Start Writing Fiction Comparing Characters Section 2.9

Here is a new look at my revised character description from Section 2.9.

“Hello there, darling. I am Olivia Diamond Mullhollind-VanHurst, but you can call me Olivia. You know I’ve been dying to meet you and get to know you as a prospective client of mine.”  The voice was a clear, concise second soprano that would be pleasant to most who heard it. Olivia knew it and used it to her advantage.

Perhaps there had been hard times in her life recently, but she was holding together rather well, if she didn’t say so herself. However, she did say so, every day. “I’m just fine. Holding together marvelously aren’t I darling? Timothy are you listening to me?” She was now waving her hands up and down in front of the newspaper, but nothing short of taking the paper from the reader could make Timothy answer. After all he had grown used to tuning her out after over twenty years of marriage and three kids. “You look as lovely as the day I met you, Olivia dear.” Was his reply as he picked up the paper and scanned it for new job opportunities.

Now we find darling Olivia in a bookstore coffee shop at a table that was made of two small tables put together with generic plastic chairs around them. Her silver laptop gleamed as she filled out information from the middle aged woman sitting across from her. The whole space was filled with her laughter, voice and a constant clicking of keys.

She had taken extra care to look good today. It was bad enough to have to give up her private home office for a public space like this, but if she had to do it, she’d do it with classic Olivia style. Being closer to fifty than she would admit, she had put on a fake tan for that “natural glow”, but it had such an unnatural, orangeish tint to it, that there was no way to make it feel real for anyone other than Olivia. She had thick makeup on, “The more the merrier,” she used to say. Still, after a whole day out, it had settled into the fine age lines on her face doing more to age her than aid her.

“Black is the color that professionals wear,” was her remark as she walked out the door after Timothy had asked her who had died and sent his sympathies with her. “I have to look good for my clients, and in this case, black is best. Besides the faux suede faux fur lined boots are dark grey, so what does he know.” In reality she knew she had gained a few pounds that she had never lost after having her children. In actuality the number was closer to 20 than a few, but Olivia never admitted defeat to anyone, especially herself. If she did, her whole world was likely to shatter, “and one does not shatter in good makeup and sparkling costume jewelry.” As Olivia would observe, “It just wouldn’t be decent to do such a thing, darling.”