Storytime Blog Hop: Another Time by J.Q. Rose

Welcome to the Focused on Story blog by J.Q. Rose 

and to the quarterly Storytime Blog Hop!

Huge thank you to Juneta Key, the organizer of the event.
Click below to find bloggers participating in the blog hop and click on the link to read their stories. So many creative, talented, imaginative folks in this hop. Enjoy!! 
Please leave a comment and share. Thank you.

Storytime Blog Hop
Founded 2015 by students of “How To Think Sideways: 

Career Survival School for Writer’s,” 

a writing course created by writer and teacher Holly Lisle

Storytime Blog Hop

Logo designed by Juneta Key

Sundial by Sandra Cox
 Time travel romance

Today I'm flexing my writing muscles and trying something new. I'm sharing a time travel story with you. I've discovered I'm fascinated when reading time travel stories. 
1. I wonder if there really is another realm of time coinciding with the world we live in and 
2. I love seeing how an author goes about creating the "portal" that takes the characters into another time and world, and 
3. how she leads the reader into the different worlds. 

After attempting to write this time travel, I can tell you transitioning from one time to another and making a reader realize what is happening is difficult. 

I recently read Sandra Cox' time travel, Sundial. The way she crafted the book made it easy to follow and so convincing.

Another Time by J.Q. Rose

Rachel choked on her hot tea when she glanced out the large window of the English Guest House and spotted a tall, young man dressed in a World War I vintage uniform. Trying to stop the cough spasms, she covered her mouth, but kept her gaze on him. He flipped his peaked cap off his head and waved it at her.

            She squinted through the glass into the fading evening light, then jumped away from the window. Kenneth!  

The English Guest House (Bracken House Hall, 2018) across the road from the Moors
Yorkshire County, England

            “No, no, no, not again.” She changed out of her pajamas into her jeans and tee shirt lying on the bed and finger-combed her long black hair as she searched for her sandals. She would just tell him to go away and leave her alone.

            She and Kenneth had a long history together. A very long history. They had fallen in love in every life she had lived clear back in the time when she was Cleopatra and he was her body guard. During the US War of Independence, she was a nurse on the battlefield tending his wounds. As Duchess Charlotte, married to the Duke of Sussex, she couldn’t resist Kenneth in a uniform then either.

            But today, in 2018, she was not going to make the same mistake. Each time they fell in love, he left her. She couldn’t live through the turmoil and the loss of his leaving again, no matter what his excuse. Well, perhaps she could accept the fact he was killed in World War II as a viable one.

World War I Soldier
Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

            She slid her feet into her sandals and scurried back to the window. Pulling the heavy curtains wide open, she leaned on the sill and checked to see if he was still waiting across the street for her. This time she noticed a throng of people near him strolling the fairgrounds on the English moors. The scene looked just like the black and white photos from the 1914 Yorkshire fair displayed on the hallway walls of the Guest House.

  When he spotted her looking out the window again, that irresistible tilted smile lighted up his boyish face. She stepped back from the window as she struggled with the feelings inside her. Her heart ached to be with him. To touch him, love him again. She jerked the curtains closed and turned her back to the window. No, she could not see him again. She would not see him again.

“Ohhh, Kenneth. Why do you do this to me?” With clenched fists, she shouted into the empty room. Rachel whirled around and yanked the curtains open again.

Without pondering another moment about the consequences, she raced out the door forgetting her cell phone and glasses on the desk and practically flew down the hall to the wooden double doors that would open out to Kenneth.

Rachel slammed against the locked doors as hard as her heart was slamming inside her chest. Frantic to get out to him she pushed again until her befuddled mind realized she had to slide the bolt away to open it.

When she stepped across the door jam, the electrified air charged her body. She shut her eyes, feeling the tingling sensation course through her. Opening them wide, she stopped and noticed bent old people, women in long skirts and beautiful hats, and gentlemen in suits swirling around him. Kids in their Sunday best dodged in and out of the fair-goers as they strolled through the grounds laughing and visiting the tents of the vendors. The smell of delicious fair food with the underlying scent of horses wafted through the air.

Music from a calliope added to the festive scene exactly as pictured in the old photos.

Watching the activity, she paused to consider her choices again. She could go ahead and meet with Kenneth or turn around and return to the 21st century just a few steps away through the wooden doors behind her. Did she really want to have her heart broken again by this man? No, but maybe this time would be different. Yes, she nodded her head, this time it would be different.

