ElainaP

Chapter 1 Rose The unexpected sound of lawnmowers and a thumping bass interrupted Rose and Jim’s Saturday morning romp. Rose rubbed her head against her bound arm attempting to remove her blindfold. Managing to wiggle it over her right eye, she peered at her husband. “Did you hire a landscaper and forget to tell me?” she asked. “I was just going to ask you the same thing.” They looked at each other for a nano-second until realization hit. “Shit! Your mother!” “Shit! My mother!” They said in unison as Jim shimmied off of Rose. “I’m going to stop her before she uses the key under the mat,” Jim said. Rose twisted against the ropes binding her to the bed. “Untie me,” she demanded as she pulled, wrenching her arms back and forth while Jim searched the floor for his boxers. “Jim! You know she’s going to show up any second! Get these ropes off of me!” Rose’s voice rose in panic until “me” came out as a high-pitched squeal. “I’m trying to find my boxers so I can answer the damn door! If I can get rid of her, we can go back to playing!” And with that, the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of Maggie. All movement stopped as the first few measures of “Ode to Joy” rang throughout the house. Rose and Jim stared at each other, suspended in the time before the storm. The ensuing knock propelled them into action. Having given up the search for his discarded boxers, Jim opened his dresser drawer for a fresh pair. He hopped on one foot as he tried to stuff his foot into the leg slot, but his toe kept getting caught in the fly. He gave up and flopped on the bed and angled himself so he could thrust both feet in at the same time. While Jim struggled with his boxers, Rose continued to struggle against the ropes, flopping her body and yanking her arms in a futile attempt to loosen the knots. Jim became distracted by Rose’s bouncing and couldn’t resist leaning over to tweak a nipple. “Argh!” Rose screamed as she used her feet to thrust Jim off the bed. He waggled his eyebrows at his wife from his new perch on the floor and grinned at her, seemingly unfazed by the pounding at the door. “You better be nice, or I’ll leave the bedroom door open,” he taunted. “You wouldn’t,” Rose’s voice tended to climb a few octaves when she was pushed too far. The doorbell rang again, and Rose and Jim could hear Maggie calling over the sound of the landscapers, “Yoo hoo! Rose! Wake up, darling!” Rose’s eyes turned into slits as Jim stood up and leaned over her, kissing her nose. “You said you wanted me to be in charge. How’s it feel to be at my mercy?” he teased. Rose’s eyes squinted even further. She could hear her mother pounding on the door. “I kind of like you this way,” he whispered. “Wild, breathing hard,” he stopped to kiss her again, “chest heaving,” he glanced down and gave her an appreciative wink. Rose couldn’t help it; she giggled. “Go! Get the door before she breaks it down, and then please, oh masterful one,” she couldn’t resist an eye roll at her overplayed words, “please come back and have your way with me.” She waggled her eyebrows back up at Jim and puckered her lips, offering a kiss. Jim kissed her, grabbed his robe, and headed out the bedroom door, closing it behind him. Rose lay back on the bed, grinning like an idiot. She was bound, helpless, and head over heels in love with her husband. Rose sighed, snuggled deeper into the sheets, and listened while Jim greeted her mother and then tried to dissuade her from coming into the bedroom and seeing if she was feeling okay. “What was her mother’s deal?” Rose thought. She constantly intruded in their lives, taking over projects and pushing her standards onto them. Rose stiffened as the voices came closer to the bedroom door. She listened intently, hoping Jim could stop her mother before she got to the door, but her mother’s voice grew closer. “Are you sure she’s okay? Rose has never been one to sleep in. Maybe I should just go in and peek, make sure she’s not running a fever.” Rose almost called out that she was fine but realized she was supposed to be sleeping. She looked down at herself to see if she could cover herself up. The sheet was at the foot of the bed. She wiggled as far down as her bound wrists would let her, stretched out her foot, and tried to grab the sheet with her toes. She could hear Jim talking with her mom as her toes snagged the sheet. “She’s had a rough week, been preparing for that big case, and just needs some sleep. I’d rather not bother her. Hey, do I smell your famous homemade cinnamon rolls? Are they still warm?” Rose could hear Maggie murmuring something to Jim, and their voices seemed to move away from the bedroom. Rose sighed in relief and continued lifting the sheet higher with her toes. When it got up as high as she could get it without getting a muscle cramp, Rose let the sheet go and then turned her body diagonally, angling her leg under the sheet and getting more leverage. When she was finally in a pike position, Rose gripped the sheet with her toes and lifted it to her outstretched fingertips. It took three attempts, but Rose could finally grab the sheet with