I noticed her straight away. It was a long time since a lady caught my eye like that. After five years of widowhood, I had never started looking again. Don't get me wrong; I noticed if an attractive lady served me at the bank, but I didn't feel attracted....
This story is set in the Summer of 1921 1-William The wide-brimmed hat and cotton clothing I wore did little to shield me from the hot, July sun. It seemed to do its utmost to boil my brain and burn my skin underneath as I worked to remove weeds and contr...
The following day, Thursday, was a typical day at work. Milan and I texted several times and made plans for Friday night. She explained that she would be busy Saturday night with her family as it was her mother’s birthday, and on Sunday she would be at th...
We entered the women's boutique so Brittney could get more candy. “Hi Gregg,” said Debbie. “I was sorry to hear about your wife’s passing.” As we talked, Brittney yelled, “Grandpa, we’re leaving.” “I’ll catch up,” I said. Debbie invited me to her office f...
We didn’t hang out. He didn’t call. I didn’t text. I’d say that I didn’t wait by the phone, but it's the 21st century; it stayed glued to my hand as I doomscrolled Twitter and compared myself to people on Instagram. Was I putting myself in a good place me...
I never expected to be a barfly, but it turned out to be a pretty good life choice. Six-year-old Sarah expected to be a Disney princess. Hell, I looked like one; Snow White, to be specific: black hair, pale complexion, rosy cheeks, ruby lips. My eyes are...
Milan called about 3:30 pm as she left the temple. “What can I bring for dinner? I’m on my way to the store, and then I’ll be over in less than an hour.” “I have everything we need for dinner,” I told her. “But stop at home and get your swimsuit. I’m pool...
Since Trisha and I were going out for a nice dinner, and to meet my sons, I figured we’d take “the nice car,” and not the big Suburban I picked her up in at the airport. As we exited the mudroom into the four-car garage I told her we’d be taking the black...
Over the next week and a half Trisha and I spoke every other night getting to know each other in detail and planning her upcoming visit to Oak Valley. I learned that she had two married sons (25 & 27) and two grandchildren, all living in the Santa Barbara...
The phone call came Sunday afternoon as I was watching a golf tournament on tv and dozing off in my leather recliner. “Can you drive me to Los Angeles in the morning,” said my eighty-seven-year-old father. “Scott is in the hospital,” he continued, referri...
Week 3 Sofia I spent most of the rest of the day thinking about Sofia. It sounded like she was a willing participant, but I wondered if Owen was pressuring her. There was no doubt that I found the leggy blonde very attractive, but I wasn’t going to take a...
I sat in my office, at my desk, going through the motions like I have for the last three years. I’m stuck in a morass of grief and loss. I’m no longer alive, I’m only existing. I continue though because people depend on me, people that I consider dear fri...
As a recent widower, my college-age daughter has been great about coming home to check up on me for the past three months. My wife of twenty-five years, her mother, Cherie, passed away unexpectedly due to cancer. She felt fine one day, the next day she wa...
When my wife died from breast cancer five years ago I was devastated. We had been married for nearly forty years, and it had been a good marriage in every way, including a very active and satisfying sex life which gave us both great pleasure. We weren’t s...
