ELEGANT PLUS CONTENT TAGS:body image, book review, Chamein Canton, fiction, Not His Type, novels, Plus Size, romance women

Elegant Plus Magazine is pleased to announce the latest publication from our wedding columnist, Chamein Canton:  a dangerously curvy novel, Not His Type.   As Chamein moves from her ground-breaking non-fiction guide for plus-size brides, Down That Aisle in Style, she takes on romantic fiction to prove big girls get loved too.

In Not His Type, romance abounds for the full-figured heroine, Cathy Chambers when she meets the man of her dreams…… the catch, so she thinks, is that as a super-star baseball player he is usually surrounded by skinny model types.  Can she overcome her own body image issues and self-consciousness to win this wildly handsome and talented man?

Find out for yourself and pick up a copy from your favorite bookseller.  Coming out October 2, 2007 , it is already available on Amazon for pre-orders.  You won’t want to miss this one!

Congratulations Chamein!  We can’t wait!

Popularity: 15% [?]

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Meet Pat Ballard:
Queen of Rubenesque Romances

by Lisa Klobucar, Regular Contributor to Elegant Plus Magazine

Elegant Plus  is pleased to have author Pat Ballard share some of her work and wisdom with us. Pat has written such novels as, Abigail’s Revenge and A Worthy Heir.  Her central female characters are BBW’s.  Pat, who is the self proclaimed, “Queen of Rubenesque Romances” writes witty, romantic tales of men and women who struggle and fall in love. If you are looking for a time out, these are novels that are the perfect escape.

EP: In Abigail’s Revenge, the central character, Abigail is a Plus-size woman. You have the male character Desh, describe her rounded, full frame and her beauty, “…don’t ever be ashamed of your beauty. Don’t run from it. You are a beautiful woman.”

Do you feel that larger women tend to shy away from their curves, their beauty over all?

PB: I think, in most cases, it’s very hard for larger women to accept and believe that they can be beautiful. On a daily basis, we’re told that we can’t be beautiful if we aren’t tall, thin and young.

EP: When writing Abigail’s Revenge, did you have someone in mind for the character of Abigail or was she a product of a fertile and active imagination?

PB: Abigail was mostly a product of my imagination. I wrote the prologue of Abigail’s Revenge one day, just “playing around” with a different writing style. Just to prove that I could write in a more “mysterious” voice than I usually do. I liked the prologue, so I sent it to several reading friends and their reaction was very strong. So I decided to tell Abigail’s story.

EP: The characters within Abigail’s Revenge are rather startled to see Abigail’s new larger frame. Yet, Abigail feels good being a larger woman and makes no apologies for her larger voluptuous figure. Do you feel that Plus-size women need to take a stand for themselves and accept who they are size and all?

PB: Abigail knew a lot of hunger in her childhood, so when she was sent to prison and started having regular meals, her body sought and found its natural fullness. So Abigail couldn’t grasp the concept that she should make herself hungry again by dieting just to be skinny like she used to be. And that’s the point I was trying to bring out to my readers. Each of us has our own mold that our bodies fight to maintain. When we diet, 99% of us gain it right back if we aren’t hungry. So, yes, each of us should accept the size we are, look the world in the face and say, “Hello! This is me! I’m not apologizing for who I am. And I’m not changing who I am just because society thinks I should.”

 EP: The lead female characters in, Abigail’s Revenge and A Worthy Heir are Plus-size women who face personal and emotional obstacles by other characters within  the book due to their size. Do you feel that larger women are treated in a similar fashion say within the workplace, their homes, or in general by society overall?

PB: Yes. I use these other characters in my books to bring out the issues that larger women face. I always have the “opposition” character that I use as the mouthpiece of what we hear and have to deal with every day in our society.

EP: Your books have an underlying tone of self-acceptance and even on your website you have, “10 Steps to Loving your Body”.  Do you feel that in today’s thin-centric society it is important for women of any size to wave their self acceptance banners and proclaim, “I like who I am?”

