Lost and Found Valentine's Edition 2016
Hello and welcome to the J.Q. Rose blog!
I'm thrilled to be kicking off this month of romance by participating in a Valentine blogfest, Lost and Found Valentine's Edition. The bloggers are writing fictional or non-fictional short pieces about love, lost or found. You're invited to visit and celebrate February, the month of love, and luxuriate in the wealth of romance stories at these writers' blogs. Go ahead. Play hooky for the day and escape for awhile into the world of romance with a variety of short stories and poems.
You can find the list of participating bloggers in the sidebar of Denise Covey's blog. Have fun!
Big thank you to the following writers who are hosting this awesome blogfest.
* * *
My contribution is below.
Hello Again by J.Q. Rose
Valerie removed
the enclosure card from the vase filled with exotic greens and stunning white roses. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the
signature, “With love, T.B.” Replacing
the card in the holder, she turned to her daughter, Rebecca. “Do you know who
T.B. is? I can’t think of anyone who would sign a card with those initials.”
Her beautiful Rebecca,
dressed in a stylish black suit and white silk blouse, slipped her arm around
her mother’s waist.
“I don’t recognize
the initials either.” Rebecca’s brown shoulder-length hair flowed around her
face when she shook her head. “Come on,
Mom, they’re waiting for us in the family room.
The service will begin soon.”
Valerie turned
from the display of floral tributes and smoothed her simple black dress that
snugged her trim figure. She was thankful her daughter and son were by her
side. The colorful flowers from friends
and family gave her comfort, but the heady fragrance of the blossoms overwhelmed her senses..
She gazed one
last time at her husband lying in the casket.
Guy was as handsome in death as he was in life. The huge casket spray of rubrum lilies
and red roses couldn't soften the reality of him lying lifeless in the bronze
casket.
Tears surfaced
in her eyes. How could she have any more
tears left? Valerie had cried for days. She dabbed her nose and wiped her eyes with a
tissue. Taking a deep breath to strengthen her for the difficult day ahead, she
squared her shoulders vowing to make it through this service, the cemetery, and
luncheon after.
Valerie had to
be strong for her kids even if they were adults, but her insides were whirling
and her legs didn’t want to keep her upright. How was she going to say good-bye
forever to her husband of thirty-five years?
Her best friend. Her lover. Her
life.
Sitting at her
kitchen table a few days later, Valerie stared at the card enclosed with
the white roses. She couldn’t find a
clue to the identity of T.B. This was
the only acknowledgement card left to be written, but she had no idea where to
send it. No one in her family could help
her. The local floral shops had no record of the floral delivery. Mr. McGrady, the funeral director, told her
he had found the vase sitting on the table in the entryway. He'd seen a man
leaving the building, but Mr. McGrady never saw him clearly enough to recognize
him.
Valerie couldn’t
explain why, but she felt close to the sender. She couldn’t stop thinking of
the beautiful roses and the card simply signed T.B. There was something very special about the
sentiment, she knew. But what was it?
* * * *
Spring
eventually emerged after the dark days of winter and death. Valerie had endured. Seeing the snow melt, the daffodils bloom,
and the earth green up helped to lighten her heart.
That spring
afternoon Valerie felt the warm sun’s rays on her back as she dug into the soil
to plant pansies in the flower bed by the front door of her house. A large white limousine pulled up to her
neighbor’s home and out jumped a teen-aged boy in his fashionable tuxedo. Behind him two young couples piled out.
The boys seemed
so young with their fresh haircuts and fine looking tuxes and the girls dressed
in elegant evening gowns of red, black, and deep purple. Their long, thick tresses
were creatively styled in up-do’s for that traditional evening event in high
school, the prom.
The teens’
nervous laughter and banter echoed through the neighborhood. Residents gathered to watch as the young
people posed for photos with the neighbor’s daughter under the flowering crab
apple tree in the front yard. Soon the
three couples entered the limo again and were off to make memories.
Valerie returned
to planting her flowers remembering her high school proms, dresses, and
friends. She smiled as she tamped the soil down around the colorful plants. Suddenly
she threw down her trowel, ripped off her gardening gloves, and raced up the
front steps to her house. When she
entered the family room, she didn’t stop to wash her hands or remove the floppy
straw hat on her head. Instead, she grabbed
the phone book and turned the pages to a number she deftly punched into
her phone.
“Hello,
Valerie.” A man’s voice greeted
her. Her eyes sparkled as a smile spread
from cheek to cheek. It was the same voice she remembered from forty years ago
when they had attended her senior prom together.
“Hello, Teddy
Bear.”
# # #
Did your school have a junior/senior prom? Did you attend? Do you remember your date? Are you still friends with that person? Please share with us in the comments below.
This Week:
Wednesday, February 3--First Wednesday of the month is ALWAYS Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG). Yes, we throw our insecurities out in broad daylight for everyone to see. And that's okay because the writers who participate are also filled with wisdom and support. Stop in on Wed and discover what makes me insecure.
