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I’ll admit it.  I’m a book worm.  I love to read.  When I was a kid we had a rule.  No books at the table.  Since I come from a family of book worms, I have since figured out the rationale behind the rule.  We could have gone for days without speaking to each other if we were allowed to bring our reading material to the table.  Instead my brother and I devoured anything that had the printed word on it.  We read cereal boxes, ketchup bottles, salad dressing, A1 sauce.  You get the picture.  That’s why I was a bit dismayed when I ran across this list of the the “new classics.”  100 of the best reads from 1983 to 2008.  Of the top 25, I’ve only read two.  How embarrassing.  It’s not as if I quit reading for 25 years.  Of the hundreds (thousands, actually) of books I read, I just didn’t manage to read the right ones.  I don’t even want to admit that those two books were the only ones out of the entire list that I’ve read.  I think someone needs to make a list of the top thousand.  Maybe I could do a little better.

Here’s the top 25.  Did you do any better?

I have to make a  confession.  I’ve been obsessed with another man lately.  For three days I’ve had thoughts of him almost constantly.  This man has enticed me.  Made me promises.  Has been telling me how much better my life could be if I let him come home with me.  Promises and more promises of satisfaction and delights. 

I couldn’t take it any longer.  I caved in Saturday night on the way home from work. I stopped by one of the places where he hangs out.  I even had to ask another man to help me find him.  There he was in the back.  What a relief to see him!  It didn’t take much to get him in my car.  A little sweet talk and there he was in the seat beside me.  I could hardly wait to get him home and make him comfortable.  He has certainly warmed my heart and put the smiles on my face since then.

I’m sorry, Consumer Man.  I had to do it.  Three days of drinking instant coffee and I was eager to bring Mr. Coffee into our house.  He’s very comfortably ensconced in our kitchen.  And he’s certainly making me happy.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint:  preserve my life from the dread enemy.

Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the scheming of evildoers,

who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,

shooting from ambush at the blameless; they shoot suddenly and without fear.

They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly,

think, “Who can see us?  Who can search out our crimes?

We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”  For the human heart and mind are deep.

But God will shoot his arrow at them; they will be wounded suddenly.

Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake with horror. 

Then everyone will fear; they will tell what God has brought about, and ponder what he has done.

Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him.

Let all the upright in heart glory.

Psalm 64

This book has potential, but as it stands, the three separate story lines bouncing from chapter to chapter leaves a lot to be desired. This book would be better introduced as a book of long “short stories.”  I enjoy books written by Christian authors, but do not need a word by word prayer every six or seven pages to prove that the characters are Christian.  I think this would turn off most main stream readers.  Another problem for me is the fact that the book seems to contain a lot of product endorsements.  I don’t really care what brand jeans someone’s husband puts on nor where a character buys her body lotion.  I’m not interested in brands.  I’m interested in plots and characters. I have to admit that it was a struggle to read this entire book in order to give it a fair review.  Dwan, I’m waiting for these story lines to each be expanded into novels.

The rules for my giveaway of the book, 501 Quilt Blocks, have been posted at Berries and Cream.  Check it out.  You can get up to six entries.  The deadline for entering is 11:59 p.m. EDT, Friday, March 6, 2009.

My apron strings that is.  I’ve decided that I need some.  My mother many times told me, “I can dress you up, but I can’t take you out.”  What does this mean, you ask?  It means that she would get me dressed up to go out and by the time she was ready those pretty dresses and pinafores were a mess.  Never mind that she was already dressed, made up and ready to go before she got me dressed.  It only took a moment or two.  Just long enough for her to go get her purse.  Why did she go through all that grief?  Why not just dress me in something dark that wouldn’t show the dirt and smudges so much? 

How many of you have children?  I was a first child.  Now think about that.  Remember how the first one had to always be dressed just so?  Nothing dirty or stained when you were going out and planning on showing off that little darling of yours.  Nothing changes.  Really.  My mother wanted me to look all cute and pretty.  I wanted my first one to look adorable.  The children who follow don’t have the same pressure to look adorable and to be perfect.  They don’t have a picture taken of them every time they get their clothes changed either.  My second child spent half her childhood thinking she was adopted or something because their were tons of pictures of her brother and she was lucky to find a handful of herself.  I can see you out there chuckling and nodding your heads.  You know about the baby books, too, but we’re beginning to get a bit sidetracked here. 