PB: In two of my books, Nobody’s Perfect and A Worthy Heir, my heroines come into the story as self-confident women. There’s a lot of “me” in those heroines. In three of my books, His Brother’s Child, Wanted: One Groom and Abigail’s Revenge, I’ve brought the heroines into the story not quite as confident. The reason I did this is because I wanted to address some of the issues that most of us have had to deal with, or are still dealing with when it comes to self-acceptance. But what I try to accomplish at the end of my books is to have all my heroines, and hopefully the reader, feeling so good about themselves that they want to walk out into the street and shout, “Hey world! I like me just the way I am!” No matter what size they are. My goal is to remind all women… of any and every size that we’re okay just the way we are.

EP: What inspired you to write about larger characters in your novels?  Do you feel that any of your characters are a personal reflection of yourself?

PB: I discovered romance novels when I was a teenager. My favorite author, at the time, was Emily Loring. I loved her books because they weren’t just romance novels. They also had wonderful “life-messages” written into the story. I knew I wanted to write novels, but I wanted my novels to have a message that would make the reader feel better about themselves when they’d finished my book(s). But at the time, and until I was 33 years old, I was busy starving myself, trying to stay thin.

After I stopped dieting and decided to love whatever body that developed from eating healthily and exercising moderately, I realized that there was no representation of us “big girls” in the media, movies, or books. Then, one day, that proverbial light bulb went off over my head… romance novels with Big Beautiful Heroines. I immediately started my first novel with a Big Beautiful Heroine, Nobody’s Perfect.

Actually, I think all my heroines have a little of me in them. After all, they’re seeing the world through my eyes.

EP:  Do you have any words of wisdom or self encouragement you would like to pass onto other women who read your books?

PB: Just like a snowflake, each one of us is unique. Each one of us is a one-of-a-kind work of art. There never has been, nor will  there ever be another individual like us. So we don’t have the right not to love ourselves.__________________________

 In addition to romance novels Pat is working on her first non-fiction book, 10 Steps To Loving Your Body, that should be in print by late spring or early summer. If you would like to know more about Pat Ballard and other works by her, please visit her web site.

Popularity: 19% [?]

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 What Readers are saying about Patrick Sanchez and The Way It Is:
 
 ”This book is drama drama drama from start to finish…..You’ll find it hard to put down and if you read it in public you’ll find people staring at you for laughing out loud.”
 
 ”… It was so refreshing to read a book about two truly large women and see how each one of them handled it so differently. The book was hilarious, well written, and has a great ending. BUY IT!“

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Book Review: The Way It Is

By Jen Henderson of Dangerously Curvy Novels for Elegant Plus Magazine

Heroine’s Body Types: Varied

 They don’t know it but they are on a collision course with each other, three women who will change each other’s lives:

           Rubenesque Ruby wants to be thin and craves her mother’s and society’s acceptance almost as much as she does food.  But every time these opposing desires start bickering in her head, the food demons win out and she finds herself agonizing as each bite she consumes carries her farther away from her size six ideal.  Anxious to love something other than food Ruby fixes her eye on her gorgeous coworker, but her low self esteem keeps her from trying to reach out to him.  Or to any man she wants.  Up until this point the peaks of her romantic experiences have been flatter than Kansas, and the only men in her life now are her lackluster ex-hubby and her gay pal.

 

           Bootylicious Wanda is anxious to make it big in the plus modeling world, but she has three strikes against her: size, age, and race.   Add to that a snotty, rich, daddy’s girl coworker who undermines her at every turn, Wanda will be lucky not to wind up in the slammer for wringing the chick’s neck.

 

            Luscious Simone is dying to get out of the local TV news racket and into the limelight of the entertainment industry.  Literally.  She even figures the notoriety of leaving behind a trail of boy toys might add to her cachet.  But she’s got tunnel vision where her career is concerned and doesn’t see that her life is unraveling around the edges.  Living fast and furious might be her ticket to the top–or to six feet underground.

What worked for me:

 

This book has a great cover!  It’s sexy and sassy, colorful and eye-catching.  And most importantly it doesn’t downsize the big girls.

 

            The story is funny, has interesting characters, good plot twists, and a great if not completely pat (the way I like it) ending.  Yet it takes the time to insert insightful comments on various social issues rather than deliver up pure fluff.

  

           The characters have some flaws that render them unlikable at times, but it’s these same flaws which make them leap off the page with realism.  (The author also did a great job nailing down the behavior and  innermost thoughts of an unhappy-to-be-fat woman.)

 

            Size-wise Ruby and Wanda were abundant and Simone was petite but shapely.

