So for my last remix assignment, the generator finally brought up the perfect one: a writing assignment that needed to be “countrified.” If anyone is an expert at that, it’s me! This original piece of work is from this blog. The author chose to do the “Tarantino your story” project, in which she wrote a short fictional piece in the style of Quentin Tarantino; that is, the end scene at the beginning.

The story is about a woman who is dissatisfied with her marriage. It was easy enough for me to turn the husband into a farm hand, who works long hard days. I went through the story and put in a few little changes that just made it a little more realistic that he worked on a farm, and that she was not exactly fond of his career choice. (Though why she married the country boy in the first place, I’ll never know…how silly of her not to appreciate him!) What’s coolest about this assignment is that this blog is maintained by a girl who goes to another school…kinda neat to have a connection that way through ds106.

Here’s my remix of it. My changes are in bold. Talking about his day was the most fun for me, because all of those things he mentions are experiences I’ve had working for my riding coach on his farm!

She bit her bottom lip anxiously as she cast her gaze downwards, staring at the finger that hovered so precariously over the enter button of her computer. Finally her fingertip plunged downwards, sinking the key beneath the level of its brethren. The emotional force of her decision had physical consequences. Realizing what she had done sent an anxious shudder through her body. Her heartbeat seemed to hitch momentarily, but only briefly, before resuming at what felt like twice its normal speed. This was it.

/scene

The bedroom doorknob twisted, alerting Janet to John’s imminent entry. She casually shut her laptop and placed it on the nightstand beside the bed as she nestled into the covers on her side of the bed. She had heard his car in the driveway, so she had ample time to shut down everything before he got home. It was already 10:00pm, but it wasn’t unusual for John to work until midnight. The fact that he made it home while she was awake was a rare treat.

“Hey hon.” He smiled weakly as he stepped over the threshold and into the room. He tossed his beaten cowboy hat on the table and shrugged out of his worn Carhartt jacket. She watched as he flung his dirty boots in a corner, pushing down the irritation at seeing dirt clods go flying.

“How was work?” Janet inquired politely despite already knowing the answer. Judging by his expression, it hadn’t been a good day.

“Ugh. You know what I was telling you last week about Bob? Well, he just didn’t show up at all today. Then of course that damn tractor’s brakes still don’t work, so I accidentally pulled the door off the side of the barn, after which I spent a solid two hours just getting it back on. My real task for the day was putting up that fence, you know, but the ground is so hard from the lack of rain that the post-hole digger was useless…”

Janet had already stopped listening. She nodded and would occasionally interject with a comment that feigned her interest in the topic. She was quite good at it, actually. She had a slew of neutral inquiries at her disposal and had become an artist at parroting just the right phrases to fool him into thinking she was following the story. “Really?” She chimed in disbelief. “How did you manage that?” She would cock her head to the side as if analyzing his response. “The ground is really that hard?” She would echo.

This went on for about 10 minutes until he was finally undressed, down to his boxers, and joined her beneath the sheets. She smiled as he turned off the lights. She rolled over to face him and slipped her arms around his waist, pulling herself closer, despite the smell of sweat and grime. She couldn’t help but frown as she realized that she was nestled against his back; he was facing away from her again. “John?” She whispered softly in his ear.

“Hm? Yeah?” He murmured half interestedly.

“I was thinking tonight we could…” She trailed off. The suggestion was all too obvious.

“I’m tired honey. I just want to go to sleep.” He sighed and tried not to feel annoyed. It wasn’t her fault he was so tired. She had to understand that that; he had just explained his day to her after all. He felt her grip tense and then go slack as she withdrew her grasp and rolled over to her side of the bed. Instinctually he mumbled an apology. “Sorry.” He felt ridiculous for having to apologize for being tired after work, but he didn’t know what else to say. Her disappointment was tangible.

Janet knew that without having to turn around that he could read her emotions. “It’s okay. I understand.” She sighed lightly as she sat up in bed and scooped the laptop under her arm. “I’m just going to go unwind downstairs for a bit then. I wasn’t really tired, I was just hoping… Y’know…”

He finally rolled over, even though he couldn’t see her well in the darkness. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ll take a day off later in the week, alright? Just me and you.”

She smiled. “That sounds great.” If he had been able to see her face he would’ve seen how forced the expression was and the lingering disappointment in her eyes. However just forming her mouth into a smile changed the sound of her words, making it seem like she was more satisfied with his suggestion than he actually was. “Goodnight.” She chimed sweetly before taking her laptop and exiting the room.

/scene

It was already 1:00am. She couldn’t believe how long they had been up chatting. It was great catching up with Alex. They had gone to high school together but it was only recently they reconnected on Facebook, despite living only two towns away. And only in the past couple of weeks had things had started slowly crossing the line as conversations about memories and childhood dreams became conversations about “what ifs.” What started as harmless compliments quickly devolved into a Facebook thread of aggressive flirting. While not explicit, it was enough to make her feel guilty.

She glanced at the clock and it was 1:05am. She hadn’t yet responded to his message that he sent 5 minutes ago. He was asking her to meet him for a lunch at a local sushi restaurant later in the week. She had been there before and so she knew she liked the fare. She also knew that the restaurant was located inside of the Marriot Hotel. She had already typed an affirmative reply, but she hadn’t quite brought herself to send it yet. She knew things could only get stickier from here. She felt guilty fooling her honest hard-working husband, but their relationship just wasn’t the same. He was always exhausted after working at the farm all day, and he smelled of cows when he came home. Alex, though…he had a real job, one that made good money and didn’t keep him away long hours. He was always free to talk to her!

[repeat of last scene follows]

She bit her bottom lip anxiously as she cast her gaze downwards, staring at the finger that hovered so precariously over the enter button of her computer. Finally her fingertip plunged downwards, sinking the key beneath the level of its brethren. The emotional force of her decision had physical consequences. Realizing what she had done sent an anxious shudder through her body. Her heartbeat seemed to hitch momentarily, but only briefly, before resuming at what felt like twice its normal speed. This was it.