That thing about keeping my clothes clean.  My mother never won that battle.  I’m still fighting it.  Especially when I cook.  I work so hard at it.  I sometimes even make it to the table before splashing, splattering or spilling something down the front of me.  Like I said, I really need some aprons.  I’ve worn all kinds of aprons in my life.  Back in small town mid-America that’s what you did.  You wore aprons.  If you had a dinner party or just another couple over for dinner, you took off your kitchen apron and put on a dainty or frilly little thing.  In the kitchen you had a bigger, more serviceable apron.  You had a wardrobe of aprons.  We didn’t toss in a load of laundry every day.  We did that one day a week.  You have to have figured out by now that I needed lots of aprons.

Plain aprons.  Fancy aprons.  Aprons with ties.  Aprons with those plastic circles that you stuffed them on and clipped them around your waist.  Half aprons.  Full aprons.  Plain ties around your waist.  Ties that you crossed in back and ran through fabric loops before tying.  Ties that you crossed in back and buttoned at the waist.  Ties that tied around the neck.

And all the apron patterns.  After awhile, aprons started going out of style and then you couldn’t find a pattern unless it was used.  No, you couldn’t find one on the Internet.  We are still wandering around in the dark ages before the web was something other than what you swept down if you saw one in your house.  So now pattern companies are giving us apron patterns again.  And now you can find patterns on the Internet.  And I’m sure you can figure it out on your own.  I’m going to make a couple aprons.  I don’t want to keep hearing my mother say how she could dress me up, but couldn’t take me out.  I’m a big girl now.  I don’t want smudged and splattered clothes.  I’m going to make an apron with a bib.  A big bib.  How difficult can that be.  A big rectangle gathered onto a waistband.  A couple ties at the waist.  The bib sewn to the front of the apron with a couple ties to go around my neck.

Do you wear aprons?  Do you need aprons?  Do you make your own aprons?  Do you have a favorite pattern?

If you have a credit card, you’ve probably received a notice telling you that your interest rate is going up.  I did.  Mine was doubling.  I’ve had this Capital One account for years, make payments on time and am in good standing with the company.  It’s still irritating that we, the taxpayers, have given the banks bailout money and more to come, while they have done nothing to help us out.  I didn’t expect them to go around lowering interest rates, but I certainly didn’t expect to see mine double. 

So I called, politely voiced my concerns and asked if anything could be done about it.  They threw me a bone.  It’s not exactly as much as I expected, but hey, it certainly beats what was happening.  They will leave my interest rate as it is for four more months before raising it.  When they do, they will raise it only 6% instead of 8%.  Now if I could only dump it all before the increase, but will not be able to do that. 

I thought I had the taxes figured out so that I wouldn’t owe this year.  Ha!  Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I’m going to owe.  A bunch.  I’m working on getting that together now and then I’ll only have a couple months to get as much as possible paid on the card balance before the interest jumps.  I’ll do what I can and then explore some other options when that time arrives.

So, you never know.  Sometimes it works.  Try calling your credit card companies.  Every little bit helps.

It’s time for another chapter of Leo Babauta’s Thriving on Less,  a companion ebook to The Power of Less.

Chapter 7 – Changing Your Spending Habits

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”

• – Aristotle

While you can cut costs here and there, the real, lasting changes won’t come until you change your habits. If you currently give in to impulse purchases on a regular basis, for example, you’ll still spend a lot of money despite making numerous cuts in other areas.

An important long-term strategy is to create new, sound financial habits, one at a time. See The Power of Less for more on creating new habits. Use the effective habit-change techniques in the book to change one habit at a time. Here are some important habits to form:

1. Make savings automagical. This should be your top priority, especially if you don’t have a solid emergency fund yet. Make it the first bill you pay each payday, by having a set amount automatically transferred from your checking account to your savings (try an online savings account). Don’t even think about this transaction – just make sure it happens, each and every payday.

