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ahouseoflies · 5 years ago

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The Best Films of 2019, Part I

On one hand, I fear the direction of American cinema, and I feel more personally distracted from great art with each passing day. On the other hand, my viewing was up 5% from last year despite my belief that I’ve gotten choosier. I even approve of most of the films nominated for Best Picture. Are the offerings just top-heavy this year? Are my standards declining? Answering questions like those is part of why I present a paragraph or two on everything I see each year, though I can’t even imagine someone sitting down and reading all of this.

Full disclosure: I haven’t seen Just Mercy, Monos, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Good Boys, Frankie, For Sama, or An Elephant Sitting Still. The tiers, as always, are Garbage, Admirable Failures, Endearing Curiosities with Big Flaws, Pretty Good Movies, Good Movies, Great Movies, and Instant Classics. GARBAGE

129. Cold Pursuit (Hans Petter Moland)- A film professor of mine showed us Wings of Desire and City of Angels, its American remake, in order to show us how a film can technically cover a story while losing the essence that made it special. I can only hope that Hans Petter Moland's Norwegian original is better than his stab at an English language remake, which fails completely at balancing violence and comedy. The movie almost announces its own boredom with the protagonist as it shifts focus first to the villain and then to cops on the case, all of whom have artificial quirks to try to give them life where there isn't any. The Neeson character's journey toward revenge is empty, so the film drifts from him, but it doesn't have anything to say with the other characters either. 128. Domino (Brian De Palma)- Seeking revenge, a Libyan informant roughs up a potential terrorist by throwing him over a restaurant bar. Cut to two cops driving wordlessly. Cut to the Libyan guy dunking the other guy's head in boiling soup. That interruption spells out what the rest of the film does: De Palma could not be less interested in his replacement-level actor's shoddy policework, especially in the self-parody of the last twenty minutes. Any intensity the movie has comes from terrorists (or Guy Pearce over-salting a salad), and then the police drain the momentum. Just make a movie about terrorists, Brian! And, as I've urged you for years, get rid of Pino Donaggio. 127. Beach Bum (Harmony Korine)- Moondog, the spacey, Floridian hedonist poet at the center of the film, is supposed to be "brilliant" and "a good guy" at heart according to his daughter. But at the daughter's wedding, he shakes the hand of her fiance, whom he usually calls "limp-dick," and he says, "What's your name again?" The line got a laugh in my theater, but is it likely that he didn't know the name of his daughter's fiance? Especially if he's a good guy who doesn't hurt people on purpose? It's one example out of a thousand of Harmony Korine making the goofy decision instead of the one that would benefit character or story. I thought that Korine had taken a turn for the lucid with Spring Breakers, but he just isn't interested in making anything consistent enough for me. There's an hour of consequence-free episodes to follow, though I did cherish Jonah Hill's three improvised scenes, for which he tries a sort of Tennessee Williams voice. You can admire how audacious some of the choices are--describing Zac Efron wearing Jncos makes the film sound more fun than it is--but looking at the poster gives you about 70% of what you would get out of the long ninety-five minutes. Yes, McConaughey's shoes are funny, but what else have you got? 126. Fyre Fraud (Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nelson)- Half as good as the Netflix one. Please, by all means, explain to me what a millenial is again. 125. The Kitchen (Andrea Berloff)- One of my mentors stressed that Shakespeare worked in "cultural touchstones," truisms that weren't difficult to prove but served as a sandbox for all of the juicy stuff. So we all know that, say, too much ambition is a bad thing, but having that North Star at all times allows Shakespeare to ply his trade with character development and imagery and symbol. I know that The Kitchen isn't funny or cool or original, but it also doesn't really have an emotional or thematic core. It's a movie with neither the window dressing nor the window. I don't know what I'm getting at, but I watched the last five minutes twice to make sure that it actually was as anti-climactic and inert as I thought.

