Enduring Love

“I don’t know what to write.” She said, looking at him, troubled.
“Use the adage. Write what you know. “ He said, smiling.
“But I don’t know anything.” She said, close to tears.
“Sure, you do. You know, lots of things. “ He said, trying to comfort her.
She had been staring at a blank page for the last hour.
“Let me give you a hint.”
“Ok.” she said doubtfully. She was ready to give up. Nothing was working. Maybe the first book was just a fluke.
“Say…a woman…housewife is cleaning her kitchen. What would she start with?” Her husband asks.
“The oven. She would do the messiest job first.”
“And why is that?”
She smiled. “Because she doesn’t want to mop the floor two times.”
“Ok, write that down. 38-year-old woman is cleaning her oven.” He said.
“39. Her and her husband had a fight this morning.” She said typing.
“Good. What did they fight about?” He stopped pacing and leaned on the guest chair in front of her desk.
“Money. everybody fights about money.” She said, getting into it now.
“Not us.” He said, smiling. She was catching on.
“Well, we’re the exception.” She said, thinking, “Cleaning the oven crying. Her and her husband had a big fight that morning. She has her head in the oven. Has earbuds in. Can’t hear a thing.”
She stopped, stomped again.
“She thinks of their children.“ She said out loud. “A boy of six and a girl of eight.”
“What are their names?”
“Marcie and Kenny.” She said typing. Thought about it and changed the girl’s name to Miracle. “Miracle.”
“Why did you call her Miracle?” He said, smiling. Knowing there was a story behind the name.
“Because she and her husband tried for years for her to become pregnant and when she did, it was a miracle.” She said, looking at the screen on her laptop. She continued typing. "No, Kenny is the oldest. They adopted him."
He slipped out of the room unnoticed. His wife was becoming immersed in the story. In a year, there would be another novel gracing the bookshelves bearing her name. The title ‘Enduring Love.’