Woman’s World USA – August 05, 2019

(^5) - MINUT
E ROMANCE
ig brother to the rescue...once again,
I thought, climbing out of my truck
to unload the folding chairs in the
back. Helping my sister had landed
me in some unusual places
before, but this one took the
cake. It was a poetry reading,
one that Karen had promised
to bring chairs to. But after
spraining her ankle the night
before, the call had come in
to me to step in and ma ke the
drop-off instead.
As I stepped through the door of
the tea shop, nearly hitting my head on a
crystal chandelier, I knew it wasn’t exactly
my scene. Incense filled the air as a group
of people swayed, sipping tea in time to a
rhy thmic beat ushering from the spea kers
beside the podium. Trying to be as incon-
spicuous as possible, I began setting the
chairs down, hoping to make a quick exit,
when a soft voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Hi!” it sang, as I felt a tap on my shoul-
der. I turned, coming face to face with the
most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her
root-beer brown eyes shone out from a face
the color of coffee with cream. Glossy lico-
rice black strips of hair lay braided over one
shoulder, and from the moment my eyes
met hers, I was spellbound. “I’m Marci...
I’m signing up the poetry readers tonight.”
“I’m Pete,” was all I could manage.
“Pete! Thanks for coming!” she said. “I
have a spot left at the end of the program...
would you like to read an origina l piece? ”
As far from a poet as one could get, I
opened my mouth to say no, but the hope-
ful look in Marci’s eyes stopped me short.
“Thanks. But tonight, I’m just a helper.”
When Pete stops to deliver chairs to a poetry
reading, he hopes that no one recognizes
how out of place—and unpoetic—he is.
But when Marci appears, it seems Pete has
finally met the muse he’s been longing for
Pure poetry
“A helper?” she asked, a quizzical look in
her eyes. “What are you helping with?”
“The chairs,” I said, pointing to the ones
I’d carried in. “I was just going to
set them up and be on my way.
Maybe you could show me
where they go?”
“I haven’t been to this
reading before...but I’ll take
a guess and say the chairs go
in front of the podium?” She
winked, flashing me a sideways
smile that set my heart thumping.
“I assume you’re new here too?”
“You could say that,” I gulped.
Marci and I got busy setting up the rows
of seating, chitchatting about our origin
stories. When we were finished, she asked,
There is
so much
to celebrate
about you!
It’s simple but
it’s true: Life is
so much happier
when we’re nice
to ourselves! And
it’s not boasting
to be honest, so
go ahead and
admit it: You’ve
got so many
strengths that
there’s absolutely
no reason not to
feel good about
you. It’s true!
A Moment for

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ou

48 8/5/19^ Woma n’s World

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rst

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“From the

moment my

eyes met

hers, I was

spellbound”

This week’s Crossword solution

Turn upside down for Brain

Crossword Jumble: Espadrilles