As most of you know, I tend to play around with themes, backgrounds, headers, etc.
It’s sort of like editing a work-in-progress.
Do you ever get that little itch that takes you over to the themes pages here at Word Press—just to see what new offerings are available?
I like this one I discovered today. It allows me to have a larger space for my header; it has the three-column option; and better yet—all my previous widgets remained in place! I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel here.
Now for another experiment. Seeing if this theme allows me to post without incident. If you’ve been following things here, that has been an issue lately.
But before we try this out, I’d like to share another excerpt from Interior Designs, one of my two WIPs.
In this excerpt, Maeve is contemplating her newly single fate.
After her conversation with Martha, Maeve finished up her home visits for the day and circled back to the office. Now that she was considering her options, she realized that she’d overlooked one very obvious possibility: Brody Emerson!
As her thoughts turned in his direction, she wondered why she hadn’t run into him lately. Had he been avoiding her, since things had been left up in the air between them after their last lunch?
He probably didn’t even know that her marriage had ended. Would it make a difference?
Almost as if her thoughts had conjured him up, there he stood, at the back door getting ready to sprint toward the parking lot. “Wow, I was wonderin’ where you’d been lately. How’re things?”
He halted abruptly and grinned, reminding her again what she found so appealing about him. That boyish, yet sexy charm, conveyed by a simple smile. “I was on vacation for awhile, and then my caseload just got out of hand. I guess that happens when we go away for awhile.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” she replied, falling into step beside him. She’d decided not to go up to her office after all.
“Are you finding your groove now?”
She laughed at the expression, but nodded. “Oh, yeah, but there’s always that one case that niggles at the mind…somethin’ that irks me and reminds me that we’re not really in control here.”
They chatted about work for a few minutes, standing next to her car. Then, almost as if he were considering something, he stared at her. Finally he said: “Do you have to get home right away? Or would you consider having a drink with me?”
She recalled that Buzz would have the kids all weekend, so she nodded. Casually. She hoped that he didn’t think she was overeager.
“Okay, then,” he went on. “How about that Irish pub by Courthouse Plaza?”
“Sounds good,” she purred, and then thought she should tone things down a bit.
When they were seated in the pub, facing each other, Maeve wondered what they would even have to talk about. Would their conversations be limited to work stuff?
But before she could feel that familiar awkwardness descending, Brody leaned in and said: “I heard that you’re getting a divorce. Is that right?”
She nodded. “I guess I’ve known it was comin’ for awhile, but I was in denial. Now, except for the part where I’m tryin’ to find my place in the world of singles, I’m actually glad about it. Shakin’ off old patterns can be a good thing.”
“I guess that would be difficult,” he mused. “I came close to marriage once, but it just didn’t work out. Probably for the best, since I wasn’t sure what I wanted in my career yet. I think it’s important to be who you want to be before becoming a part of a couple. Oh,” he added, with consternation furrowing his brown, “I didn’t mean you made a mistake. That’s just how it is for me.”
She laughed. “Well, maybe I did. I’m glad I traveled that particular journey, though, since it’s made me who I am now. And I love the kids.”
“I’ve thought about having kids someday…after I find the right woman, of course.”
She wondered if he was just saying that, but decided not to analyze it too much.
He sipped his beer, and then when the server came back, glanced over and asked: “Would you like something to eat? Or do you have to be somewhere?”
“That sounds good,” she murmured, “and no, the kids are with their dad. I would enjoy windin’ down after my week, like other single folks do.”
Their conversation seemed to flow easily, then, and by the time she glanced at her watch, she realized that a couple of hours had passed.
He noticed her checking the time, and asked the question she knew she’d been waiting for. “Would you like to see my place? I think I could show you some etchings, or something,” he laughed.
“Sure, why not? I’ll follow you in my car.”
Creative Comments