2. Control your impulse spending. The biggest problem for many of us. Impulse spending, on eating out and shopping and online purchases, is a big drain on our finances, the biggest budget breaker for many, and a sure way to be in dire financial straits. The first step to controlling this habit is to monitor it and become more aware of your urges. Then create a 30-day ban on impulse buying and focus on not buying anything other than necessities for one month. After that, create a 30-day list … anything you want to buy other than necessities goes on the list (with the date it was added) and you can’t buy it until 30 days later.

3. Evaluate your expenses, and live frugally. If you’ve never tracked your expenses, try the One Month Challenge – track your expenses every day for a month. Then evaluate how you’re spending your money, and see what you can cut out or reduce. Decide if each expense is absolutely necessary, then eliminate the unnecessary.

4. Invest in your future. If you’re young, you probably don’t think about retirement much. But it’s important. Even if you think you can always plan for retirement later, do it now. The growth of your investments over time will be amazing if you start in your 20s – and yes, even if the market isn’t great, it will recover and eventually start growing again. Start by increasing your 401(k) to the

maximum of your company’s match, if that’s available to you. After that, the best bet is probably a Roth IRA. Do a little research, but whatever you do, start now!

5. Keep your family secure. The first step is to save for an emergency fund, so that if anything happens, you’ve got the money. If you have a spouse and/or dependents, you should definitely get life insurance and make a will – as soon as possible! Also research other insurance, such as homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.

6. Eliminate and avoid debt. If you’ve got credit cards, personal loans, or other such debt, you need to start a debt elimination plan. List out your debts and arrange them in order from smallest balance at the top to largest at the bottom. Then focus on the debt at the top, putting as much as you can into it, even if it’s just $40-50 extra (more would be better). When that amount is paid off, celebrate! Then take the total amount you were paying (say $70 minimum payment plus the $50 extra for a total of $120) and add that to the minimum payment of the next largest debt. Continue this process, with your extra amount snowballing as you go along, until you pay off all your debts. This could take several years, but it’s a very rewarding process, and very necessary. More on debt

elimination in the next chapter.

7. Use the envelope system. This is a simple system to keep track of how much money you have for spending. Let’s say you set aside three amounts in your budget each payday – one for gas, one for groceries, one for eating out. Withdraw those amounts on payday, and put them in three separate envelopes. That way, you can easily track how much you have left for each of these expenses, and when you run out of money, you know it immediately. You don’t overspend in these

categories. If you regularly run out too fast, you may need to rethink your budget. This isn’t an absolutely necessary habit, but one you might find useful.

8. Pay bills immediately, or automagically. One good habit is to pay bills as soon as they come in. Also, as much as possible, try to get your bills to be paid through automatic deduction. For those that can’t, use your bank’s online check system to make regular automatic payments. This way, all of your regular expenses in your budget are taken care of. Remember to focus on one habit at a time!

I just came across a thought provoking YouTube video here.  It focuses on finance, our constitution and potentially scary evolution of our country.

What do you think about what Alan Keyes, former US ambassador has to say?

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

and the book:

Married Strangers

Urban Books (December 1, 2008)

Dwan Abrams is a full-time novelist, freelance editor, publisher and speaker. She’s the best-selling author of Married Strangers, Divorcing the Devil, Only True Love Waits, The Scream Within, and Favor (a short story appearing in The Midnight Clear anthology). She’s also the founder, publisher and editorial director of Nevaeh Publishing, a small press independent publishing house.

Visit the author’s website and blog.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.95
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Urban Books (December 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1601629753
ISBN-13: 978-1601629753 

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Rayna’s eyes welled with tears as feelings of loneliness and disappointment overtook her emotions. All of the romance and passion she envisioned would occur during her honeymoon didn’t happen. She imagined that this would have been one of the happiest times of her life. Instead, she was miserable. She had already felt a sense of cognitive dissonance, better known as “buyer’s remorse,” after her new husband, Bryce, had promised to take her on an exotic vacation in Cancun. Yeah right! she thought. Here they were, two weeks before Christmas, in a log cabin at Forrest Hills Mountain Resort in Dahlonega, Georgia. It was a five day package that Bryce’s best friend, Fox, had given them for a wedding present. A friend whose nickname came as a result of not so savory sales tactics, Fox earned the nickname because, according to Bryce, he was slicker than a snake oil salesman. Rayna found it strange that Bryce would refer to his friend in such a derogatory manner. It vexed her spirit, and she immediately remembered Proverbs 27:19: A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.

