We Couldn't Then, But We Can Now - Years of Yearning
My "Scarlet Yearnings" review: unpacking a tightly-wound desire
“What is it about the things we don’t say?” asks Scarlet Ibis James in this, the sixth story in her book Scarlet Yearnings.
Clocking in at 1 950 words, this story is a middle length in this slim book of a dozen shorts. Yet, like all the others, there is no fat here. Every word is slotted into place, chosen for effect.
Georgieta is a Black executive, Jakub is a White businessman. Just for a moment too long, years ago, there was a spark of something.
Now, however, they meet again and everything has changed.
Except for that spark …
Jakub found a booth by the window, and I slid in across from him. The space between us felt both comfortable and uncertain.
Jakub confesses that he thought Georgieta was a little out of his league when they first met and that is an understatement.
Different leagues, different sports, different everything. Except for that yearning over the years, never-forgotten, never acted upon.
Scarlet Ibis looks at many things in this story. Things that are perhaps never looked at directly but are there as part of our lives nonetheless.
First, being married and choosing a life partner doesn’t stop us from being human beings with a keen interest in others. We can marry because that is what we do, but is our partner the best possible soul-mate or do we still regard others with an interest, a desire that we shouldn’t act on?
We may not yield to temptation but we wonder about taking an alternate path. Our marriages may be comfortable and satisfying but is there that heat of passion and the intoxicating madness of deep love?
Race, ethnicity, heritage. We feel part of a tribe, part of a tradition, and we stay within those boundaries. Mostly.
Within our circles there is shared culture and the comfort of the familiar. Family expectations are satisfied with a partner from the same heritage and there is an ease of communication that would make a partner from outside the expectations a steeper learning curve - but maybe a more thrilling conquest.
Georgieta and Jakub are from different backgrounds in almost every way. And married to other people.
Worse - or better from my admittedly biased point of view, Georgieta is a strong, capable, competent professional businesswoman. A leader, a woman of independent views, secure in her own life. She doesn’t need a man to think for her or to provide for her or to dominate her.
Still, there is that undeniable spark and years of desire …
What will happen?
Scarlet Ibis doesn’t play it safe. There’s no romance running on rails here.
Perhaps this story is most interesting in what isn’t said out loud. We, as readers, are given ideas to chew on, to roll around in our minds while the two main characters feel the tug and resistance of all these factors in their lives.
In the end, this is a story of desire and yearning. And love.
I loved it.
Did I mention that I have my own copy - a copy signed by the author, no less! - occupying a place on my bookshelf?
Even better, the book comes with a bookmark and a thankyou card: thoughtful touches that lift this book above the self-published pack. As Scarlet says, this book is her gift to the reader and I, for one, am so very grateful that she buckled on her writing boots and led me down this path..
This story is a deep and rich dip into desire and yearning in a book that promises much and delivers every bit and more.
Britni
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You were one of my first autographed copy receivers!!! I wish I had done more of an inscription. Thank you for your early and continuous support. ✨
Thank you for your reader response to my story, Britni ❤️