Rachel raced across the road and threw herself into Kenneth’s waiting arms and clung to him, breathing in his fresh scent of soap and cigar-smoked wool tunic. Encircled in his embrace, the fabric scratched against her cheek when she wriggled against his chest.  The throng of fair-goers bumped into them, but nothing could make her stop holding him, her one true love through all the ages.

When Kenneth released her, she stepped back and studied his blazing blue eyes and his sandy-blonde hair in its usual tousled state. She moved back in his arms and planted a deep kiss on his lips. The heat surge sizzled through her body when he returned the kiss with passion.

            Her eyes searched his as all the noise and people were forgotten. She stepped away. Leaning toward him, she asked, “Are you going to continue to chase me through all my lifetimes? It’s 2018 in my world.”

His eyes sparkled. “Yes, I will never stop looking for you. How could I be so lucky to find you again? But this time, this time will be for always. Nothing will separate us again.”

“How do you know that? Every lifetime we’ve loved each other truly. And then, we lose each other. I don’t think I can take losing you again.” She dropped her arms to her sides, a frown disturbing her fine features.

“No, no, don’t say that.” He lightly cupped her chin in his hand. “You’re here now. Don’t leave. Let’s take these moments and cherish them. Don’t even think about whatever happens next. Let’s just live right now!”

Rachel’s eyes darkened as she stood as unyielding as the MSU football's defensive linemen. “I am not living for right now. I want to plan for my future. You aren’t in it because I can’t count on you to be my life-partner through all these crazy lives.”

Kenneth shuffled back from her, a weak smile on his face. “You’re kidding aren’t you? You can’t mean that.”

“I never want to see you again in whatever time we may meet.” She slashed her arms across her body. “Do you understand me?”

“But, but---,” he stammered.

Rachel spun away and headed through the doors back into the 21^st century. Feeling free and happy, she was ready to face the future, or the past, whichever life adventure came first.

 ###
Do you think Rachel made the right decision? Why?

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###

Thanks for stopping in today. 

Now it's "time" for you to hop over to read stories from more bloggers participating in the blog hop.

Click on the titles below.

Team Building Exercise, by Samantha Bryant 
Beginning Again, by Karen Lynn 
Under The Bridge, by Katharina Gerlach 
Black and White, by Bill Bush 
Summer Siren, by Elizabeth McCleary 
The Birch Tree, by Juneta Key 
The Zoning Zone, by Vanessa Wells 
Secrets, by Elizabeth Winfield

Storytime Blog Hop: The Secret by J.Q. Rose

Logo Credit: Katharina Gerlach

Founded 2015 by students of “How To Think Sideways: 

Career Survival School for Writer’s,” 

a writing course created by writer and teacher Holly Lisle

Welcome to the JQ Rose blog and to the quarterly Storytime Blog Hop.

Today, creative, talented writers share short stories to make you  laugh, cry, angry, surprised and all the emotions a writer can wring out of you.

Please take some time to escape from reality by visiting writers participating in this blog hop. I'm always amazed at the variety of genres and the imaginative characters and plots in the offerings. 

Click below on the bloggers' links to hop around cyberspace and explore these talented writers. You're invited to leave a comment and to share your reading experience with friends.

The Secret by J.Q. Rose

The Secret by J.Q. Rose

Mike slid the screen door aside to get inside and grab his ringing cell phone on the small kitchen table in his Florida condo home. He grinned when he spotted Olivia’s name in the caller ID. He looked forward to talking to his best friend since kindergarten. 

“Hey, Olivia. How’s it goin’?”

He threw his beach towel on the kitchen chair and plopped down in his leather recliner to talk. After thirty minutes of catching up and re-living fun times together, Olivia asked “Why didn’t we ever get together as a couple? I’ve asked you that question many times, but you’ve never answered.”

Mike’s brow crinkled. How could he answer Olivia’s question without revealing the secret he’d kept from her for so many years? He shot up from his chair and paced the tile floor.  Was this the right time to tell her?

“Mike. Hello. Are you still there?” Olivia’s voice on the cell phone jarred him.

“Oh yeah.”

“What? Did I shake you up when I asked the question…again?” Her soft giggle lightened his heart.

The memory of his attempt to ask her for a deeper relationship flashed through his mind. He could still picture that night six years ago when they sat at the corner wooden table in the diner eating greasy burgers and fat French fries. How they loved the food there, the quiet evenings, and even the smell of grease that clung to their clothes long after they left the building.

