The In Between
Chapter 1
Life is either black or white, period. To me there were no grey areas. There were no ‘should a, could a, would a’. You did or you didn’t, it was or it wasn’t. You know or you don’t. I lived my life on impulse and I left no room for questions.
If you asked me a question such as, “What are you doing for your seventeenth birthday Tiffany?”
I would have responded with, “Sitting at home with some home-made ice-cream and watch re-runs of Sanford and Son.” Whether I was or I wasn’t. That’s just the way it is.
I wasn’t always like this, it just happened over time. And if you asked, “If you could go back and change the way you are, would you?”
I would answer with, “No, it is supposed to be this way. Everything happens for a reason.” Either I would change again over time or I wouldn’t.
I don’t do ‘what if’s’; and it frustrated me to no end when people asked.
“What if we go to the Bistro for dinner tonight instead of staying home?” my mother asked as she flipped thru Fine Homes Magazine.
“Do you want to stay in tonight?” I asked as she looked up at me and pushed the magazine aside.
“Well, no, not really...”
“Do you want to go to the Bistro?”
“Yes,”
“Then it’s settled. We go to the Bistro for dinner.” I said as I stood up. My mother looked annoyed. She hated when I did that.
“You’re always so final. Don’t you ever wonder about things for a moment?”
“No.” I said without thinking. She rolled her eyes at me and grabbed her car keys.
“Fine. Go get your father from his study. I’ll meet you in the car.” She said as she walked out the kitchen and out the front door. I got up and went down the hall to my fathers study/ office.
I knocked on his door twice and when he didn’t answer I let myself in. He had his chair turned away from me facing the window that overlooked the lake. All I saw was his sandy blond hair.
“Dad,” he swiveled around to face me looking half sleep. “You know mom hates it when you sleep in here.” He just smiled at me.
“I know. So what’s up?” he asked as he organized some of his papers on the desk.
“Mom wants to go to the Bistro, you coming?” he looked up at me with his blue-grey eyes that I had inherited.
“Who made the decision?” he asked with a smile.
“Me. She brought it up. She didn’t feel like cooking. I know this otherwise she wouldn’t have asked.” My father knew all too well how I was. “Are you going?”
“Yeah sure, why not?” he said as he got up. He came over to me and put his arm around me and walked me out the door hitting the light switch on our way out.
Every time my dad had his skin against mine I couldn’t help but to see the major difference. His white skin was a shocking contrast to my more melanin enhanced dark-brown skin. But there was no denying he was my father. The blue-grey eyes the long hair that had two natural streaks of blond in it and his height. I felt like a giraffe.
But at the same time I looked like my mother. Her dark complexion, her dark brown hair slightly nappy with out a relaxer, her build and her facial features.
“What took you two so long?” my mother asked as we approached the Hummer.
“A minute is long to you if you’re the one waiting.” My father said as he opened the back door for me to get in. “So I take it I’m the one driving?”
“I would think so since I’m not in the driver’s seat.”
“But I have no clue as to where the Bistro is.” He said as he slid in and shut his door. “And you’re not good with directions.” He was right about that. We had gotten stuck in the middle of nowhere when we were going cross-country to visit my mom’s side of the family in Shreveport, Louisiana. My father had let my mom drive when he got tired. We wound up St. Louis, Missouri the next day. At least that’s when my father invested in a GPS navigation system.
“Tiffany, do you know where it is?”
“Yes.” I said without hesitation. My father pulled out the drive way while I did my roll as back-seat-driver.How does the beginning of my book sound?hmm...very interesting. Tiffany's character isnt like ones i've read in other books and im interested on what the story is about and why she became that way. great chapter, keep writing! (=How does the beginning of my book sound?I like Tiffany's character. Reading the very beginning makes the reader wonder what ever made her like she is. It's a good introduction overall. You may be to quick to jump sometimes, but that's a minor tweak that's easy to fix. I wonder what storyline lies ahead for this story...?
