Blind Speed Dating #51

Title:  WAITING FOR SOMEDAY


Genre:  Women’s Fiction


Word Count:  85,000 words

Query:

I’m dying to see you.  We’ve all casually said that at one time or another, but for Allyson Kiley, seeing her childhood friend one last time means just that...

Allyson had never had a best friend until she met the girl who moved into her apartment building the summer she turned ten years old.  From the moment they exchanged smiles, Allyson and Valene seemed inseparable.  But life had a way of rearranging itself.  The steadfast friendship they once thought would endure a lifetime had been severed by unfortunate circumstances. 

Now, at age 38, Allyson Kiley is a television personality with a successful cooking show.  When her career is interrupted by a lingering illness and she is diagnosed with an aggressive terminal disease, memories of her mother’s futile battle with cancer overwhelm her.  Allyson knows what she wants—more importantly, what she doesn't want.  She is determined to handle her impending fate on her own terms.  With time running out, she writes a letter to the only person she knows will support her decision.

Valene Del Monaco, a recluse and a widow, likes her life just the way it is—simple, easy, and undisturbed.  When she receives a letter from her former best friend after a 22-year estrangement, she is hesitant to accept the cryptic invitation.  Reminded of a promise she had made long ago, Valene reluctantly agrees to return to California. 

Their emotional reunion is spent sharing stories of their adolescence—both wishing they could change the past, only to realize the past had changed them.  And now, as their hearts begin to mend and regain harmony, Allyson must reveal that their newly-rekindled friendship has an expiration date stamped on it.

WAITING FOR SOMEDAY is an emotional journey in women’s fiction.  It contains subject matter that is certain to stir passionate discussion, questioning readers’ attitudes on controversial themes (e.g., physician-assisted suicide).

First 250:

Chapter 1 – Los Angeles

It could have been the perfect day in Los Angeles.  A spring rain always brightened the city, creating a blue-skied canvas behind scattered clouds.  Ethereal rays of sunlight shone down from behind a cloud and streaked the painted sky, and she wondered if God Himself were still present, making His way back to the Heavens after spending the morning hours at her side.

Indeed, it could have been the perfect day, but for Valene, today was anything but perfect.

As the plane descended, flecks of color across the verdant panorama below began to take shape, forming a peppered landscape of roadways, buildings, and trees.  She tried to distinguish the various freeways and landmarks, but her view was hindered by a small patch of condensation between the panes of the multi-layered window.  The plane slowly turned and the morning sun shone brightly upon the small window.  Closing her eyes in an effort to shield the sun's blinding light, she heard Allyson's voice echoing in her mind, Every cloud has a silver lining, right, Val?

She stared intently at the condensation on the window as the glistening mist quivered ever so slightly and touched her hand to the glass, as if to savor the last fleeting seconds of its very presence before it evaporated.

And then it was gone.

She shook her head at the irony of the moment as a tear escaped her eye, and she absentmindedly wiped it with the back of her hand as the plane touched down.