What didn’t work for me:

I slurped this story down in one sitting.  So honestly, the few technical issues I saw barely registered with me as I was so anxious to keep cruising along.

 

Overall:

The Way It Is  is: . . . outrageous!  You’ll laugh, cry, and possibly throw a few things while reading this book. Don’t miss it!

 

Warning: there are some coarse words, eating disorders, and sexual references in this book.

 

NOTE:  Catch the Elegant Plus author interview with Patrick Sanchez!  In addition to The Way It Is, Patrick Sanchez has written: Girlfriends, Tight, and Once Upon a Nervous Breakdown.

Popularity: 19% [?]

ELEGANT PLUS CONTENT TAGS:BBW, Beauty, body image, Book Reviews, Confidence, fiction, Plus Size, plus size boots, romance, self esteem, Size Acceptance, women Women and Media

“Lots of drama…truly hilarious…a fast enjoyable read that readers will devour!”                                     –Romantic Times Magazine about Patrick Sanchez’s The Way It Is

  An Interview with Author Patrick Sanchez:  The Way It Is

by Elegant Plus Magazine

    Elegant Plus Managing Editor, Thea Politis, takes a few minutes to chat with Patrick Sanchez, the hot author who penned the voluptuous and entertaining current  Chick Lit hit  The Way It Is .    A native of the Washington, D.C. area he currently lives in Arlington, VA with his daschund, Gomez.  He loves to hear from his readers and you can drop him a line at:  PO Box 4493, Falls Church VA 22044.

EP: Patrick, glad to have you here. Tell us a little about what led you to write novels from the perspective of a woman, let alone a plus size woman?  And how do you get so well into their/our heads?

PS:  I actually sort of fell into writing from the perspective of women.  I wrote my first novel, Girlfriends, when I was still in my twenties and part of the whole bar scene.  I spent so much time in different bars and nightclubs and thought it would be fun to write about how ridiculous the single’s scene was and that’s where Girlfriends came from.  But originally Girlfriends was more about both women and men making they’re way and finding romance; however, when I sold the manuscript to Kensington Publishing, they requested that I work it into more of a women’s fiction, Sex and The City-type book (now referred to as “Chick-Lit”).  They thought the book would be more marketable that way.  So I did as I was told and scaled back the male characters and beefed up the female characters.  Luckily, Girlfriends was a success, so I decided to stay in the genre when I wrote my second novel, but I wanted to do something a little different.

When I started The Way It Is, I was in my thirties and rarely saw the inside of bars or nightclubs anymore.  I had grown out of the whole club scene and wanted to write about more mature characters (the characters in Girlfriends are in their twenties while the characters in The Way It Is are in their thirties).  I’d read a few books about large woman and noticed that most of them ended with the heroine losing vast amounts of weight and then finding love and having her whole life come together.  I thought it would be fun to write a book where the heroine never loses weight but, instead, learns to love herself for who she is.

I’m not sure how I “get so well into women’s heads” or if I even do.  Believe it or not, there is so much of me in all my characters.  I did do a lot of research and interviews when writing The Way It Is, but most of who the characters are just came from my gut and my instincts about how they would react in certain situations.

EP: Are your characters in The Way It Is drawn from real life people? If so, whom?

PS: I think all writers borrow traits and personalities from real life people and weave bits and pieces into our characters.  None of the characters are based on any one real-life person, but they do share some traits of people I know.  Although, like I mentioned earlier, there is more of me in all the characters than anyone else.  A lot of my own life and personal struggles where channeled into Ruby.  I thought a lot of Queen Latifah when I was writing about Wanda as both Queen Latifah and Wanda are confident and beautiful plus-size African American women.  I thought about Jennifer Lopez too when I wrote about Simone.  I certainly have no knowledge of Jennifer Lopez having an eating disorder, but I think she and Simone share the same raw determination to succeed.

EP: Ruby, one of your main characters, in the opening scene is enduring what has clearly been a lifetime of put downs about her size from her own mother. This is something many plus women can relate to. What is it about our  society, do you think, that makes this sort of cruel behavior towards our loved ones acceptable?