124. Climax (Gaspar Noe)- Ah, to be a provocateur who has made his best work already and took all of the wrong lessons from it. I don't envy Noe, who insists on formal rigor even when it adds nothing, who goes to greater, more desperate lengths to shock. A third of this film, embedded somewhere between the three openings, is gross young people talking, lewdly and clinically, about whom they want to bone. I thought I started watching French art movies to get away from locker rooms. 123. The Best of Enemies (Robin Bissell)- The supporting cast of Anne Heche, Wes Bentley, and John Gallagher Jr. avail themselves better than the finger-wagging, scenery-chewing leads, but that hardly matters in a movie this fundamentally broken. Apparently no one saw the problem with making a Ku Klux Klan president the dynamic hero of a school integration that he fought against, but that's how the story functions. He's the guy who casts the deciding vote and gives the speech at the end, but it's a bit anti-climactic for an audience that assumes, yeah, the White race is not morally superior to any other race. Congratulations on your realization, buddy. Long before that, Sam Rockwell’s character is inconsistent. Neither the Rockwell performance nor the Robin Bissell script can thread the needle between showing the heinous terrorist that a Klan member is and revealing the depth that foreshadows the character's change. The answer is to show the character being nice to his developmentally disabled son, which, again, doesn't get all the way there. That's cool that you love your own son, but, uh, that has nothing to do with the hatred that made you shoot up a girl's house because she has a Black boyfriend. Of course you can show these contradictions and changes in a character incrementally--lots of good movies have--but this one ain't going on the list. 122. The Intruder (Deon Taylor)- Probably the most two-star movie of the year. Prototypical in its two-starness. Instructive to me as far as what I give two stars. There’s a point of view error in the first twenty minutes that ruined it for me. ADMIRABLE FAILURES 121. Little (Tina Gordon Chism)- We're all good on body swap movies for a while. This one, otherwise undistinguished in its comedy or storytelling, is notable for just how specifically 2019 it might look in a time capsule: Here's a joke about transitioning as we're on our way to our job developing apps; there's a kid doing The Floss and talking to Alexa. Whoops! Bumped into a guy wearing a VR headset! 120. The Kid Who Would Be King (Joe Cornish)- I appreciate that somebody is still making movies for 9-10 year old boys, but I checked out hard and kind of just left this on until it was done. I don't like lore. Much less funny and urgent than Attack the Block, and it's crazy that this is the only project that came together for Joe Cornish in the intervening eight years. 119. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Michael Dougherty)- Exhausting and joyless in its large-scale destruction, Godzilla: King of the Monsters pitches everything at the same volume, and even the end of the world ends up not mattering as a result. Despite (or maybe because of) the presence of such great actors, the screenplay dilutes the characters by having three fighter pilots or three scientists when all the lines really could have been given to one of these interchangeable figures. That's first draft stuff, homie. Still, Kyle Chandler is kind of awesome as the weathered one shouting about how everyone else is playing God. He reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald toiling away with professionalism on teams that would never sniff the playoffs. 118. Blinded by the Light (Gurinder Chadha)- I made it about twenty minutes into this movie before flipping the switch and making fun of it relentlessly. It tries to strike the heart-on-sleeve authenticity that a Springsteen song does, but if The Boss never overwhelms you with language, almost every line of dialogue in this film spells out what the character is thinking. The overbearing father is especially intolerable: "What is this music? You need to get rid of distractions and focus on getting a good job so that you don't end up a taxi driver. Like me!" I'm only sort of paraphrasing. Blinded by the Light is too well-meaning to be offensive, but it's absurd in its spoon-feeding. LMK, ladies: On the third time that I have headphones in my ears during a conversation with you, and I start buttering you up with lyrics to "Jungleland," will you still love me? 117. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (David Leitch)- What a summer, huh? The go-for-broke final setpiece redeems the film somewhat, and Vanessa Kirby is a welcome addition to the universe. But Idris Elba's first line, responding to a question about who he is, is "Bad Guy," and the characterization doesn't go too much further. I feel as if I have honed the requisite disposition to enjoy a Fast and Furious movie, but that doesn't mean that the most cliched thing has to happen at the most cliched time in the most cliched way.

