I knew picked a bad time to quit cigs when my scapegrace of a boss texted, and emailed, at 1am to come in for a 7am meeting. FFS, none of us called into this farce needed to be here this damned early and he knew it. The latest ad campaign was in its fifth day of stellar reviews. Even better, fortune shined its loving beam upon us when an unfortunate comment sparked an internet and news firestorm. The fusion of the public parapraxis of a well-known, but well- hammered, celebrity and our tagline exploded across the Twitterverse three days ago. I know a couple of our competitors considered it mealy-mouthed for us to not enact actions of our own at a such an easy target, but this campaign was my baby; I stuck to my guns at taking the high ground and it has paid off.  We have been praised for our restraint, especially with such an easy target. The good news for this quarter is  solidly rising, and hints of possible awards in our future beginning an early buzz. We were sitting so golden; this meeting was simply a stroke to his meager ego, flexing his boss muscle to show he could.  So here I am, nicotine patch on my arm and much-needed coffee in hand as I pass the wall of windows on our floor overlooking downtown, dawdling, before I head in to the shenanigans.

The early morning sun was slowly rising along the jagged horizon of skyscrapers. Its shine, reflecting off nearby windows, was near blinding.  I rarely have time, correction – I rarely give myself time, to take notice, so on a rare whim I allow myself to stand there, forehead resting on my arm against the glass and just day-dream for a moment. No censure, just letting my mind flow where it may while watching the burgeoning dawn. Naturally my mind floats to the object who-has-yet-to-know-the-depth of my affections. I sigh, thoughts of her turning my soul gelatinous in a warmth that is no longer surprising to me. I smile as my emotions leak out in the relative dark of the office floor.

Aurora is so wonderful and smart and beautiful. What would she say to married life with an average smuck like me?

A soft gasp to my side turns my soul so queasy I nearly drop my coffee. Oh dear God! Had I said that aloud?! I slowly turn with dread, relaxing as I face Aurora.

“She’d say that you’re far from average and hardly a smuck.” Aurora takes my hand, grinning at what I know had to be a happy, yet stupefied expression on my face.

“She’d say Yes.”

<>==========<>==========<>

Wordle #137 “January 9th, 2016”

Enact, Parapraxis, Scapegrace, Meager, Spark, Day, Mealy, Quarter, Gelatinous, Queasy, Nicotine, Fusion

Use at least 10 of the words to create a story or poem. The words can appear in an alternate form. Use the words in any order that you like.