PS:  I think it’s all about equating being thin with being healthy and happy.  Even though their words hurt, I think loved ones may think they are ultimately helping their fat family members or friends by motivating them to lose weight.  I also think there is this misconception that it’s okay to degrade fat people because fat people “choose to be fat,” that it’s “their fault” and “if they just had some self control they could lose weight.”

EP: Not only are your main characters in different head spaces in regards to their weight — Ruby battles self-esteem issues and related “feel good” closet eating, Wanda is supremely confident in her own skin, and Simone is a once fat, skinny girl who battles her fear of becoming fat again — but they are also each of different races: Caucasian, African-American, and Latina, respectively.  Do you think that any of these weight related behaviors are typical of one American sub-culture or ethnicity or another?  Or were you trying to draw characters to which almost any woman in America could relate?

PS:  I absolutely wanted to draw characters to which almost any woman in America could relate, but at the same time I think there are some cultural differences related to size.  Although I know a number of African American women who diet themselves to death to try and be thin, it does seem that a larger number of plus-size black women seem to be comfortable with their size.  And it’s been my experience that large African American women are much more likely than their white counter parts to dress in sexy revealing clothes.

EP:  What was the significance of including the gay guy pal in the story? The gay community often struggles with many of the same “buff body” ideals that  women do in our society.  Is this significant?

PS:  Absolutely!  Not only are gay men just as obsessed with body image as straight women.  Gay men and fat women seem to share a bond.  It’s like gay men and Cher…for whatever reason where ever you find gay men, you find fat women.  We are both often treated badly by society, misunderstood, and crazy loons are always trying to make us into something we are not…something/someone that fits their ideals and complies with their agenda.

EP:  Do you like the artwork on the cover of your book? Does it capture the essence of your characters in the way you envisioned them?

PS: There are things about the cover art that I do like and things about it that I wasn’t thrilled with.  I like the bright yellow background and, although she is portrayed as impossibly thin (her neck is as big as her waist), the artist’s rendition of Simone was pretty much dead on; however, in my mind, I pictured both Ruby and Wanda much larger than they appeared on the cover.  I’m glad they were not represented as stick figures.  At least they appear as voluptuous women, but I still would have liked them to have been larger.

EP:  Your first novel, Girlfriends was a huge success.  And The Way It Is  looks like it is following suit. What was the difference in your experience in getting the two published?  How did you get the interest of the publishers the first time out?

PS:  When I finished the manuscript for Girlfriends (which I had called Misery & Company when I was shopping it around), I sent query letters and the first few pages of the manuscript to several agents with no luck.  After a little retooling, I contacted some additional agents and actually approached some publishers directly.  This time around I got some interest from two agents (in addition to about 30 rejects), but I also got a direct offer from Kensington Publishing.  The advance was tiny, but I was so thrilled to find a publisher I immediately accepted their offer.

When I was ready to shop around an outline for The Way It Is (after you publish one book you can usually get an advance based on just an outline for later ones) I hired an agent to represent me and negotiate my contract.  This time around the advance was much more substantial and the terms of the contract were much better.

EP: Thanks for chatting with us Patrick!  Readers, , if you like Chick-Lit, this one is a must read! To learn a little bit more about Patrick Sanchez, you can also stop by his web-site.

 NOTE:  Since this interview was first published in 2003, Patrick Sanchez has gone on to write Once Upon a Nervous Breakdown and Tight. 

Check out the hilariously funny  Once Upon a Nervous Breakdown Video below!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=q89ijBycfHI]

Popularity: 23% [?]

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A Romantic Short Story: PRICE

©2003 Windfire WordWeaver (Elizabeth L. Clark), Elegant Plus Featured Author

Find out how one woman’s hurt and bitterness is transformed into sweetness and love through 
the patience of a good man.

Please note: There is some mildly coarse language and suggestive imagery in this story. Please do not read if this will offend. PG rated.

She glared at the winter birds singing far too cheerfully in the old willow tree that waved lazily in the chilly, morning breeze. Meara unlocked the shop door and flipped on the lights. She went about the now familiar routine of setting out new wares, dusting shelves before the shop got busy. She had opened the shop in what was once her husbands game room. When they had divorced she had converted it ruthlessly, erasing all signs of him having ever been there.