116. I Lost My Body (Jeremy Clapin)- Not for me ultimately. The film presents itself as above the tropes of cinematic romance but sure seems to circle around them. Clapin is willing to set up the pins of, say, "I'm actually the pizza delivery guy but have kept it a secret for a year," but he is unwilling to knock the pins down with anything resembling catharsis. I don't know if the French bowl, but feel free to substitute whatever kind of metaphor they might get offended by.

115. The Lion King (Jon Favreau)- I saw the original Lion King when I was ten: old enough to think that Disney movies were beneath me but young enough to know nothing about art or the world. And I remember the way that the songs transcended reality: "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" turning into a Busby Berkeley number, "Be Prepared" taking on an expressionist green tint. It was mass entertainment that was far from experimental, but I remember thinking, "Can you do that?" As an artistic experiment, this remake is kind of confounding, to the point that I don't know whether to classify it as an animated or live-action film. The final scene starts upside down, and your eye adjusts to the idea that you're looking at a reflection in a stream, but that stream is a Caleb Deschanel-aided, computer-generated reflection of a reality. However, I return to my original point: You're missing something if you think The Lion King is a better story if it's more realistic. Capably made as The Lion King 2019 is, no one is referencing 42nd Street. These Disney remakes just reference themselves. 114. Stuber (Michael Dowse)- The critical community has been pretty forgiving of Stuber; I guess because it's a type of studio film that used to be common but now is not. Judged on its own merits, however, it's labored. The screenplay circles around questions of masculinity, but not in a way that hasn't been done better in other recent comedies. Perhaps most disappointing of all, I've seen Iko Uwais and Bautista fight before, and it looked a whole lot cooler than the way they're sliced and diced here. The ending's sweet at least. 113. After the Wedding (Bart Freundlich)- Think of what Julianne Moore could have accomplished in the time it took in her career for her to shoot four crappy movies with her husband. This is the type of melodrama that makes more sense after all of the revelations have cleared the air, but that doesn't mean the preceding hour and a half was any more fun because of the aftermath. 112. The Goldfinch (John Crowley)- One day someone's going to figure out how to coherently adapt a Dickensian novel and actually do that thing Crowley is trying to do: condensing two hundred pages of back story into 1/8th of a page here or a line there. Somebody's going to be able to figure out the little moments that are important and the big moments that aren't. And you'll all be sorry. The movie is ultimately hampered by the bad ending of the novel, in which a person who isn't a mystery writer has to solve a mystery. Perfect casting for Luke Wilson though. He definitely looks like a whiskey-faced dad who would steal your social security number. 111. The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg)- This movie is autobiographical. The protagonist has the same initials as Joanna Hogg, and she's attending film school at the same time Hogg did. But what a self-own it is for your hero, based on you, to be this inexpressive and restrained and deferential. The film is mostly about a cold romantic relationship--and I guess what the character learns through that experience--but when her beau's friend asks what she sees in him, she can't really say. Neither can the audience. I guess it's a skill to write a scene in which a family is having an argument that is so clenched-jaw reticent that the viewer can't even discern the topic of conversation for a few minutes, but it's not a skill I appreciate. 110. The Dead Don’t Die (Jim Jarmusch)- Jim Jarmusch must be a very good friend.

