Moments for the Heart

Hey, Weekend Writing Warriors. Things took an interesting turn this week. My wife and I had been waiting for the weekend to go car shopping. We usually purchase used through a well known location that helps those with less than perfect credit. Well, with certain events in our life, we were unable to continue our relationship there. Down and out, we crossed the street and ate a meal, then decided to head home to a local car dealership in our town. To our surprise we qualified and drove off with a 2024 vehicle with 10 miles on it versus a 2017 vehicle with 75K. Guess it was all in God’s plan.

Let’s see how God will be working in Aaron and Deborah’s lives this week.

SYNOPSIS:

Aaron Stephenson loves his job. As food critic for the popular Houston Gazette, he gets to sample the best cuisine at the finest eateries in Houston without paying a dime. And because there are so many great restaurants in Houston, he doesn’t have to visit the same establishment twice… unless he wants to.

But when Aaron stops in at Davies Deli, a non-descript, off-the-beaten-path, family-owned diner, he suddenly realizes he wants to come back;

But it has to do more with the owners’ brown haired, green eyed daughter, Deborah than the delicious food.
Aaron and Deborah feel a mutual attraction. But Deborah has a secret that could change everything.

And then there is Carter…

SNIPPET:

Summary:
This love story novel was born out of a dream I had about an angel leaving nick knacks behind for a couple to find as they walked through an amusement park together. They were reminders about them being a couple because they were struggling. Them finding these ‘little reminders’ drew them back together. The novel also has a dual storyline, in that the MC also has a struggle with their relationship with God, so they are also being drawn back to Him as well. The diner idea came from my personal love for food, writing some of the book sitting in a Denny’s, and working in kitchens for almost 10 years.

Here is a bit from last week.

“It’s just a date. And you need to get out more. You are working too hard, Dee.” Pop sat on the chair beside the desk, “All I am saying is to think about it, huh?”

Deborah looked up at her mom, seeking a lifeline. She only saw eyes that apparently agreed with Pop. “It would do you good to get out, Deborah,” she said, and then smiled, “You never know he may be your knight in shining armor.”

Debora sighed. She looked over at the cookie cutters again. Such fairy tales, she thought.

We are jumping into the next section a bit. Aaron is now in his office, regretting his blunder. He is wrapping up an article on previous restaurant he visited.

[Aaron] pushed a button on his laptop, and it whirred to life. He leaned in for the facial recognition and his home screen opened. Dozens of icons appeared. Aaron found the one he was searching for and double-tapped his mouse pad – “Andretti’s a Great Place for the Family on a Budget.”

He didn’t even give it another look. Just as he told Nate, it was as good as it was ever going to get. Opening up his browser to the paper’s webmail account, he typed a quick message and sent it to Nate.

Not two minutes later, he could hear mumbled voices in the hall; Nate and Janice. One voice, the male, came closer. Aaron heard a quick ‘tap, tap,’ and the door opened.

::There is your ten, or so, but let’s continue on and finish the scene.::

“So, does she have a friend?” Nate asked with a sly grin.

“Who?”

“Deborah Davies? You were supposed to ask her out. Or did you forget, like the Andretti piece?”

“For one, the Andretti piece is in your Inbox. And two, you are a happily married man, Nate.”

“I could always be happier,” he laughed. The truth is that he was happily married. Nate and Sarah’s marriage was worthy of emulation. They had been together twenty years and still took the time to sneak a kiss and always said, ‘I love you,’ when getting off the phone.

“We didn’t get that far,” said Aaron. Then lied, “she became preoccupied, and I didn’t get to ask. It was busy.”

“Well, there is always next time,” Nate replied. “I’ll get the Andretti piece over to editing so we can get in Tuesday’s edition.”

Aaron sighed. He was grateful to be done with it. Andretti’s was probably the hardest review he had done for Flavors of Houston in the three years he had written the column. And that says a lot given some of the dives he has been in. In most cases there had been at least one saving grace. When a restaurant fails in one area, they would most likely make it up in other areas. Some would have great customer service, others would offer generous portioning, and some had a reasonable price range. That made Aaron’s job a bit easier, find the positive and he never had to focus on the negative and hurt the livelihood of an establishment.

He thought about Davies Deli. He would eventually have to get back to writing the review of them. Even though he had been to the restaurant nearly every day for two weeks now, he had yet to take his notes and write a word about the restaurant itself. Aaron knew he would have to get over his emotional roadblocks and just write the piece.

The thought reminded him of his utter failure not two hours ago. ‘I don’t think it would be a good idea,’ she had said — not a good idea.

Even if Aaron struggles, there is still life and the job to deal with. And the jesting of coworkers and friends. Then the echo of his experience. Let’s see how he copes with it.

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Saturday is for Snippets from a current piece or past work.

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In His Exciting Service,

Jeff S. Bray

Check out amazing established and emerging writers at Weekend Writing Warriors. Each week we post new snippets from either published works or works in progress for each other to comment on. Gain insight into how the mind of a writer works and a behind-the-scenes look at works before they hit bookstands everywhere.

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