Meara sold oils, lotions, essential oil perfumes and handmade silk and satin throws and under garments. She felt good taking huge amounts of money from the same sort of women who had destroyed her marriage. He had left her for a much younger woman, all breasts and giggles. She had made very sure he paid for it. She got the house, the car, half of what was in the bank and forty-five percent of the profits from their business. She didn’t need the money… it was the principle of the thing. She brushed back a lock of dark hair that was liberally laced with silver. She had long since stopped bothering with dying it. She was tired of trying to impress men that wanted youth. Now all she wanted was to run her shop and keep the rest of the world at bay.

She glanced up as the door chime announced her first customer of the day. She smirked inwardly. It was an older man, with a blonde twit hanging off of his arm. Meara was polite as she helped the man waste plenty of money. She couldn’t help but notice the wedding band and the fact that he used cash. Which told her there was a woman at home, foolishly believing her husband loved her. He spent nearly two thousand dollars on his mistress… who giggled and simpered as she clung to his arm.

“Oh thank you baby! I’ll be sure to wear them for you tonight….” 

Meara nearly gagged. 

“Will that be all sir?” She kept her voice polite and even.

He tossed the money at her, staring down the ample cleavage of his mistress. “That will do for now… keep the change.”

They walked out and Meara stashed the cash in the safe. She shook her head. One more marriage heading down the tubes. She poured another cup of coffee and sighed. “When will they learn? Why does it always have to be like this?” She left the thought hanging as some of her more likable customers came in.

Some of her customers were women her age, buying up the special lotions she made as fast as the bottles hit the shelf. They had stopped trying to get her to come to dinner, or agree to a blind date. She was too angry and bitter where men were concerned. At forty-two she had resigned herself to living alone. Why risk being abandoned again? She worked, made her wares and stayed to herself.

She had found out about the affair the hard way. He had gone on a business trip, leaving her to run things in his place. On a whim she had decided to fly out to meet him, for a ‘romantic’ weekend. What she found was her husband of almost twenty years in bed with a woman half his age. Even now she was ill at the remembered image of them stark naked, rutting like animals. She had heard from a mutual friend that she had left him not long after the divorce… which made Meara feel somewhat vindicated.

Not that it erased the long nights spent weeping in pain and grief. Nothing could make up for feeling used and useless. The divorce had been ugly. Meara used it to transmute the pain into a deep hatred that made it easy to take him for all she could. She had walked out of the courtroom, head held high. She had shed her last tears over him and vowed to never allow this to happen again

Had she ever bothered to really look… she would have seen that she was still a beautiful woman. Her figure was toned and trim, her face only showing the marks of the perpetual scowl she now wore. All she saw was the silver hair, the eyes dulled by pain and hate. Eyes that once gleamed like emeralds when she smiled. She avoided mirrors these days. Why be reminded that she was no longer attractive? No longer young.

It was growing dark and a light rain was falling when she started to close up. It was Friday and she was closed over the weekend. She was just getting ready to grab her purse when the door opened. She groaned inwardly.

Mike had heard about this shop from his sister, who highly praised the products. He had been looking for a gift for his niece and decided that maybe some sweet scented lotions would work for a girl turning eighteen. He paused after stepping inside. The woman looking at him in barely disguised irritation was beautiful. Dark brown hair with silver strands shining in the light, eyes that were gem green. He smiled as he approached the counter.

“I’m looking for rose scented lotions. They’re a gift for a young lady.” His voice was deep and silky smooth.

Meara sighed. “Another one bites the dust.” She thought as she got a bottle of the asked for lotion. “We have three sizes… which would you like?”

He looked them over carefully, noting the beautiful glass bottles she used. “The largest. That way she will have plenty.” He paused. “My name is Mike….”

Meara rang up the item, voice chilly. “That will be twenty dollars and sixty-five cents.” 

Mike paid for the lotion, scowling slightly. “Did I offend you in some way?”

Meara looked up at him, ignoring the handsome face, the thick head of burnished silver hair and bright hazel eyes that looked at her intensely. All she saw was a man… the enemy. “No. I’m just not interested in anything you have to offer. Now… if you will excuse me… it is past closing time.” Her voice was now like ice… as cold as the ice in her heart.

Mike took the bag and with a sigh walked out, wondering what had made her so hard and closed off. Mike was a nice guy, a widower of nearly five years. He had dated… but nothing serious. For some reason this woman intrigued him, despite her attitude. He drove off, determined to try and get to know her.

