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Dreamy Alaska, Turtle’s Tears, The Happiest Animal and More …
Month: February 2022
The Crazy Ride
Wasn’t planning a sequel, but my readers do have a way of swaying me at times. Hope you enjoy the conclusion to Songs in the Snowstorm
His head was throbbing, and why did he feel cold and wet. Why was he on the ground? He sat up and oooh things began to spin. Putting his head down he waited a bit before raising it again.
The song “Achy breaky heart” popped in his head, but he replaced the word heart with head.
He remembered now what had happened, he had been “The King of Fools”, and was a victim of carjacking. His “baby ” was now gone and who knew if he would ever see it again.
First thing he had to do was call someone for a ride. Unfortunately he was far from home. He had set off on a little vacation with his new truck, so much for a fun vacation.
Grabbing his cell phone from his pocket he let out a deep sigh. It was shattered! Now what?
Hitchhiking didn’t appeal to him but he knew he couldn’t walk far, his legs were shaky.
It didn’t take too long before a car stopped for him. The passenger window came down a little and a man spoke, “Do you need some help sir?”
Derek saw a lady at the wheel. What would the chances be that he would meet another criminal couple? It was either risk it or stay in the freezing cold with a throbbing headache. At least the snow had stopped falling.
“I have been carjacked so if not too much trouble I would like a ride to the nearest hotel for the night.”
“Oh how awful, climb in.”
“Thank you so much”
He climbed in the backseat and heard Willie Nelson on the radio. “On the Road Again”. As glad as Derek was to be out of the cold he longed to get off the road and into a warm bed.
“So where is the closest hotel. Arthur?”
“How would I know, Charlotte ? They don’t let me out of the “prison” much, you know.”
“Yeah, says one who escaped to Hawaii, without inviting me!” Charlotte’s voice rose an octave.
“Oh woman, you sound like a broken record!”
Derek’s head was hurting more, was he with escaped convicts? Had he stepped into the Twilight Zone or something? Groaning, he closed his eyes,
“Sorry sir, we are being rude, arguing in front of you. We don’t know where a hotel is but we are almost back to the prison and our warden Julie will be glad to help you.”
“Arthur! For the last time, Julie is our nurse not our warden.”
“Prison Blues” was playing now and Derek was so confused. They escaped prison and now were headed back there??
A few moments later they pulled into the Golden Oaks Retirement Home. Derek felt relief, though still confused.
Charlotte hit the curb as she parked.
“Sir, you are lucky you just rode with us for a short time.”
Charlotte made a face at Arthur. “You are the one who had their license taken away.”
“Yeah, yeah, bring up a minor detail like that.”
As they all got out of the car Arthur and Charlotte were still going at it and Derek couldn’t believe his eyes. His truck was in the parking lot! Was he dreaming? He headed over to it and sure enough it was his.
Arthur and Charlotte were so happy for him and the three of them hatched a plan.
30 minutes later Derek recognized the couple walking towards his truck. “Ok, everyone, ready for action?”
Arthur got out of the car and started walking then collapsed on the ground.
“Honey, we have to help that man.”
“We need to get out of here, this was supposed to have been a quick stop. Grab money from your Uncle Larry and leave!”
“I couldn’t help that the old geezer was stingy about giving the money.”
Arthur groaned loudly. “Sir, whats wrong?” The lady bent down beside him.
“I think I sprained my ankle if you two could help me in?” Arthur watched out of the corner of his eye at Charlotte heading into the home.
Fifteen minutes later the couple were riding in the back of a squad car and Derek was being introduced to Nurse Julie.
Derek smiled, he didn’t expect a “prison warden ” to look so good.
“Please feel free to spend the night here in our guest room.”
He felt the warmth of her hand, as she touched his head. “With a lump like that I think it would be best for you to get some much needed rest, with a nurse close by.”
For the first time since this crazy night started Derek thought that just maybe something was going right.
Friday’s Super Short Stories!
When you intended to run the dishwasher overnight … but unfortunately the dishwasher didn’t read your mind and start itself.
