Busy Month Ahead

It's the end of October and the kids are excited about Halloween, I think its the lollies that they are the most excited about but as Halloween approaches November is appearing.

November is proving to be a busy month for me.

I have a wedding(my nephew's not mine), a market, a guest speaking role at a library, an interview with the local newspaper, a release of an e-book for Hart 2 Heart and the publishing of a new book 'Becky'.

WOW!!!!!

Oh wait I forgot I also thought I would take on the challenge of NaNoWriMo which is National novel writing month. This is for authors to create a 50,000 word novel in the month of November, although I haven't exactly signed up for it I thought I would give it a crack and see how I go. Then if I get anywhere near completeion within the designated time I will sign up next year.

Considering my busy month ahead we shall see.

I am off to bake biscuits with the children now. The joys of motherhood!

Til next time

Happy Reading

Valissa

Characters

After I published my first book which I intended to be a sequel I was so in love with my characters that I continued writing the next installment of Crystal's adventures.

Crystal is the main heroine of my novel although she is far from a heroine she has hang-ups like most of us and she is most definitely not perfect. She has to work hard on keeping her figure unlike myself who has decided over the years that there is just a lot more of me to go around for everyone.

Getting back to my original point, as a writer I fell in love with my characters and I hope that the person reading my book does too. (There are some characters that I don't like and have purposely wrote them that way.) Why? In everyday life there is always going to be one person who rubs us the wrong way or that we can't get along with or is down and out nasty. And I love those characters too, I love to hate them.

As a reader are you drawn to a series perhaps Harry Potter or the Twilight series (because you got to know them and loved them) maybe love is a strong word, you really liked them How about JD Robb's Roarke and Dallas. Of course there are a lot more series in a lot more genres than the three I just picked out. (I could be here all day writing them all)

I do I love my characters they are like an extension to my family and they are always there on the shelf anytime I want to turn to them, when I was younger it was Noddy and Big Ears then it was Trixie Belden, The Famous Five as I got older it was Agatha Christie's Hercule Poiroit.

A big shift in reading has gone to series and trilogies and I as both a writer and a reader love reintroducing myself to my characters again, it has a sense of familiarity.

If there are other writers out there who are reading this. Do you love your character? Are you engaged with your character? If not, then it is possible neither is your reader.

Something to ponder.

Who was/is your favourite character? Why?

Til next time

Same Bat Channel

Happy Reading

Valissa

Chocolate

Chocolate for me is a weakness and right now I am having a craving and there is no chocolate in the house. ARGH!!!!!!

So I began googling chocolate I dont know why maybe I thought seeing chocolate would fix my fix.

There are so many images and they look SO GOOD!!!!!

Start with a chocolate cake and a good cup of coffee.

Still after more chocolate.

Perhaps maybe just a row of chocolate.

Maybe you're after something a little more decadent.

or maybe.....

Is your mouth watering?????

Want more chocolate?

Another Cake??

Or maybe you would prefer a rose.

I think for me the calore intake of

all this chocolate it would be better to

write about it.

So I have had my chocolate fix.

Very nice.

Til next time

Happy Reading

Valissa

Are you conceited?

It's fascinating, the time that we live in.

These days the most of us want to be heard and for the most part we advertise ourselves.

Oh I know what you are thinking. I am not that conceited.

Let me ask you a few questions?

Do you have a blog? If so why?

Do you have a website? why?

Do you have a facebook page? Are you on facebook?

Do you have a twitter account?

Are you associated with any social sites at all?

I can say yes to a few of the above. Conceited? Maybe! But then I have already agreed to myself to blown my own trumpet in an effort to get myself out there. To be known as an author.

I want people to know who I am, and I want people to read and enjoy my books. Do I want fame? Hmmm I'm not sure about that, I certainly want to be a successful author.

I have bought this up because one of my inspirational people I strive toward and get inspiration from is Colleen McCullough and she doesnt have a website, nor does she have a twitter account nor does she have a blog. Her writing is done from a typewriter not a computer, her typewriter has only just become an electric one and she hates it.

I think it is fascinating how far we have come in the technological age where we use gadgets gizmos and technology to spread our word rather than word of mouth. Which is how JK Rowling became famous!

Just something to ponder!

Have a lovely day everybody.

Til next time

Happy Reading

Valissa

With one touch of a key!

Yesterday I found myself in an awful position.

I was typing away at one of my novels (a Hart series novel) and with one push of a button all that I had worked on was gone!

You could imagine my distress, Oh god it was awful.

