For three weeks, I participated in a writing challenge over at Frankie’s Wining Room with a focus on points of view. Last week’s challenge, hosted by Katie Rene Johnson, took a turn in a slightly different direction, and this week we follow up on that. Each piece in this series is intended to stand alone, but if you (like me) enjoy seeing the chronological progression of things in writing, I recommend you read excerpts in order. The What’s In A Name writing challenge begins in At Your Service, and the first in this series of directly linked excerpts can be found in Fractured Kaleidoscope. The entire series of writing challenges began in Illness, Achievements, and Challenges. Enjoy!

When he saw her next, she was joining him on the elevator at the thirty-seventh floor. Her freckled nose wrinkled as she stepped through the doors, a subtle reminder that he carried with him aromas from the construction site. Percy edged into the corner past a couple of suits and sniffed, nearly choking on the scent of aftershave. That should act as a bit of a barrier between his smell and her sensibilities.

Ding. Doors opened. Suits exited, doors closed, and the elevator continued its descent.

It was down to four of them now. A couple in T-shirts and blue jeans kinda wrapped up in each other. Percy. And…her.

She looked a little less distraught than when she’d darted away from the window upstairs, as if she’d worked off some of her nervous energy. Her short-cropped, reddish-blond hair showed faint signs of perspiration around the edges. Maybe she had taken the… Somebody cleared their throat. Oh, it was her.

Percy suddenly realized he had been staring, glanced away, but then back again. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I recognized you from that observation window up on the sixty-second floor.”

Her blue-green eyes widened slightly, and those rosy cheeks reddened just a little bit more. Ding. The eighteenth floor. The preoccupied, casually dressed couple floated out of the elevator.

“I just wanted to apologize for crowding you up there. I came directly from work, and didn’t have a chance to shower. I didn’t think my smell would affect anybody else.”

Some expression Percy couldn’t quite identify flashed through her eyes, and then she grinned. “It really isn’t that bad,” she said, “I just have a super-sensitive nose.”

Percy returned her grin with a shrug. “I kinda noticed.” Then they broke into laughter.

Ding. Ground floor. Stepping out into the lobby, they both headed toward the main door. Percy reached it first and held it open, his breath hitching for a moment as the sunlight snagged her hair and made it sparkle. Shiny.

“What did you say?”

Rats. Had he said that out loud?

“I like that show, too. I wish they hadn’t cancelled it.”

His insides leaped. “Show?” For the first time, he paid attention to the jacket she wore. Brown, with an odd-shaped pin on the lapel. “Seriously? You’re a browncoat?”

He was really beginning to like that smile. Before he could think any better of it, he shoved his hand toward her. “My name’s Percival Blake, but my friends call me Percy.”

“Nice to meet you, Percy.” She matter-of-factly shook his hand, “I’m Ingrid Jonsdotter.”

A passing vehicle blasted them with a whiff of diesel and her nose wrinkled. Percy hailed a taxi, held open the door, and chuckled. “We need to get you away from all this exhaust.” Then he moved around to the other side of the cab and climbed in.

A small smile played across Ingrid’s lips as the cab started moving. “Care to share a cab, Mister?”

Stunned, Percy searched for a suitable response but came up empty.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ingrid laughed, “A girl can only handle so many apologies in half an hour.” Silence. “You don’t even know where I’m going, do you?

Percy gave her a sheepish smile. “Where’re you headed?”

“Lamar.”

He whipped his head around. “In Colorado?” Coolidge was less than an hour from there, just over the border into Kansas. Recovering, he cocked his head and grinned. “It’s a little far to take a taxi, don’t you think?”

She looked at him as if he’d sprouted a second head, then turned to glance out her window. “Yes, in Colorado and no, I’m going to the airport. We’ll be searching for signs of Rhodochrosite in the area.”

That sounded familiar. Percy knew he really should be able to recognize it. “I can’t quite seem to remember what that is.”

The cab pulled into the departures lane. Ingrid opened the door, hopped out, and then leaned back inside; her hand tightly fisted as she reached toward him. With a mischievous smile, she said “I don’t care, I’m still free, but you can take this guy from me.” She placed in his palm something small, hard, jagged-yet-smooth, and ducked out.

Percy laughed as the taxi pulled away from the airport, and studied the object in his hand: a pretty red crystal that somehow reminded him of Ingrid. In a week’s time, he’d have wrapped up all his business in the city and be back in Coolidge, working on the farm. He could hardly wait until their next discussion.

I really hope you enjoyed that. I am certain some of you will understand a few gems that were hidden within this excerpt, but for those of you who don’t, there were some scattered references to an old TV show that has online information here and here (among other places).

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment or send me a message to give feedback. Check out the writing challenge for yourself if you are curious to see how different individuals have approached the same material, or if you would also like to participate.

Until the next time…