There are a lot of reasons for War …. but one fact remains true … no matter the cause… innocent people always suffer … Pray for Ukraine!
I didn’t have this for my post last week but thought it was worth sharing. The more we know, the more we can help
Songs in the Snowstorm
It was a white out, Derek pulled off on the side of the road. Relieved that he got off the road before hitting anything. This truck was his baby, he had only bought it a month ago.
THUNK!! What was that? Dread flooded through him, someone had hit him. Shaking his head he looked up. Why did things like this always happen to him!
Sighing he opened the door. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it had sounded.
A lady was coming towards him wringing her hands. “I am sooo sorry! I couldn’t see. I …”
Seeing how upset the lady was he began to calm down. Neither of them were hurt and it waa just a dent. Just a dent in his brand new Royal blue Toyota Tundra. He grimaced as he said, “Its okay. This snowstorm came out of nowhere, its not your fault.”
“Thank you so much for understanding. My insurance will cover it, do you want me to get my card?:
The lady was visibly shaking from the cold. In fact she didn’t even have gloves on, her hands had to be freezing.
“We can exchange insurance information in my truck. I will turn the heat on.
She looked a little uncertain. “I promise I am not a serial killer.” he said, trying to assauge her fears.
“Yeah, thats what my last boyfriend said.” Now he was the one with an uncertain face, until she started laughing.
h what a night this was turning out to be. He helped her into his truck and he cranked up the heat.
“What kind of music do you like?”
“Country is fine”
He flipped through the stations and stopped at Willie Nelson singing “To all the girls I loved before”
Wouldn’t this be a story to tell, he thought Him finding a girlfriend in a freak blizzard, because she hit his truck. Not a typical way of meeting your soul mate and a crazy thought indeed.
“So tell me a little about yourself.” She said, looking straight in his eyes. Putting her hand on his leg shocked him some. She moved a little closer. Now Elvis was singing “Love me Tender “, perhaps he should have chosen another station.
Bang! Someone was knocking on his window. The door opened and the lady gave him a big push out the door as the man outside thunked him over the head and he fell down on the snow.
The man jumped inside, put the truck in gear and took off into the storm. “Good job honey! We make quite the team.” She kissed him and gave one last pitiful look at poor Derek sprawled in the snow. “King of Fools” was playing on the radio now.
Sorry, not every tale can be a fairytale ending. 🙂
Unlocking the Secret
This is Part 2 to Monday’s post, Hidden among the Flowers
Bacon was frying on the stove, the smell of it made Rochelle wake up with a smile on her face. Her moutb was watering. It felt so good to be home. No more hospital food!
She had come home last night and had a wonderful night’s sleep in her own bed. There were no nurses waking her up at 2am to check her vitals.
Now she smelled coffee brewing. She got of bed, taking it slow. Her walking could still be a little shaky at times. Grabbing her robe, she walked out into the bright, sunflower kitchen.
“Good Morning Sweetheart! I made you bacon and eggs and your favorite blueberry pancakes.”
Rochelle took a seat at table. “You spoil me mom, you made a feast.”
“You need some good food, you lost weight in the hospital.”
Warming her hands by holding her cup of coffee she laughed, ‘I will probably gain back double, if you keep cooking like this.”
Her mom touched her shoulder, “I am just so thankful to have you back home, when I think…”
Rochelle took her mom’s hand, “Don’t go there mom,we had enough tears. I am going to be fine. I love you.” She squeezed her mom’s hand, as her mom nodded unable to speak for a few moments. “Well those pancakes are going to get cold, I believe we should eat them.” And she took a seat at the table. Her eyes sparkled, looking at her daughter, “Welcome home, my dear.”
Later that day Rochelle was napping on the couch in the sunroom. When she woke up she apotted the large vase of flowers and noticed how pretty they were. Her mom must have put….Rochelle felt her heart drop. Nooo…. oh no…. the key. Had her mom thrown out the key accidentally?
