A lift home – part 2

~ Elaine Jeremiah

Hello everyone! Welcome to the always wonderful WIPpet Wednesday. I hope this week finds you happy and well. How’s your writing going? Mine’s going pretty well, and I’ve written a lot lately. The only problem is that the plot of Teaching Mr Leavis is still unravelling. What I mean is I need to catch up with it and reel it in a bit. This novel is going to need SO much editing!

So anyway as the title of this post suggests I’m sharing with you some more from the scene I shared last week. And don’t worry – Rebecca isn’t getting in the car with a drunk – I’ve amended it to Jonathan Leavis assuring her that he’s only drunk a glass of NON ALCOHOLIC wine! If you don’t think that works, let me know in the comments below.

OK so how much to share? I think I’ll share 14 paragraphs following immediately on from last week’s. My maths goes like this (I’m manipulating things a bit): 2+2+10=14 Simple! In this scene Rebecca has accepted Jonathan Leavis’s offer of a lift home, now she knows he hasn’t been drinking. But she’s awkward and during the drive to her house Jonathan isn’t exactly doing his best to put her at ease…

‘If you want to follow me, my car’s this way,’ he informed her.

Rebecca followed Jonathan as he led her down the dimly-lit street towards a car park behind the club that she hadn’t known existed. Suddenly aware again how short her dress was, she had to fight the urge to pull it down in case he noticed.

She kept her distance making sure she stayed a few feet behind him as they walked, her face warm with the awkwardness of the situation. You could have just got a taxi, she reproached herself. But that would have meant waiting longer in the cold, with only her flimsy black dress and jacket to protect her against the elements.

‘It’s here,’ Jonathan announced abruptly. He waved the key at the car and it unlocked automatically. I bet he loves doing that, Rebecca thought. Probably takes loads of girls home in his car. If he hasn’t already scared them off beforehand.

Then she remembered what Nick had said about his wife dying. Maybe there were no women in his life. She shivered involuntarily and quickly walked over to the car. Jonathan had opened the door for her. So he can play the gentleman then, she thought raising an eyebrow.

‘Thank you,’ she said in a low voice, climbing into the car and willing her dress not to ride up.

In no time at all Jonathan had started the engine and they were off. Rebecca barely had time to put her seat belt on. Does he drive like this all the time, she wondered, then remembered her first encounter with him and decided he must do.

‘Where do you live?’ he asked her, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

‘Coopers Close in Yarrick,’ she told him. The city of Stokington had many areas such as Yarrick, which had been a village once and had got swallowed up into greater Stokington.

He nodded, but said no more. Rebecca exhaled silently and gazed unseeing out of the window. Jonathan’s fight with Nick swam into her inner vision and she wondered again why they’d been fighting. She turned to Jonathan.

‘Are you going to tell me what that was all about?’ she asked, her voice blunt.

‘What was what about?’ came the terse reply.

‘Oh don’t give me that, Mr Leavis. Your argument with Nick.’

‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he replied, glancing at her for a second with a furrowed brow before returning his attention to the road.

Hope you enjoyed that. 🙂 Wanna take part in WIPpet Wednesday? It’s easy! Just post an excerpt of whatever you’re working on writing-wise at the moment, then add your name to this linky. It should – in theory at least – relate in some way to the date. Don’t forget to check out what the other WIPpeteers have shared this week.

My thanks as always goes to the fantabulous K. L. Schwengel for hosting. 😀

 

 

Published by Elaine Jeremiah

I live with my husband and dog in the UK. I'm the author of four novels, my latest being a Jane Austen fan fiction time travel romance, 'Love Without Time'.

32 thoughts on “A lift home – part 2”

  1. I swear his moods bounce around like a teenage girl’s! Just when I think I see a glimmer of humanity and decency, he goes and gets all…*waves hand in air* Yeah, like that.

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  3. Well, *he* may not want to talk about it, but *I* sure do! I’m so curious about what’s going on.

    I’m obviously not up on these things, but I didn’t know there was non-alcoholic wine. I’m definitely glad he’s not drunk, though. 🙂

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    1. Oh yes you should be curious – it means I’m doing my job 😉

      Yeah, there is non-alcoholic wine. Not that many people have it (I wonder why?!) but you can get it over here. At first I thought that maybe he could have just had a small glass of (proper) wine but then I decided it’d be better if he went teetotal.

