Sunday, December 7, 2008

Bitsy and Wilma

Were in Liverpool, both driving trucks for a local haulage company. The boss loved Bill like his own son, and had them on an easy route down to Suffolk. One of the stops was picturesque village, where Jack had fallen in love with a pretty florists daughter, named Elizabeth. He called her Bitsy. And she had hair like spun gold and the sweetest disposition any one had ever seen.

Bill's wife Wilma was pregnant. She was the light of his life.

He was thankful every day that Wilma agreed to leave the circus to be with him. He couldn't believe that someone as beautiful as she, the trick rider, dancing on the back of a herd of horses in her spangles and ribbons, wanted to be with him, but she did.

Most people run away to the circus when they want a new life, Wilma had run away from the circus. She said her da would hate that she wanted to be one of the regular people, and that was why she had to cut him out of her life. Just leave the circus behind for good, even though he saw her, looking wistfully at the posters on the walls, every time the circus came to town.

She said he was making it up, and all she really wanted was to live in a small town with him, have his baby, and be ordinary. The boss said he'd bankroll a truck depot down there in Suffolk, and put his best guys in charge.

Everything was starting to come together like a dream, until

8 comments:

Misssy M said...

Now we could have a wee geography problem here, Rowena. Liverpool is nowhere near Suffolk. Any chance we could move them out of Liverpool? The ferry from Dublin arrives in Liverpool- they don't have to stay there. It could cause difficulty.

Maybe someone coculd keep this mind for the next installment- or we could move them out of Liverpool in this post. But efectively to get an Irishman out of Liverpool to Suffolk he's going to have to have made some money, somehow.

(I don't want to be patronising here, and hope I'm not, but just thought our US contributors might need a little bit of a hand here)

Rowena said...

Where should I change it to? I was just going off of the previous mention of Liverpool, but I know nothing about British geography.

Ah. It arrives in Liverpool. But what would drag them into the little podunk town?

Give me a place to squat them, and I'll do it.

Kate Lord Brown said...

Well Bill ends up with a haulage co so we could say he gets tired of the circus, starts driving long distance and falls in love with a little coastal town he visits on one of his routes bringing loads from Liv docks? Jack's always hankered after a country pub/bar ... it could work?

Misssy M said...

Could they maybe win the pub in a card game or something?

(Then later fight over who really owns it...just a thought)

Twi Irish guys are going to struggle to find their feet. A few years of working at a haulage firm and then a chance windfall and off to Suffolk...?

Whatever, the two's friendship is heading for disaster, I think.

Rowena said...

I made some changes in regards to, not just geography, but also perhaps economic and class questions.

They're driving trucks, leaving a door open to buy out the owner of the haulage co, or perhaps be left it in a will. Or whatever.

They've gotten into suffolk without being rich or having anything but the opportunity to manage a haulage co for someone else.

And yeah, friendship heading south.

Oh, what will happen when Clive is born?

Kate Lord Brown said...

Clive ... it's all going so well isn't it, and then ...

Anonymous said...

Geography questions aside, I was just delighted that this post didn't add "The Flintstones" into the mix.

Rowena said...

Yes, she could have been Betty. I didn't even make that connection.