What a Day!: Short Stories by Southern Writers by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heart of Dixie Fiction Writers

The first Friday in November dawned clear and crisp.

The sun shone bright in a robin’s egg blue sky on a warm, Indian Summer afternoon. Funny, Vonnie couldn’t help thinking, how the weather had changed for the better once Halloween had passed. It was almost as if sun that had been in hiding was ready to portend something new.

She didn’t have Sweetie with her this time. April’s babysitter had promised to be on time, and Vonnie had taken her at her word. Besides, she had a sort of date with Pete Peterson, and she didn’t want to be late.

Should she call it a date? It had been so long since she’d been a member of the dating world, that she wasn’t sure. Since she’d been married and widowed, the rules for dating had changed, at least for young people. She wasn’t sure if the ones she’d followed when she was going out with Nathan more than forty years ago still applied.

It was just coffee, she reminded herself, but when was the last time she’d sat and enjoyed the company of a man? Had she read too much into the casual invitation?

Still, it felt like a date to Vonnie.

Amazing how welcoming the cemetery appeared today, she thought as the blue sky and white clouds made it look more like a park than a cemetery. For the past month or so, it had seemed that, even if it had been clear in the rest of the city, clouds and gloom had hung over Maple Hill like a shroud. Or had it just been her imagination as she contemplated the coming Halloween festivities?

Whatever the reasons, Vonnie appreciated the change.

There were more cars in the small parking lot today. Probably because of the nicer weather, Vonnie supposed, but she still found a vacant slot and pulled in. Eager to leave her weekly floral offering for Nathan and then … meet with Pete?

Would he be there, or was she making too much of an offhand suggestion? She glanced ahead and didn’t see him. And, she realized, she didn’t see the children this afternoon either, though the playground seemed to have been recently abandoned. The swings still rocked to and fro, and the merry-go-round was just coasting to a halt.

She didn’t see Denise, either.

Still, visiting Nathan was her primary mission for the day. She carried a small bouquet containing colored leaves and just a couple of bright orange and yellow mums. She smiled as she looked down at them. Frost had nearly ended her flower garden, but she’d been fortunate enough to gather a few hardy chrysanthemums that had managed to hide from the cold.

She smiled. Some years the weather would remain mild and dry into December, but she expected that would not happen this year. It had already been cold once with what had not quite been a killing frost. Still, that first blast of cold, strong enough for coats, usually meant that what passed for winter in north Alabama would soon blow in.

The Halloween-themed bouquet

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