Write a Book in a Day 2017

“So tell me, dear Judie, you are surely burdened by all this responsibility I assume,” she pauses, contemplating her words. “Is there anything a small old lady like me could do for you?” “Well, um, you see... That doll wouldn’t happen to be for sale, would it?” he squeaked. His palms were sweating, knowing he could well have messed everything up.

“Why do you ask, Judie? This doll is nothing special, quite ordinary in fact,” she exclaimed, seeking for explanations.

“You see, Gretchen, my little girl absolutely adores dolls, loves them to death, and that one is not yet part of my - her, collection,” he corrected him- self. Suspicion enters her sly, flabby face. Two mistakes clear in the simple sen- tence. Great Aunt Gretchen knew he had no children, everyone did. He was the lonely bachelor of the town. The slip up, however, was more evidence that there was dishonesty in his answer. Playing along with a lie was going to make him more nervous, and so, Gretchen did exactly that. “Oh, what dolls does she already have?” “She has, uh,” he paused, clearly structuring his sentence. “... she has the limited edition malibu Barbie, the Ever After High Raven doll and, of course the premium Lalaloopsy,” he answered, speeding up his words as the sen- tence continued.

“Oh my,” Gretchen pretended to be surprised, “that is quite the collection. They all must be kept in a very safe spot, I would imagine.”

“Well, actually,” he hesitated. The fidgeting of his fingers increased and the tapping of his feet got faster. “They are kept… in … In the secret shrine. A secret shrine in the corner of my room,” he blurted out. He did not have time to process his words, and you could see the life drip out of him. His face turned beetroot purple in embarrassment as he tried to form a somewhat co- herent explanation.