109. Velvet Buzzsaw (Dan Gilroy)- If the film were funny, I wouldn't mind the lack of narrative drive. If the film had narrative drive, I wouldn't mind the lack of atmosphere--glaring for a film that circles around to horror eventually. If the film had more to say, I wouldn't mind how pedantically it says it. If the protagonist's change of heart made sense, then I wouldn't mind that his conversion apparently happens off-screen. At least most of the actors seem to be having fun. I wasn't. 108. It: Chapter Two (Andy Muschietti)- I started squirming in my seat during a sequence somewhere in the circuitous second hour. Bill sees his old bike in an antiques window, haggles with a Stephen King shopkeeper cameo, and finishes the scene on a triumphant note, believing that his old bike will ride like the wind. Cut to the bike falling apart on the road, deflating his pride with comedy. Cut to a flashback of him riding the bike with young Beverly, serene and warm. Cut to him riding the bike again with determination until he stops, terrified. Within fifteen seconds, the film jerks us into four divergent emotions at a whim. The overall tone felt just as arbitrary to me, and that's before we get to the always-unclear line between fantasy and reality. And this time, the flashbacks of each young character's encounters with Pennywise are less scary because we know they all live into the present. Andy Muschietti just does not have a light enough touch to make this movie work.The last forty-five minutes are interminable. But I had all the same gripes with the first chapter, so personal taste is a factor. 107. Trial by Fire (Edward Zwick)- Perfect example of a true story that could use some poetic justice. I don't want to give away anything that the first line of the imdb summary doesn't already, but this ending could have been much more satisfying by changing one or two lines. This is a movie that recreates, multiple times, babies burning alive, but the ending is somehow more punishing. It's also one of those films that should have just begun at the halfway point. If we can praise special effects when they're done well, then they should be fair game when they're this embarrassing. Zwick definitely put his flash drive into the Lifetime computers for fire.exe.

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reedusdixonfictionaddiction · 8 years ago

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The Summer in Georgia

Chapter 43. A Georgia Peach "Ya’ ever been to the flea market?” Daryl asked, as he was getting out of bed. They’d spent the night at Rick’s, Isabella had a ton of laundry to do. Hers, Rick’s and Daryl threw his in too. “No, but I’ve always wanted to go to one. Why, is there one here?” Isabella asked. Daryl was looking around for his underwear. “Yeah, there is. It’s pretty cool. Anyway, ya’ wanna’ go today? I need socks.” He laughed. He finally found his Calvin Klein’s and put them on. “Yes, yes, yes! I can get some earrings, since these stainless ones come out next week. Do you think they have real silver?” She asked, while getting out of bed, she put on Daryl’s sleeveless shirt and started to make the bed. “Course! They got everything and the best part is the food. There’s a big metal hanger, type thing and inside they got all different kinds of food. Meat, pizza, Chinese, Indian, shrimp, they got it all and they got desserts like ya’ wouldn’t believe. Like French and Italian stuff. Hell, I like walkin’ around, but the food is definitely the best part.” “That sounds like Quincy Market. It’s a big building down near the harbor in Boston and they have every type of food there too. I’ve always wanted to go, but you know, it’s in Boston. But this sounds exactly like it. I’ll bet they have a lot of southern dishes there too, huh?” Isabella said, as she finished making up the bed. “Yeah, they got everything. Lot’s a peach pies and peach cobbler and peach preserves and peach this and peach that. Lot’s a peach shit.” Daryl said, matter of factly. “I like ya’ in my shirt, ya’ look sexy.” He said, grabbing her and pulling her to him. He kissed her, then told her he was going to take a shower and asked her to join him. He figured it would be safe, since they just made love. Daryl’s reboot time was impressive, but there was no way he could rise to the occasion again in just 10 minutes. Isabella followed him into her bathroom, she had a stand-alone shower with glass doors and it was just big enough for two. She loved the shower head, when Rick had the house built, he put over head shower heads in all the showers. So, the water came from above. It was perfect, because both of them could be in the water at the same time and no one got cold. It was only the second time, but Daryl had already concluded that he loved taking showers with Isabella. He liked her soaping him up, she’d