12. Unsettling for Her

So at 2AM today as I was trying to fall asleep, I sent myself this text: “relate pyramid scheme to women selling stuff in the small town.”

As inspiration usually does…it struck at a weird time. I decided that I would focus more on the pyramid scheme/ cult thing about Beth’s past more so that it could be more unsettling for her to be around these women in the small town who are selling things to make money from companies who are essentially pyramid schemes.

I’ve also decided I need to change the town name to a fake name and the pyramid schemes to fake names as well. I think it would get too real for me and others reading about the culty pyramid schemes and/or if someone from the real town I’m writing about reads this, they won’t be offended. Although I will be poking fun at small towns. Hopefully I can have a balanced perspective as an author, but the main character is definitely not a fan of the small townies in the end.

This part is continued from Here’s Me Starting My Story.

The part is no longer at the beginning, but it will be somewhere as a flashback. As a reminder to myself, I will make Beth a little more hopeful as she is setting her suitcases down.

It was June when they moved in, so the air was humid, the hair sticking to the back of her neck as she hauled all her belongings inside.

Their fluffy cat Dottie was already sniffing everything in sight. Alec had nearly taken a tumble down the stairs because Dottie had to inspect a spot on the second to last step. It looked like a mouse hole, so he made a mental note to look into traps.

Alec already had a job–working the family farmland. Alec’s dad, George, had previously done a lot of the farming himself, despite living in the city. Then when he got on in years, and his old hip injury kept flaring up, his doctor recommended he have someone help him out. Papa George made a cash-rent agreement with a young local farmer, Noah Gunderson, who rented the land to farm himself. That way it was still in the family and there was still somewhat of an income. Noah kept the profits and with their arrangement, shared some of the profit with George.

Recently there had been some shady business with Noah’s cousins on the land. The Gunderson boys had decided the farmhouse was theirs to have their high school parties at and bring their girlfriends when their parents were home. When Noah and his cousins denied all of it, George had installed cameras to get some proof.

George liked Noah and trusted him, but up at the farm, family is family and snitches get what they get. Alec helped his dad do research on the best cameras that were within a reasonable budge–afterall it was just the old farmhouse they were looking out for, not something as precious as their home where they lived.

Somehow the cameras were immediately broken. The feed went fuzzy in less than a month.

With no one there physically to watch over the farm, and frustrations high, George had offered his son and daughter-in-law a deal. Irene knew someone on the school board and thought she heard of a job available. Beth interviewed–what could it hurt–and got the job immediately. They fell in love with her sweet personality and were honestly impressed with all of her stories of students in the city.

This was back in April.

She already snagged a job at the local elementary school. Jobs in a small town were far and few between.

Beth had considered what else she would do if she didn’t find a teaching job. There was a hardware store, a couple of bars, gas station, or possibly a church? She wasn’t even sure churches hired people. She had also mused to herself that there was probably some kind of Mary Kay product she could sell door-to-door. Thank god old Edna had retired.

She would of course help around the farm, but the big things would be up to Alec and anyone he hired. Beth had a moving clause that she would not become a “farmer’s wife.” At least not in the traditional sense where she would stay home and make the home pretty while popping out baby after baby.

Alright I like this little slice of the story. At least the ideas. I am tempted to print out this part, too. I am such a tree killer when it comes to printing. My age definitely shows by how much I love a hard copy and bright purple pen to edit. But I do recycle!

Any constructive criticism about the plot? That might be a risky thing to ask especially since this is a draft! Oh, well. Constructive feedback is always welcome. SSDGM