 He remembered the heat flaring through his body when he gazed into her brown eyes framed by the longest lashes he had ever seen. Wisps of her blonde hair, piled up on the top of her head, escaped from the hair band, and poked out from her head. He wished he could undo that hair band and let her hair fall free to her shoulders so he could feel the soft curly strands through his fingers.

Olivia swallowed a big gulp of pop, then stopped before grabbing another French fry. “Hey,” she said. “You’re kinda quiet tonight.” She reached across the table to touch his arm. “You okay?”

Mike placed his hand on hers. “Yeah. I’m okay.”  He hoped she believed him. He wasn’t okay. His gut clenched as he made the decision to finally ask her if she would be interested in him as a boyfriend, and no more of the relationship just as his kid sister.

“So how’s it going with you and Jack?”

She sighed. “Looks like Jack and I are history.” She wrinkled her nose.

Mike searched her face trying to decide if that was a good thing or a hurtful thing for her.

“I just had it with his drinking. No respect for me. Three dates with him were two too many,” she said as the corners of her mouth curved up into a smile.

“Sounds like he’s not the right one for you, then, eh?” His eyes twinkled.

“Nope, no way. He’s not Mr. Right for sure.” She picked up her burger and took another big bite, then licked the grease off her fingers.

Mike glanced toward her as she fumbled for her napkin. Leaning his elbows on the table and threading his fingers together, he watched her till she looked up at him. She finished wiping her mouth and hands and tucked the napkin under the plate. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was just wondering what you’re looking for in a guy.” He had found the perfect opening to broach the subject of a big change in their relationship.

She smiled coyly. “Ha.”

“I’ll ask you some questions to help you decide.”

She laughed. “Alright, bring ‘em on if you think it’ll help me find the right guy.”

“Okay. Hmmm.”  Mike tapped his chin and stared up at the ceiling as if contemplating what to say. He gazed back at her and asked in his best interviewing style, “Would you consider a guy who is shorter than you?”

“Oh sure,” she replied quickly.

“How about a guy who doesn’t have a college degree?”

“That’s easy. If I love him, I don’t care if he’s a teacher, a plumber, a brain surgeon, or whatever.” She shrugged. “And of course, he’d have to love me back,” she added holding her hands to her heart.

“What if he had Herpes or an STD?”

“No. Next question, please.”

 “So, let’s see. Final question. What if he didn’t like to eat burgers and fries and was a vegetarian?”

“Are you kidding me? He’d have to love burgers and fries.” She held her arms wide and wrinkled her nose just like she did when she was eight years old.

Olivia interrupted his memory. “What’s up with you tonight anyway?  I just asked a simple question about why we never got together.”

“Yes you did. But really, why ask now? I mean the last time I saw you was at your wedding about a year ago. Are you and Tim having problems?”

“No, no problems. I love Tim with all my heart. I guess I was just thinking about the good old days. You and I shared a lot together, and yet, we never became romantically involved. I was more of a kid sister to you, wasn’t I?”

“Okay. I must admit I had thoughts about us getting together, but I just couldn’t ask because I have a secret I could never tell you.” He heard her gasp.

“You kept a secret from me all these years? How’s that possible? We shared everything. Or at least I thought we did.” His eyes misted when he heard the hurt in her voice.

“You may not remember our conversation when we were in college. We were at the diner trying to figure out what kind of guy you were looking for…”

“I remember,” she said softly. “I thought you were asking because you were interested in your being my Mr. Right. But you never even suggested it. I was disappointed to say the least.”

“I asked you if you would want a guy with Herpes.”

“Yes, and about a million other questions.” She laughed.

Mike hesitated. “So what you don’t know is…” He took another big breath. “I have Herpes.”

Her silence was louder than the sounds of the ocean waves roaring on the beach outside his condo’s door.

“Oh, Mike.” Her voice caught in her throat. “I’m sorry, so sorry. I wish you’d told me. Never in a million years would I have considered you having Herpes. I had no idea.” Silence again. “I loved you, Mike. That would’ve never stopped me from loving you.”

His throat closed with emotion leaving him unable to speak.

“But I love Tim now, and I married him. We’re very happy together.” She paused then continued, sounding stronger.

“I called to tell you that Tim and I are expecting a baby.” Her voice reflected the joy in her heart.