get him all sudsy, then draw little circles on his soapy body with her fingers. It gave him chills, but he loved it. His favorite part was soaping her up. Running the soapy wash cloth around her beautiful body and he got to touch every part of her, but it really got him going when he washed her hair. The way she arched her neck and threw her head back, he loved running his hands through her long hair and watching the shampoo run down the middle of her back and behind. Yes, showering with her was definitely one of his favorite things to do. When they were done, they dressed and headed out to the main part of the house. Rick was standing in the kitchen, drinking coffee. He heard them coming, so he looked up and said, ‘good morning.’ They greeted him back and Daryl went to pour them each a cup of coffee. “You look really pretty in that dress, Isabella. I like you in dresses, they accentuate your personality and the way you carry yourself. You should wear them all the time.” Rick told her, sweetly. “What do you mean ‘accentuate’?” Daryl looked at her with surprise on his face. “Ya’ don’t know what that word means, college girl?” Isabella rolled her eyes and laughed. “Of course, I know what it means. I meant, in what way do dresses accentuate my personality. Of course, I know what it means. Geez!” “I know what he’s talkin’ about. I get it and I already thought of it way before him. He means like the dresses you wear, which are feminine and um.. What’s the word I’m thinkin’ of?” He said, looking at Rick “Flowing, light hearted, graceful. Should I go on?” Rick said. Isabella was turning red, she was overwhelmed by what they were saying. She’d never had that kind of attention before, nobody ever noticed her and now they were saying such sweet and complimentary things about her. She was embarrassed and didn’t know what to do or say. “Nah, you covered it. Yer like a real girl, all pretty and soft and shit, but you’re sweet and gentle and kind and affectionate.” Daryl explained. “Don’t forget, genuine. What you see, is what you get. Beautiful on the inside and out. We’re lucky to have you in our lives.” Rick said sweetly. Daryl nodded in agreement. Isabella’s eyes teared up. How could they be talking about her with such beautiful and enduring words. She was nothing, a nobody that just kind of got pawned off on them. She wasn’t special in any way, at least she didn’t see it. Isabella was overcome with emotion, she was speechless. Daryl laughed at her because she was crying and that embarrassed her even more, but instead of being hurt, she wiped the tears out of her eyes and smiled shyly. “I’m sorry.” She said, reaching for a tissue. “You probably think I dumb for crying, but hat’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard. Not just about me, but about anyone. I don’t know if any of that is true or not, though. I’m just me.” She shrugged her shoulders and laughed. “Thank you for what you said, it means everything to me. I love you guys so much.” She said, as her eyes started to tear up again. They all laughed. Rick gave her a hug and told her that he loved her too and stated, once again, that she should wear dresses more often, then left the kitchen to get ready for work. Daryl pulled her to him once again and kissed her softly on the lips. On the way to the flea market, Daryl stopped and got them Starbuck’s. Iced lattes because it was a warm day. It was warm, but not hot, there was a nice breeze blowing and the air wasn’t thick with humidity. You could actually breathe. “I gotta’ find a new gas station.” Daryl said, as they drove by the QT. “Cuz, I ain’t goin’ in where that bitch is.” “Boy, you really don’t like her, do you? Is she really that bad?” Isabella asked. “Yes! She is that bad.” He stated. “Hey, look it’s Chris and Charlie.” Daryl said, pointing at the Dairy Queen. He honked and they waved back. “Wonder what they’re doin’? They wasn’t in uniform, but they had Chris’s cruiser.” “How come Charlie doesn’t wear a uniform and he drives his own truck?” Isabella asked. “Cuz, he ain’t a patrolman. He’s like… like a detective. He works cases and shit. I guess you could say, he’s undercover or a plain clothes officer. I dunno’ what his actual title is. Everyone knows who he is, so he really ain’t that undercover. But, anyway, he just wears his own clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt, sometimes a button up shirt and them stupid boots and cowboy hat.” Daryl laughed. “He’s a dick head!” He added, but not in a bad way, it was meant more like a term of endearment. Despite the ongoing battle for Isabella’s heart, he loved Charlie, he was a good friend and a great guy. Of course, he’d never tell him that. Daryl drove through town talking to Isabella about this and that and every occasionally, he’d see someone he knew and honk and wave or holler something