Thursday, February 4
Romance Readers Want to Know is a brand new series beginning this week on the J.Q. Rose blog. Talented romance author Nancy Bell kicks off the series and is offering a giveaway to a lucky winner. Come back and discover what readers want to know about Nancy and her writing.
 |
| Romance Readers Want to Know on the J.Q. Rose Blog |
 |
| Romantic suspense, Whispers in the DARK by Kris Bock |
Back of the Book: Whispers in the Dark
Kylie Hafford craves adventure when she heads to the remote Puebloan
ruins of Lost Valley, Colorado, to excavate. Romance isn’t in her plans, but
she soon meets two sexy men: Danesh looks like a warrior from the Pueblo’s
ancient past, and Sean is a charming, playful tourist. The summer heats up as
Kylie uncovers mysteries, secrets, and terrors in the night. She’ll need all
her strength and wits to survive—and to save the man she’s
come to love.
Whispers in the Dark is romantic suspense set in the Four Corners region of the
Southwest. Reviewers give it a 4.3 star average: “A great read with a strong plot line & likeable characters!”
23 comments:
Hi J.Q.
I really love your story. It correlates with spring and starting anew. The observation of the young teenagers going to the high school prom bring back a memory of her own and she remembers.
Shalom,
Patricia
Thanks, Pat. I thought a spring story might be welcome in February!!
Ah! Love it. You got both ends of the spectrum.
Thanks, Crystal.
Love this entry! It made me think of Gabriel García Márquez's Love In The Time of Cholera... That scene after Fermina's husband's funeral when Florentino makes himself known and tells her he's been waiting however many years... Of course, Fermina's reaction — at least initially — is hardly positive, while Valerie's here is perfect. Then again, she had several months to heal her loss, to take a step or two forward. Good for her. I hope she and T.B. get another chance at romance :)
We don't really have proms in Mexico... The graduation dance is pretty much the equivalent, but that one happens usually at the close of the school year. I went to the one for my then-boyfriend's graduation, except we weren't really "together" at that specific moment... And I got horribly drunk and made an ass of myself. Yep. Not the most romantic memories :D (It's taken me a good quarter-century to be able to laugh about this.)
So glad you joined the Lost & Found hop, J.Q.! I'll be back to your blog for more :)
Guilie @ Life In Dogs
Lovely story.
I never attended my prom.
But so many stories do come out of them don't they.
Very well told!
She finally figured it out!
I went to my senior prom but I hardly even remember who I went with.
Sweet story, JQ. I couldn't figure out where it was going. Nicely done. :) I'm sharing.
Oh dear, Guiiie, at least your graduation dance was a memorable one. I'm not familiar with the story you mention, but the scene does remind me of Val and T.B. too. I live in a senior community in the winter. A story like this happens to many of the folks here. But not me, I've been married to my junior prom date for over 40 years!! Happy to be a part of the blogfest. Thank you.
Thanks, Rolanda.
Hi, Alwx. That must've been some prom! Thanks for stopping in!
Thank you, Marsha. I like you described it as a sweet story. Thank you for sharing.
What a fabulous story! I loved it! I was captivated from the very beginning. I felt as if I were Valerie, experiencing what she was seeing and feeling. Really nice!
I didn't go to my prom. I actually graduated a year early so I didn't attend school my senior year. I goofed off and had a blast for half a year before starting college early. Those were the days! How I miss them!
Beautiful story. Great submission for the Lost & Found.
Michele at Angels Bark
I loved the ending to your atory, JQ. It really brought a smile to my face.
We didn't have proms when I was at school, but they've become a lot more common now, and my children all had a prom night. We had a "leavers' party" in my day, and I remember it well as I was walked home afterwards by half a dozen young men - much to my parents' surprise :)
Thanks for the sweet story, and for bringing back good memories :)
JQ, a lovely story with many facets. I love the motif of the flowers and how they add to the emotion of the first scene. Beautifully done. And the teen angst...anyone with a teenager recognises this!
That was brilliant.
My high school did have proms, and dances, and such. I never went to any though. Wish I had.
Michelle, thank you. Thrilled to know you were captivated by the story.
Helena, glad the story made you smile. Half a dozen boys accompanied you? I've never heard a leaver's party. Leaving/graduating from school? I love learning new lingo.
Thank you, Denise. You may not know that I am a retired florist, so flowers appear in a lot of my stories. Glad they added to the emotion of the story. Thanks for co-hosting the blogfest--so many delightful posts and a variety of entries on the lost and found love topic.
Hi Dolorah. Brilliant? Aw, thank you so much.
How perfect! I loved it.
A guy showed up at my grandma's funeral. No one knew him, and he was sitting all alone. I went to talk with him and he said he had met my grandmother at a community dance. He brought her violets (he said they were her favorite, I never knew, but she did love purple) and filled her dance card and kept her to himself the whole night. He thought he had a chance, but then my grandfather stole her away.
It was sweet. I knew my grandma and grandpa's story (they eloped), but never considered there was any more to the story.
What a wonderful story! And perfect for this blog hop.
I went to my senior prom with a fella who was a very good friend of mine. I worried no one would ask me, so he said we could either go to his or to mine. (We went to different schools.) After that, a bunch of other guys who "could" have been love interests asked me, but it was too late. All to the best. My friend and I had a blast.
Outstanding story. Great one for the Lost and Found theme. Thank you!
I never went to any of the school dances, not even senior prom. I wasn't very involved in high school.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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