Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well
and staying safe!
I have been hibernating—in my house, at the office,
in my car—wherever I can find some coolness. It is way too hot for me right now
in the Valley of the Sun. I’m sitting here listening to my air conditioner
continue to hum and praying it lasts another year.
Apparently, we are under a
heat dome and I don’t know when it’s going to let up. The thermometer I have in
my carport (in the shade) has been regularly reaching 118 degrees and I can
attest to the fact if feels like a blast furnace outside.
I should be used to this after living here for over 40 years, but quite frankly, I
am not.
But there’s an upside. I’m saving money
because I don’t want to go anywhere except to places I have to (like the office
for the day job. I run all my errands on my home) so home it is, which gives me
more time to write.
Last week, though, was an unavoidable trip to
the car dealership because my Brandy (that’s what I named my car) was acting
kinda hinky. When I say hinky, I mean just plain strange. The radio was cutting
out and the display screen was going black. This is a livable situation. I don’t
really need music when I’m in my car although I do like to sing while I’m
driving—usually loud and sometimes off key, but I don't care. The other thing that was happening when the
radio cut out is that the air conditioning was cutting out, too. I know.
Strange. And unacceptable.
I refuse to live without air conditioning. (I'm old and cranky enough as it is. Can you imagine if I was old, cranky and hot!?!?!?) So off to the dealership I went. I go to
the dealership because they treat me well and offer a few perks, like
contracting with Uber so I can wait at home while they work on my car. Works for me.
Anyway, about this trip home from the dealership after dropping off my car.
My husband tells me that I have ‘that kind of face’. People tell me things…usually
things I don’t want to know. They take one look at my face and open up like
water spilling from a dam. Or a tidal wave.
What do they talk about? Anything and
everything.
Such was the case last week. The Uber driver
was a sweet young man who proceeded to tell me his entire life story. And what
could I do? I was trapped in the car, tooling down the highway. I couldn’t go
anywhere. And I certainly couldn’t tell him to stop talking (that’s not my way)
so I let him talk. I’m not sure, but I think he needed to.
And you know what? The incident (and this is
not the first time this has happened—probably won’t be the last!) made me
realize something about my current work in progress (Wife Unexpected). My heroine (Faith) seems to be a woman with ‘that
kind of face’ because the hero is telling her things he hasn’t told another
living soul. It’s freeing (and scary) for Tysen, but the big question is, can Faith
accept who and what he was before they met? I think she can because deep down, he's a good man. And she’s falling
in love with him even if she doesn’t realize it yet.
And Brandy? She needed a new battery and a new
fuse box, all covered under the extended warranty I purchased when I bought her.
Yay!
Anyway, that’s all for me. I’m going to
hibernate a little more and get back to writing. Stay well! Stay safe! And
remember to spread kindness wherever you go!
Marie