Now Rayna faced a deeper problem, the dislike of her honeymoon location. Besides the fact that Rayna was not the outdoorsy type, hiking and horseback riding never appealed to her. She and Bryce had discussed at length where they would spend their honeymoon… on the beach. Rayna’s fondest memories are of her vacationing in the Bahamas, Hawaii, and different beaches in Florida. There was something about the tranquil waters that made her feel at peace; almost as if she was communing with God.

Bryce had promised her they’d go to Mexico. At the last minute, he told her that he was unable to get the time off from work. He worked as a field reporter, and although he could have gotten a few days off, it wouldn’t have been long enough. She was disappointed. Her heart was set on an exotic locale, not somewhere with frost on the trees and snow on the ground. She wondered whether she was catching a glimpse of what her life with Bryce would be like. Broken promises. Even with advance notice, he still wasn’t able to come through for their honeymoon. The only person she blamed was herself for not getting to know her husband better before marrying him. As far as Rayna was concerned, a year of knowing Bryce hadn’t been nearly enough time. Trying to deal with her regret seemed overwhelming at times.

Rayna considered herself to be spiritually intuitive. But this time, she ignored the signs. A couple of weeks before getting married, Rayna had a disturbing dream about her wedding day. In the dream, her wedding day was a fiasco. She couldn’t remember all of the details, but one thing was clear—her feelings throughout the dream were unpleasant. At one point she said, “I’m marrying the wrong man.” Having awoken with beads of sweat on her forehead, Rayna dismissed the dream as a case of wedding jitters.

Even though the log cabin was nice—hot tub, double showers, and fireplace—the problem was Bryce.

“Good morning, Mrs. Henderson,” Bryce said as he kissed Rayna on the cheek.

“Morning.” She stretched her arms over her head.

The way Bryce said, “Mrs. Henderson,” sent shivers up her spine. To her, he sounded so macho at times. She found that whole “I’m Tarzan, you Jane” thing sexy.

“You hungry?” he asked.

She looked at the clock sitting on the wooden nightstand next to the canopy bed. The LED display read 9:00 a.m. in red digits.

“We need to hurry up before they stop serving breakfast,” she said.

Rayna wanted to escape out of bed and get dressed before Bryce touched her, again. His passionate desires seemed to be insatiable. Once, she asked him whether he had an implant or took drugs, because even after making love, Bryce’s physical disposition remained the same. Of course, he denied it. Most women would love to have a man who could last for hours. For Rayna, it didn’t take all that. Not if he knew what he’s doing. Unfortunately, Bryce wouldn’t know how to satisfy her if she were an air traffic controller directing him from the lighthouse. She remembered hearing that sex comprised only two percent of a relationship, if it’s good. But when it’s not-so-good, it’s about ninety-eight percent, she thought. Having an ungratifying sex life made it difficult for her to appreciate the good things about Bryce. Like the way he’d rub her feet whenever they sat next to each other on the couch, or the way he’d give her an all over body massage.

“Let’s take communion first,” Bryce suggested, revealing a devilish grin.

Communion was Bryce’s way of asking for physical intimacy, and she thought it was sweet. He had this good guy, bad boy routine down to a science. Rayna looked over at him and immediately became turned on. Her husband was hot. Brad Pitt and George Clooney had nothing on Bryce. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his smooth, hairless chest was toned and muscular. She noticed that his abs workout was working, because the lining of a six-pack was visible. She thought he was sexy. Too bad he can’t deliver.

“Not right now,” she grumbled.