Meara closed up and walked around to the front door. She had no desire to be used again, so he was barking up the wrong tree. She let herself in and carefully locked the door behind her. Dinner was simple, salad and a glass of wine. A hot bath and she was settled in bed. She planned on spending the weekend relaxing and making some more lotions.

“Making a pass at me… the nerve.” Was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep.

She woke to ice and snow. She shivered and kicked on the heat before making coffee. She gazed out the window at the neighborhood kids laughing and playing. That too was a sore spot. They had agreed to not have children, and he threw that in her face during the divorce, claiming he had a right to be with someone willing to bear his children. She remembered the night they had decided not to have babies, how sure he was that he wanted it to just be the two of them. She blew out a huff of breath. Time to make a store run, before the weather got worse.

She dressed in a grey sweat suit, hair tied back. She never dressed up except for work. She bought food, a few new books and hurried home. Halfway there she remembered she needed to renew a prescription and with a muttered curse headed to the pharmacy. The snow was falling heavier by the time she left and as she was pulling out she felt the impact as another car slammed into hers. She was out of her car before she even had time to think. She swore when she was the damage. She turned and saw the man from the night before, looking shaken and startled.

“Where did you learn to drive?!!” She was nearly shouting, but she didn’t care. “Or is this for not falling all over myself for you last night huh?!!”

Mike stared at her, opening and closing his mouth several times before finding his voice. “Now wait a damn minute! I hit an icy patch! It was a damned accident!”

“Yeah? Well I hope like hell you have insurance asshole!” She grabbed a pad from her car and handed it to him. “Name, license number, insurance agency! NOW!”

Mike wrote it all down rapidly, getting madder by the second. He thrust the pad at her as the police car arrived. “Here! And I was actually interested in you?”

Meara snorted. “Right… and winged horses are going to show up any second now!”

The police officer took the report. By the time it was all done Meara was freezing, hungry and ready to strangle someone. Her car was drivable and she took off, still cursing the idiot what had hit her.

“As if men have not screwed me over enough!” She muttered as she drove home in the thick snow.

Mike was boiling mad as he had his car towed, the front tire too badly damaged to be safe. “Icicles are warmer than that bitch! He took a cab home, putting away his purchases with jerky movements. “No wonder she’s alone… who wants to risk frost bite!”

Meara spent nearly an hour in the hot tub, soaking out the kinks and the stress. Now her head ached and she felt the beginnings of a cold. With a sigh she made herself a pot of soup and corn muffins. While it cooked she stretched out on the sofa, watching old movies and shivering. Eating was a mistake. She ended up dashing to the bathroom and being very ill. She called the pharmacy and had them send over something for the symptoms. She paid their delivery man and took the meds, crawling into bed, sneezing and coughing.

Mike settled in to watch television, still so mad he was shaking. It took several hours and a hot meal before he calmed down. He couldn’t believe how angry she had made him. He was normally even tempered. But that one seemed to push all the right buttons. He rubbed his face wearily. His late wife had been gentle, soft spoken. She never yelled, or even raised her voice. Their marriage had been serene, even as she was dying from cancer. He missed the companionship of a woman, the feel of a warm body cuddled next to his at night. But the shop owner was too loud, too sharp. Her hate seemed to surround her like a dark cloud. “Too bad really” He thought. “She must have been nice once….”

Meara was unable to open the shop Monday. She was coughing, sneezing and felt horrid. She realized she needed to go to the doctor… but was too feverish to drive. She called a cab and managed to get to her family doctor. He informed her she did not have a cold but a bad case of the flu. He sent her home with medications and instructions to stay in bed.

Mike woke up Monday and puttered around the house. He could not get Meara out of his mind. He felt if he could just talk to her, make her see that he was not the enemy that they might at least be friends. He rented a car and drove to her place.

When Meara heard the doorbell she groaned and struggled out of bed. She was dizzy, disoriented. When she opened the door she stared at Mike blearily. Her voice was a mere, hoarse whisper. “What do you want….” She was hanging onto the door to stay upright. Her face was flushed with fever.

Mike could see she was very ill and for some sick reason his heart went out to her. “I came to try and smooth things over….”

She closed her eyes and a choked laugh slipped past her lips. “Men don’t make things right… they tear them apart. They lie, cheat and hurt… now please… go away….” Before she could finish the sentence her eyes rolled back in her head and she lost consciousness.

