Introductions - Meet Catherine - Pt. 1

Another rough cut excerpt from "Saving Catherine" by Nancy Sima.

      The gathering was feted as the inauguration of the Nigel Eastwick Science Trust, a scholarship program provided for by the Elton and Eastwick families respectively. Elton was the married name of Professor Eastwick’s only child, a daughter named Catherine. It was also the oldest and richest family in all of Boston. As such, an occasion tied to the Elton’s was sure to garner much attention especially in the quiet, rustic corner that was home to Amherst Academie.
   Ms. Catherine Eastwick married Mr. Michael Elton on April 29th of 1896. The wedding was a simple affair, if compared in scale to other Elton occasions but, the marriage would prove to be otherwise. As an Elton bride, Catherine’s life took on a wider lens of interest by the public with her husband’s simultaneous bid for Councilman. Some called it a marriage of convenience that brought the up and coming Elton a suitable public image for elected office. He dismissed the claims calling it love to everyone he met as they honeymooned along the stops of his campaign trail.
   As Blake looked around, he thought it strange that the announcement of a Scholarship should receive as much attention as this one did. There was such an exalted air of pageantry that seemed to pervade the evening. It reminded Blake little of Professor Eastwick, a far simpler fellow. Perhaps it would have amused the Professor to see such attention indulged upon him. Blake then thought of his daughter, Catherine, more commonly known as the mathematician. The story goes that as a child, Catherine would call out numbers to her father from the floor as she played alongside him. He would then use her numbers to setup exam questions.
   Professor Eastwick was fond of saying, “ Don’t look for tricks in my questions. They were all designed with the assistance of a 5 year old – it’s nothing more than child’s play.”
   Perhaps tonight he would get to meet the famed mathematician.

Other "Saving Catherine" Excerpts
Introductions - Meet Stephen Blake
Introductions - Meet Dr. Nigel Eastwick

Introductions - Meet Dr. Nigel Eastwick

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"Dr. Nigel Eastwick left this world on a cool summer evening; a well man, his only misfortune was death." 


   I submitted the above sentence for a one sentence hook contest. My sentence didn't win but it did bring my attention back to a manuscript I had abandoned back in college. I remember the experience of writing those first 10 pages. Characters I hardly knew just seemed to pour out onto the page. It's been well over 10 years since last we spoke to one another. I'm having fun getting reacquainted with them once again. Here's a rough cut of the intro.

  
Excerpt "Saving Catherine" by Nancy Sima

   Dr. Nigel Eastwick left this world on a cool summer evening; a well man, his only misfortune was death.

   His life was one of many graces – love, family, profession – ‘a respectable life’ it was said. His one indulgence was a personal enjoyment in writing. Privately, he had amassed a collection of notebooks on daily musings. Some entries were trivial, even mundane but altogether their beauty was a keen observation of the ordinary. On the eve of his passing, Dr. Eastwick would take to writing once more. Words upon words, they were to be his last.
     Did he invite death that night? He seemed to jot down his thoughts like so many times before. And yet, there was the odd manner in which he chose to sign his name, on a scrawled line at the end, binding himself in contract to his words. Was he taking ownership of them or relinquishing ownership of something greater?