry. "I'll be right back."

"Pickles?" she said. "You hate pickles!"

But Jerry had already started walking toward the other side of the spacious greenhouse that held the market. Suddenly more aware of the possibility that he could be recognized by someone in the crowd, he kept his face down and pulled his baseball cap lower. After leaving the crafts room and weaving through the meats and cheeses room, he arrived at the fruits and vegetables. He had expected it to be quieter than the other rooms since the local Whole Foods wasn't exactly short on farm-fresh produce, but he soon realized he had misjudged the situation. The doorway leading in was packed with people in line for the first table. Jerry craned his neck over them and saw that the other tables were no less busy. He could also see the Carolee's Pickles table just 10 yards away and began to make his way toward it. Though he tried to avoid it, his broad shoulders bumped him into one person after another. At least two people recognized him and wished him luck at the game. He nodded and tried to smile back, but the throbbing in his chest had moved to his head and he was convinced that he might be on the verge of a heart attack.

When he finally reached the table, he scoured the area for the empty Blue Moon box that was supposed to be nearby. He could hardly see anything around the bodies of the people checking out the pickle offerings, but finally found an opening to get closer to the table.

There it was, an empty cardboard box partially hidden behind a crate of pickle jars. Jerry didn't know if the kid selling the pickles to the crowd knew why the box was there and decided not to take a chance with him. When he thought the kid wasn't looking, he leaned down to tie his shoelaces, then quickly pulled the tan envelope out of his inside coat pocket and dropped it into the box.