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      1. You can get it here. Non-alcoholic beer, too. Both are awful. Of course, I never developed a taste for anything alcoholic in the first place, so the non-alcoholic imitations are practically alien.

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      2. Yeah I’m not a massive fan of non-alcoholic wine. I’d rather drink juice or lemonade or something like that, not a drink that’s pretending to be an alcoholic drink but isn’t lol!

        It’s interesting what you say about alcohol – I tend to drink wine that doesn’t taste of alcohol as I really hate the taste. I’ve found a lovely Gallo wine (yes the one from California, we have it in our supermarkets! 😀 ) which is called ‘Summer Fruits’. It’s a red wine, but you keep it in the fridge and it tastes like fruit juice which has alcohol in it. Bliss!

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  5. I also didn’t know there was nonalcoholic wine, but I’m glad he wasn’t drinking and driving. And thank you for your wonderful review of Devil’s Dilemma! I read them this afternoon and loved it. Anytime you need a review of something let me know, and if you ever want to read the second book in the series, drop me a line and I’ll send it over for you.

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    1. Hi Sirena. Thanks for your lovely comment. 🙂 I’m so glad you appreciated my review of ‘Devil’s Dilemma’. If you would be willing to read my novel ‘Reunion of the Heart’ – a free copy in exchange for a review – that would be wonderful.

      It’s a romance, so probably not your thing and so I will definitely understand if you don’t want to! But if you do, just email me.

      And yes, at some point it would be nice to read the sequel to DD. 😀

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  6. *sigh* Would you two just cut to the chase and admit you’re dying for each other already? Sheesh. *eyeroll* 😛

    I feel cheated. What was that fight about? Her, perhaps? *waggles brows* Nicely done, Elaine. 🙂

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    1. Yeah I may need to do my research cos this story is set 20 yrs ago, so it may have been less available then.

      As I said in one of the comments above, I don’t think it’s that widely drunk – no guesses for why!

      The fight… you’ll have to find out!! :p

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  9. Nice job, Elaine. I could feel the tension in the car – it was suffocating. Not only is he temperamental, it also seems he’s playing hard to get! Rebecca must have the patience of a saint…but then she is a teacher!

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    1. Ah thanks Mel. Yes he is temperamental – and irascible and annoying and… the list could go on.
      Actually I’m not sure Rebecca does have the patience of a saint – but she is definitely persistent and will get an answer out of Jonathan eventually. And that’s what makes her a good teacher! 🙂

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  10. “Probably takes loads of girls home in his car. If he hasn’t already scared them off beforehand.”

    Love the whole paragraph, but especially this. I’ve got 20 scenes left to plot for NaNo – and your review is next, after that, so I should have it up by Wednesday, at the latest….finally!

    And I’m a charitable sort- I’m going to assume grief over his wife is playing havoc with his emotional state, and that he’s usually a little more even.

    I’m not a wine girl. An occasional Guinness or White Russian – but not so much wine. Non-alcoholic wine sounds rather dreadful. Was the man punishing himself?!

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    1. Yes, I must admit to loving those lines myself! And yes, grief is definitely affecting Jonathan, but the way Rebecca sees it that’s no excuse for his behaviour towards her.

      Non-alcoholic wine was the solution I came up with to last week’s problem of whether or not Jonathan would have ANYTHING to drink before driving. So. I may amend that again at some point, not sure it works.

      Anyway, I’ll look forward to your review of ROTH! I don’t know where you were planning to post it, but if you could stick one on Amazon.com and maybe UK as well that would be fab. I know it may sound obvious but other reviewers have needed a little prompting because a lot of them tend to just post it on Goodreads, things like that. For my sales figures I really need it up on Amazon.

      Thanks in advance! 😀

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      1. I’ve never done an Amazon review, so I was planning on making you my first…hopefully I don’t botch it up! =D

        Jonathan could maybe have a virgin cocktail…or maybe he just sips water, or soda, or juice?

        I’ guessing there’s an option that works well for his personality….

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      2. Aw thanks Shan, I’m privileged. 🙂

        As for what exactly Jonathan drinks on this particular night, I will work on it. And you’re right – there’s got to be something that goes with his personality.

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