The Novel for NaNoWriMo is..........

The Year of the WIP (Works in progress)

Author: Sidhe Faerie

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis

This year my goal is to finish as many WIP's as possible. I will be listing them as I finish them with the link to the site where they are posted.  

So far the ones that are planned are: 

Edge of Swords
Diplomatic Travels
Isle of Wonder
Wayward Child
Prodigal Princess
Heartfelt (Dana Heart)
Coffee for Two *(NSFW)

Cousins

Cousins
Word Count: 706
Characters: Dana Heart, Roger/Carol
Prompt: Hurt me Heal me #4. Minor character death

Dana got off the plane and headed to baggage claim. She had just flown halfway across the country to attend her cousin’s funeral.

Dana wasn't sure she should be there. She wasn't even close to her cousin, Carol. They hadn't spoken in years.

It was only for two days then she would be back to her life. She would have never come except that she had been summoned by Carol’s husband, Roger.

She arrived at the hotel to find a note from Roger. He wanted to see her right away. She was tired but she went anywhere. If it was important enough for him to ask her there she could at least go see him.

Dana dropped her things off and went to the address on the note. She pulled up in front of brick house on a quiet street. She walked up to the front door and knocked.

“Dana?” The tall blonde man who opened the door asked her.

“Yes. You must be Roger.” Dana smiled at him.

“Yeah. Come in.” Roger waved her inside. “Carol talked about you all the time. She talked about you and your aunt all the time. That's why I asked you to come.”

“I was wondering why you asked me to come.” Dana sat down on a floral sofa. The living room has a very feminine feel to it.

“Carol had something of your aunt's that she wanted to give to you.” Roger went to a drawer and took out a wooden box. “He put it on the table in front of her.”

Dana frowned. She glanced up at Roger then opened the box. Inside was the diamond bracelet that belonged to their great grandmother. Dana blinked in surprise.

“How did she get this? I thought it had been sold.” Dana picked it up and looked at it. “That's what I was told by the estate lawyer.”

“Your aunt let her borrow it for our wedding. Carol never returned it.” Roger shook his head. “She didn't mean to keep it but then your aunt died and she didn't have a chance to give it back.”

“She wasn't at the funeral and I know she knew our aunt had died. She sent flowers.” Dana looked around the room.

“We were going through something at the time.” Roger sighed. “She had a miscarriage. A few months later she was diagnosed with leukemia.”

“I didn't know.” Dana put the bracelet back in the box. “I knew she was sick but I thought she was getting better until I got your call.”

“We did too until she just collapsed and a few days later she was gone.” Roger wiped away a tear. “It spread so fast the second time there was no way to stop it.”

“I'm sorry. I can see you loved her very much.” Dana picked up the box. “Thank you for returning this to me.”

“Dana, I want you to speak at her service.” Roger reached out to her. “She would want you to.”

“I'll think about it.” Dana stood up. “I'm staying at the Burns Hotel. I'll be at the service in the morning. I'll tell you what I decide then.”

“Thank you.” Roger walked her to the door.

Dana went back to the hotel. She sat on the bed with the bracelet and thought about what she could say about her cousin.

They were teenagers the last time Dana spent any time with Carol. They talked about things that normal teenage girls talk about.

There was one thing that stuck out. Dana knew that was what she talk about.

The next morning, she stood up at the service to speak. I'm Dana. Carol was my cousin. We hadn't seen each other in a while. I remember one night at my aunt’s house when we were teenagers. She talked about the man she wanted to marry. I just met Roger and he has a lot of the same qualities. I'm glad she got her dream and she found someone that found his dream in her.

Roger nodded and wiped the tears from his face. He mouth thank you to her.

Dana left after the service. She didn't go to the wake. She just got on the next plane home.