I had been editing and had done some major reworking and was pleased with my results that was until i pressed the button.

I can hear you all saying "save" and "what about autosave"

Somehow none of that mattered, because my fingers brush the little square box on my laptop it thinks I want to do something, edit something, change something, goodness knows what I pressed and it all happened so fast, then all of a sudden.......'poof'

My whole entire document reverted to the previous day's work.... I was in shock, total disbelief that even though I have autosave on and I had been saving along the way it had reverted back to its original state that I originally started with.

What the hell is the point of saving!
Yes I know I am having a little whinge here, I believe I am entitled to it, you may not want to listen but before you switch off.

I was able to recover my work. I shall now share.

So, I posted my dilemma on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Valissa-Enever/218361974867468

One friend reminded me to save to USB (thank you) and another friend sent me a few links that might help me recover my work.

YES!!!! It worked! Thank you Cindy my saviour!

I would like to share it with you all just in case you ever get into the little hole that I found myself in yesterday, if you already know these tricks then you wont need these but if you dont, these may just save your sanity one day.

http://www.word-2010.com/microsoft-word-autosave/

This link above saved my work, maybe it will help you too!

Look under 'Recent documents'.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8477075_autosaved-document-lost-word.html

This link above didnt help me, but maybe it will help you.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day.

Happy Friday!

Til next time,

Happy Reading

Valissa

Beat your own drum

At the start when I debuted my book Hart 2 Heart I was very humble in that I didn't want to get on that soap box and shout to the world to come buy my book, come read my book.

I still find it hard to get on that soap box to promote myself, and my work. I'm not sure why perhaps its a fear, a fear that maybe someone will say its not good, or say what the hell are you doing?A fear of rejection maybe.

But I still get out there, a lot of the time there is fear or anxiety behind it.

I know that there are a few authors out there who feel that way. Even famous people still have a fear of facing the public, thankfully for me they have admitted it and I know there are a few of you out there who feel the same, I've read your biographies and I've read your blogs with all of that self doubt, we all have it, some more than others, sometimes less than before or more than before.

Perhaps somewhere when we were little and we thought that the world revolved around ourselves perhaps we were told that its not about us, that other people came first, well I did anyway, or perhaps its that repetitive, 'Who the hell do you think you are?', 'Who would want to listen to you?'

We all have our similar stories, even if we have only been telling ourselves.

During the past six months when I decided that if I was going to be serious about being an author, I realised that I needed to beat my own drum, no-one else was going to do it.

Dr John Demartini in a seminar once asked. "Do you think that there is a person out there who is dedicated to you, dedicated to get you going in the morning, to get you to do what you want to do, that it is there divine purpose in life to dedicate themselves to you. No. It is up to you to do it." at that time it still didn't sink in.

And there is a song by The Skyhooks that I love - 'Ego is not a dirty word'. When I was younger I didnt know what it meant, of course now I realise the message behind it.

So that six months ago I decided to beat my own drum to promote myself, and so far the results are going forward and I am thankful for that, to see that the effort I am putting in is reaping results.

So why am I sitting here typing away spruking about me beating my own drum?

I hope that you the reader may get something from it.

You may not be an aspiring author, artist, singer, or actor. You may simply want, or need a break in life, that edge that promotes you, a sign above your head that says look at me, give me a hand.

Why?

Because YOU deserve it. I deserve it, we all deserve to have what we would like in life.

So take that confidence and show the world that you are great, that you are special and believe it.
Because you are.

Til next time.

May you smile bright and your dreams come true.

Happy Reading

Valissa

Things Change ~ Final Chapter

Chapter 8


He sat in the café and waited she may have been back this week he hoped that he would see her, he patted the box that was in his pocket. Yep it was still there, he blew out a breath of relief he was so afraid of losing it before he even gave it to her, it had been four weeks since he had seen her and he hoped that she would be back to see the band, if she didn’t he didn’t know what else he would do.


The past four weeks had been agony, they had gone so slow, she sent a postcard saying that she was having a wonderful time and that she had been snorkelling every day and had even been scuba diving, he wished that he was with her.


She parked the car in the car park and walked to the café she wasn’t certain if he would be in the café but she could only hope that he was, the past four weeks were nice to be away from work but it didn’t fill the void that was left in her heart, she wanted Peter to be there in the Whitsundays with her.


Walking through the door with a little trepidation if he was here she was going to tell him how she felt and that she wanted more from their friendship if he wasn’t here she would go to his home, but she thought that maybe he would be here. Her heart began to hammer and she took in some deep breaths to try and calm her nerves.
The room was crowded and the noise level was louder than usual, the band hadn’t started and their album played overhead, she looked around the room to see if she could spot him.


