Sorry I missed last week. Made a quick trip to my sister's in Indy and came home to a flooded basement. Our sump pump quit--for no apparent reason. My words of wisdom for this week: never, never, leave papers on the floor and don't put things you care about in cardboard boxes on the floor. The basement was finished and we lost all the carpet. Could have been worse--like sewer or storm water. Thank goodness, our adult children live nearby and came to the rescue. So overwhelming for us, but they organized a dumpster and hired movers along with boxing up stuff and hauling it out to our garage. Now to go through it all. I really didn't plan on purging again. Yikes!
So much for my tale of woe. I'm sharing snippets from my Christmas story, ROMANCE REKINDLED. Abby's mother and new boyfriend (can you call a 70+ year-old man a boyfriend?) were arrested the night before. It's Christmas Eve morning, and they're appearing before a judge, dressed as Santa.
Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited some from the original.
“Well, now, is everyone here?” Judge Santa asked, “What about lawyers, since this is such an important case?” His
eyes twinkled beneath the white fur of his hat.
George stood, “Yes, sir, we’re both
here, and we don’t need lawyers.”
“Yeah,”
Mother stood, “We don’t need no stinkin’ lawyers.”
While
George chuckled and Mother chortled over the movie quote, Abby wanted to crawl
under the bench—the judge rolled his eyes.
“Deputy, get those ridiculous
handcuffs off those two upstanding citizens—they are hardly likely to escape,” as
soon as the cuffs were removed, Judge Santa said, “Now, what is this all
about?”
Deputy Dawson drew himself up, “Florence
Ten Eyck and George Watson are accused of trespassing and theft—here’s the
evidence,” he held up the large, black garbage bag then spilled the contents onto the table in
front of the judge.
“Tell me, Deputy, are those five
loaves of bread? Where are the two fishes?” Again, the judge’s eyes twinkled,
and he looked like he was trying not to laugh at his own joke.
Blurb:
Abby Ten Eyck likes her life the way it is. She runs a successful business, has a well-adjusted teenage daughter, and has managed to keep men at bay since her divorce fifteen years ago. Just before Christmas, she’s hit with change. Her mother decides to sell the family home. Then she’s arrested, with an unknown man. Could this new man in her mother’s life create more upheaval? Or could his handsome son be just what Abby needs to revive her dormant feelings?
Sam Watson embraces transition from frenetic Wall Street to a small Michigan resort town. His health is worth moving close to his dad who seems over the moon in love. But it’s the daughter of his father’s girlfriend who fascinates him. Abby Ten Eyck reminds him of his driven self. He must help her slow down before she burns out. Like he did.
ROMANCE REKINDLED is available at:
I'll be at another book event all day Sunday, but I'll be sure to visit when I return or during the week.
I like the humor in this scene!
ReplyDeleteOh, that is horrible about your basement being flooded. Must have been the time for it. Our neighborhood had a bunch of flooded basements due to construction and heavy rain. But, it was sewage. Luckily, we had very little and no damage compared to our neighbors. We made sure to get everything important off the floor after that, especially since the construction isn't finished yet.
Thanks, Jess. Sewage? Yuck! Puts things in perspective. At least ours was just ground water. Still, mold can grow. We're waiting for the remediation team to come back.
Delete" . . . can you call a 70+ year-old man a boyfriend?" I believe the PC term is "geezerfriend."
ReplyDeleteLOL Good one, Ed.
DeleteSo Great that your children live by. So helpful. Great snippet.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Trin. It is a blessing that they live nearby. So thankful.
DeleteDelightful scene, Di. I wish the one you came home to was as sweet. Been there, cursed that. Nothing worse and smellier.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. Right now, it doesn't smell. Hope they can spray enough whatever to prevent mold.
DeleteWell, at least it sounds like her mother's crime wasn't too terrible. Now if she can stop being a smartass, maybe the judge will just let her go. Fun snippet!
ReplyDeleteLOL Thanks, Alexis. Mother is just coming into her own--smartass and all. It's a shock for Abby.
DeleteTotally delicious. You've done it again, Diane.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Charmaine.
DeleteSo sorry to hear about the flooded basement! Enjoyed the excerpt, this was a fun holiday story...
ReplyDeleteThank on both counts, Veronica. I had so much fun writing this story. Mother changes so much (too much according to her daughter).
DeleteFun snippet - if ever I go before a judge (rolls eyes) I hope he's like that one! So sorry about your basement though, what a thing to have to deal with after you've been away. Good advice about the papers and boxes though, hope yours have dried out.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the snippet, Lyn. Yeah, I'd want this judge, too.
DeleteWell, the crime doesn't seem too serious, and Santa-judge seems like a good sport! I doubt they'll do too much time. :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL Thanks, Christina.
DeleteIt is a little silly, all this fuss over a little bread. But they'd better not annoy Judge Santa! He can make their silly crime have a serious penalty.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Caitlin. The deputy is so "by the book" and he was following the owner's demands. Still . . .
DeleteYowsers on the flood! Hope nothing too important was damaged. Loved the snippet. Can we have a story about Judge Santa. I really, really like him.
ReplyDeleteLOL I never thought of the judge having his own story. I might make that work--one of these days. I have some short stories with characters from this "world" and have been thinking about combining themm into an anthology. Thanks for the idea.
DeleteI chuckled when she said, “We don’t need no stinkin’ lawyers.” Great scene. Sounds like the judge has a sense of humor too.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked that, Karen. It just seemed to fit.
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