Mike caught her before she hit the floor. He scooped her up and without thinking cradled her close as he sought and found her bedroom. He gently settled her in bed and checked the medications on her bedside table. “Hmmm… the flu.” He thought. “Well, I can’t just leave her alone like this….”

He found the kitchen and in no time had a thick broth cooked up for her, tea made and fresh orange juice ready and chilled. He admired the rich colours she used throughout the house, making it seem warm and inviting. He checked in her as he got things ready, wiping her face with a cool cloth, making sure she was covered and warm. When she showed signs of waking he made a tray up and carried it in, settling it on the bedside table before helping her to sit up.

Meara was confused. Why was he still here? And why was he being nice to her? Men were not nice… they were nasty, lying cheats… right? She started to protest but he stopped her and gave her a stern look.

“Shhh! You need to eat a little, drink more fluids and rest! You can yell at me when you feel better!” He helped her eat, got her to drink a cup of tea and a full glass of juice. He gave her the meds she was due and made her lie back down. Meara was too tired to argue and deep inside, some small part of her felt more at ease knowing she was not alone.

Mike left her to sleep and made a few calls. He got a friend to bring him some clothes and things for an extended stay and then made himself at home. He didn’t know why he felt the need to help her, just that it felt right. He stepped in to check on her and realized she was muttering in her sleep. He listened and heard her talking about hurting, being alone… and then tears began to run down her face as she tossed and turned in her restless slumber. Mike sat beside her and held her hand.

His voice was soft, tender as he sought to soothe her. “You’re not alone right now… I’m here, and will stay as long as you will let me….” He meant it. Somehow, somewhere along the way, he had begun to care for this beautiful, bitter woman.

Meara clung to the large, warm hand. Only now, weakened by illness could she admit in her heart that she was lonely. His touch soothed her and she stopped thrashing about and settled into a more restful sleep. When she woke hours later, he was sitting in the big, soft chair in the corner of her room, a book in his hands. At her movement he looked up and smiled softly.

“Hey… glad to see you awake.” He set the book aside and come over to her. “How about some juice?”

Meara nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She drank the juice quickly and held the glass out for more. He refilled it and watched her as she gulped it down. She finally spoke to him, one word that asked many questions. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to… and you needed me. Now, let’s get you cleaned up….”

Meara nodded, wondering why she hadn’t noticed before how handsome he was. “Stop that!” She thought. “He is a man!! Men are cruel and untrustworthy!” But she couldn’t help it. How could she allow herself to fall into that trap again?

Several days later, Meara was feeling almost like herself again. Mike had taken very good care of her and that had speeded her recovery. They were sitting on the sofa, watching a documentary on ancient Rome when it happened. She turned her head to say something just as he did the same. Their lips were mere inches apart and then they were touching. Meara as startled at her reaction. She felt her arms go around his neck, heard the soft moan slipping from her. “What am I….” The thought was lost as his strong arms pulled her closer.

Meara was stunned by how good it all felt. When they later cuddled in the after glow of their lovemaking she was even more stunned as she haltingly told him why she had acted the way she did when they first met. He then told her of his wife and how lonely he had been since her death. Then he looked into her eyes and whispered.

“Let me love you.” His eyes were filled with emotion and his voice was soft and sincere.

Meara let out a soft sob and hid her face against his neck. He held her close and let her cry it out. When she spoke she asked him to give her time, time to sort out her tangled feelings. He agreed, then talking stopped as they lost themselves in more love making.

He moved back to his place two days later, but they were together everyday. When she finally told him that she loved him he laughed and hugged her tightly, joy radiating from him. They were married two months later, he sold his small house and moved into hers. He helped her with the shop, his ready smile and charming manner making her customers at ease with him.

They both cried the day she found out she was pregnant… and they cried again when their son was born. As she lay there watching Mike cradle their newborn she smiled. The hard, bitter woman was gone for good. In her place was a happy, contented wife, mother and business owner.

Mike looked at her, a broad smile on his face. “And to think sweetheart… this all started out so badly….”

She smiled softly. “It just proves that sometimes the price you pay is worth what you get in the end….

©2003 Windfire WordWeaver (Elizabeth L. Clark)

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