Tim had not been at the hardware store after all. Instead he had gone to the Toyota dealership in town and talked a while with the salesman. He kicked a few tires and then picked up brochures for all the new cars. After he had a bite to eat at the Koffee Kup Kafe he stopped in at the florist shop and bought one dozen roses. He was working hard at this romance business and he meant to see it through.

Arriving home just after one, he found Edna in the basement still sorting the laundry. He decided his mother was right, after all. Edna needed a break from the daily chores. This gave him the courage to put his arm around her shoulder and say, "Come upstairs, honey, there's something I want to show you." He was pleased to see how willing she was to come with him.

In the kitchen he pointed to the flowers in the sink, where he'd put them in a bucket of water to refresh them after the drive home in the truck.

"Roses! What's the occasion?," she said.

"I've got something else to show you, too," he said and sat at the kitchen table where he'd left the brochures.

"What are these?," she asked, and he told her of his plan to buy a new car and take a trip with her -- a real honeymoon trip, somewhere nice she'd always dreamed of seeing.

Tears came to Edna's eyes. At first she didn't know what to say, what to think, how to feel. Should she want to be alone with Tim for weeks on end? Did she want to leave Dennis? Where would she want to go? Where would Tim want to go? It was the height of the season in Florida, they should wait for some good off-season rates. She'd always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, and of course lately she'd been thinking about Reno. She put Reno out of her mind and heard Tim saying something about the cars.

"Well, what do you say, Ed? Which of the cars do you like? A Corolla? A Tercel? A Camry?"

She looked deep into his eyes. He looked so earnest, so eager to please.

"Oh, Tim," she said, "It doesn't really matter.
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(1 letter, 7 letters, 1 letter, 6 letters)
 

 Copyright 1998 J.J. Schnebel
All rights reserved

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