“Oh, that’s great news. I’m so happy for you.” And he truly was happy for her. But his heart shattered with the knowledge of what could have been if only he had revealed his secret that night at the diner.

“Mike, Mike. Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m here. I’ll always be here for you, Olivia.” He inhaled a ragged breath. “Congratulations to you and Tim.” 

📕📗📘

Thanks for stopping in!

You're invited to visit the following participants in the Storytime Blog Hop.

Journal of Anah by J Lenni Dorner 

The Vineyard at Mar Mozambique by Karen Lynn 

Stealing Space by Barbara Lund 

The Day I was Clever by Katharina Gerlach 

Never kid a kidder by Angela Wooldridge 

The Color Of… by Chris Makowski 

Nightmare by Erica Damon 

Pick Up Lines by Bill Bush 

The Scorpius Gate by Sandra Fikes 

V is for Vortex by Elizabeth McCleary 

Deep Dive by Juneta Key

Bugs by Gina Fabio

Halloween Storytime Blog Hop: Sorry by J.Q. Rose, Free eBook

Logo Credit: Katharina Gerlach

Founded 2015 by students of “How To Think Sideways: Career Survival School for Writer’s,” 
writing course created by writer and teacher Holly Lisle.

Hello and Welcome to the Storytime Blog Hop! Be prepared to laugh, cry, scream, shiver, and have fun. You'll find lots of stories and I'm sure, many scary ones because it IS Halloween time! Are you ready? Enjoy.

An "Old-fashioned" Robot

Photo by Robin Zebrowski @ Flikr

Sorry by J.Q. Rose

“Barbie, I need more coffee.” Joanne held her cup up in the air without taking her eyes away from the news on the thin i-screen in her hand.

            In a flash, Barbie, the new robot, heels clicking on the stone floor, moved to the table, took the cup, and filled it to the brim.

            Joanne frowned. “Don’t fill it that full. I need to add cream and sugar and there’s no room for it with so much liquid in the cup. Dump it out in the sink, and don’t fill it to the top of the cup.”  Breaking in a new robot was such a chore. Trying to cover all the tasks needed to be done as well as teaching them human feelings was overwhelming.

“Wait.” Taking the full cup from Barbie’s beautifully manicured hand, she sipped a bit of coffee off the top, dropped the cup and whooshed the coffee out of her mouth. “Ohhhh, that’s burning hot,” she spluttered. Her face twisted in pain from her scorched lips and burnt tongue. Joanne grabbed a glass of apple juice to cool off her mouth.

Looking at Barbie through watery eyes, she said, “Dammit. Here I am trying to help you out so you won’t spill the coffee on the floor all the way to the sink, but instead I burned my mouth.” Her voice pitched up higher and louder.

            “That must give you a lot of pain?” Barbie frowned with the correct programmed look of concern on her face.

            Joanne wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Yes, you bet your sweet ass. It gives me a lot of pain.”

            Barbie asked, “Excuse me. What is a sweet ass? A nice donkey?”

            “Oh never mind.” She pointed her finger at Barbie’s voluptuous chest and jabbed the air with each word. “Remember, when you hurt someone, you always say ‘sorry.’ Got that?”

            “Okay. Sorry. Now I know not to fill the cup to the top. I should leave room enough for a teaspoon of cream?”

            “That’ll be good.”

            “Good morning, everyone.” Joanne’s husband entered the kitchen pod sharply dressed in his uniform. “How’s it going?” He settled himself in the ergonomic chair custom-fit to his tall, thin frame.

            “Not so good. I can’t understand why in 2036 the Artificial Intelligence Machine is not more advanced. After over thirty years of development, you’d think they’d be able to program in more common sense.”

 He flashed his sparkling blue eyes at Joanne and she had to smile. “You know it takes months to teach our robot helpers what they need to know to do their jobs around here.” He patted her hand. “Be patient.”

Joanne caught Barbie watching them when she looked across the room. The robot didn’t flinch with embarrassment when caught eavesdropping. “Make a note on teaching Barbie she is not to interfere with our personal lives,” she said.

When Joanne glanced back at Barbie, she questioned again why the robot had the shape of a gorgeous model. Joanne’s temper flared seeing her husband googly-eyed checking out Barbie’s slender ass and long legs. The tight white blouse and navy blue shorts hugged her body in just the right places.

