Exercise One: Exterior to character.
Move from limited perspective to a subjective point of view. Write in third person.
This is my attempt:
Steam rose from the untouched drink in front of her. She sat idly holding the little saucer. Her clutch resting on the table. Perfectly matching the ivory dress with the black belt she wore. The chipped white metal table sat atop of worn flagstones outside the Parisian coffee shop. It’s little patio hedged in by lush green bushes housed in clay colored pots, separating her from the foot traffic on the other side. Their continuous patter broke up the hum of the traffic on the road.
The taxi, rounded on top in the style of the English cabs with the usual checked mark on its side, pulled up onto the curb and backfired loudly. The sudden roar left a silence hanging in the air until the previous noise decided to come back and reclaim its place.
He stepped out of the taxi, his white cotton shirt tucked into the blue jeans with the brown belt and cowboy boots, and stared at his waiting companion. Her hands digging through that little bag pulling out one of those damned cigarettes. Sighing to himself he made his way over to her.
“Those things are just horrid” came her voice, shaking on every word. “Did it have to do that?”
He looked at her and a note of contempt entered his voice “Yes. When I called up for a taxi I specifically asked for the one that could backfire on queue, just because I knew what it would do to you”
He saw her eyes tighten and tension enter her jaw. “There is no need to take that tone. You know how I am these days, all because of you.
“True, but how many times do I need to apologies for all of that?”
She placed the cigarette between her lips, yellow stains of the nicotine showed through the once white teeth. She ignored him and allowed the question to suspend itself in the air, delaying her answer while she looked for matches.
Carefully he reached across to her, a silver lighter in his hand. With a daft flick, the lid opened and a flame ignited. Their eyes met and slowly he watched her face relax as she leaned in taking that first drag off the cigarette that he knew always relaxed her nerves. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad rendezvous.
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