Jocelyn Was a Practical Girl

Jocelyn was a practical girl.
She did not enjoy indulging in unpractical things, no.
She got up in the morning, put on her jeans,
put her hands on her hips and looked out of the window.
Her eyes squinted in the bright morning light,
so she moved out of the window,
out of the way.

Coffee, cereal, banana, out the door.
"Ugh…" she sighed
looking down at the untied shoelace stopping the flow
of her daily routine.
(fix it)

While kneeling down to fix the lace,
her eyes
glanced over the dust and sand
which composed her front yard.
But Jocelyn did not mind the dirt and dust.

She was a practical girl and enjoyed where she was.
And she enjoyed the sun on the back of her neck,
and she enjoyed the painted turtle that hid under her porch.
Jocelyn sipped her coffee, started her truck,
glanced over at the turtle’s shell and went to work.

"I am glad you made the decision you did."
"…me too."
"Well, good luck."
"Thank you."
Jocelyn hung up the phone.

The turtle looked sad
and he rotated his shell
so he could not be seen behind the cement steps
leading up to Jocelyn’s trailer.
He did not move from that spot all day,
until the sun fell behind the mountains.
Jocelyn stared, more glared,
at the phone number in hand, crumpling
it up with disappointing satisfaction.
As she moved on to the next task of the day,
she could help but wonder.
(no, keep going)

Jocelyn put her hand over her heart and
blinked,
sealing off her green eyes form the world.
No. Jocelyn was a practical girl.
She did not do that.

--Megan Byrne