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    The Blue Jay and the Sparrow (Romance on the Continent)
    The Blue Jay and the Sparrow (Romance on the Continent)
    The Blue Jay and the Sparrow (Romance on the Continent)
    Ebook55 pages49 minutes

    The Blue Jay and the Sparrow (Romance on the Continent)

    By Paula Freda

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    About this ebook

    Mark Carlson – tall, reserved, easy to look at, somewhat introverted, settled in his ways, who likes order and tranquility - in his middle thirties, a well-to-do Rep at a government patent office. After the death of his parents, the shelter and conformity of his colonial mansion is indispensable to him. When his best friend, Jacques, is killed in a house fire, Mark can do no less than to keep his promise and honor his friend's final request that he take on the responsibility of the orphaned daughter, Cybelle. Nine years later, a grown-up Cybelle, a feisty, petite, (sort of a combination Sandra Bullock/Molly Ringwald) popcorn character, declares her love. Mark is already aware of the attraction, and though he dares not admit it, even to himself, it is mutual, for Cybelle is everything buoyant Mark isn't and very dear to his heart. His character, one to be admired, is shown in his silent comments to his deceased friend. "Don't worry, Jacques, I won't take advantage of her vulnerability. She needs to be loved, and I'm the only one she can turn to thus far. But one day some other man, one younger and more eligible will recognize her worth and capture her heart. Then he'll be there for her. Until then, I'll guard her from herself – and from me." ....

    This story appeared in my novel Roses in the Dark (ISBN1-933548-16-9) that comprised four interwoven love stories, written by the same author, Paula Freda.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPaula Freda
    Release dateApr 24, 2011
    ISBN9781458002266
    The Blue Jay and the Sparrow (Romance on the Continent)
    Author

    Paula Freda

    About the AuthorDorothy Paula Freda, is also known under her pen names Paula Freda and Marianne Dora Rose. Herbooks range from Fiction and Non-fiction Adventure, Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Poetry, Articles, Essays and How-to-Write Instructional complete with Lessons and optional assignments.Homemaker, mother of two grown sons, and former off-the-desk publisher of a family-oriented print small press, (1984 thru 1999), The Pink Chameleon, that she now publishes on line, Paula was raised by her grandmother and mother, and has been writing for as long as she can remember. Even before she could set pencil to paper, she would spin her stories in the recording booths in the Brooklyn Coney Island Arcades for a quarter per 3-minute record. She states, "I love the English language, love words and seeing them on display, typed and alive. A romantic at heart, I write simply and emotionally. One of my former editors kindly described my work, '...her pieces are always deep, gentle and refreshing....'" Paula further states, "My stories are sensitive, deeply emotional, sensual when appropriate, yet non-graphic, family fare, pageturners. My hope is that my writing will bring entertainment and uplift the human spirit, bring a smile to your face and your soul, and leave you filled with a generous amount of hope."

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      Book preview

      The Blue Jay and the Sparrow (Romance on the Continent) - Paula Freda

      The Bluejay and the Sparrow

      by Paula Freda

      Copyright © 2005 by Dorothy Paula Freda

      (Pseudonym - Paula 'Freda

      Smashwords Edition

      Bookcover Illustration © 2005 Thomas Mark Freda

      All rights reserved

      This is a work of fiction, names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

      This novella appeared in my novel Roses in the Dark (ISBN 978-1-4523-6176-5) that comprised four interwoven love stories, written by the same author.

      The Bluejay and the Sparrow

      CHAPTER ONE

      Sparrow thrust from your nest,

      Fluttering, twittering your very best,

      Lonely, helpless, you fear

      What the next moment brings,

      For a blue jay has swooped

      And caught you in its wings.

      Mark's first meeting with this friend's daughter was not to be what he had envisioned – an orphaned, grieving child eager to accept his comfort and protection. Instead, during the entire reading of the will, Cybelle had hardly glanced at him. The ride upstate to his home in the Hudson Valley was proving no better. Cybelle remained silent and continued to stare out the partially opened window of his black Cadillac, her gaze unfocused, not actually seeing the green landscape whizzing by. Mark wondered if she even felt the blustering wind entering through the opening. The jacketed document that was his friend's last will and testament lay discarded on the seat between them. Clutched and crumpled in her right hand was her father's final correspondence with Mark.

      My friend, the letter read, "I write to ask a special favor of you. It concerns the two persons dearest to me – my wife, Helen, and my daughter, Cybelle, my little fluff of cocoa curls and lacy skirts, as I often refer to her. Of course, she is not so little anymore. Now it's jeans and sneakers, and junior prom. I suppose I must admit to myself that she is almost grown up.

      Mark, I have no basis for it, no apparent reason, but the feeling persists. Call it a preoccupation, a foreboding, even a premonition, but these past few weeks I have felt uneasy – no frightened is a better word, as though life and I were soon to part company. Am I losing my mind?"

      Normally Jacques' letters held happy tidings, or simply dwelled on past times shared. Sometimes he would ask advice or an opinion on some family matter. He was a simple man, with a sensitive nature and a kind heart, a Frenchman by heritage, and a United States Citizen by birth.

      He had married very early, 16, because Cybelle was already on the way. Perhaps that was why Helen was never really there for her daughter, always busy with some charity or career move, making up for the years that should have been hers alone. Mark, the letter continued, "If anything should happen to me, watch over Helen and Cybelle. My wife and I have no living relatives, and Cybelle is a handful, stubborn, headstrong and impetuous, like a fledgling sparrow eager to try its wings.

      My friend, in desperation I presume upon your respect and affection. I have contacted my lawyer. I am appointing you Executor of my will, and with Helen, co-guardian of my daughter. Humor me, Mark. Sign the papers and have them notarized as soon as they arrive, and return them to me. If this preoccupation with death is a temporary bout of insanity, then when next we meet I will provide you with the finest bottle of champagne I can afford, and an evening of laughter. If not… remember me with kindness.

      It was signed, Your devoted friend, Jacques Michel

      On the Fourth of July, a stray spark from a firework that was set off too close to a cluster of private homes, ignited the roof of his friend's cape cod on Long Island. The resulting fire destroyed the house. Only Cybelle escaped the raging flames. Jacques and Helen did not.

      Mark's discerning blue eyes took in the petite grief-stricken countenance.

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