| Excerpt from: Start From the Beginning copyright by Chrissy Munder |
Apparently I’m not the only connoisseur of old black and white sci-fi movies. Now if only I
could get my cell ringtone to sound like a Triffid what a happy woman I would be.
Here's a snip from Start From the Beginning from the Size Still Matters.Anthology currently
available from the Dreamspinner Press .
~*~*~*~*~*
Summary: Miles is recovering from a heart attack but refuses to take his post-recovery
seriously enough for his friend and surgeon. So he’s sent to stay in a lakeside cottage next
to ex-cardiologist Drew.
Scarred from events in his past Drew has made a new life for himself in the quiet of the
lakeside village – one far away from the any reminders of his life before. Miles forces him to
confront himself and the ghosts of his past in a way he least expects.
~*~*~*~*~*
The two men were silent the first part of the drive as the scenery changed from rolling
coastline and heavy woods to open, flat fields. Miles finished his coffee, smirking slightly at
his victory in the small skirmish. Drew was amused as well; enjoying Miles's not so hidden
delight. It was a silly game, this battling between them over the littlest things but a fun one.
Drew didn't know which he enjoyed more, coming out the victor and watching Miles sulk (an
act he denied vehemently when Drew called him on it) or giving in and basking in the glow of
satisfaction that Miles would radiate for hours afterward.
As he looked over at the handsome blond beside him Drew couldn't believe how easily the
other man fit into his life. It was almost scary. Drew was sure a personality as obstinate and
abrasive as Miles could be would have left him crawling the walls and looking for a way out,
but that wasn't the case at all. For the first time in ages Drew felt…comfortable. There was
someone there for him to look after, and someone there looking out for him.
Harder to deal with were the nights. So many times Drew told himself he wasn't going to
enter Miles' room; he wasn't going to risk touching the other man as he slept or sit and
watch him just breathe. But he couldn't seem to help himself. Miles was a drug. The more
Drew interacted with him, the more he wanted.
"What's that in the fields?" Miles interrupted Drew's thoughts.
"Asparagus."
"Really?" Miles craned his neck to better look out the truck window at the waist high,
feathery growth in the field beside them. "Look's rather bare and spindly."
"Hard to see it from the road." Drew smiled. "We'll let you pick some fresh from the field and
you can make it for dinner tonight."
Miles shuddered. "Not a chance, mate. Triffids."
Drew waited a moment, slanting his hazel eyes in Miles's direction. He was getting used to
Miles's conversational tangents. Sometimes he thought Miles did this just to keep him
talking.
"Triffids." Drew kept his tone flat and matter-of-fact.
"Yeah, asparagus looks just like Triffids. Not a chance I'll ever eat one." Miles tried not to
smile as he looked back out the window and waited for Drew to grab the dangling bait.
"So are you going to tell me just what a Triffid is?" Drew put more exasperation than he was
feeling into his voice.
"You've never seen "Day of the Triffids"?" Miles asked in dismay. "Classic horror movie.
There's a meteor shower, see? Great special effects, shots of the meteors falling over Big
Ben and the like. And there's this military fella in a London hospital, he's been wounded and
his eyes are bandaged. Well, everyone who watches the meteor shower ends up blind, and
when he takes the bandages off he's the only one that can see."
"And this equals asparagus how?"
"The meteors are actually a way for these spores to travel to Earth."
"Spores?" Drew played along a little more.
"Yeah, you know, spores. So they grow into these plant-like creatures. Only they can walk
and they make this strange noise, kinda of a constant chatter. Scared the bejeezus out of me
as a lad."
"And?"
"They eat people. End of story. Man-eating Triffids terrorize the countryside. So, asparagus
looks like Triffids and I've never been able to eat `em."
Drew tried not to smile as he nodded his understanding. "Wouldn't you be scoring a victory
for us Earthlings if you would just eat the Triffid-resembling asparagus instead of waiting for
them to kill us?"
