Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: GAMBLE (04/14/16)
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TITLE: The White Rose | Previous Challenge Entry
By C D Swanson
04/19/16 -
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ADD TO MY FAVORITES
My three besties, all married—and happily I might add— which, of course, is great for them. For others, it’s sort of difficult being around them. It’s---how should I put it? Oh yeah, sickening.
All three, brilliant Ivy League graduates, ahem-until they got hitched. They were---hmmm---how should I put it? Oh yeah, normal!
Not so much at this point in time. No, at this juncture, they no longer possess their own thoughts. It’s as if the moment they said “I do” they said, “I don’t” to being an individual. They seemingly can't exist without being joined at the hip, and/or brain stem of their spouses.
Anyhow, I digress. Let’s get right to the point. They have relentlessly sought to “fix me.” I guess being unhitched is a disgrace, and not politically correct, at least in the suburb in which we live. Yeah, complete with the white picket fences.
Okay, so where was I? Oh right. Anyhow, it all started one evening, not so long ago….
“Flowers for me? Are you sure you’ve the right address?”
The delivery man from the local florist just stared at me without a response.
“Um, okay. Well, hang on a minute.” I reached for my change purse, “Thanks have a great day.”
The note attached to the long-stemmed white roses read, “I’m not a stalker, but I’ve noticed you for so long, and just wanted to send you these to brighten your day. I hope to meet you one-on-one real soon. Warmest regards from a distance.”
The arrangement was pristine in beauty, from the glittery white vase, to the white ribbons wrapped about white butterflies.
On the way to lunch to meet my besties, I kept thinking about the flowers. My friends waved to me from across the crowded restaurant.
“Hey Ashley, we’ve been waiting a long time. Anything wrong?”
“No…”
“What?”
Josie looked at Michelle then Kim. They each had a strangle look on their faces.
“No, I just had a delivery from some stalker. Well, the note claims he’s not a stalker…”
The simultaneous shriek just about shattered my eardrum. Wait, I’m sure it punctured it. Is this blood pouring out my ear?
“Come on, fess up?” Josie sat at the edge of her chair, hands clasped under her chin.
“There’s nothing to fess up. It was a gorgeous arrangement, that’s it. Nothing else to report...sorry.”
The rest of the lunch went just about the same. Each one asking questions, until it progressed to various scenarios, in which my three wonderful, but very impulsive friends, over-romanticized about possible outcomes.
“I bet you’ll fall for this man. He’s probably your mate!”
They were in a huddle when I left the table. Oh boy! Well, I gave them something to talk about.
After that day, the flowers arrived every Saturday for the next month. It was always the same arrangement, but still, no name from the person sending them.
Until finally, I received the flowers but this time, with an invitation to attend a black tie event. “I would love to introduce myself formally, so what better place than a black tie event. I hope you’re smiling at my pun…if not, I promise you will be by the end of our beautiful evening. Meet me and make me the happiest man on earth. With Warmest Regards, M.”
I didn’t know what to think, or do. I called my friends for advice. They all wanted me to go, of course, not surprising.
Up until the last moment I was undecided. I prayed about it, and wondered if this was “God sent” and His plan. Plus, it was in a public place, I wasn’t going to be alone with this person M.”
I slipped into a black evening gown and secured my blonde waist length hair into a glittery clasp. I thought, “Why not? Sometimes, life is a gamble, as they say.”
I walked in, and there he was.
What I didn’t know, was at that precise moment, there was someone else watching from a distance.
A white rose fell to the ground…
Fiction
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Wing His Words
But seriously, this is a great read, with a terrific build-up to an end that we are left to imagine.
I can only hope that your stalker was not a serial type - on a "frequent flower" program ;-)
though flowers and stalks do have a clear connection. That's enough with the puns, maybe I should just back-petal out of here....
I have been single for 30 years now, so I know about the match making friends. The closest I ever came to a stalker was a note left on my car. He turned out to be a life long friend, though. To this day we talk on the phone. Sent by God, He is a Christian.
Loved this story!