Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Synopsis (Parts 21-30)

Peggy is a young woman of fifty-eight. While commuting on the ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle she meets Raoul, who is a few years older. They each live alone, having lost their respective spouses. Both have adult children who have moved away. He has one daughter, she has a son and a daughter.

Peggy and Raoul share many interests: walking, gardening, music, food, just to name a few; and they have grown close in a short period of time. Yet, there are issues. Peggy, for one thing, is torn between remaining loyal to the memory of her late husband, Taylor, and a desire to start a new life while she still feels young and active. It's partly a question of finding a balance: although Raoul is a wonderful companion, Peggy doesn't necessarily want to assume the care and feeding of another husband. Furthermore, Raoul's profession is one that Peggy's late husband would never have tolerated: Raoul is a lawyer who represents corporate interests, especially in environmental cases. Peggy, on the other hand, works for an environmental nonprofit and has been a lifelong advocate for environmental conservation, as was her late husband. In some ways, they are natural enemies, but, on the other hand, chemistry has a way of taking over.

In Part Twenty-One we learn more about the special task force that the governor of Washington has formed to study coastal planning issues, especially in the wake of a severe flood that occurred along the state's Pacific coast. (See Parts Eighteen and Nineteen). Peggy and Raoul represent opposite interests, yet they are assigned to the same committee and have to work together on a report. Also, in this episode, we hear about Peggy's first visit to Raoul's house in the Rolling Bay area of Bainbridge Island. She meets some of his friends and hears his performing arts group: the Merry Pranksters Renaissance Band. Also, they hear someone playing zither music on the ferry and Raoul reflects sadly on how he and his late wife enjoyed watching the movie, The Third Man.

In Part Twenty-Two we meet Luke, a thirtyish young man who is the new boyfriend of Florence, a mid-forties blonde who at one time had had a crush on Raoul but nothing ever came of it. We also learn that Raoul had been an infantryman in Vietnam.

Part Twenty-Three is a major milestone: Peggy spends the night at Raoul's. It happens to coincide with the opening of a night-blooming cereus, a rare flower that Raoul keeps in a special greenhouse. I'll leave it to the reader to work out the metaphors.

Next, in Parts Twenty-Four and Twenty-Five, Peggy and Raoul have been invited to Washington, D.C., to present their coastal planning report to a Congressional subcommittee. They decide to plan a full East Coast tour to visit Peggy's daughter, Marjorie, in Arlington, Virginia; Raoul's daughter, Deidre, in Philadelphia; and Peggy's son, Taylor, Jr., in Brooklyn. Then they will vacation in New England and visit Raoul's brother, Dale.

(Note: the Peggy story will continue during this trip! It starts next week with the Monday post on July 18.)

Part Twenty-Six contains a major setback: Peggy's nonprofit is being sued, and Raoul's law firm is representing the company filing the suit. In fact, Raoul is one of the lead attorneys. Their relationship becomes very strained. A major theme from this point on is to what extent can people segment their lives and be friends and opponents at the same time.

Next, a pleasant and romantic Fourth of July outing on a boat with Florence and Luke. Sunset! Fireworks!

Part Twenty-Eight: Kelly Flinn discourses on the Supreme Court vacancy; a rainbow over Bainbridge; and some cool ukulele music.

Part Twenty-Nine: Peggy and Raoul have reservations at different hotels in Washington: he's at the Marriott, she's at the Tabard Inn, a quirky, off-the-beaten-path place. She wants him to change to hers because hers is cheaper. Important: in this episode Peggy proposes that Raoul leave his law firm and join her environmental organization. It's just a seed of a thought; will it go anywhere?

Part Thirty: dreams of roosters and dinosaurs following the Bainbridge in Bloom garden tour; Raoul changes his reservation to the Tabard Inn; for the first time, Raoul points out the view from the ferry, it had always been Peggy who commented on the morning scenery; Ella Fitzgerald provides a mellow close.

If you are just joining this series, a convenient way to catch up is to read the complete Peggy story at www.billbranley.com.

Also, more details on the Writing Contest will be posted very soon. Readers will be invited to help finish the story of Peggy Finds A Friend.

Thank you for reading.

Bill

2 Comments:

At 4:06 PM, Blogger Beth said...

I've been thinking a lot about this story and have some questions.

When the story starts, it seems that Peggy is the protagonist and Raoul is the antagonist; the environmentalist against the big city lawyer. The Big Question seemed to be "Can they have a successful relationship?"

At this point in the story, however, I feel like Raoul is actually the more interesting character. Why? because the focus has been drawn away from their "love" relationship (which seems to be going along pretty smoothly) and is now more on this trip they are making to present their work. Now, for me, the better question is, will Raoul become enlightened and realize that the environment is more important than development? He seems to be the one with the deeper problem to solve, and the greater risk. Peggy is just doing what she always does - fighting for what she believes in. Raoul, on the other hand, is starting to question (just a teeny bit perhaps) what he believes in, which makes him a more interesting character.

Who really is protagonist here, with whom should my strongest empathy lie? Perhaps it's both? If so, then Peggy needs to have something more at stake here, perhaps that *is* the relationship, but if that's the case, then I think we need more story *about* the relationship perhaps? or something.

And, if Raoul truly is a protagonist who I'm "rooting for", I think we need something personal for Raoul that will lead us to a climax involving him and his search for deeper meaning. For instance, perhaps developers decide to build a house right in front of his view. Or perhaps someone in a big Mercedes hits a kid of a neighbor he knows because they are driving too fast on our not-so-quiet island roads. Something that will personalize it for him and push him to resolve his inner struggle.

What do you think?

 
At 6:39 AM, Blogger islander said...

These are excellent comments. You have raised some questions that are central to the whole story. In my opinion, Peggy is the main character and protagonist, and the success or failure of the relationship is the main story. However, on a day-to-day basis, other things happen, just as they do in life. I try to weave in the relationship story line with other events in their lives because that's how the characters learn more about each other.

 

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