It was Miles' turn to slant green eyes in Drew's direction and he sniffed. "See if I'll protect
you when they rise up."
could get my cell ringtone to sound like a Triffid what a happy woman I would be.
Here's a snip from Start From the Beginning from the Size Still Matters.Anthology currently
available from the Dreamspinner Press .
~*~*~*~*~*
Summary: Miles is recovering from a heart attack but refuses to take his post-recovery
seriously enough for his friend and surgeon. So he’s sent to stay in a lakeside cottage next
to ex-cardiologist Drew.
Scarred from events in his past Drew has made a new life for himself in the quiet of the
lakeside village – one far away from the any reminders of his life before. Miles forces him to
confront himself and the ghosts of his past in a way he least expects.
~*~*~*~*~*
The two men were silent the first part of the drive as the scenery changed from rolling
coastline and heavy woods to open, flat fields. Miles finished his coffee, smirking slightly at
his victory in the small skirmish. Drew was amused as well; enjoying Miles's not so hidden
delight. It was a silly game, this battling between them over the littlest things but a fun one.
Drew didn't know which he enjoyed more, coming out the victor and watching Miles sulk (an
act he denied vehemently when Drew called him on it) or giving in and basking in the glow of
satisfaction that Miles would radiate for hours afterward.
As he looked over at the handsome blond beside him Drew couldn't believe how easily the
other man fit into his life. It was almost scary. Drew was sure a personality as obstinate and
abrasive as Miles could be would have left him crawling the walls and looking for a way out,
but that wasn't the case at all. For the first time in ages Drew felt…comfortable. There was
someone there for him to look after, and someone there looking out for him.
Harder to deal with were the nights. So many times Drew told himself he wasn't going to
enter Miles' room; he wasn't going to risk touching the other man as he slept or sit and
watch him just breathe. But he couldn't seem to help himself. Miles was a drug. The more
Drew interacted with him, the more he wanted.
"What's that in the fields?" Miles interrupted Drew's thoughts.
"Asparagus."
"Really?" Miles craned his neck to better look out the truck window at the waist high,
feathery growth in the field beside them. "Look's rather bare and spindly."
"Hard to see it from the road." Drew smiled. "We'll let you pick some fresh from the field and
you can make it for dinner tonight."
Miles shuddered. "Not a chance, mate. Triffids."
Drew waited a moment, slanting his hazel eyes in Miles's direction. He was getting used to
Miles's conversational tangents. Sometimes he thought Miles did this just to keep him
talking.
"Triffids." Drew kept his tone flat and matter-of-fact.
"Yeah, asparagus looks just like Triffids. Not a chance I'll ever eat one." Miles tried not to
smile as he looked back out the window and waited for Drew to grab the dangling bait.
"So are you going to tell me just what a Triffid is?" Drew put more exasperation than he was
feeling into his voice.
"You've never seen "Day of the Triffids"?" Miles asked in dismay. "Classic horror movie.
There's a meteor shower, see? Great special effects, shots of the meteors falling over Big
Ben and the like. And there's this military fella in a London hospital, he's been wounded and
his eyes are bandaged. Well, everyone who watches the meteor shower ends up blind, and
when he takes the bandages off he's the only one that can see."
"And this equals asparagus how?"
"The meteors are actually a way for these spores to travel to Earth."
"Spores?" Drew played along a little more.
"Yeah, you know, spores. So they grow into these plant-like creatures. Only they can walk
and they make this strange noise, kinda of a constant chatter. Scared the bejeezus out of me
as a lad."
"And?"
"They eat people. End of story. Man-eating Triffids terrorize the countryside. So, asparagus
looks like Triffids and I've never been able to eat `em."
Drew tried not to smile as he nodded his understanding. "Wouldn't you be scoring a victory
for us Earthlings if you would just eat the Triffid-resembling asparagus instead of waiting for
them to kill us?"
It was Miles' turn to slant green eyes in Drew's direction and he sniffed. "See if I'll protect
you when they rise up."