her hand, angle herself back into position, and drop the sheet over her naked body. A thin sheen of sweat had built up on Rose’s upper lip, and she turned her head to try and wipe it on the pillow. She lay back and waited, trying to ignore the tickling sensation the sweat created on her upper lip. She kept trying to wipe it on her shoulder but couldn’t quite reach with her arm still bound. She lay back again. She could hear Jim and Maggie faintly in the kitchen and wondered how long she would have to wait for her mother to leave. She sat and watched the clock as the second hand ticked each and every second. Rose’s lip itched. She had to go to the bathroom. Her arms were going numb, and the second hand’s tick seemed amplified. “JIM! Could you come here, please?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Rose cursed herself. “Damn it! Now I’ve gone and done it! I couldn’t have waited five more minutes for him to figure out how to get back here. Damn, damn, damn!” Rose could hear Jim approaching. “Coming, honey!” Jim called. Rose could still hear him talking to her mother, “No, really, Maggie! Just stay and finish your rolls. Maggie, she called me. Maggie, I’m sure she’s fine. Maggie!” Rose could hear the scurry of rushed footsteps approaching her door and closed her eyes. She did not want to see her mother’s reaction when the door opened. There was a scuffling sound at the door, and the door creaked open. Rose couldn’t resist. She peeked open one eye to see who was coming through the door, relieved to see it was Jim. He squeezed his body through an opening only big enough for his body. Behind him, she could see her mother jumping up and down, trying to look in. “Hi, Mom!” Rose called out as Jim closed the door. “Lock it!” she hissed once it was shut. “My arms are numb; I have to pee, and my lip itches! Hurry up and get me out of this!” Jim hurried to the bed and started working on the knots. “All of your twisting and pulling made these knots so tight. I can’t get them undone.” “That’s not funny, Jim” “I’m not trying to be funny. I really can’t get them undone.” Jim sat on the bed and looked down at Rose. “Where are the scissors?” Rose glared at Jim, “They’re in the kitchen. With. My. Mother.” “Crap! Let me think.” Jim pursed his lips in thought. “I got it!” Jim bounced off the bed, raced into the adjoining bathroom, and came out with toenail clippers. “Are you kidding me? We’ll be here forever. My mother will never sit and wait that long.” “Do you have any other suggestions?” Jim’s irritation silenced Rose, and he began hacking away at the rope with the toenail clippers. Rose lay fuming. The sound of the lawn mower passing by her window irked her even more. “What gives her the right to get us a landscaping service? How does she know we even want one? So, we’d rather fuck than do the yard work every week; it’s not as if the neighbors are complaining. And who sends landscapers over so early in the morning?” Jim freed her right wrist as she fired off her questions. “What gives her the right to do any of the things she does? However, we don’t get around to the yard work; it’s a nice gesture. She paid for the first month, and if we are happy with the service, we can continue paying. We have so many other priorities; it’s a nice gesture.” Jim tried to soothe Rose as he continued to hack away at the rope on her left wrist. “You’re just saying that because now your afternoon is free.” “OUR afternoon is free. Let’s go do something fun.” “Did you forget we have the memorial dinner tonight?” Rose asked. Jim’s shoulders sagged with the reminder. “Rose dear? Are you feeling alright?” Maggie’s mother knocked on the bedroom door and started to turn the doorknob. “MOM! I’m fine! I’m naked! I’ll be right out!” Rose glared at Jim nodding her head towards her wrist, motioning for him to hurry up. “I gave birth to you! I’ve seen you naked before!” Maggie said as she realized the door was locked. “Mom! Really? I’m in my bedroom naked with my husband. Could you give us a moment?” Silence greeted this statement, and then the sound of receding footsteps followed by Maggie’s voice. “Sorry for intruding, dear! You love birds have fun! I’ll see you tonight. Don’t be late!” she called out. The resounding click of the front door announced the stress level it trapped inside. “When does school start?” Jim asked. “Not for another four weeks. Summer school ended Friday, and she has four weeks to drive us all insane before school starts again for the year.” “I don’t think I can do it again,” Jim finished snipping through the rope with this announcement. “I don’t think I can referee the two of you, and your brother, for the next four weeks.” Rose sat up and kissed Jim’s forehead. “I don’t have any suggestions. She joined the knitting club and a few book clubs and is involved with that charity organization. I don’t know how she finds the time to make us all miserable, but she does.” “You know what she needs,” Jim said. “Yeah, she needs to get a life and get out of ours!” “That’s one answer,” Jim replied, kissing Rose’s wrists. “Damn, you’re going to have some bruises.”

