A little heads-up for my readers

Another National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has come and gone with nowhere near a full-blown novel to show for it. It seems what I have written is a short sequel–perhaps even an extended epilogue–to my 2020 novel “Us, Now and Then.” And I’ve decided I’m fine with that. At 73, I don’t feel I have it in me to publish another “real” book, even on Kindle. The first one took ten years, remember? Nonetheless, I want to share bits of Claire and Libby’s story from time to time just so you don’t forget about us. When I believe the entire thing is finally good enough, I’ll post it all here so you can read it for FREE. How’s that for a New Year’s resolution?

Setting the scene for today’s post:

Today, Claire and Sam, who have been married for fifteen years, are driving up US395 from their home in Southern California to Carson City where they will celebrate Libby’s 70th birthday. They have no idea of the challenges that COVID–not to mention the widespread stubborn stupidity–will unleash in 2020.

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“Shall we stop at Jolly Kone? A root beer float, maybe?” Sam teased as they approached the tiny town of Bridgeport. He knew that after spending her high school summers working at A&W and then here at Jolly Kone after college, she hated root beer. Nevertheless, the Kone had been the only place in town willing to hire a pregnant and unmarried stranger in 1972.

“Very funny. Just a frosty. And a bathroom.”

After fifteen years of marriage, she and Sam had settled into a happy rhythm of home and away. It hadn’t been easy at first. Single until her fifties, Claire had been accustomed to setting her own priorities, her own schedule. And not asking permission or even telling anyone of her plans. On the other hand, Sam was a widower who’d enjoyed a long and happy marriage. He brought his own expectations of what marriage could and should be. While Claire didn’t want to disappoint him, she also worried she’d lost herself in the effort to be a good wife, a good partner. Who was she now? Did that always happen when you got married? Did everyone feel the internal struggle between personal choice and the good of the team? Was that why she’d remained single for so long?

Still, she was absolutely smitten by their little army of seven grandchildren. Having never raised a child, the experience had been a revelation. The immediate, profound, and unconditional love she felt as each baby appeared filled her entire body and expanded her heart. And because five of them lived nearby, she witnessed every landmark moment. She both comforted them and was comforted by them. Especially Maddie. While she feared that closeness might diminish during the terrible teens, their texting habit held. So far.

Claire’s career in global relief and later her travel business had defined her life and made her current life seem comparatively small. Was being a wife and grandmother enough? She wanted this chapter to mean as much as the previous ones. She still wanted to matter, as her best friend Libby continued to do.

Even now, Libby Cooper gave more than anyone else. She’d been a local teacher, mother, volunteer, and all-around good girl who never left her hometown and unselfishly devoted her life to her family and the children of Carson City. And since she and her husband Jack retired, they tutored second-language learners, volunteered at the food bank, and served as Court Appointed Special Advocates for kids in foster care. Libby still made a difference. Every so often, though she loved Libby like a sister, Claire felt a twinge of …what? Could it be? Jealousy?

This weekend they would celebrate Libby’s seventieth birthday. With Libby’s cancer history, that milestone was something of a miracle. It was just the first of several significant birthdays to come in 2020. Later this year both she and Sam would turn seventy as well, and her mother–the seemingly unstoppable Sylvia Jordan–would be ninety.

Yes. 2020 would prove to be both momentous and memorable.