TUESDAY TALES - WORD PROMPT "PERFECT"

Welcome!  This week we are writing to the prompt "perfect". We have another excerpt from my book with no name. This excerpt is a peek into Professor Mark Garrett. When you finish reading it, hop on over and read the other writers stories. Find them HERE.  

                *****************************************************

Professor Mark Garrett hated sitting alone at University functions. Ever since his wife, Susan, passed away, he was forced to participate on his own. Friends had been kind. He’d been invited to many homes of other professors for dinner and fixed up with a multitude of single women.

He drew the line at mixing with those enrolled at the University. He’d worked hard to establish a stellar reputation and would do nothing to tarnish it, especially for a roll in the hay. 

It had been almost five years now. He’d given himself many lectures that it was time to start over, to begin a new chapter of his life. Still, he put his energies into work and tried to ignore his loneliness. He clung to a romantic, if childish, notion that when the right woman came along, he’d snap out of his depression, spring into action, and find his happily-ever-after. 

After the ceremony, he returned to his old office to pick up his briefcase bulging with student papers to read and grade. One the desk sat a slim volume of poetry titled, From Wordsworth to Frost. Those were two of his favorites.

He wondered who it belonged to, so he lifted the cover to see if there was a name inside. There was an inscription.

 

                Charlotte –

              Merry Christmas.

             L.,

            Corey

 

Corey? Must be Corey Anderson. Could Charlotte be his girlfriend? Probably. Mark smiled. He’d given Susan a volume of poetry when she was in college. It tickled him to see this as the perfect romantic gift again so many years later. He wondered who this person, Charlotte, could be? Certainly no one in any of his classes. He would have remembered such a pretty name.   

 

That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by. 

Tuesday Tales - Word Prompt "Child"

 

Welcome! This week we have a little more information about Charlotte in my story-without-a-title. When you're finished reading bop on over and read the amazing stories of the other Tuesday Tales writers. Find them HERE 

                 ****************************************************************

When Charlotte was a child, she lost her mother. Her father withdrew, leaving the children to fend for themselves. She picked up her mother's duties - keeping house and learning to cook. She and Corey became close. 

When Corey entered college, he insisted on moving into the dorm. Charlotte had been devastated. The last thing she wanted was to be saddled with her father. As she grew into a fine carpenter, he paid her a salary. Soon Charlotte had enough to get herself a modest home. Reluctantly, she accepted responsibility for her father's well being -- his mental health -- and remained in his house. 

Even though Tom depended on her, Charlotte maintained some independence. She made friends with Winnie at Java the Hut, Derek at the hardware store, and Jess Lennox, owner of the old inn with her husband. 

During long, dark nights, Charlotte tired of television and found herself drawn to books. Maybe it was Corey's influence or Professor Garrett's. Charlotte got a library card and, on a snowy winter's eve, she curled up in her mother's rocking chair with a blanket, a romance book, and her cat, Jasper. 

Tom had made the rocker for Charlotte's mother as a wedding present. Charlotte found comfort in the old wooden chair.    

 

Thanks for stopping by.