He was waist deep in….

Writing Club

August 27, 2013

I don't know where this idea came from, maybe from watching an episode of "Swamp People", and I usually run with what ever pops into my head due to time constraints.

The prompt we got was: He was waist deep in….Only to find himself…..   I think we were given 10 minutes.

He was waist deep in pond scum and who knew what else, only to find himself staring down the biggest gator he had seen in his life.  Tom froze.  He wished he could disappear.  Maybe if he was lucky the alligator hadn’t noticed him yet.  Not likely.  The beast’s yellow eyes were fixed on him in a staring contest that Tom knew would end badly for him.  'You’re lunch, buddy,' raced through his head.

Why couldn’t he have chose a better spot to propose?  But then again Janet was a reptile fanatic and her daddy, Saul, owned the gator farm.  When Tom came by to ask for the old man’s blessing on his Sallyanne’s hand in matrimony, he should have known something was up.  The old coot had agreed readily, as long as he popped the question at the family reunion in front of the ‘gater’ tank.  

            Just as pulled out the ring to kneel down before his Sallyanne on the airboat, Saul revved the engine.  The boat lurched forward and Tom went head over heels into the brink along with the ring.

            From behind him, Saul hollered, “git em ol Samson!”

A scream rose up from Sallyanne’s throat that could break glass, followed by the biggest boom of a shotgun blast.   A mortified Tom met a wall of water rushing forward.  He braced to be bitten.  And then it was over.

He opened his eyes to see all 18 feet of the yellowbellied lizard floating behind the boat. 

“it’s a big un, eh Samson, he’make a good penny fur hiz hide.”  Saul tipped his straw hat to the hillbilly in a second boat.  The man slung his shotgun over his shoulder with a toothy grinned salute.  Reaching a hand to Tom, Saul hauled him out of the water and followed by a hearty handshake and a slap on the back. 
"Well boy, welcome to the family!"