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Blazes
“You might want to pay a little more attention to your wife, boy-o,” Paddy had told Leo over coffee a few weeks before.
“Why so?”
“Well, I…” Paddy, his face a gathering of long-lined angles below a windstorm of black hair, his eyes wide with the possibility of tension-scattering laughter, looked over his shoulder. They were seated at the counter of The Empire Diner, and Paddy, a Visa card in his hand, was looking for the waiter Benny, a sometime actor who had been friends of both men for years. “I understand that Blazes has been runnin’ about airin’ his quiff, as my great-grandmother would say.”
“What does that mean? It’s Irish?”
“The phrase? Or the act of doing it?”
“The phrase.”
“It means, it means…” Paddy’s mouth turned down at the ends, as though pulled to it by some oddity of gravity. “What would you least like to see your wife doing, Leo, with a man who’s got a glorious head of hair like Blazes Boylan’s?”
“Why so?”
“Well, I…” Paddy, his face a gathering of long-lined angles below a windstorm of black hair, his eyes wide with the possibility of tension-scattering laughter, looked over his shoulder. They were seated at the counter of The Empire Diner, and Paddy, a Visa card in his hand, was looking for the waiter Benny, a sometime actor who had been friends of both men for years. “I understand that Blazes has been runnin’ about airin’ his quiff, as my great-grandmother would say.”
“What does that mean? It’s Irish?”
“The phrase? Or the act of doing it?”
“The phrase.”
“It means, it means…” Paddy’s mouth turned down at the ends, as though pulled to it by some oddity of gravity. “What would you least like to see your wife doing, Leo, with a man who’s got a glorious head of hair like Blazes Boylan’s?”
14 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2013
About the author
Terence Clarke
44 books10 followersTerence Clarke attended the University of California at Berkeley, from which he received a Bachelor's degree in English Literature. He also attended San Francisco State University, and has a Master's degree in the same subject from that institution. He is the author of eleven books of fiction and three of non-fiction. Clarke writes regularly about the arts, to for-free subscribers at https://terenceclarke.substack.com. He is a co-founder and former director of publishing for Astor & Lenox in San Francisco. (www.astorandlenox.com)
His latest novel is THE MOMENT BEFORE, about a Parisian artists plagued by visions (available everywhere). His just-completed novel, THE LAST OF MARTIN SOMBRA, about love and death in Buenos Aires, is currently being shopped to agents.
His latest novel is THE MOMENT BEFORE, about a Parisian artists plagued by visions (available everywhere). His just-completed novel, THE LAST OF MARTIN SOMBRA, about love and death in Buenos Aires, is currently being shopped to agents.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 13, 2015
Reviewed on behalf of Readers' Favorite
Blazes by Terence Clarke is another short story in his soon to be released anthology New York Stories. Again, we have a snippet of life in the busy city. Hugh “Blazes” Boylan is a talent agent in the bustling city. He is riding in a taxi with his friend, Leo Flowers, on the way to a funeral for their close friend, and semi-failed actor, Paddy Dignam. While on their journey, Blazes is plagued by the knowledge he is going to sleep with his friend’s wife, Marion. The couple had been going through a difficult time after the untimely death of their son. Both Leo and Blazes are contemplating their relationship with Marion on the way to honor their friend.
Blazes by Terence Clarke is another unique look at how two people view the world around them. Both characters take the time to reflect while on this journey through the city, neither knowing the true role Paddy played in their friendship and feelings towards Marion. I found it clever to use males as the main characters because I often wonder if they think about such things as their partners having affairs. I also felt the story was more about Leo and Marion than Blazes and that he was just the catalyst to their possible reconciliation. I really enjoyed this short read and I do look forward to seeing more of these short stories in the future. I love the perspectives and I can almost imagine it as a film, with the camera panning in and out on different people around the city.
Blazes by Terence Clarke is another short story in his soon to be released anthology New York Stories. Again, we have a snippet of life in the busy city. Hugh “Blazes” Boylan is a talent agent in the bustling city. He is riding in a taxi with his friend, Leo Flowers, on the way to a funeral for their close friend, and semi-failed actor, Paddy Dignam. While on their journey, Blazes is plagued by the knowledge he is going to sleep with his friend’s wife, Marion. The couple had been going through a difficult time after the untimely death of their son. Both Leo and Blazes are contemplating their relationship with Marion on the way to honor their friend.
Blazes by Terence Clarke is another unique look at how two people view the world around them. Both characters take the time to reflect while on this journey through the city, neither knowing the true role Paddy played in their friendship and feelings towards Marion. I found it clever to use males as the main characters because I often wonder if they think about such things as their partners having affairs. I also felt the story was more about Leo and Marion than Blazes and that he was just the catalyst to their possible reconciliation. I really enjoyed this short read and I do look forward to seeing more of these short stories in the future. I love the perspectives and I can almost imagine it as a film, with the camera panning in and out on different people around the city.
Displaying 1 of 1 review