out the window at them. Isabella was getting a big kick out of it. He was in a really good mood and she loved it. A happy, smiling, laughing Daryl was bliss. He passed through the whole town and about a mile outside of it was a drive-in movie theater with two big screens and there were a bunch of people walking around. Isabella was getting excited. They parked way out along the fence and walked from there. Daryl said, there were two parts of the flea market. One part was people selling their own things, like a yard sale and the other part were merchants that sold specialty items. That’s where they were headed. He told Isabella that Rick’s birthday was in two weeks, so he wanted to look around to see if he could find something Rick might like. This got Isabella’s wheels turning. What could she do for Rick’s birthday. It had to be special. “There’s the socks. These are good, thick socks and they go over you calf. I can’t stand them socks that fall down. C’mon.” He said, dragging her over to tent full of every kind of sock you could ever want. Daryl started rummaging through the merchandise, looking for his boot socks and Isabella saw something sparkly at the vendor next to them. She told Daryl, she was going to look. He told her ‘no’ and said, he didn’t want her running off on her own, because there was a lotta’ assholes out there. She huffed and put on a pouty face. Daryl paid for his stuff and they were on their way next door. Everything looked beautiful to Isabella, she wanted everything in every tent. She needed to get a grip on herself or else she’d spend all her money, but she’d never been to a place like this and she’d never had spending money. She was like a kid in a candy shop, only there were about 100 candy shops and each one had different candy. “Ooo, let’s go over here.” Isabella shreaked. She pulled him over to tent with jewelry. “I want to look for earrings here. Ooo, there’s so many.” She said going from case to case. “Hey there’s a place over there.” Daryl said, pointing to tent with a sign that said, ‘Diamonds and Gold 50% off’. Daryl wanted to look over there without her, so he told her he had to go to the bathroom and made her promise not to leave that merchant until he got back. “Nowhere! I mean it, don’t leave here, ok?” He told her. “I promise. I’ll stay right here.” She assured him. He left the tent and then turned back to make sure she couldn’t see him. She couldn’t so, he entered the diamonds and gold shop and started to look around. The vendor came over and asked him if he was looking for something in particular. Daryl told him ‘no’, just something pretty and girlish. The vendor asked him if he meant dainty. He told him ‘yes’ and then thought to himself that was another word he could have used to describe Isabella that morning. Dainty. “Why’s everything so cheap? I mean, is it real gold and diamonds or just gold plated?” Daryl asked, looking into a case with necklaces in it. “Oh, it’s all real. I’m Burt Hopper.” He put out his hand to shake. Daryl shook his hand and told him his name. “I own Hopper’s Jewelry Box in town. Sometimes we have to cut our inventory down, so I come down here and sell at a discount, what we can’t sell at the shop. I’m right there…” Daryl interrupted. “… by the diner. Yeah, I know you.” “And I know you. You have dinner there every Sunday evening.” Burt said. Daryl smiled and nodded his head ‘yes.’ Then he saw it. It was a small, delicate floating heart with a small diamond where the two humps meet together in the middle. It was white gold. “That one, that’s the one I want right there.” He said tapping his index finger on the glass. He quickly looked out into the market to see if Isabella was there. She wasn’t. He knew he had to hurry, he didn’t want to be gone too long. Burt opened the glass case with his key and brought out the heart and chain, so Daryl could look at it. It was perfect, it was totally her. “I’ll take this one, I don’t care how much it costs.” Daryl told the man. “Well, it’s 50% off and I’ll give ya’ another 10% off, just cuz you seem like a nice young man. Do you want it in a box? I have small heart shaped boxes, putting things in little velvet bags is quite popular too. I have both.” Burt took the necklace over to the register while Daryl thought about his choices. The little velvet bag would be nice, he thought, but the box was pretty too. If he gave her the box though, she might think it was a ring or something and he didn’t want her to think that, he didn’t want her thinking he was getting too serious. “The little velvet bag. Do ya’ have blue or pink? That’s her favorite colors.” Daryl asked. He had a pink one and it was perfect, on the draw strings it had light pink tassels. He rung Daryl up and then gave him his business card. He told him that if he ever wanted something special or unique for any