​Welcome Back!
Since it’s the New Year, I decided to post a story about birth. I wrote this a while back, so I adjusted it somewhat and decided to share the first edits. It sure is fun looking back at what I started with and learning to better myself as a writer. Enjoy!

                                            The Song That Changed Everything
 
A slow melody oozed from the office radio like syrup dripping from a bottle onto a fat pancake.
“That song again.”
“Please try not to strain yourself,” the nurse said. She nudged my shoulder aside as the sound of cooing filled the room.
We were heading for the emergency room. I wasn’t sure what to do, but the song kept playing and I wanted to stay close.
That song’s been on my mind ever since my friend Jamie left. We played cards during her visit. That is, until this happened.
Love… love is my one
Love… love for you
Love…
I can’t believe it. It was my favorite song, too. It was the “it” song for Jamie and I. She was the one that got away, you know. We could have made it work, but she didn’t feel the same way. She was going to remain true to me… to the rest of us on the farm.
This song. This song just felt all wrong now even though it was a happy occasion.
“Sir, you have to step aside now.”
“But I’m with her!”
“Sir, there’s nothing you can do here. Please take a seat in the waiting room.”
I paced back and forth. My hands trembled as the thoughts about my new life of building a home for the animals floated in front of me.
This song.
The four vacant walls stared at me like a blank paper. They seemed to throb along with my pulsing head. I could have popped a vein in the hours I was there.
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“It’s a healthy baby girl.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Of course. Do you want to see her?”
“No! It cannot be. We were expecting a boy. He was going to sire future bulls!”

Lots of exciting things happened this year, including the publication of the third book to the Wings Series, Wing Rebel. Haven't glanced at it? View it here.
​Thank you to all my clients and to all readers. 

​Christmas was great. It’s the only time of year my coworkers smile at me; the only time my wife acknowledges me; and it’s the only time my mother calls. As a matter of fact, it’s the only time I receive everything I want, especially that electronic game I always wanted. It came packaged in a green and purple cover. All the components were inside, which is great because I hate doing returns. I had taken all the contents out for a trial run when my wife called me to help with the toilet (long story). I placed everything in the corner of the room in order to not step on anything.
“Hey, you!”
I must have done a 360 degree turn to decipher where the voice was coming from.
“Down here, cheese boy!”
“What?” I knelt down, straightened my glasses, and picked up the box.
“That’s right. Now, listen here. Whatever you do, don’t go to the bathroom.”
I was petrified, but wondered where the microphone was. I must have overlooked that component.
“Psst! Are you listening?”
“Uh… why not?”
“If you want to see the night sky again, you’ll do as I say.”
In the background I could hear my wife fuming and then, silence.
“See? What did I tell you?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your wife is gone.”
“Gone? How? Why? I mean… who would want to take her?”
The voice stopped talking to me. I shook the box and ordered a response. Nothing. So, I mustered the courage to look in the bathroom.
“Oh my….”

​The kids in the neighborhood don't realize that this year's fiasco is not going to happen. Every year, they cover my house with toilet paper sashes on Halloween Night, but this year, it's my turn. I'll just add some traps around the house where they usually trample through silently, and it will all be over… for good.
My little scheme will probably wake up the neighborhood, but I think it's worth the effort. Each trap is different, you see. One trap is filled with special glue. The other filled with tar. The other is filled with shards of glass. Oh, I'm not being mean about this. It will be tedious to discover the sashes the next morning and clean it up when all you want to do is head for a brisk walk, but…
Not this time.
I just have to wait for them to show up. I'll sit here in the dark, drinking my hot chocolate. Not only that, but I won't make a peep. Wait! I hear something outside—a rustling around the bushes. A scream! No, many screams! A-ha! I've got them now. Let's see what we find those kids in.
"Help us, please."
I can't believe it! The nuances were not a bunch of scrawny kids, but the old seniors from the Community Center down the block!