by Jo Sparkes
She wavered, wanting to hash it out now. Needing to hash it out once and for all. But perhaps Wall was right.
“What - exactly - did you see?” he asked. Her mind, she realized, had been shying away from that question. Because she’d seen flickers of her own nightmares, old scary images merging with new ones.
Dear God, what had she seen?
“I saw Melanie…possessed by some thing left over from that galleon.”
She heard the tremor in her voice. She sat down again, somehow ending up too close to Wall.
But he didn’t seem to mind.
Grabbing the book, she opened it haphazardly, finger stabbing a passage. Truth is not absolute; it differs by point of view.
Now that made no sense. “Jon’s random opening of books doesn’t always work,” she sighed. Wall’s arm went around her comfortingly.
Too comforting. They were very different people, very different backgrounds. He’d even come here with a tall blonde.
A tall dead blonde.
Jill shifted to stand up, to get away from him before it was too late. His arm merely tightened.
“Wall, you don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?”
“It was just…events. We were thrown together, heat of the moment. I understand.”
He grasped her chin, turning her so he could study her eyes. “Just sex?”
Her nod of agreement died because a different answer shone in his eyes.
He kissed her, probably to shut her up. Her lips parted to tell him so, which he took as an invitation. And everything shifted.
They clung to each other, two souls having weathered a storm, having found safe harbor. Jill’s mind still roiled with doubt, with fears of her world changing.
But her body simply surrendered.
She was too young, too foolish. Too bloody American. Yet somehow, kissing her, he felt better.
Much better.
Love, so he’d heard, wasn’t anything like the stories promised. It was far messier, complicated, inexplicable. It defied logic. It thrived in family bonds, friendship ties. It lived in shared moments, however brief, with fellow human beings. And was reborn in the recognition for a woman, a fellow traveler, who somehow filled the gaps in your soul.
Best not to over-think it.
Thank Yous
Thank You
To Janet Tapper, an editor and a friend.
To Matt Davies, for a beautiful cover.
To Tracy Peterson, for her sharp proof editing.
To Sarah Levison, for her diving expertise.
To Reilly Levison, for his stories.
To Ian & Steve & Ian, for a glimpse of all things British.
To my Ian, for making me love of all things British.
And to you – for reading this book. May all your endings be happy.
About the Author
Jo Sparkes, a well-known Century City Producer once said, “…writes some of the best dialogue I’ve read.”
Jo graduated from Washington College, a small liberal arts college famous for its creative writing program, and went on to study with Robert Powell: a student of renowned teachers Lew Hunter and Richard Walter, head of UCLA’s Screenwriting Program.
She’s won a Kay Snow for her comedy script, ‘Frank Retrieval’, a Silver IPPY for ‘The Birr Elixir’, and BRAG Medallions for multiple books. A member of the Pro Football Writers Association, she was (unofficially) the first to interview Emmitt Smith when he came to the Arizona Cardinals.
Jo served as an adjunct teacher at the Film School at Scottsdale Community College, and even made a video of her most beloved lecture.
Her book for writers and artists, “Feedback How to Give It How to Get It” has garnered strong praise.
When not diligently perfecting her craft, Jo can be found exploring her new home of Portland, Oregon, with her husband Ian, and their dog Oscar.
Copyright © 2019 by Jo Sparkes
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form, by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, to businesses, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Wake of the Sadico - Jo Sparkes
ISBN 978-0-9853318-9-4