occasion, to stop by his shop and he’d fix Daryl up. He gave him another card that had 20% off written in black Sharpie on it, then Burt signed his name next to it. He told him to bring that in and he give him that much off the price, it didn’t matter if they were already on sale. They shook hands and Daryl left. He put the velvet bag in his front pocket and the card in his wallet. When he got back to where Isabella, she was still looking at earrings. It didn’t look like she’d moved at all. He smiled and shook his head. “Hey, I’m back.” He said. She hadn’t even realized that he’d been gone so long. “Did you find somethin’ ya’ like?” “No, I’m going to keep looking. Let’s go somewhere else.” Isabella said, slipping her hand into his. They went into three other tents and when they came out of the third one, Daryl had to go to the bathroom for real. He told her, he had to go again, she gave him a shocked look and then laughed. She was going to go with him, until she saw the sign that said, ‘Diamonds and Gold 50% off’. “I want to go in there. I’ll stay in there until you get back, ok? I promise.” She said with big hopeful eyes. “Ok, stay in there. I’ll be right back.” Daryl told her, he waited for her to go inside then headed to the bathroom. Isabella entered the tent and started looking around. There were several other people inside, so Burt didn’t see her right away. She took her time, looking in every case. She took a shine to white gold bracelet. It had tiny little hearts that linked it all together. That’s when Burt saw her. “Hello, hello, young lady. How are you today?” He asked. “I’m fine, how are you?” She asked back. “I’m just dandy. Say, don’t I know you? You walk past my shop every Sunday with the fella that doesn’t wear sleeves. I think you’re going to the diner.” “Wow! You recognized me from that? I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen you before.” Isabella explained. “Well, it hard to see through those dark windows, but I’m there.” Burt told her. I promise, I’ll wave to you tomorrow when we pass by.” She assured him. “I look forward to it. Now, is there anything special you’re looking for?” He asked. “Yes, I wanted to look at earrings, but I just saw this pretty little bracelet. Can I see it, please?” She asked. “Why, sure!” He told her as he opened the case. “This is a real beauty, it looks just like you.” He winked at her. She blushed and took the bracelet from him. She put it around her wrist and then held it up to the light, so she could admire it. “It’s so pretty, but I shouldn’t. I better stick to earrings.” Isabella said. Burt looked disappointed, not because he didn’t make a sale, but because he knew she loved it. He was reaching for the bracelet, when Daryl walked in. They nodded their heads at each other and then he came up behind Isabella and scared her. She laughed, but it really did surprise her. “Whatta’ ya’ lookin’ at over here? I thought you was lookin’ for earrings.” Daryl asked her. “Oh, nothing.” She smiled and winked at Burt. Then she proceeded to introduce him to Burt and explain that they pass by his jewelry store every Sunday. Daryl went along with it and re-shook Burt’s hand. Burt smiled and winked at Daryl. She finally made it to the earrings case. There were so many to choose from. She scanned the case very carefully. Looking at every pair and then she saw a pair of tiny diamond studs. They were tiny. “Can I see those, please?” She asked him. Burt took the earrings out of the case and put the box on the top. “These are so beautiful. Look, Daryl. Diamonds. How much are they?” She asked, she really didn’t care how much they were because she was going to get them anyway. “These are $100.00 dollars and if you take them, I’ll give you another 10% off for being so beautiful.” Burt said. She blushed and smiled shyly. “I’ll take them, please. They’re beautiful aren’t they Daryl?” She said, holding the box up to him. “Yeah, those are nice. They’re real pretty.” He answered. Burt took the box over to the register and wrote out a receipt. Daryl took his wallet and handed him his credit card. Isabella saw him do it and she put a stop to it right away. “No, no way! Thank you for offering, but I want to buy these myself. I’ve never bought anything like this before, I really want to pay for them. It’s pride thing. Are you mad” She winced. “No, I ain’t mad. I just don’t want ya’ ta’ spend all yer money, that’s all.” Daryl told her. She thanked him again for offering and then got up on her tiptoes and kissed him. He blushed. Isabella handed Burt the money. “Honey, do me a favor. Go on out there and grab one of those containers of jewelry cleaner. You’ll need that.” Burt said, pointing to the display in front of the tent. She walked outside and started looking at the various types of cleaners. “What was she lookin’ at when I walked in?” Daryl