He saw her come in through the door, it would have been hard to miss seeing as he watched every person who had come through the door, his heart skipped a beat, she was so beautiful even more beautiful than he remembered.


She spotted him sitting in the booth, their eyes met and her heart stopped and skipped a beat as it started back up again she caught her breath and blew out slowly, she was about to lay her heart on the table.


He stood up and kissed her on the cheek. “Nice holiday.”

“Yeah.” She smiled

“Did you want a drink?”

She wanted to get it over with but she was so nervous “Yeah just a water.”
He poured her a glass and brushed his hand over his pocket where he was keeping the box.

She sipped on the water that he poured “So how have you been?”

He smiled, where did he start? “Yeah good.”

When she first took on Peter as a client he was simply a client, one of her rules in being a personal trainer was to not become personally involved and somewhere she crossed the line and by the time she realised she had, it was too late. Her time off in the Whitsundays was to determine if she could go on living without Peter being in her life, she couldn’t. She needed to put her heart on the line.

“Peter there’s something I need to tell you.”

Oh God she didn’t want to know him anymore, he recalled in his mind the item in the box he was going to give her.

She continued “I need to tell you why I got into personal training, when I was little up until my mid-twenties I was fat, doctors labelled me morbidly obese.” She took another sip “Anyway when I was twenty six, my Dad had a heart attack and died as a result, the doctor said that it was his weight that did it, the pressure that was on his heart due to the excess weight he carried was too much for him, he pointed out to me that I too was a prime candidate for a heart attack. So I began the journey of losing weight I took on the personal trainer’s course and studied as a dietician. At the age of twenty nine I became a qualified personal trainer and most likely the only PT who was a virgin.”

She caught the shocked expression in his face, she smiled slightly and shifter nervously in her seat “After I lost the weight there were many men vying for my interest but it only proved to me that they only cared for my looks, I couldn’t get out of the fat suit even though the fat suit was long gone but it remained in my mind. I shut out men until you came along.”

She grabbed his hand, tears were threatening her eyes. “There was something about you that attracted me, and it’s still there, it grows stronger every day, I went on holidays to try and forget you.” The tears rolled down her face, she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “I fell in love with you, I am in love with you and I want to be with you, but I need to know if you want to be with me.”
He held her hand as his heart grew and a warm rush flood his entire body, he knew it as love, he had fallen in love with the woman in front of him and she had just declared hers for him.

“Cindy I have a confession too, ever since you walked into my life I’ve had a crush on you and I never thought that someone like you would be interested in a man like me. I wanted to lose weight in the hope that maybe just maybe you would be interested in me, I kept asking you in for a coffee in the hope that things might get to the next level but when things began to happen I got scared.”

He pulled his hand away and took a sip from the glass of water. He ran his finger along the edge of the table. “Once upon a time I had it all, I had a great job, fantastic house, wonderful wife and two beautiful kids and then one day we went for a drive, it was just suppose to be a picnic, a family picnic but a truck went through the intersection I was in a coma for three months, I should have died, so many times since then I wish I had of, I lost everything, my wife and children didn’t survive, I had lost the love of my life, I couldn’t do my job due to my injuries, I fell into deep depression, I tried to end my life many times, I found comfort in food and that added to my disability and hampered any progress that was possible, I gave up.” He stopped talking and looked at Cindy’s face.

She had tears streaming down her face, he had made her cry, he didn’t want to ever see her cry again, he wanted to make her laugh, to make her smile.

“Then you came along, you put sunshine into the deepest darkest corners of my heart where I thought it would never shine again. When you went on holidays I wanted to go with you, I was so scared that you would never come back. I bought something for you while you were away.”

He reached into his pocket and bought out the rectangular box. “It’s suppose to represent friendship and love”

She gasped at the rectangular box before she even opened it “Oh Peter I don’t know what to say”

“Open it”

She opened the box to reveal a gold necklace with ruby set in gold heart pendant. No longer could she see the necklace as they blurred beneath the tears that welled in her eyes. “Peter it’s beautiful”

He smiled “just like you, shall I put it on”

“No I want to wear it”

He laughed and got up, “I meant would you like me to put it on you, for you.”

“Oh” she laughed realising what he meant “Yes, please.” She took the necklace from the box and handed it to him and held up her hair.

He clasped the necklace on and took advantage of her bare neck kissing it lightly, she turned to him.

