TRIUNE

An antagonist is the “bad guy” the one who causes conflict with the lead character. The antagonist can be anything or anyone that causes conflict. In my story, the antagonist is a group of people: the mother, father and brother of Troy. This entry is the backstory for the antagonist. The assignment is to write an introduction in their voice.



Triune

Carrie put the finishing touches on her makeup and made a final review of her appearance before she went down to greet her guests for the dinner party. She really did not trust her husband and youngest son to be gracious. She hoped that Collin would at least make some effort before coming down to dinner. She did not have company very often, and it would be nice if he cleaned up first.

As Carried descended the curved stairs, she heard George introducing himself to the guests. He said: “Hi, I’m George. I was born and raised on this land. See that post down yonder, that’s the boundary, and about the same distance in all directions, that’s the size of this land. Over 500 acres.”

Carrie interjected, “George, quit bragging for two minutes. Hello, Mable, Ken. Did you have a good trip? Mable, I want to show you the dinner set George got for me for Christmas. Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous? This is all real gold on the edge. And this cutlery is real gold plate. It must have cost a fortune, but I could not say no to such a beautiful gift.” Carrie’s comments were cut short by a loud obnoxious sound.

Mable’s face scrunched up as she tried to ignore the offensive odor that emanated from the punk attired youth standing in the doorway.

Carrie became livid as she nailed her son with an icy stare. Through clinched lips, she let out a guttural command, “Your father needs to speak with you. Now!”

Collin pushed off the doorframe, grinned at his mom, and turned to exit the dining room, leaving an odiferous odor in his wake. Carrie closed her eyes and gripped the back of the chair as her son walked away laughing that annoying laugh of his.

George walked in the dining room and turned on the ventilator to put an odor eliminator through the vents so that they could breathe somewhat. “Apologize about that. He heard Ken and me talking about Troy and that is the way he chose to express his opinion of his brother.”

Carrie tried to minimize the embarrassment by saying, “He is at that age where he acts first and does not think of how it affects others.” It was a clumsy attempt at best, and everyone knew it.

Mable asked hopefully, “Will Troy be joining us?”

Carrie’s face turned wistful as she briefly shook her head.

George became gruff as he asked if anyone wanted a drink because he could sure use a good Whisky. “No? Okay. You won’t mind if I have another? And no, Troy will not be joining us. We just shipped him off to the Marines. Will be another four months before he gets a break.” Under his breath he added, “If we are lucky.”

From Carrie’s stare, George could tell it was a little louder than he intended. He downed his whisky and poured another. Mable looked at Ken and Ken shook his head as if to tell her to let it go. Some subjects were off limits with George and Troy was one of those subjects. To Ken, George asked, “You sure you don’t want one? Thomas H. Handy Kentucky Straight Rye. It is the best whiskey around.” Ken caught Mable’s eye, and just shook his head reluctantly to decline the offer. George lifted his glass, looked at Carrie, and toasted, “To those who do not know a good thing when they see it.”