whispered to Burt. “A heart bracelet. The hearts link together.” Burt whispered back. Daryl slipped him his credit card and told him he’d be back in 5 minutes for it. He told Burt that he’d make up an excuse. Burt gave him the thumbs up and then put Isabella’s earrings into a little sack. She came back with the cleaner and he told her it was on the house. They said, ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ and left. Isabella wanted to look at hand painted sundresses, so they went inside. Daryl slipped his wallet out of his back pocket and into his sock bag. He told her, he’d forgotten his wallet at Burt’s place and he was going to go back and get it. Isabella was concerned, so she started that way with him. He told her to stay and look around, he’d be right back. When he got back to Burt’s, he had his credit card receipt and a little blue velvet bag, with light blue tassels in his hand. Daryl thanked him and ran off, but not before Burt told him what a lovely young couple they were and how glad he was that Daryl had found someone. He told he’d been watching him go into that diner alone, for 8 years. Then he told Daryl to hang on to Isabella, that she wasn’t like other girls, he could tell she was special. Daryl knew exactly what he was talking about. They had almost covered the entire market. Isabella bought a dress, earrings and three silver toe rings. Daryl bought socks, a necklace and earrings, but he didn’t find anything for Rick. They had two shops left to look in, they entered the last shop and Isabella saw a little t-shirt she wanted. It was grey and the fabric was really soft. On the front, it had a skull taking a bite of a peach in the corner of its mouth, there was juice dripping from the skulls mouth and below it, it read “Georgia Peach” Then there were orangish colored flames around the skull. Isabella loved it. Daryl liked it too, so he paid for it. She told him she was going to wear it that night when they went to the bar. After he’d paid for the shirt, they headed to the building with the food. Isabella was in heaven, there was so much to choose from. She didn’t know where to begin. Daryl got a bunch of beef, chicken and pork on skewers and a container of chopped barbequed beef for sandwiches. Isabella went for the pastries. She chose two eclairs, two napoleons, two cannoli and two lemon filled donuts. The last wasn’t that fancy, but they were her favorite. They got some deep fried tempura covered vegetables and ate them with soy sauce. Another favorite. Then they both got a scoop of pistachio gelato. There arms were full as they headed out to the truck. Isabella told him she wished she’d gotten India food. He told her next time. The place was really clearing out. There were no cars parked near his truck anymore and seemed like an endless walk in the dirt. When they reached the truck, Daryl opened the doors, he turned on the ignition, so the ac would blow. He had to straighten up the back seat before they could put anything back there, so he put all their stuff in the front for a minute. Isabella was climbing out of the back of the truck, when the wind blew the front of her dress up a little. For some reason this started a fire in Daryl. He could already feel his dick getting hard. She jumped down out of the back and he caught her and pushed her into the doorway, his kisses were wet and wild. Isabella was so turned on, she wished they were home. “Get in the back.” Daryl said. “What?” Isabella asked. “Get in the back.” He answered, he shut the front door and then climbed in back with her. He grabbed her and tried to push her down on the seat, but it was cramped. He was frantically trying to come up with a plan B, while Isabella unzipped his pants and grabbed hold of his huge erection. He had to have her now, he couldn’t wait until they got home. He jumped up on his knees and flipped her over on hers, they hadn’t done it from behind yet, so this was unbelievably exciting to Isabella. Daryl pulled up her dress and yanked her underwear to the side and pushed into her. She grabbed hold of the arm rest on the door and screamed ‘Oh, my God!’, which spurred him on. He came fast, she didn’t, but she didn’t care, she had just experienced the second best feeling she’d ever felt. They were definitely going to do it this way A LOT! She thought to herself. They kissed awhile afterward, but it was getting hot in the truck, so they climbed out, put their stuff in the back and headed to Rick’s. At every red light, Daryl put the truck in park and leaned over and put his lips against hers. He held her hand tightly. He wanted to give her the necklace right then, but he decided to wait until after the bar. Man, this day had been amazing, a real peach. He thought to himself. Then he laughed. A Georgia peach.

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