“Cindy, this is all new to me, its been so long since I have dated or been with a woman but I promise to love you and be there for you, I don’t think I could bare being parted from you, do you think we can be together.”

“As boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and wife?”

He gave a nervous laugh “well I was considering proposing to you but I thought that was a really big step but yes I was thinking it”

“Yes, Peter, yes” she held his face in her hands and kissed him.

Although they were oblivious, the band started the evenings first song, Endless Love.

The End.

I hope that you have enjoyed this short story it has been a joy to write.


For the next couple of months I will be concentrating on the Crystal Hart Series, there will be a Christmas short story that I will blog in the month of December so keep an eye out for that.


Still stay tuned in to my blog who knows what I will post.


Til next time.


Happy Reading


Valissa

Things Change ~ Chapter 7

Chapter 7


She put in a request to end Peter’s rehabilitation stating that as he had gained part-time employment her duties and commitment had been fulfilled. She immediately booked a three week holiday to the Whitsundays it was her lucky day as she was able to get a flight and a hotel room that thanks to a cancellation she was able to upgrade to gold star.

She pulled up in Peter’s driveway and hoped that he would not be home. Knocking on the door she heard him inside.

“Oh hi Cindy, I was just about to go for a walk would you like to join me.”

She half-heartedly smiled “I can’t I’ve got a plane to catch, that’s why I’m here, I’m going on holidays leaving today actually and I won’t be able to help with your rehabilitation program.”

Peter’s smile faded he stood to the side of the door “did you want to come in”

“I can’t but I also need to let you know that I have put in a request to cancel your rehabilitation with me, it’s clear that I am no longer needed” or wanted she thought “so I need to be fair to the department, they will contact you and your doctor and they will do a final assessment on your disability.”

She stood in front of him, over the years she had fallen in love with him and now she never felt more remote from him, she was cutting herself from him, she felt she needed to take a break before he broke her heart, she knew it was going to be hard, she wanted to throw her arms around him and ask him to come with her, she wanted to tell him that she loved him.

“How long are you going away for and where?”

“Three weeks, maybe four, and I’m going to the Whitsunday’s. I just needed to let you know.”

There was silence between Peter and Cindy.

She smiled at Peter to try and hide the hurt that was pounding in her heart.

His heart caught in his throat, he didn’t know what to say, he wanted to tell her to not go, but that wasn’t fair on Cindy she was going on a holiday probably with some girlfriends or a guy, the last stabbed him in the heart and choked him, he knew that feeling, of loving someone and losing them, but he hadn’t had her to start with. Was that his fault? Had he not made himself show his feelings toward her, he was initially waiting for him to lose the weight but now, what was holding him back now?
He should tell her how he feels about her.

“Cindy I….”

“Peter I….”

They both said in unison.

“You go first” he said.

“It’s just…” she hung her head she wanted desperately to tell him that she loved him “I have to get going.” She waited for him to tell her to not go, to stay with him. She would, she would stay with him.

He waited on her every word hoping that she would tell him that she loved him and that she didn’t really want to go. He blinked back the tears that were beginning to form and coughed to shake the hurt that had been rising in his throat. “Ok, well… umm send me a postcard.”

“Sure.” She reached out to him and gave him a peck on the cheek before running back to her car.

She backed out of the driveway and gave a little wave as she drove off, before her the road swam and as she rounded the corner she pulled over and let the tears run freely down her face, why did it feel like the end before anything had even begun.

He closed the door as she drove off giving a wave, he walked over to the couch and sat, somewhere during the week that had been gloriously sunny and not one thing that could go wrong Peter’s whole world had turned dark and bleak and if it rained outside it would match the way he was feeling on the inside.

Not sure how long he sat on the couch he looked to the window as the darkness enveloped his home, he had been here before, losing everything that mattered to him, the pain in the heart that consumed his entire world, he had everything before and lost it, and now he lost something he loved, it was happening all over again. The tears he let fall as he sobbed to try and ease the pain in his heart.

Morning came and the birds chirped, the sun filtered through the window that he had failed to shut in the evening, in fact he still sat in the same spot on the couch since Cindy had left him.

Dragging himself into the shower he thought about going for his morning swim but his enthusiasm for it wasn’t there, he felt gut wrenchingly empty inside, as the water sprayed over him he realised that without Cindy in his life, it held no meaning, she was the reason for life. He had to do something about it.

Til next time

Happy Reading

Valissa

School Holidays

Ahh.... They are nearly over, the sleep ins are just about finished.

Should I be excited about that?