It amazed Rayna how her husband could have so much going on—good looks, a body like a Greek Adonis, sex appeal, a smile that could light up a room, yet he didn’t know how to straighten her hair and curl her toes, so to speak. It’s not like she hadn’t expressed her dissatisfaction to Bryce. He knew full well that she was frustrated; yet he wouldn’t do anything to change it. Every time she wanted to try something new or different, he called her sadistic. Her feelings were crushed. More than anything, she wanted to please him, and in the process, get pleased. His inflexibility made Rayna feel less desirable and unappreciated.

She got out of the king-sized bed, walked across the hardwood floor, and went into the double showers. Thankfully, the water running down her face camouflaged the tears streaming down her cheeks. Rayna felt as if she had made a terrible mistake by marrying Bryce. After they consummated their marriage a couple of nights ago, she went into the bathroom and cried. How could two people be so physically incompatible? she thought. She had never heard of such a thing, especially not with married couples. She wondered what she had done to deserve such an unfulfilling union. Silently, she prayed.

Lord, forgive me for my sins. Please help me deal with this marriage. Whatever sin is blocking me from being a good wife, I ask that you remove it. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

As she exited the shower and wrapped her body in a towel, Bryce entered the bathroom. He embraced Rayna, and she melted. Her desire to be close to him was overwhelming; then the thought of being disappointed crept in and immediately turned her off. Not because she didn’t love him, because she did. It was more because of his indifferent attitude. When they made love, she sensed that his thoughts were elsewhere. He wouldn’t look at her, and that bothered her. She wondered whether it was because he was white, and she was black. Then she quickly dismissed that notion because Bryce didn’t seem to have a racist bone in his body. His expectation of going all the way at the slightest hint of affection made her hesitant to hug or kiss him. She couldn’t even rub her hand along her leg without him getting turned on.

Freeing herself from his toned arms, she looked at his disappointed face and said, “I saved you some hot water. I’m going to get dressed.”

She went back into the bedroom. Since it was cold outside, she slipped into a cashmere sweater, jeans and boots. Her hair was styled in a short, curled “do” like the actress Halle Berry.

Several minutes later, Bryce came from out of the shower. “You look nice,” Bryce complimented as he dried off, and changed into a gray mock neck sweater, jeans and Timberlands.

“Thanks. So do you.”

They put on their coats and gloves and left the cabin. Rayna noticed there was frost on the surrounding trees. They walked to the couples-only “Secret Garden” dining room, which happened to be a few feet away.

The hostess, dressed in a sweater and jeans, said, “Are you on your honeymoon?”

“Yes,” Bryce replied, smiling. “How could you tell?”

Rayna felt like saying, “Because we’re in the couples-only dining room,” but she refrained. In Bryce’s defense, they could’ve been dating and vacationing together, she reasoned.

“You have that glow about you,” the hostess replied.

Bryce looked at Rayna lovingly, and grabbed her gloved hand.

“It’s a buffet,” the hostess explained, smiling. “Seat yourself wherever you like.”

Thank goodness, Rayna thought. Every time they went out to eat, Bryce always asked the waiter or waitress, “What do you recommend?” It used to bother Rayna, so she asked him why he did that. He told her that it eliminated the guesswork. “Who better to tell you about the food than the people who work at the restaurant?” Bryce replied. She understood, but never adopted that philosophy. She enjoyed scanning the selections. When she would narrow her choices down to two entrées, then she would ask the waiter or waitress for their opinion. Her indecisiveness tended to bother Bryce, but she didn’t care.

They sat at a table surrounded by large, panoramic windows. They took off their coats and gloves and placed them on an empty chair.

“Can I get you something to drink?” the hostess asked.

“Two hot teas with sugar and lemon,” Bryce replied.

“And an orange juice,” Rayna added.

After the hostess took their drink orders, they got up and each fixed themselves a plate. The food looked scrumptious and fresh. Rayna had the cheese grits, scrambled eggs and bacon. Bryce filled his plate with French toast and sausage links.

They went back to their table, and Bryce led them in prayer.

“Father, thank you for this food and fellowship. I pray that this meal is nourishing to our minds and bodies. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

She mixed her eggs with the grits and crumpled bacon on top. Then she stared out the window. Trees for as far as the eyes could see… acres and acres of secluded woodlands. Her thoughts drifted to the first time she and Bryce met.

