This is the third of five entries for the Some Kind of Character contest. You could probably get by without reading the others, because I need a review for this one (really bad). Is it enough characterization? I feel now I'm just writing a story.
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Word 50: Wood
Peter- 1935
Peter Ainsworth was the man that no one could ever want. It had been that way all his life. He thought he should’ve been used to it after so many years. But he could pretend just as well that he was used to it.
It had taken him half of his life to become what he had. He was a reasonably successful man. The mediocrity that was accepted in the world hadn’t been so hard to achieve. He was the only carpenter in the small town he lived in and he even came close to being wanted there. Everyone was quite thankful for the simple repairs on homes and respected him. And he loved his job. He loved the roughness of wood and the earthy smell. It seemed as though he could always count on it when he got lonely or bitter.
It had taken him the rest of his life to find that woman again. That woman who had made him feel more wanted than he had ever thought was possible. But it hadn’t been possible all along, and he should’ve known it. He should have known that she would one day realize how foolish she had been to waste her life on someone like him.
He knew it was brainless of him to seek her. What more could she have to do with him after all those years? But part of him wanted her to see how far he had come, how happy she might’ve been. Part of him still loved her more than anything else he’d ever known.
And there he was. In the same busy town that Georgiana lived in. He was standing in front of her lovely home with a vibrant garden in the front. All those tulips. He was dressed quite nicely and his dark hair was combed back. One might have even dared to call him handsome.
He stood there until it was dark, safely out of view. He watched Georgiana through the window and sometimes in the garden. Her beauty had increased, even as she grew ever closer to her elderly years. A small girl around the age of five came home from school in the afternoon. That’s when his day-dreaming about Georgiana ended and he finally realized she was someone else’s. His thoughts turned incredibly acidic as he watched a jolly, whistling man enter the home and be embraced heartily by his wife and daughter.
He stayed out there all night. When the sun had risen and the child and the husband were gone, we walked up to the doorway, plastering a chipper smile on his face.
She opened her door with such a wide smile. “Hello, there!” she said. Then her eyes narrowed for a moment, scrutinizing his face. “Wait a moment… Peter? Peter Ainsworth?”
He was grimly amused that she could recognize him. “That’s me,” he said with a low chuckle. No one could have ever noticed the resentment that darted through his eyes for one quick moment.
“Oh, Peter,” she breathed. Her lip trembled and her eyes almost filled with tears. “I… oh, please come in and sit down. Have you eaten at all? What can I make for you?”
He passed by her and observed the house. “My, what a nice home you have!” he said, whistling and throwing her a grin.
She feigned a smile and gestured at a chair. “Thank you. Are you sure you don’t want anything?”
He sat and gave her a very pleasant and polite “no thanks”. She sat down on the chair opposite each other.
“So, Peter,” Georgiana said, looking down at her wedding ring sadly. “How has your life been all these years?”
“Oh, it’s wonderful! I’ve got a wife and a family and plenty of money to live on! I was here on business and then I heard some people talking of the lovely Mrs. Georgiana Parson. I found out quickly it was the Georgiana of my teenage years. I thought I might as well come and visit you while we’re in the same town.”
She raised her hand to her mouth and bit on a knuckle for a brief moment before pinning it to her lap. “How very thoughtful of you, Peter!” There was a very long pause. “Peter, I…. I feel I should explain to you why….”
“No need,” he said with a cool smile, rising. “Actually, I am feeling a little hungry now. If it isn’t a problem, would you mind?”
She stood immediately. “Not at all! What would you like?”
He turned his head and a slow smirk stretched across his teeth. “Anything would be fine.”