I have to admit I have been enjoying the sleep ins, the not having to worry about school uniforms being clean or school lunches being made or getting up early to round the troops to get them to school.

So why am I looking forward to them going back to school.

Ahhh I think it's called Sanity!

I love my kids dont get me wrong, but, with their fighting, arguing, the rainy days keeping them inside, the hideous mess they make wherever they walk is really quite draining on the nerves.

I know its not just me who at the end of term Mothers look forward to the school holidays and then at the end of the holidays are so glad to have the wonderful little darlings head back to school.

For the next school holidays I think I am going to have to be a lot more organised including things that can be done during a week of rain.

Does anybody have any ideas for cheap holiday things to keep kids entertained.

Send me your suggestions to questions@valissaenever.com.au

In advance thank you for your ideas.

Til next time

Happy Reading

Valissa

Things Change ~ Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Peter hit the wall, water splashed over the edge it was lap thirty, he was feeling good. He dunked under the water and let the water glide he ran his hands over his hair, stood up and walked out of the pool he grabbed his towel from the bench and towel dried himself, he changed into his gym gear.

She watched him from the reception area, she watched him everyday he was so good looking, so buffed, as far as she knew he was single, he pretty much kept to himself, he walked with a slight limp but other than that he was perfect, Zoe knew him only as Peter.

After finishing his set he noted on the community notices board that the gymnasium was looking for instructors, he thought how he would love a job like that, over the past year he had worked so hard getting to where he was, maybe he would apply.
He ripped off the tiny strip that had the number typed on it, it would be his first job since the accident, this would be something that he could do, he would be free from disability pension, the thought of it bought an immense smile to his face.
He headed home and took a shower before calling the number.

“Hi my name is Peter, I’m calling about the job as a gym instructor”

“Hi Peter, my name is Jason. Do you have any experience?”

Peter went on to explain what had happened to him over the years and his determination during the past year to shed weight and wanting to help others do the same.

Jason recognised Peter and knew of his story and had watched him and helped him in the gym, although he would prefer someone with training or expertise but he was confident that Peter could be an asset to his staff.

“Come on in to see me tomorrow after you’ve had your swim and we’ll see what we can do.”

“Fantastic Jason, I’ll see you then” as Peter hung up the phone he did a dance similar to the dancing baby that was so popular so long ago.

The following morning he went for his swim and went along to see Jason who had offered him a part-time job as a part of their weight loss team.
Peter was excited but kept his cool in front of Jason, he wanted to hug the man but he thought that might not be a good idea.

“Come on I’ll show you the team while we’re here.”

They walked into a staff office that smelled of lemons, two walls were covered in posters of the human muscular system and various posters of varying exercises, along one wall sat a desk and three filing cabinets which he knew each clients details were kept, chairs, scales and tape measures and a height measure were kept in one area, off to the right was a doorway that connected to a staffroom that also connected to the main reception area and another staff office.

“Jeremy, this is Peter, he will be starting with us on Monday as an inclusion to our weight loss team.”

“Welcome aboard, I’ve seen you around haven’t I?”

“Yeah you have, nice to meet you Jeremy.”

Peter followed Jason into the other connecting staffroom.

“Peter this is more of our gang, this is Karen, Taylor, Cassandra, David and Sharon. Guys Peter will be joining us on Monday as a member of our weight loss team, Peter you will be working with Karen and Sharon mostly.”

In unison they all said hi and Peter continued to follow Jason to the reception area.

“Zoe I want to introduce you to Peter who will be starting with us on Monday as a part of our weight loss team, Peter you would have had met Zoe on numerous occasions coming and going through the gym.”

“Yeah I have nice to finally put a name to the face.”
Zoe could all but smile.

“Peter this is Nikki she too works here in reception which I believe she is due to knock off til later this afternoon.”

Nikki held out her hand “yep nice to meet you, welcome aboard. I’ll see you later Jase.”

Peter barely had time to acknowledge Nikki before she was off.

“Peter I’ve got a client that I am due to see, Zoe will help you out with the paperwork and I’ll see you later. Welcome aboard.”

Peter shook Jason’s hand and thanked him for the opportunity, he walked home and couldn’t wait to tell Cindy.

Cindy over the past five years had been a blessing to him but it was the past year that he had grown especially fond of her, they kissed only one time and neither of them mentioned it or made a move again, for Peter it was out of sheer terror, he hadn’t been with a woman for so long and the only woman in the past almost thirty years had been his wife. He felt comfortable around Cindy like she was his best friend but he had the unmistakeable attraction toward her, he never worked on it or moved on her not since that kiss anyway. Cindy only came once a week and had been for the past four months, they still met on Wednesday’s but he walked to the café and she drove him home but he no longer asked her in for a coffee, it was better that way.