They were standing in line at the cafe in the Barnes & Noble off Cobb Parkway in Atlanta. After striking up a general conversation, Bryce paid for her latte. He seemed intelligent, not to mention handsome, with that sandy blond hair and green eyes. So when he asked for her phone number, she gave it to him.

Rayna went home immediately afterward. Within twenty minutes, her phone rang. It was Bryce, asking her to go out with him.

“When can I see you, again?” Bryce asked.

“How about tomorrow night?” she responded in a flirtatious tone.

“Great.” He sounded excited. “Where would you like to go?”

“Pizza Hut,” she laughed.

“Pizza Hut?” She could tell by the influx in his voice that he had expected her to name some fancy restaurant.

“Yes.”

Besides the fact that Pizza Hut was her favorite pizza establishment, she didn’t want Bryce to feel as though she were trying to take advantage of him. When they met, he was dressed in a suit. Not a cheap suit either. Rayna checked his shoes and Bryce wore black Kenneth Cole. He seemed to be doing pretty well. Even still, Rayna had wanted to get to know him personally. At the time, she was not impressed by the fact that by all appearances, he could have taken her to an expensive restaurant.

The following day, he picked Rayna up at her apartment in a rental car and took her to Pizza Hut. While at the restaurant, he explained to her that he actually lived in Chicago and was in Atlanta on business. He worked as a field reporter and was chronicling a news story. He also wrote a newspaper column. His profession seemed exciting to Rayna, because she had written numerous poems and short stories. One day, she planned to write a full-length book. Speaking with a real life reporter/writer fascinated her. As he told Rayna about his travels and how he became a writer, she hung on his every word.

“I have always been fascinated by the written word,” Bryce explained. “You know, it’s funny how I became a columnist,” he chuckled. “A friend of mine used to write a column for Chicago Tribune. She got a promotion and recommended me for her old job.”

“Wow! That was a major blessing.” Rayna smiled.

“I know,” he laughed. “Especially since I had just graduated from college.”

Rayna was not surprised to hear about Bryce’s accomplishments. He seemed so eloquent, well- spoken, cultured, and poised. When they arrived at the restaurant, they talked incessantly. She felt as though she were in a therapy session, because he was so easy to talk to.

“Where are you from?” Bryce asked, looking at her.

“I grew up in Orlando, but my parents and I moved to Georgia about…” she rolled her eyes upward, “ten years ago.” She took a bite of pepperoni pizza.

“Tell me about your family.”

She held up her index finger while she chewed the pizza. After she swallowed, she said, “I’m an only child. My mom’s a pharmacist, and my dad’s a neurologist. What about your family?”

“I have two older brothers and two younger sisters. I’m the middle child. I spent a great deal of my childhood being raised by my grandmother.”

“What happened to your parents?”

He sipped a glass of soda, or “pop” as he called it. “My dad died of a heart-attack when I was five, and I don’t have a good relationship with my mother.”

Curious. Rayna was taken aback. What kind of guy doesn’t get along with his mother? she wondered.

“My brothers and sisters have the same father, and I have my own father,” he explained. “As you can imagine, I was the black sheep.”

“You’re the middle child, yet you have a different dad?” she said more of a statement than a question, trying to make sure she understood him correctly.

“Yes. My mom was married, but she had an affair. I’m the result.” He stared at a scratch in the wooden table before taking a sip of his sparkly drink.

Rayna cleared her throat, not really knowing what to say. His candor surprised her.

He looked at her and sucked in his cheeks as if he were sucking a lemon. “My mom’s marriage suffered because of it, but they stayed together and had my twin sisters.”

“Then why did you have to stay with your grandmother?” She tilted her head to the side.

He looked her in the eye and said seriously, “Because my stepdad didn’t treat me the same as the other kids. He was harder on me. My mom figured that with me out of the house, the family could be put back together.”

“That’s terrible.” She furrowed her brow.

She felt sorry for him. Rayna hadn’t expected to learn such personal information about him on their first date. In a strange way, seeing him in such a vulnerable state attracted her to Bryce. She had finally met a man who was in touch with his feelings and knew how to convey them. Something in his almond shaped eyes expressed sadness. She could tell that his hurt ran deep. He was so nice that she wanted to help him.

