April 10, 2020 – Is there anything better than a
paperback romance novel?
We
are in the “stay-at-home” loop imposed by our Governor and added to by
President Trump. So, reading does become
a pleasure when you have ample time on hand.
Today
the roofers were finishing fixing my roof. [Say that quickly a couple of
times!] Years ago, we had it replaced
after a massive hailstorm in the county, and unluckily we ended up with inept
roofers to fix our roof.
It
took a few years, but eventually the shoddy workmanship proved to falter and we
ended up with leaking skylights.
It took
three tries before I even found a roofing firm who would fix it, and then after
going under contract, we waited in line until they finished jobs scheduled
ahead of us. Three weeks is a long wait.
So,
earlier this week, they started. They were good workers and they DID mind me
when I told them not to stomp all over my emerging perennials. [And, they were
neat - they cleaned up their mess before they left this afternoon.]
Today
should have been the last day, except they had a “bad cut” on the last piece of
roofing and it will have to wait a couple days to be finished – they say
Monday.
But,
I had to be patient all day as they worked on this last section, where they
pried the old skylights off and then proceeded to affix the new skylights as I
had spread drop cloths inside expecting and receiving debris bits that I eventually
collected and carried off to the back property line.
What
a perfect day to sit in my easy chair waiting for my “beck and call” – several times
by the contractor to chat about a few things – and each time I settled back in
to my soft read.
I
opted for a soft romance novel to read. I’d been holding onto a Harlequin paper
back by Leigh Michaels entitled The Corporate Wife for just the right occasion.
[Copyright date 2000 – yes 20 years ago, not a typo.] I had found it at a used book store.
I
was intrigued by the title as I was a corporate wife, but this was a love story
far different than my own.
It
was an entertaining read – I leisurely read it on and off during my many
interruptions. A classic romance between
the boss and his assistant and it has the twists and turns, subtle humor along
with some snappy dialogue, and of course romance – reluctant romance.
At
the end, after the climax where they have had a fight – in the kiss-and-make-up
scene where you expect them to live happily ever after there is one line that I
had to turn off the TV and read out loud to my husband. He chuckled.
On page 182 of a 186 page book:
“He kissed her till her toenails threaten to
dissolve, and then . . .”
It makes
me giggle even now. Wow, what sort of
passion is that?
For
all the other romance readers out there, you are not alone. Sometimes one line makes the book forever memorable.
Now
that the outside roof has been fixed, I will have to deal with the inside
fixing. While I am working on it, I will
remind myself about the ‘dissolving toenails’ – it might make my work go
quicker.
Info on: Leigh Michaels
Also Author of non-fiction: Writing the Romance Novel, 1996 and On Writing Romance: How to Craft a Novel that Sells, 2007
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