Tonight he was meeting her at the café again, he was excited with the news he was going to tell her.

Walking into the café he looked at where they usually sat but tonight he was going to sit in the booth along with his jeans that for the first time he was going to wear, he looked good tonight or at least he felt good, in fact he felt on top of the world. Nothing could spoil it tonight, nothing.

She saw him sitting in the booth and wondered why he was sitting there and not in their usual seat but she went over to greet him anyway, he spotted her and stood up and seen the surprise in her face, it warmed his heart. He smiled

“hi”

“Oh Wow! Look at you you’re in jeans that is so fantastic.”


“Yeah I’ve got more good news.”


He gestured for her to sit and waited as she sat, he poured her a glass of water “I applied for a job at the local gym earlier this week.”


“Oh that’s great and….”


“I got the job.” he beamed


“Oh Peter that’s fantastic” she put her hand on his “I’m so proud of you.”
He smiled at her and knew it was what he wanted to hear he looked down at her hand, why did he feel so uncomfortable at the slightest intimacy from her yet at the same time it feel so right.


She kept her hand on his and she knew that he felt uncomfortable about any form of intimacy since they shared a kiss all those months back, anytime she had tried to get close to Peter he backed away, shied from or ignored any forward attempts of Cindy, she thought they were great together and the memory of the kiss told her that they had something special there too, she liked him, no, that wasn’t right she was in love with him. She wanted more.


He pulled his hand away and looked around.


She couldn’t stand it anymore “Peter, are you ashamed of me”


“No, why do you say that”


"Well you just pulled away from me and you’ve done it before." She put her hand on the table reaching out to him and looked into his face his eyes averted from hers “I know we’ve been friends a while Peter but I want more and I think you want it too.”


“Cindy, you wouldn’t understand.” he hung his head, he may look good on the outside and he may feel good physically but there was still that something that didn’t feel right.


“Understand what Peter? I’m a woman, you’re a man and I like you.”


“Yeah I..I..” How could he tell her that he was afraid to get intimate with her because he liked her too much, he didn’t want to destroy anything that was between them. “I thought we were just friends”


She choked back the tears that began to burn her eyes and clamp down her heart that began to squeeze. She took a big breath and tried to smile “I would have liked more, but..” she retreated her hand and hung her head choking back the tears “friends.” She nodded and drank some water to try and wash away her heavy heart.


The rest of the evening was the longest she had ever endured she always felt awkward around guys never really knowing what to say or how to be forward, so many women she knew were straight up and extremely straight forward and very frank in asking and taking what they wanted from life but she couldn’t, it wasn’t in her nature, she wish she knew, she wish she knew how. She felt comfortable with Peter and over the past few years had grown to care for him and eventually love him, she couldn’t tell him, what if he didn’t feel the same and she made a fool of herself besides he had said they were friends, somewhere in her heart she knew they couldn’t be just friends because she wanted more.


The band finished and Cindy informed Peter that she was tired had a headache and would like to go home.


The drive back to his place felt awkward, he thought it was going to be a great night and he could not have been further from the truth, somewhere and somehow things between him and Cindy had grown tense, she said she had a headache and was tired but he sensed something else, ‘women’ he thought, he had obviously done something to upset her, but what? He knew that if he asked she would say ‘nothing’ but she would think that he should know. Why couldn’t women just say what was bothering them? But what if she did have a headache and was tired? The easiest thing for him to do, would be to act as if nothing was wrong.


She pulled up in the driveway.


“Would you like to come in for a coffee?”


“no I better get going." came her curt reply.


He had obviously upset her, better to let it slide, she would get over it, he thought.

Hopefully another chapter tomorrow

til next time

Happy Reading

Valissa

Things change ~ Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Peter rolled down the sleeve of his shirt and waited for the doctor to ‘tsk,tsk’ him as he always did.

Dr Guadagno nodded his head “I’m impressed Peter your blood pressure is down.” He folded the armband and checked the computer “We can downgrade your medication, but I want you to come back in a month, I want to check it again, of course you know the drill if things change I want you to come and see me straight away, jump up on the scales for me.”

Peter and his doctor never knew his weight it registered off the scales and it always puzzled him why the doctor asked every time he came in for his check-up.
The doctor pointed to the scales “You’ve lost weight Peter, you’re registering on the scales now, what have you been doing with yourself.”

Peter was in shock, lost weight but… he’d hardly done anything “I…I..”

