Recalculating Route-
Traveling companions. That’s how it began. She was a widow, alone after a long and happy marriage, struggling to rebuild around the hole in the center of her life. He was at loose ends after retiring from a successful business and a string of unsuccessful marriages. All they had in common were empty days to fill and an urge to tour the open road, but as they travel side-by-side, their feelings grow. Serendipity brought them together, but every journey has to end. What happens when they reach the end of the road?
Excerpt from Recalculating Route by Beth Carpenter
Marsha leaned forward to pick up the silver frame holding their wedding photo. Eric managed to look outrageously handsome even in the silly white rented tuxedo she had chosen. What was she thinking? She smiled broadly in the picture, her poufy veil framing her hair, arranged in shiny wings on either side of her forehead. They looked much too
young to be making solemn promises. They had kept their vows, though, their devotion growing throughout their marriage. Good times and bad, they had stayed together.
“Hello, my love.” She reached to touch his face in the picture. “We had a good time, didn’t we? We promised ourselves to one another until death do us part.” She sighed. “And even then, I didn’t want to let go. But Eric, I think it’s time.” She reached for a tissue from the coffee table and dabbed her eyes. “I love him, Eric. Not the same as I love you, but a different love, just as special. I wish you could meet him. You’d like each other. I can picture the two of you, sitting under the trees in the back yard with a beer in your hand, swapping stories.”
She laughed. “Ben would love your story about Nicky Flynn, trying to get out of a spelling test by putting an Alka Selzer in his mouth to convince the teacher he was having a seizure. I remember you had to send him out of your office to wait because you could hardly keep from laughing out loud when you tried to discipline him. I’ll try to tell Ben that story, but you tell it better.”
She traced the curving lines in the picture frame. “I’ll always love you, Eric.” Her face began to grow hot. She sighed, set down the picture, and walked out on the back porch to let the breeze soothe the heat from her skin as the hot flash continued.
Lindy followed her out. The climbing rose Eric had planted grew lushly over the trellis at the western edge of the porch, blocking the sun while letting the breeze through, making the porch a shady oasis. Every year, just before Mother’s Day, it covered itself with clusters of apricot buds that opened into extravagant sprays of pale golden roses.
She noticed something yellow on the trellis, and frowned. Once, spider mites had almost decimated the rose, leaving the leaves pale and spotted, but Eric had managed to save it. She went closer to examine the problem.
A single yellow rose blossomed bravely. It shouldn’t have been there, not in September. This rose always bloomed in May, and only in May. Yet there it was: a yellow flower. Each tissue-thin petal was a work of art, deep yellow at the base, shading to a paler tint and almost white along the curving tip, the innermost petals hugging the shaggy stamens at the center of the blossom.
She bent to inhale the lemony-sweet fragrance of this miracle, her hot flash forgotten. A single tear fell onto the leaves of the rose, but this time it was a tear of gratitude, that she should experience so much love in a lifetime.
Amazon link: http://amzn.com/B00F4KL1WM
Barnes & Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Link to Blog Tour Schedule and Prize Description: http://www.bethcarpenterbooks.
Friday, Sept. 27 – Writer Wonderland Book Feature and Review
Saturday, Sept. 28 – Joanne Guidoccio Guest post: Reinvention and Baby Boomers
Sunday, Sept. 29 – Road Trip Match Game Match the tourist attraction with the fact
Monday, Sept. 30 – Clean Romance Reviews Excerpt AND
Tifferz and her Sisterz Book Reviews Excerpt
Tifferz and her Sisterz Book Reviews Excerpt
Tuesday, Oct. 1 – It's Raining Books Character Interview
Wednesday, Oct. 2 – My Life in Stories Guest post: Growing Characters and Excerpt AND
Not Now ... Mommy's Reading Guest post: Romantic Settings
Not Now ... Mommy's Reading Guest post: Romantic Settings
Thursday, Oct. 3 – Kindle Book Review Review by Vicky Brinius
Friday, Oct. 4 – Boomer Lit Fridays Guest Post: Examining AttractionBlog Tour Giveaway
Prize package includes a $20 Amazon gift certificate, a quilted tote bag, note cards, a mouse pad, a print, bead bracelets, and other swag for a total package worth $50.
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