It's odd how a casual meeting can change the course of your life..

Life is short, sometimes. Does true love ever die? This story is very dark, it came to me in a dream that should have been a nightmare if it wasn’t for the strange look of peace on the heroine’s face…
Sorry this is a little rough but this is the only day it makes sense to post this here. It's the first time I've been brave enough to post anything, enough of the waffle, on with the story...

In the spirit of recent re-posts, I wanted to bring this one back for one more encore.

This is a bit melancholy, but it wanted to be written and I just tried to keep up with what my muse was dictating. I hope you like it.

Song Credit to Ronnie Milsap: Lost In The 50s Tonight.

Lost In The Fifties Tonight, by Catherine Linda Michel

Oh yes, I remember... so, so well that night, the music, the feeling of being held in your arms, swaying together and hoping the moment would never end.

Chapter 4 – Absence Makes Heart Grow Fonder

Introduction: This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling, Randi and the College Professor, Adam and the Three Wishes, Lisa and the Culinary Quest (aka Howard and the Completed pass), Cynthia and the Solicitous Sisters-in-Law, Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight, and Cynthia and the Dropped Ball. The time frame of this story follows about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. This story takes place a little more than a year after Bobbie Anderson wins the (British) Open and about ten years after Simoné and the Second Time Around.

Martha (Marti) Lewis is going to a summer camp in the mountains of Southern California. She is attracted to the camp due to the scenery and secular approach. After a mostly uneventful trip, she meets two rather unpleasant girls who are going to the same camp. She performs a bit of subtle retaliation. Then she meets Lanu.

On Tuesday morning I was sweating bullets.

“It’s only natural,” my Mom told me. After all, it was the first day of senior year, and many of us had gone through some big changes over Summer vacation, and I mean Big, capital B, changes; for some more than others.

The horn beeped, but I still hadn’t decided. Was a skirt too much, or should I have gone with jeans? Maybe shorts and leggings would be best; if I wore a dress would people think I had something to prove?

Tommie is trying to get Brad out of her mind. Can she?

Can Tommie adjust to Tonya's new life? Time to go to school.

Tommie's trials continue as things seem to go from bad to worse.

catfish, noun: a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes
—Merriam-Webster.com

Jason is pissed off.

Jessie and Paul leave the Apache with the Sheriff not far behind. Can they escape him and the risk of the venomous scorpion? WIll Jessie prove her innocence? And what of the mystery of Dandy Jim? For this and more, read the stirring adventure of JESSIE HANKS OUTLAW QUEEN!

Street and Smith’s New York Weekly is proud to present the latest addition to the amazing legend of Eerie, Arizona.

Jessie Hanks Outlaw Queen: The Cameo Murder
By Nicholas Varrick
As Told by Ellie Dauber and Christopher Leeson © 2016

As I left the shop, Scarlet murmured ‘goodbye’ or maybe it was ‘good buy’. As I walked away I thought ‘what a wonderful, almost magical afternoon.’ I thought about what she had said and promised that I would make some changes in my life.

I wasn’t going to be a downtrodden, feeble excuse for a man any longer. That was for sure.

Imagine that you are enjoying a warm summer afternoon on your back porch. Your mother is at work and your father is out of the picture. Your best friend, Aimee, has left town on a plane to visit relatives and your mutual best friend, Kim, has gone to an isolated, disconnected cabin with her family and wont be back for three weeks. Aimee calls while waiting at Baggage Claim and clearly has something on her mind that's bothering her. You offer to talk to her, but she tells you that it's girl talk and she wishes that she could talk to Kim. What do you do?

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

The weather takes a major shift and Mannie decides to catch up at the local beauty parlor. Once home she finds she just missed Steve who was going to meet with his friends in town. A series of phone calls makes her realize Andy Bennett has kidnapped him and probably intends to kill him. It’s not going to be easy, but Mannie is going to do her best to rescue him.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Fortunately, Steve’s injury is not too severe. The group is snowed in for a couple of days. Steve’s friend, Gary Smith reveals to Mannie he is aware of what she’s been through. He also confirms Steve is very much in love with her. It’s not a problem. It’s time to get Mannie’s mother.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

In spite of a previous comment, the story continues.

It was the bike. He saw it and recognized it immediately. What he discovers after that wasn’t quite the surprise some would have thought. Mannie tells Steve about her uncle and what she suspects. Sheriff John is not happy at all about this tree hugger cutting in on the woman he fancies.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Mannie does some investigating at the place where Uncle Ben was murdered. It suddenly becomes very obvious who the murderers are. She is also learning about the operation of the Antelope Bar & Grill. She feels she might be able to bring some good ideas back to the winery. The roustabouts are a group unto their own. The local government looks the other way when it comes to some of their activities – such as poker. The opera continues.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Mannie does not hesitate one bit. Each step just makes her that much surer that she is doing the right thing. Of course she is going to transition, and the details aren’t that important in this story. Let’s just say it was a wonderful three years, and then tragedy.