Peter began telling the doctor about his daily regime and his change of food with his latest changing from white bread to wholemeal, the doctor said it was a wonderful start and recommended him to see a dietician who could help him with better choices for eating.

Peter’s doctor printed out a prescription “Start taking these ones, they are a lower dosage than the others three times a day with meals. I still want to see you in a month, keep up the good work, you’re doing well.”

“Thanks Doc.”

For the first time since never, Peter smiled as he walked out of the doctor’s room, he thought about his walking and thought perhaps if he did it twice a day like he did with the floor exercises that he had continued to do that he may have more result, and he surprised himself when he found himself looking forward to the next time he would be exercising.

Every day he found it easier to do the exercises and he was getting quicker at his walking he had even increased his walking time to ten minutes with an iPod playing the band’s music in his ear he was inspired by the thought of sitting in the booth at the café with Cindy and finally fitting back into a pair of jeans in almost twenty years.

He was looking forward to tonight it had been four months since he had begun his new outlook on life, he had recently included weights to his new exercise regime it was a treat to himself along with more new clothes as the others no longer fitted him, but tonight for the first time he was going to wear a pair of dress pants and a nice casual shirt, he smiled to himself as he looked in the mirror, he was beginning to feel like his old self before the accident, before his whole world changed.

Splashing on some after shave another treat he had bought for himself he thought about Cindy and wondered if he could coax her into coming in at the end of the evening for a coffee, she had always declined, always ever so politely and he always accepted her refusal, but tonight…. he hoped.

Cindy pulled up in his driveway but tonight he didn’t come out like he usually did, she wondered if something was wrong, her heart sunk at the thought that he may be hurt, or worse. She killed the engine and got out of the car walked up to his door and knocked, she listened for any noise or movement inside, she knocked a little louder.

Peter pulled the earphone from his ear and looked at the time, Cindy would be here soon and he heard a knock at the door, maybe it was her already.

He opened the door and she took a gasp “Oh, oh Peter I..I..”

“Sorry I had my earphones in and didn’t hear you pull up, hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“No I…” She looked at Peter and while she had seen photo’s of him when he was younger and knew he was good looking but to see him all dressed up now, he was looking, she didn’t know how to describe what she saw, she felt.. she felt drawn to him, she knew she always liked him, he was a sweet and gentle man but now there was something else, she smiled at his blue eyes, he looked good, really good. She was attracted to him.

She felt the blush rising in her cheeks and she took a breath to calm her heart that was beginning to race and she caught a scent of his musky aftershave causing her heart to beat a little bit faster.

“You look good.” she finally managed to say in barely a breath

“Thank you. I can’t wait I am so excited about tonight, I bought these yesterday and I feel really good.”

“Well let’s get the night happening then” she said as she walked back to the car
Arriving at the café they sat in their usual seat and ordered their meal after eating they would sit on one of the stools by the café’s bar to listen to the band during a break Cindy excused herself to the ladies.

“I’ll buy you another wine”

“Make it a coffee, I’m driving remember.”

“Sure”

After ordering Cindy’s coffee and himself another diet coke he waited for Cindy to return and he turned around to watch the people in the café, as he turned he bumped into a woman spilling her drink.

“Oh I am so sorry”

“It’s ok, Its just an accident” she said as she brushed away at the liquid

“Here please, let me buy you another drink”

“It’s not necessary…”

“I would feel better if you let me buy you another

The woman smiled at Peter “Sure, I’m Romany.” She held out her hand
Peter took her hand “Romany, I’m Peter” he smiled at her “What are you drinking?”

“White wine, thank you.”
Peter caught the bar attendants attention and ordered a drink for Romany.

“I’ve never heard that name before, where’s it from?”

“Not quite sure where it is from, but my mum was nicknamed Gypsy because she was always travelling from one town to the next and she named me Romany which means Gypsy.”

“Oh wow how unusual have you met anyone with the same name?”

She laughed “No I haven’t, not yet.”

The bartender bought Romany her drink and Peter paid for the glass, it was then that he realised that he didn’t feel awkward talking to Romany of course he had spoken to Cindy on many occasions but she was different, Romany was a stranger and he felt on top of the world.

“So do you travel around too? Like your Mum?”
She half smiled and took a sip of her wine “I do, I think it was because of my mum it was just her and me for a long time and just because I came along she didn’t stop moving, I don’t know what it’s like to live in the one place for anymore than six months”

As Cindy came out from the ladies she spotted Peter talking to another woman, she stopped, her heart lurched and tore, she felt the tears prickle behind her eyes. She felt stupid and quickly blinked back the tears and readjusted herself before heading toward Peter and the other woman.

