“Opposites Attract”

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Shotgun Annie

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There are characters that sometimes leap off the page.  I have to say at the time I was watching a Western Movie, and it had Annie Oakley in it, and the idea came that I should have a woman handy with a shotgun.

It’s not as farfetched as it seems, since a lot of women who were brought up on farms, or ranches, were good at shooting, hunting, and horse riding, though for us city-bound types it might be something of an anomaly.

Whatever I was thinking, I decided Tim needed a girlfriend who was different. Or perhaps not so different.

On the other side of the coin, I have two separate instances where friends are going through maladies, one that is not treatable, and the other requiring long and expensive treatment that will only buy a few years.

But a few years is better than the alternative, death.

In order to find out where Tim is our boy goes to meet her, fully expecting to be shot at, but devastated to discover how ill she is.

There is, of course, only one thing he can do.

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Today’s words:  931, for a total of 47,658

“Opposites Attract”

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Facing the music

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With the altercation at the bar spreading like fire through a tinder dry forest, our boy goes home to see Darcy.

Yes, she already knew what was going on, and no she’s not happy, and yes, she is overjoyed that our boy will be marrying Emily.

Talk about mercurial relatives.

Then there’s that little gathering that Darcy has arranged where he can get roasted for his sins.

And from one person in particular, Xavier, who positively hates her and all her friends.

Like our boy, he had been treated badly by the girl and her friends, and having someone who was her friend wasn’t going to improve his lot.  But he did agree to be the best man.

It was not going to be a late night.

The next morning there’s a mission, he has to go and see shotgun Annie.

Yes, you heard it right, shotgun Annie.

Tim’s staunchest female ally, but there is a problem.  Just another of many he has to get past.

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Today’s words:  1,597, for a total of 46,727

“Opposites Attract”

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A chat with Fred

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The search for Tim was going to be through a baptism of fire.  Our boy had to go through his friends to find him.

And Tims friends were as belligerent as Tim was.  And a friend of Tim was an enemy of our boy’s.

But, how hard can it be?

To start the quest, he gets another ride in the corporate jet and gets to work with his new PA, Guinevere.  Oh, and did she say she used to work for Tim the Ungrateful?

Water under another bridge.

We touch down in town and there’s no time like the present to visit Fred, the staunchest of Tim’s allies, and the man who would know where he is.

With a mountain to climb, our boy goes into the bar where many a fight had played out badly, the bar that is renowned for the farm hands to let off steam.

Yes, there is a fight.

But for a long time our boy has been hiding a talent his father advised him never to use.

Pity this was the time or place.

And Fred discovers, what he always suspected, they had always been allowed to win.

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Today’s words:  1,755, for a total of 45,130

“Opposites Attract”

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Where’s Tim?

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Our boy quickly realizes there’s going to be no help from Emily.  She is too mad at him for deserting his grandmother, nor is she going with the search party.

One is the loneliest number…

On the bright side, Genevieve, the go-to girl when everything goes to hell in a handbasket, is handing off to the new PA the grandmother has appointed for him.  Guinevere.

She and Genevieve are twins.  And scarily alike.  They almost talk in unison, and they cannot be identified when together.

Married life is going to be fun when each has their PA with them, and their together.

However…

She had organised the corporate jet and their embarking for the hometown because our boy knows Tim’s friends are there, one in particular, Fred.

Of course, Fred hates our boy as much as Tim so getting information out of him is going to be interesting.

So is going home and breaking the news of the proposal to Darcy.

The runaway train just sped up a little more.

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Today’s words:  801, for a total of 43,375

“Opposites Attract”

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Another request

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This requests that people ask of you, and in the same breath tell you they will not think less of you if you don’t want to do it … if you say no, you might as well jump out of the frying pan and into the fire and get it over with.

The grandmother is not a woman to say no to, even if it’s an order to jump off a cliff.  Before she was dying, our boy would have been terrified of her, as would anyone between the ages of 1 and 100.

Now she is, there had to be a limit on the number of deathbed wishes she could ask.

But, irrespective of what the readers may think, our boy knows he’s doing this for the greater good, that it’s Emily’s grandmother, and she would ask him to do anything impossible.

Would she?

Of course, she would.

What’s the one thing he would not want to do?

Find Tim and bring him back so that she can see him one more time before she dies.