She was afraid to look but she had to know. Reaching down deep into the vase she felt around for it. It had to be there, it just had to. Ahh! Her hand clasped around something cold and hard and she pulled out the key. Exhaling with relief, Rochelle thought how she would have to find a new hiding place.
Only one more week to keep it, then the blackmail letters would stop coming, hopefully! Could she really trust Terry?
Why did she let him have such power over her? He was holding something over her head from their highschool days. Yes, it was embarrasing and she didn’t relish the fact of people finding out, but… was it worth it? The thing is he also had pictures from that one bad night. If those got out she would be mortified. Oh, she hated him!
Her mom would be sooo upset with her if she knew that Rochelle was letting Terry blackmail her, she had never liked him from day 1. Unfortunately it had taken Rochelle longer to find out what a loser he was.
He had given her the key because the police were hot on his trail and he couldn’t risk them finding it with their unexpected searches.
Terry had stolen jewels stashed away. Where they were Rochelle didn’t know, he hadn’t told her. But he did try to tell her that all she needed to do was be his girl again and he would share the profit from the jewels with her. In a week the client that he worked for would be picking up the jewels and paying him big bucks for them.
Rochelle hated helping him and she began hatching a plan. Life was too short to waste it being scared and intimidated.
The plan was working! Rochelle’s heart was beating fast. He would soon be at the coffee shop to meet her. She tried to enjoy her Salted Caramel latte but her throat was getting dry from her nerves.
She couldn’t believe that he had bought her story of falling for him again. Than again he never had been the sharpest tool in the shed. All her sweet talking and putting on the charm had worked. He really was convinced that she wanted him back and so he agreed to show her where the jewels were.
Rochelle saw him come through the door, it was really happening. She put on the most seductive smile that she could muster, feeling uncomfortable with the hungry look in his eyes. She could do this she told herself and she walked over to embrace him.
A month later Rochelle and her mom were soaking up the sun on the beaches of Cancun. Now this was the life!
Her mom turned and looked at Rochelle. “So what crime will you solve next? I like the fringe benefits!”
Rochelle laughed, “Sorry mom, I am done.” But she had to admit that she was enjoying the benefits as well at having turned Terry in when she brought the jewels to the police station. The reward money was quite generous.
Its too bad for Terry that he had underestimated her, she thought as she got ready for some deep sea diving. Who knew, maybe she would find some jewels.
Tuesday’s Thoughts!
I hope your Twosday is going well. If you are looking for a movie to watch I recommend “Death on the Nile” , an intriguing murder mystery that my husband and I both enjoyed yesterday. Neither one of us was right in our guesses of who the killer was , so if you watch it let me know if you guess correctly. For now enjoy reading the following quotes , no guessing needed.
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Hidden among the Flowers
Peering into the large vase she saw that the key was nestled safely at the bottom. No one would think to look for it in there she was sure of it. She finished putting the flowers in the vase, puttijg the key out of her mind. Feeling relieved that she had found a hiding place for it.
Weeks passed and it was time to change the flowers. Every time she changed the flowers she checked to make sure the key was still there and it always was.
Sometimes she felt like hiding the key was more trouble than it was worth but she had no choice. She never should have agreed to the plan but it was too late now. Hopefully soon it would all be over.
One day Rochelle was driving home from work and traffic was a mess. She hated this busy intersection. Her eyes grew large and her scream caught in her throat as she saw a car careening straight towards her. There was the sound of broken glass and everything went black.
“Rochelle, Rochelle, are you awake?” She groaned as she opened her eyes a little. Her mom’s worried face was looming over her. It was blurry at first but gradually it came into focus.
“I was so frightened darling, you almost gave me a heart attack but the Dr said you should be fine. ”
So tired, she was so very tired. She tried to keep her eyes open, but she couldn’t stop from drifting back to sleep.
Her mom held her hand and kissed her cheek. The Dr had said that she would still be very tired even though she had awakened from her coma three days ago. She would have short moments of alertness.
