Easy Reading

 

I was watching a video about a retired lady who recently suffered a concussion when her pet dog, who loves to lie across her shoulders while she’s sitting on the sofa, accidently kicked her in the head. It seems the dog was making a mad dash to the window to see who or what was passing by – a squirrel, probably.

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Now, she’s recuperating and still not feeling her usual self, so she’s reading a lot. Having dismissed a how-to book on the basis of “I knew that when I was 19 years old,” she has turned back to her favorite genre. I don’t know how to describe it. In music, it would be called “easy listening.” So, I suppose it would be easy reading. She doesn’t want to be weighed down by heavy plots. She wants reading to be light and fun.

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I can’t begin to tell you how good her words made me feel. You see, that’s the kind of book I like to write. I have characters whom I would like to know. In fact, I would turn cartwheels if I could sit down with my characters and visit for an hour or so.

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Let me tell you about Kristen. You met her in Tales Along the Way Home. She’s a 40-year-old economics professor, who secretly loves a colleague, Frank, who just happens to be the curmudgeon of the Economics Department. Although Kristen and Frank are friends at work, they’ve never dated. Well, now, in the sequel that is nearing completion, A Matter of Priorities, they dare to admit their feelings for one another. Of course, as with any good book, there are a few unexpected twists and turns, not only of their own but of their families and the college where they teach, as well.

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I would love to ask Kristen whether she ever wishes she had remained in California, built a tiny house on the beach, and become the hippie she never did when she was a student. I wonder what she would say. I wonder, as well, would that question make a good epilogue. Hm . . . I might have to give that idea some thought.

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Be well, be happy, be safe.  Keep the faith!  Keep the peace!

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