Section Ten – Ned Pearson
The future had a limit. We knew it. For the most part, we didn’t talk about it.
Last week, she’d asked for a date. “A real date, you know,” she’d explained, “where we get all dolled up and go out to eat. Maybe a movie.”
“We could do that,” I replied, “where would you like to go?”
“Oh, no,” she answered, hands up before her, “you have to decide all that.” She raised an eyebrow: “I might even wear makeup.”
And she is wearing makeup. A light band of green on her eyelids, a pale peach on her lips. There’s a bright woven scarf around her head, not the usual bandana. It’s mostly red, long, veined with glittering silver threads, falling past her shoulders and down her back.
“Have I ever seen you in a dress?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” she teases. “Maybe not.”
She turns before me, modeling with exaggerated gestures, chin upturned, a stiff wave from the wrist. It’s a simple black dress, scooped gently at the neck, cupping her small breasts and flowing loose from her hips to just above the knee.
“Well, you look great in one.”
She takes my arm. “We make a very nice looking couple,” she repeats breathlessly.
At dinner we go the whole hog. I’d picked a restaurant downtown. Overpriced but dark and comfortable. I order a bottle of wine. Appetizers. Sophie paces herself, taking small sips of the wine. A bite or two of the calamari. The portions aren’t huge so she isn’t self-conscious about how little she eats.
She’s excited, her face flushed, leaning over the table toward me to whisper something about the older couple toward the back of the restaurant or the art scattered randomly on the walls.
Dressed Up and Ride Home written and performed by Ned Pearson.
No Mercy, traditional, arranged and performed by Ned Pearson.
Ned is a freelance web developer, photographer and writer living in Greensboro, North Carolina. Growing up as an Army brat he lived in California, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and France. While living in France he attended the first three grades of school. Ned is a graduate of UNC-G and a Navy veteran.
In addition to Guitar, Ned plays Mandolin, Dobro, Weissenborn, Harmonica, and Steel Guitar. All of his contributed tracks were recorded on Logic Pro X. The instrument heard on “Drive Home” is a Weissenborn. “No Mercy” is Ned’s arrangement and cover of the traditional elegy “Death Don’t Have No Mercy”.
An avid hiker, he is an active member of the Sierra Club and on the Executive Committee of the local chapter. He campaigns for animal rights, sustainable energy solutions, and awareness of the perils of climate change. He can often be seen walking his two rescue dogs, Jimi Hendrix and Maggie.
The Cloud Diary Music Project
We sent musicians a synopsis of Cloud Diary and a randomly chosen scene from among 12 scattered throughout the novel and asked them to respond to the scene, musically or aurally. The piece could be of any genre and any duration. It could be music already recorded, adapted, or written specifically for the scene. Find more information here.
Click here for the full Music Project playlist.