Bryce squeezed Rayna’s hand, which was resting on top of the table, and said, “What were you thinking about?”

Rayna had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t even realized that the hostess had placed their drinks on the table.

“How do you know I was thinking?” she answered, smiling. “I could’ve been admiring the scenery.”

“You might’ve started out doing that, but I can tell by the way your eyes shifted downward and to the right that you were remembering something.”

He’s so analytical, she thought. He pays attention to everything. That’s what she gets for hooking up with a brain-iac.

“I was thinking about us,” she admitted. “I can’t believe that after six months of being engaged, we’re finally married.”

Rayna’s decision to marry Bryce was an easy one. He proposed to her three months after they met. They had been talking on the phone every day, several times per day. Maintaining a long distance relationship wasn’t easy. She missed him terribly and wanted companionship. She was twenty years old and a sophomore at Mercer University. Bryce was three years her senior. They were deeply in love.

“Rayna,” he said, interrupting her thoughts once again. “I love you so much,” he grinned sheepishly, licking his pink lips.

“I love you, too.” She gave a faint smile.

“You don’t understand. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anybody, including my own mother. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you, Rayna,” Bryce declared.

Somehow, hearing Bryce say he loved her more than his mother disturbed her, because although she loved him, she didn’t think it could be compared to the love she has for her parents. Never had she met anyone who could make her remotely think that she loved them more than either one of her parents. She couldn’t even imagine. Then again, she thought, Bryce’s relationship with his mother was strained. So was it really far-fetched for him to love someone more than her?

Even though she believed him wholeheartedly, Rayna wasn’t sure how to respond to his statement. The first time Bryce ever told Rayna that he loved her was one week after they met. It caught her completely off guard. She found it peculiar, because she thought it was too soon for them to exchange those three little words that carry a whole lot of weight. She didn’t say it back to him, because she didn’t take saying, “I love you” lightly.

Marrying Bryce seemed to make logical sense to Rayna. He was an avid reader, had an incredible vocabulary, and was well-versed in many different things. And she couldn’t deny the obvious. Bryce was fine and saved. And in Rayna’s opinion, that was definitely a plus. Not to mention that he’s a visionary and ambitious. One of the things Rayna admired about him was the fact that he knew a little about a wide array of subjects. He was able to discuss anything with anyone ranging from jazz music to the Greek classics to the Bible. And her parents loved him. Before deciding to commit, Rayna had a conversation with her Aunt Sylvia, which persuaded Rayna to marry Bryce.

Aunt Sylvia and Rayna had a close-knit relationship. She was Rayna’s mother’s younger sister, in her forties, and has never been married. Based on what she had told her aunt, like the way Bryce would call throughout the day, or send flowers, or take Rayna to nice restaurants, Sylvia was convinced that Bryce loved Rayna. What tilted the scale in Bryce’s favor was when Aunt Sylvia said, “Girl, what are you dragging your feet for? Do you know how hard it is to find a man who wants to get married?”

Rayna was glad when the hostess returned and asked, “How’s the food?”

“Fine,” she replied. That way, she didn’t have to acknowledge Bryce’s declaration.

He bit into his French toast. “Delicious.”

Rayna picked up her cloth napkin and wiped the powdered sugar off Bryce’s full lips. His lips don’t look like the average white boy. Not Mick Jagger, but luscious and sexy. He smiled a dimpled smile. She could tell he appreciated the gesture. They finished their breakfast and walked back to their cabin, glove in glove. As they breathed the cold, crisp air, smoke formed every time they exhaled.

Back in the cabin, Bryce started a fire in the gas log fireplace. They took off their shoes, wrapped themselves in a colorful quilt, and cuddled in front of the blazing fire. It was quite romantic. Rayna closed her eyes, listened to the crackling noises being emitted from the fireplace, and imagined that Bryce would ravish her body and leave her feeling satisfied. Fantasizing and praying helped her get through the remaining three days of her honeymoon. Thankfully, she had her fantasies.