Elaina Portugal Assignment One: Story Statement: Maggie, a middle aged widow, tries to avoid her grief by meddling in her adult children's lives as well as the lives of others and stumbles upon crimes that can only be solved by more meddling Assignment Two: Antagonistic Force: Maggie's grief is the antagonistic force. She invades her children's and best friend's privacy and demands they live their lives within parameters she deems safe, all in her efforts to keep them out of harms way. While many of her antics are humorous to the reader, her children and best friend become suffocated by her intrusiveness. As Maggie grapples with her grief and the boundaries her children and friend set, the other antagonist is introduced. This is the coyote who smuggled women and children in over the border and now have them trapped in a sex trafficking ring. Maggie rented a storage facility for her deceased husband's belongings when she noticed children playing at an end unit. She recognizes one of them as a former student and when she goes to investigate, the coyote blocks her attempts and threatens her. Maggie switchers her attention away from her grief and onto helping these women and children escape their captor while trying to make sure they do not get deported. Assignment Three: Titles: My goal is to make this into a series. I think having "Maggie" in the title of each book could be an identifier. However, I am not married to the idea. #1: Maggie and the Sex Ring #2: Oh, Maggie! #3 Meddling Maggie and the Storage Unit Assignment Four: Genre and Comparable Novels: Genre: Contemporary Women's fiction, suspense, humor, crime. Comparable titles: The Meddler: A movie with Susan Sarandon. She is a grieving widow who insinuates her way into her daughter's life, causing humorous situations for the viewer, but her antics push her daughter away. The Body Movers Series by Stephanie Bond - Carlotta Wren, the main character in this series is trying to manage her life after her parents abandon her, leaving her to raise her younger brother. Through their job moonlighting as body movers for the morgue, they solve mysteries. One For the Money by Janet Evanovich: In the first book of the Stephanie Plum series, the themes re a bit more serious, the emotions a bit more tense, but yet there is still humor throughout. I wouldn't consider the rest of the series as comparable. Assignment Five: Hook line: When Maggie loses her husband in the throes of anniversary sex, she must learn to overcome her grief and stop meddling in her children's lives in the guise of keeping them safe. Through her antics, she stumbles onto a sex trafficking ring that forces her to face her grief head-on. Assignment Six: Inner Conflict: Maggie's inner conflict is her inability to let go of her deceased husband. She smells his clothes in the closet and squirts his cologne on his side of the bed. She meddles in her kids' lives because she is afraid of losing someone else. Her concerns become obsessive and impact her children's personal and professional lives. The first chapter opens up with Maggie's daughter Rose and her husband Jim, having their Saturday morning romp. They hear lawnmowers outside their window and realize that Maggie must have hired a landscaping service since she's done similar things. They also realize that Maggie would be over at any moment, even though it was only 8:00 on a Saturday morning. Rose had on a blindfold and was tied to the bed, and her husband couldn't get her untied before Maggie rang the doorbell. Jim scrambles to get the door because Maggie knows where the spare key is and has used it before. Rose, trapped in her room and tied to the bed, prays her mother will not barge into her room to check on her. Jim convinced Maggie to leave, but not before Rose struggle against the ropes and gave herself bruises. That night, at the fourth annual memorial dinner of her husband's death, Maggie notices the bruises on Rose's wrists and when she finds out what they're from, she demands that Rose and Jim stop having "that kind of sex" and reprimands Rose telling her she did not raise "that kind of daughter." Second Conflict: Trying to get back into her children's good graces, Maggie lies to them and tells them she donated her husband's belongs to charity. However, she rented a storage unit for them instead and visits them every day. Her nosey and meddling ways pay off when she stumbles onto a sex trafficking ring at the end unit. She installs cameras on the garages across from the unit housing the women and children. She is confronted by the coyote a few times and he threatens her to back off. She works with her best friend, Tay, and tries to devise a way to get the women free and keep them from being deported. Her efforts compromise everyone's safety. Assignment 7: Setting: The setting is in Western North Carolina in a town 15 miles southeast of Asheville. This mountain town has a vibrant apple orchard economic system and is home to many legal and illegal migrant workers. This setting is imperative to the sex-trafficking sub-plot because it is easy to hide these women and children in broad daylight. The storage unit is an important part of the setting. It is located in a valley and the flat land gives Maggie a reasonable excuse for getting in her steps for the day on some flat land. Another important piece of setting is the health club that Johnny frequents. It is there that the reader understands not only how her husband died, but also how she intrudes on her children's lives in embarrassing and humiliating ways, without meaning intent. The health club is also the place where Johnny begins a relationship with a detective who is integral in breaking up the sex trafficking ring. The other important piece of setting is the therapist's office where Rose brings Maggie to get help for her obsessiveness and grief. It is in this space that Maggie begins to confront and work through her grief and the impact it is having on the lives of those around her.