A Little Bit of Lace

Lizzy let the sales clerk talk her in to it.  She had told the woman there was no point, yet the sales clerk insisted that she should try it.  She told Lizzy that she should do it for herself.  The persistent clerk said that she might really like the fit and that it would likely make her feel sexy simply wearing it.  Considering that as a Pretty Panties Club member it was free, Lizzy eventually gave in.  She put the hot pink, lacy thong in the drawer thinking it would live a long boring life there.  Lizzy wasn't sure exactly why she decided to try it on today but she had.  She couldn't believe it, it was actually way more comfortable than she would ever have thought.  And as for the feeling sexy part, maybe there was some truth to it.  Maybe it really did make her feel flirtatiously feminine and it was showing.  Why else would Nathan the waiter keep looking at her that way.  He seemed so "out of her league" yet he kept giving her that smile that made her insides flip flop.  She convinced herself that it was all nonsense. Notions of the hunky waiter being interested in her was crazy.  Ideas that it had anything to do with barely wearing lacy pink underwear was ridiculous.  It all seemed like utter foolishness until she opened the little black notebook to retrieve the bill. Instead of a bill there was a note that simply read "'PAID - Nathan."

Dear Reader

Tonight I decided that in lieu of a story, I would write a letter to my readers (all three of you!) Often a romance novel will have a letter from the author at the beginning or end of the book.  This is mine. 

I have always enjoyed creating. I have always enjoyed surveying my creations and taking delight in them.  I totally get Genesis 1:31 (God saw all that he had made.)  I remember making embroidery floss angels one Christmas.  Each one had a different personality.  I lined them up in a row and then would just look at them.  I would go away from them and then come back to marvel some more.  I confess that I have been doing that a bit with the Romance Novel of the Day.  I enjoy re-reading the stories.  I like to pick favorite characters, one liners, and story lines. And reading them often still makes me giggle. 

One of my favorite female characters is Starla Devine.  I love the name which was formed by two names that I  heard  in a parenting group meeting.  I liked her character.  And comments from a reader endeared her to me even more.  So the name Starla Devine occasionally floats by  in my head and I smile.  The other day when I saw some romance novels at the library,  I noticed the names of the authors.  I realized that Starla Devine was definitely the name of a romance novel author.  So in celebration of the creation of 10 romance novels, I have added a pen name to the Romance Novel of the Day.  Just one more reason to smile when I read them.

At Your Service

"AT&T, Customer Service Department. Hello, My name is Zed.  It would be my pleasure to assist you today.  Whom am I speaking with and how can I help you?" For the hundredth time that day, he had said those words and for the hundredth time that day he hadn't really meant it. Saying those words paid the bills while Zed tried to get his photography business off the ground.  Saying those words kept him from starving. And in response to those words, he had been yelled at, cursed at, and even hung up on numerous times just that day.  

Zed braced himself for the onslaught when he heard a gentle voice say, "Hi.  My name is Livy. How can you help me?  Well lets see.  You could rake the  leaves in my yard.  You could help me find an extra fifty dollars a month to cover the rent increase. You could take me to a hockey game.  You could send me flowers.  You could massage my tired feet.  But I will settle for your simply helping me get my phone line restored."

Zed was momentarily speechless. There was something about her voice.  He heard a frailness yet a strength.  There was seriousness yet humor.  She was at the end of the rope yet had hope.  For the first time that day, he meant the words.  Zed did want to help her.  It would be his pleasure.  And if he had anything to do with it, he would help her with more than just getting her phone line restored.

Just a little Blu

Indie sighed.  She couldn't help it. Could she?  She was trying to be positive really she was.  She was trying to be grateful.  But she just couldn't stop the cloud from passing by.  Indie couldn't help but feel like somehow it was her mother's doing.  Not that she was into the blame game. Yet somehow she could not help but think that she would be less prone to days of "blue" if she had not been christened Indigo Blu .  Her mother was an artist and she loved blue. Indie's mom thought it made sense to name her child after the soft, inspiring color. Sure it made sense.  Being named Blu perfectly explained why she was always sighing and could never get to the silver lining. Indie couldn't help but think that she would be more cheerful if she had been named Violet or Rose. She tried to be cheerful, really she did.  Indie tried to be excited.  She had new hip glasses, yet all she could think about was how she had needed bifocals.  She wanted to enjoy her new hairstyle but all she could see was the increasing gray.  She wanted to enjoy being free and single but all she could think about was how lonely she was.  Yeah, it was hard being Indigo Blu.

Footnote 1: yes this does not follow the rule of two characters. But sometimes rules are meant to be broken.  Sometimes there is no handsome man waiting just around the corner.  

Footnote 2; This is not all autobiographical. Yes I am getting bifocals.  Yes the gray is increasing.  The lonely part is based on a conversation I had with a friend.  Sometimes it happens.  But no one needs to worry.  I am not Blu!

Sweet Enticement

Kinsley and Madison sat on the couch each holding a steaming hot cup of coffee.  On the coffee table in front of them sat 13 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies.  Madison shook her head in disbelief as she viewed the pile of calories.  "Kinsley McKay, what in the world lead to the purchase of 13 boxes of cookies!  Just yesterday you declared yourself on a wheat free and sugar free diet.  These do not look very wheat or sugar free to me!"

Kinsley gave her best friend a sheepish look as she said, "it was the man selling them."  Kinsley proceeded to tell how she had gone into the store for a few groceries. She noticed the cookie table set up outside the door and steeled herself against their enticement.  She was feeling triumphant as she headed toward the car but then she saw him.  In the midst of the bundled up giggling girls was this man, a very attractive man.  He too was bundled up to ward off the evening chill.  Kinsley was stirred by this scene of which she assumed was a father helping his daughter sell her cookies on this cold March night.  She thought the least she could do was buy one box of cookies. As she proceeded to pay for her box of Thin Mints, one of the little girls came up to hug the man and he kissed her on the forehead.  With that, Kinsley thought she should have a box of Samoas as well.  As he was handing her the change, she noticed that his left hand was bare.  So Kinsely decide that the least she could do was buy a box of each of the seven varieties.  It was at that point that he looked at her with those piercing blue eyes.  That was all it took for the cookie order to double.  

"But Kinsely, there are only 13 boxes of cookies here," Madison said with a question in her voice.  Again Kinsley gave her friend a sheepish grin. In shock over her momentary lack of sanity, Kinsley had eaten one whole box of cookies on the way home. "I hope for the purchase of 14 boxes of cookies and the invasion of a gazillion calories, you got that man's phone number," Madison said.  "No," Kinsley said, "but Zyler Williams did get mine."