Was the look on his face because he was proud of his company’s development of these new and improved machines from the pioneering years when robots were made of metal ducts and put together with bolts? Sure they were now amazing human-like figures that were a thousand times smarter and more mobile, not to mention sexier. No, that look was not one of pride. More like leering at the gorgeous body. Shaking her head, she felt ashamed she was actually jealous of a machine.

            “Barbie, you got some hot coffee for me?”

            “Yes, sir. Right away.” The dazzling smile Barbie gave to her husband made Joanne’s stomach turn over. “Do you need room in your cup for cream and sugar,” she asked in a sweet lilting voice. 

            After breakfast, Joanne stood up and hugged her husband grinding her body against his. The deep, lingering kiss should be something he’d remember at work at the A.I. Network division of the Rangers. “I’ll be home early tonight.” His eyebrows rose all the way to the top of his forehead and she smiled. He pinched her on the butt before he left.

            Joanne turned around to see Barbie watching her.  “When you aren’t assigned a task, you can find something to do like empty the dish bin and put away the dishes and silverware.” She motioned to the cabinets. “The knives and the spatula go in that drawer.”    

Pushing her dirty plate, used napkin and silver away from her space, Joanne sat back down at the table and began reading her i-screen again. She took a sip of coffee and spit it back into the cup. “Dammit, Barbie. This coffee is cold. Make another pot of coffee now.”

            “Okay. Excuse me. What is a spatula?” Her pleasant expression agitated Joanne. She threw down the cup and screen on the table and marched over to the dish bin. Calling on all of her willpower, she didn’t slap that doll face with the big blue innocent eyes and pull her long blonde hair. “Here,” she said pulling the red spatula out of the bin. “This is a spatula!” She waved the kitchen tool in front of Barbie’s nose. Reaching into the bin again, she yelled, “This is a butcher knife! Okay?”

            “Yes, now I know what a spatula is and what a butcher knife is.” She turned away from Joanne and pushed the button on the coffee maker.

            Thoughts of murdering the robot pulsed through Joanne’s brain. Can you murder a robot? All she would have to do is pull the power pack.

            Get a grip. She’s a machine. She placed her hands at her temples and massaged them deeply to help her calm down.

            Joanne heard the heels clicking on the stone floor as Barbie approached. “Here’s your coffee,” she said. As Joanne turned her head to check how full the cup was filled, Barbie poured the entire pot of scalding hot coffee on top of her.

            Joanne screamed in pain as the burning liquid coursed into her eyes and scalded her face and neck.

            “Sorry,” Barbie said and turned on her heel to finish unloading the dish bin.

           

 # # # #

Thank you for stopping in for the Storytime Blog Hop. 

Happy Halloween 

Storytime Blog Hop

October 27, 2016

Click the links below to read more stories by blog hop writers.

Participants:

Elise VanCise Lady In The Woods 

Barbara Lund Spooky Space 

Angela Wooldridge Quiet Neighbours 

Katharina Gerlach Australian Dream 

Karen Lynn The Waves at Midnight 

Sherri Conway Ants 

Elizabeth McCleary Over James Henry Wilcox Dead Body 

Canis Lupus The Picture 

Peg Fisher All In the Fall, a Fractured Fairytale 

Bill Bush Trapped 

Benjamin Thomas Autumn Cascade 

Crystal Collier Emily’s Ghost 

Viola Fury 911 

Juneta Key Shiny People

C. Lee McKenzie Beautiful 

Erica Damon Penance'

Looking for a romantic suspense for a Halloween read? 
How about one that takes place in a funeral home? 

It's FREE on Halloween, October 31, on Amazon!

Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose

A handsome detective, a shadow man, 

and a murder victim kill Lauren’s plan for a simple life.

           

           

Back of the Book: Deadly Undertaking by J.Q. Rose

Lauren Staab knew there would be dead bodies when she returned home. After all, her family is in the funeral business, Staab and Blood Funeral Home. Still, finding an extra body on the floor of the garage between the hearse and the flower car shocked her. Lauren’s plan to return to her hometown to help care for her mother and keep the books for the funeral home suddenly turns upside down in a struggle to prove she and her family are not guilty of murdering the man. But will the real killer return for her, her dad, her brother? Her mother’s secrets, a killer, a handsome policeman, and a shadow man muddle up her intention to have a simple life. 

Welcome home, Lauren!

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US  

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Amazon UK