Of course, it doesn’t help that Tim despises her as much as everyone else in his family, and most of all, our boy.

And unfortunately, this cannot be put into the too-hard basket.

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Today’s words:  1,704, for a total of 42,574

“Opposites Attract”

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It’s one thing to propose …

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It was another thing entirely to try to apply the brakes on a runaway train.

That whole proposal, saying yes, and finally breathing again thing was probably the second most momentous event in his life, when taken in order.

The first, graduating with the best possible scores was the first, the reward for a lot of hard work, even if he still didn’t know what he wanted to do.

The second, sharing that life with Emily had come to fruition, against all hopes.

He didn’t think he would be able to top it.  Yet.

there’s the wedding, and everything that goes with it, except in this instance, there was not going to be enough time to plan the Hollywood-style wedding that befitted the billionaires that would be attending.

Certainly, it would be the social event of the calendar back home.

So, there was going to be a small event at the hospital for the grandmother to attend, then a later big bash for everyone else.

It was just a matter of keeping it a secret until then.

And we all know about secrets, don’t we?

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Today’s words:  2.045, for a total of 39,795

“Opposites Attract”

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A proposal

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Where in New York can you make a proposal that will be memorable.

That’s what I typed into Google, and it told me there’s a lot of different places.

The one that amused me the most.  Surely, I could work that out for myself instead of asking a heatless thoughtless computer program!

Well, no I couldn’t.

So with a little tweaking and a lot of wishful thinking it ended up in Central Park.

A carriage ride, yes, I’ve been of one of those and nothing spells romantic than a horse drawn carriage ride.  In the snow, under the rug.  Well it wasn’t snowing but it was romantic.

Drop of at one three spots in Central Park that can be booked, and desked out in ribbons, flowers and petals.

Down on one knee and the speech.

Even I teared up a little when I was writing the scene.

Good thing she said yes.

Even I was on the edge of my seat waiting…

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Today’s words:  2.045, for a total of 39,795

“Opposites Attract”

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Plans made, people to talk to

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There’s no time to think about the overwhelming occasion that will soon be upon them.

Our boy has absolutely no idea what our girl is thinking or going to say when he delivers the proposal, he just has to make it memorable.

And, of course, being a boy, that sometimes is harder than it sounds.

That’s why he has the services of the best Personal Assistant in the world.

And she knows his bride to be better than her parents.

She is going to help.  Phew!

A call to his sister is basically to tell her he hasn’t screwed it up yet, but the romance is young, and she knows him better than he does himself.

This train might be going a little fast, but he explains the circumstances.

It’s one of those moments.

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Today’s words:  1,999, for a total of 37,750

“Opposites Attract”

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A proposal for a proposal

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Well, things are getting serious.

I mean when you are waking up next to the girl of your dreams, what conclusions are you going to make?

Don’t be going plucking a flower, saying, she loves me, she loves me not, the petals disappearing one by one.

You know how that works, you get to the last one and she hates you.

Neen there, done that.

Since the grandmother has given the union her blessing, and her time is running out, and she wants to be there for the wedding, does it seem like this whole thing is like a runaway train?

Yup.

But there are protocols to be followed, and going down to tackle Mr Rothstein, who has mysteriously reappeared seems daunting, to say the least.

Let’s hope Mrs Winkle isn’t there.

It seems our boy is living on the edge, but today is the day when Mr Rothstein can’t say no.

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Today’s words:  2,758, for a total of 35,751

“Opposites Attract”

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A small favour

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There’s nothing like trying to impress the new relatives.  Well, maybe that wasn’t our boy’s first intention, he likes the idea of just blending into the background and trying not to make waves.

Of course, he is an aspiring journalist and can recognise overzealous journalists trying to make a name for themselves.

And what is just plain biased reporting?

But here’s the thing…  When you are a celebrity, you don’t get the normal protection a citizen is supposed to get, you are simply a moving target.

Our boy is not moving in completely different circles now– he’s in Emily’s world.

And the grandmothers, and since Mr Rothstein has gone away to make things right, and the fact the grandmother had basically bailed him out, she needs a spokesperson.

Someone the media doesn’t and won’t tear the strips off.  Not initially, anyway.

So, one small favour, go out and explain the situation, don’t answer questions, and get off the stage.

Easy.

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Today’s words:  866, for a total of 32,993