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"Strawberries" by LeAnna (sexual nostalgia) 9, 10, 10
"Strawberries" by LeAnna (leanna1@hotmail.com). Guest review by Dart. This is a wonderful story. It's a story that takes place almost entirely inside the mind of Linda, as she stands at the sink and prepares a bowl of strawberries. Picking strawberries, Linda and her friend Nancy used to say when they were teenagers in the 1960s, is like picking men: you have to be choosy and it's hard to spot the rotten ones. Linda's reflections as she stands at the sink sorting strawberries, and memories of the men in her past, were caused by what she witnessed when she interrupted her daughter, Jessica, and her daughter's friend when she went to ask them if they'd like something to eat. What were Linda's memories? First, there was the man who took her virginity, not quite ripe, a bit small, but not too bad. Then there was Lloyd, whom she met by chance while she was a nurse in Vietnam. He had brought his friend in for emergency treatment, and she had consoled him when there was nothing else to be done. They grew to be friends, then lovers, and then he too was brought to emergency; the strawberry was bitter. Her next strawberry was dark, screaming red, large, and, when she bit into it, rotten. She married him; he was the father of her daughter, but their marriage ended like the rotten strawberry she had bit into; she spat him out. Finally, there was Jonnie, like Lloyd, a friend; a big, red, sweet, fruity strawberry. And now we're back to the beginning, back to Jessica and the strawberry she's picked. Again, this is a wonderful story, but I still have one minor quibble. The night Linda and Lloyd first make love, just after they enter the hotel, there were "... clothes flying everywhere." But later that same evening, they were "... desperately trying to get each other's clothes off." Ratings for "Strawberries" Athena (technical quality): 9 Venus (plot & character): 10 Dart (appeal to reviewer): 10 |