Good afternoon. It is Thursday and per usual I Gigi the parti poodle am here to introduce chapter nineteen of my story Corn Maze. I am delighted to tell you my dog food is finally back in stock. I feel much better eating haute cuisine once again. I can now breathe and enjoy the autumn season. The leaves are starting to turn here in the pacific northwest although it has been uncommonly warm. And the air due to forest fires has been occasionally smoky. I have had to forfeit some of my walks. But most days have been delightful. I did unfortunately receive a bath Monday and I have just started to get over the terror. Also there have been rumblings that I may be due for a grooming. This is the downside of being a poodle. One must be groomed. But that aside I am getting close to the end of Corn Maze and will be starting a new story soon. For now, here is chapter nineteen of Corn Maze. Genießen!

Corn Maze

by

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Nineteen

Valerie headed into her room, pulled three suitcases out of the closet, and lay them on her bed. She unzipped them, opened them, and started taking clothing off hangers.

Harley stood in the doorway and smiled.

“You can come in,” she said as she folded shirts and packed them.

“I just like watching you,” Harley said. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve gotten to stand and watch you.”

“What should we tell them?”

“The truth.”

“I’ve missed you for so long Harley. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“During the summer and holiday breaks in college I used to sneak over to where you were working and sit where I could see you. Even when I was dating Mallory. Even when I knew you were dating Harley. It was the one thing in my life I kept looking forward to.”

Valerie dropped the shirt she was about to fold. “Harley…”

“I guess I thought somehow, someway I would get you back.”

Valerie ran over and threw her arms around him. “I think this bet turned out to be a good thing after all.”

Harley smiled. “I think it did.”

“I’d better finish packing.”

“Can I help you?”

“You can put my shoes in that case there,” she said pointing to the medium sized bag.

“Okay.”

Harley moved over to the closet to a wooden shoe rack with six pairs of shoes plus a pair of heels in its original box. He picked up one pair at a time and put them in the medium sized case.

“What are you going to do about the farm?” Valerie asked.

“I think we should start there,” Harley said. “And you can finish your work at the college and apply to the university.”

“You’d wait for me to do that?”

“Absolutely. And in the meantime, I’d put together my art portfolio and my botany work resume as well.”

“We’re still going to have to be neighbors with Farley.”

“Sometimes you have to compromise.”

“You know that, and I know that. But I’m not certain Farley knows that.”

“If we stick together, Valerie, nothing can tear us apart.”

Mallory drove Farley’s truck home from the theatre humming “Mony, Mony” by Billy Idol. “I can’t believe you planned that for me,” she said.

“Driving into the ditch?” Farley said.

“No,” she laughed. “The flash mob.”

“Oh, yeah, that,” Farley said with a grin. “I couldn’t take you on a date that wasn’t interesting, could I?”

“Thank you. And thank you for letting me drive your truck.”

“I’m not that drunk.”

“I didn’t think I would like this date at all.”

“Surprised you, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

Mallory turned the car left and drove down Farley’s driveway. She parked the truck in front of the farmhouse, and they disembarked. Farley had sobered up some by this point and was able to walk in a straight line. He grabbed the rail and made his way up the steps of the porch to the screen door. Mallory unlocked the front door with his key, and they went inside.

Farley flipped on the lights. “Valerie!” he called “Valerie are you here?” He stumbled into the kitchen and saw that the table his fiancé had been sitting and studying at was cleared. He stumbled out of the kitchen. “Valerie!” he called up the staircase. No one responded. “I don’t think she’s here,” Farley said to Mallory.

“Well,” Malory said walking up and leaning on the rail. “What would you like to do now?”

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and the five installments of my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: INVENTING ANNA (2022)-Netflix

This week’s pick is a limited series based on the life of Anna Delvey, a twenty-something woman who with no connections or family ties who worked her way into New York City’s elite inner society circle. Anna claimed to be a German heiress with a multi-million-euro trust fund.

The film itself is set up to challenge whether Anna is indeed telling the truth about who she is and how much money she really has. It manages to keep a balance between drama and comedy never tipping too far one way or the other which is part of its entertainment.

Journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) who is based on Jessica Pressler known for writing the article “The Hustlers at Scores” which was made into the film Hustlers sees an article about Anna Delvey who is indited for grand larceny without bail. She senses there may be a story to follow but because of her checkered professional past and her editors’ desire for her to write a Me-Too article she struggles to get support for her instincts. Throwing caution to the wind she heads off to Riker’s Island where Anna is being held and pursues an exclusive interview from Anna.

Anna (Julia Garner) is skeptical at first but seeing she might be able to get something out of her story being published allows Vivian the interview not only to secure fame but also to get small incremental awards along the way.

However, most of the information Vivian begins to acquire comes from those who knew Anna like her ex-boyfriend Chase Sikorski (Saamer Usmani) who was trying to launch a start-up company, successful businesswoman Nora Ranford (Kate Burton), fashion designer Val (James Cusati-Moyer), banker Alan Reed (Anthony Edwards), and Anna’s friends film school graduate Neff (Alexis Floyd), exercise trainer Kacy Duke (Laverne Cox), and Vanity Fair photo editor Rachel DeLoache Williams (Katie Lowes). Although Lowes does a good job here casting her in the part is peculiar as she looks very little like the actual Rachel. My guess is this was intentional as to throw the audience a curve ball and con them as well.

The show has been popular enough that Anna Delvey has quickly become a popular costume of choice for adults this upcoming Halloween season. I will say the show is nowhere near as deep as Dopesick, another limited series based on true events that came out this year on Hulu, but it is still engaging, entertaining and worth the watch especially for Julia Garner’s outstanding performance in the title role. You can read Jessica Pressler’s original article on Anna here.