“So what are you doing here, for a job I mean?”

“Oh I’m working here actually, during the week in the kitchen out the back. You should come by tomorrow sometime and say hi.”

“Yeah I…”

Peter stopped as he felt the hand on his arm and he turned to see Cindy smiling “Oh hello, Cindy this is Romany, I accidentally spilt her drink so I offered to buy her another.”

Cindy smiled it would be just like Peter she thought and she tried to convince herself it was innocent.

Romany eyed Cindy and smiled “I better keep going, nice to meet you and thank you for the drink.”

Peter bowed slightly and smiled “It was my pleasure.”

Cindy wasn’t sure what to say, whether to ignore it or say something, she had no claim on Peter, he was after all just her client, but he was more than that to her.

The band finished to a round of applause and Cindy drove Peter home.

She sat while the car idled and he turned in his seat to face her and he smiled “Would you like to come in for a coffee.” He waited for her rejection

“You know what. I don’t have an early start in the morning so, I might just take you up on that offer.”

Peter thought that the moon had fallen out of the sky and hit him on the head because he was seeing stars, he beamed a huge smile, finally he thought, perseverance pays off.

Inside he immediately went to the stereo and put on a cd with the volume low and switched on the television with it on mute, he went into the kitchen to boil the kettle and prepared two cups.

Cindy had been in his house many times over the past couple of years and she had never felt as nervous as she felt right now.

Peter came into the lounge area and handed Cindy her coffee, he wasn’t sure where to go from here and he felt as nervous as a person on a first date, he didn’t want to get it wrong, he liked Cindy a lot and he wanted more from their current friendship, he would prefer it a relationship and while they had a client relationship as far as a personal relationship he thought he had better stick with friendship, it was better than nothing.

Cindy realised that while she knew the man she didn’t know him entirely, she knew his taste in music was similar to hers and they watched similar television shows, but as for anything else she really didn’t know a lot and she put it down to her professional attitude where you know the client on a semi personal level what she called the outer crust anything deeper and you got involved too much making it hard to separate when it was time, she thought about Peter and his progress, if he continued it would not be long and he would no longer need her services, she felt the pain in her chest and the threatening of tears again, she choked them back and took a sip of her coffee, where did she start? Surely she wasn’t that out of the loop that she didn’t know how to start a conversation.

The silence was awkward, Peter didn’t know what to say he sat and drank his coffee, he thought it would be different that they would talk like they do when she came to perform her sadistic ritual on him or at the café each week but right now felt repressed.

An add came on the tv for a show that she knew they both watched, perfect she thought and she bought up the subject.

It had been the ice breaker and the tension dissolved, Peter made them another coffee and Cindy was enjoying herself and felt comfortable with Peter again, they discussed art and books, the fact that she was into art and he wasn’t, he read science fiction and she read crime and romance.

She drank the last of the coffee and placed the cup on the coffee table. “I really should get going although I don’t have an early start, I still have clients.” she got up from the couch and walked towards the door.

Peter got up and followed her “Well thank you for another enjoyable Wednesday, I look forward to it each week.”

She turned to face him “Thank you for the company, I enjoy it too.” She noticed that he was close to her and she could still smell the aftershave he wore, she wanted to bury her head in it and breathe it in and have his arms hold her. Was it the aftershave, that sent her head spinning and her heart racing, or was she feeling things for Peter as a client she shouldn’t, as a person she wanted it.

As she turned he could smell her perfume that she always wore, he always liked it but tonight it smelt sweeter, more seductive, more alluring and her eyes tonight were more mysterious, more tempting to get lost in. Her lips so round and full and enticing, he licked his own.

“I ...um.. thank.. you …for….” His words trailed off as he bent his head closer to hers.

Her lips parted and met his, she closed her eyes and lost herself in his warm and tender kiss that wasn’t demanding but tender and seducing, his arms wound around her and pulled her close to him.

He wanted her, he wanted to pick her up and carry her to bed but that nagging doubt, that nagging self-pity kicked in and he pulled back.

“I better let you get home.” He said

She smiled slightly not wanting to let the disappointment to the abrupt ending of their kiss show through. “Yes, I suppose. Good night Peter.” she thought about giving him a peck on the cheek but thought better of it.

“Good night Cindy.”

As she drove away she wondered about her feelings for Peter, the kiss, the woman he met tonight and her relationship with him. Why did he abruptly stop their kiss and where did they go from here?