It was hard for her mom to wait but she would. The Dr emphasize how important rest is to her healing and her mom wanted her to fully heal. Oh, her heart clenched when realizing how close she had come to losing her. Tears sprang to her eyes once more.
Wiping them away she watched her daughter sleep, thanking God that she still had her.
It was only Rochelle and her now. Her husband had died 10 years ago, and though it was hard raising Rochelle by herself, she had chosen to not remarry. For the most part she was content being alone and she had developed a really close bond with Rochelle over the years.
She started crocheting again, while sitting by her daughter’s hospital bed. There was one thing that she couldn’t get out of her mind as she crocheted, letting her mind wander.
The other day when Rochelle was sleeping she kept murmuring something about a key. Then she would talk about flowers and then back to the key again. She must still be loopy and not know what she was saying, for what key could she possibly mean?
(To be continued…)
Humor amidst tragedy … Willie Nelson’s fans … Red Crested Tree Rat plays Peek a Boo … and other Facts
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A Moment of Fear
What was that noise? Had he followed her? Her breath caught in her throat along with her heart beating double time. She had been so stupid!
Turning back around, she headed up the stairs as fast as she could go. He may have followed her, but she wasn’t about to stand around and wait for him. She wouldn’t make it that easy for him.
Opening up the first door she came to, she walked in and quickly locked the door behind her. Then she pressed her ear against the door, listening for footsteps. It was all quiet, her heart was slowing down.
“Are you listening for someone?” His chilling voice washed over her and she trembled in fear. He had been waiting for her.
This day was getting worse by the moment. What was she to do now? How would she get away?
“Ouch! You are hurting me!” He didn’t reply as he threw her onto the bed.
“I figured this is where you would come.” He sat down on the bed, pulling her close, running his fingers through her hair.
“You heard something you weren’t supposed to hear, didn’t you?” He yanked sharply on her hair.
Anger spewed forth. “You are a criminal, this was all a ruse, you never loved me! Now I know why you wanted to get married so quickly!
He laughed, “Its a shame you found out, I had plans for you.” Slowly he ran his fingers down her back, his hot breath on her neck.”Tonight could have ended so differently. I didn’t have plans to have blood on my hands on my wedding night. But you leave me no choice, can’t have you ratting me out.”
With his back to the door he pulled out a gun and Lisa’s face paled.
THUD! He dropped the gun, what was that noise. Sounded like an army coming up the stairs. CRASH! The door busted open and … Lisa never had been so happy to see a cow before! It stood on Troy’s legs. Troy wasn’t going anywhere.
Lisa grabbed the gun and then called the police from the phone in the room. Hanging up she bent down and got right in his face. “Looks like tonight is going to go a little differently than you had planned.”
He sneered at her. “You have nothing, How do you know they will believe you?”
“Oh how you underestimate me! Let me introduce myself. Here is my card. She held it up for him to read. “Lisa Mayner, FBI”
Lisa relished with delight at the look on his face. This was the best part of her job, surprising the criminals and turning the tables on them.
“I know where all the evidence is. All the time I spent in your house, you hid things well but I found them. Your thieving, killing days are over.” He groaned, smacking his head on the floor.
A few moments later Patrick walked in. “Betsy! Good work! Patrick rubbed her face. ” Looks like she saved you, Lisa!”
“Oh she did! I had stupidly forgot my gun and my phone.I thought this may be the end. Thanks Betsy!” Lisa kissed her on the top of her head.
Patrick put Troy’s hands behind his back and cuffed them and then Betsy got off his legs.
“Who is that crazy cow?” He sputtered.
“Troy meet Betsy! A cow like no other with a shiny, silver, cowbell!
Friday’s Super Short Stories!
When winning gold takes priority over someone’s well-being there is a big problem!
Read a true story about a young girl and her Mom fleeing North Korea … Human spirit can be so strong in adversity … Puts things in perspective … When tempted to complain …
When I forgot one of my passwords once again … trying to think of a new one and my husband yells from the kitchen … try, “I can’t remember.”…
Nuggets of Gold 