Grandma & the Prince - Part 35

Mona at 16

Now here's where my Aunt Mona's story get weird.

Last month I told you about her romance with Jack the photographer and the moment when I first saw real, live, grown-up romance on the day Mona and her friend Helen opened their own real estate office.

I can almost hear why you're thinking. Wow! Early 1960s and she was living the Gloria Steinem/Betty Friedan dream. Mona was smart, sexy,and independent. She thought nothing of jumping behind the wheel of her gigantic, snow white, Chevy Biscayne and driving across the country alone to San Diego, just because she could. Well into her seventies, she was driving the Florida-to-New York trail twice a year. She was five-foot-two and weighed maybe one hundred and ten pounds but the woman was fearless. Except for her brief marriage, she lived alone her entire life and loved it. She walked city streets at night and didn't blink. She was probably one of the strongest human beings, both physically and mentally, that I have ever known.

  But I found out much later that when it came to love, my sassy and ambitious aunt was  a geisha at heart. Love makes us all a little crazy. That's a given, isn't it? When you're wildly in love, you're not thinking clearly. In fact, you're lucky if you're thinking at all. The same woman who had a cleaning service come into her apartment twice a week, the same woman had her laundry done by professionals, the same woman who didn't take orders from anyone, cleaned her boyfriend Jack's apartment twice a week, ran over to walk his dog every afternoon, and made sure he had a nutritious meal waiting either on the stove or in the fridge when he came home each night. Or early morning, depending on what he'd been up to. You see, Jack liked Mona but he didn't love her and no matter how many dishes she washed or how many dog-walking miles she racked up, nothing was going to change that fact.

A few years into their relationship, he told her he was in love with someone else.  And Mona continued to clean his apartment. Then he told her he was engaged to marry that someone else. And Mona continued to walk his dog. Finally he said the wedding was next week and maybe it was time she gave back his key. And she did.

Jack's marriage didn't last but his friendship (and maybe more) with my aunt Mona did. Same as her friendship with her ex-husband.

And the dentist who lived with his sister Tillie. But I'll tell you about him next month.

P.S. My name is Barbara Bretton and you can find me here  and here and here.

P.P.S. I apologize for taking so long to send out last month's prizes. I promise you they'll go out this week.

P.P.S. I'm giving away e-books this month. Ten commenters will each receive a copy of The Marrying Man for their Kindles.

P.P.P.S. Barbara E., you are my March winner. Please drop me an email at barbarabretton AT gmail DOT com with your full name and mailing address and I PROMISE I'll send out your prize ASAP.

P.P.P.P.S. Here's what I've been up to.

The first time they met, his dog trashed her car.
The second time they met, she set fire to her bathroom.
The third time they met, they fell in love.

Annie Galloway isn't looking to fall in love again. Sam Butler doesn't want a home and family of his own.

Too bad fate has other plans . . .

A SOFT PLACE TO FALL is a 100,000 word contemporary romance, previously published by Berkley Books.Available now for the first time as an e-book.

Click here to read the first chapter.






     
The Edge of Forever, an award-winning Harlequin American, available for the first time in e-book form.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT . . .

But can a night of passion turn into a love that lasts forever?

Meg Lindstrom is a struggling photographer who drives a limo to make ends meet.

Joe Alessio is a best-selling author of fiery historical romances who hasn’t written a word in months.

They don't have a thing in common until Meg falls at his feet one sunny October afternoon and Joe realizes he’s finally met the woman of his dreams.

But first Joe will have to convince Meg that her dreams really can come true . . .

Click here to read an excerpt on Amazon.