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| Paul, Ruth, Alan, Eloise, Anya and Joe at the First Wedding |
All during our working
years, Paul and I never took a two week vacation. We both worked for major
banks (not the same one) and had to take two consecutive weeks’ vacation but we
never went away. We had kids and I always kept a reserve of vacation time in
case the kids got sick. It was so engrained that we kept to one week vacations
even though the kids are grown and on their own.
This year was
different. There’s a certain freedom that comes with retirement. No clock to
punch, no kids to take care of just Paul and me. So, we spent this February in
Oceanside, California, a half hour outside of San Diego.
We chose San Diego
because my brother and his wife, both retired, live there. We had the added
boon of Paul’s brother and wife an hour away in Long Beach. The location was
ideal.
So, what’s the story
behind Second Chance by the Sea, my short story that’s In Timeless Escapes? It’s
the story of my brother Alan and his wife Eloise.
During this year's long
frigid winter my critique partners longed to escape to some place warm, the
Virgin Islands. Soft warm trade winds, the sweet smell of tropical flowers, the
pungent taste of island cocktails. Ah... if only we could. But wait! There was.
If we couldn't actually
escape to the islands we could take a virtually trip and that's exactly what we
did. We created Star Island, a fictional island off the coast of St. Thomas.
The small island became the setting for our short story romances.
I decided to take my
story from real life. My brother and sister-in-law, Alan and Eloise, were
married twelve years ago in Atlanta. It was not the first marriage for either
of them but this is truly a love match.
Two years ago when
Eloise was Vice President of an all-girls college in California, they were getting their paperwork together for
the California benefits program when they found that their Atlanta marriage was
never registered! Alan, always the jokester called to ask me to stand up for
them at their wedding. What? You have to know Alan to understand that if this
was going to happen to anyone it would be him. Of course I said yes.
So two years ago in
October, I flew to California for their second wedding. I spent a week with
them and had a great time.
When Lita, Emma,
Nicole, Julie, and I started to brainstorm our summer read in 2014 I knew Alan
and Eloise's story had to be part of it. I used their situation but that was all.
Their true story is one of love and devotion and very happily ever after.
Ruth A. Casie ~ Second
Chance by the Sea
Married for ten years,
a couple at odds find their marriage was never registered. Will an impending
disaster be the final straw that breaks them up or will it rekindle their love
and send them back to the altar for a second chance?
Buy Links for Timeless Escapes:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1km06s7
Amazon Print: http://amzn.to/1HreZe5
