The Educated Heart
by
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The housekeeper was out food shopping and Donna was napping. Bobbie, in the kitchen sipping a cup of herbal tea, grabbed the phone before it rang a second time and woke up her mother.
“Hello?”
“I say, who’s this?” asked a deep, dark-chocolate voice.
“I live here. I think you’d better rephrase your question.”
“Oh, sorry, that sounded frightfully rude, didn’t it?”
Her ear picked up on the British inflection. “If that was your question, I guess I’d have to agree.”
A rumbling laugh, like French roast coffee in a percolator, tickled Bobbie’s ear.
“May we begin again? Good afternoon! Norman Stone here.”
Bobbie was smiling; his laughter was infectious. “And I’m Roberta Bloom.”
“It’s entirely possible I dialed a wrong number, Miss Bloom. I was trying to reach Mrs. Gross, Mrs. Benjamin Gross.”
Bobbie was beginning to enjoy this conversation. The owner of the magnificent voice must be a member of the Stone family Ben had mentioned. Their conversation thus far had created a delightful sensation just north of her knees.
“Mrs. Gross is my mother. She suffered a heart attack last week, and….”
“A heart attack!”
“Yes. She received a report that I had died,” Bobbie explained.
“Obviously a bit of an exaggeration,”
Bobbie decided to ignore the wisecrack. “She just got home from the hospital yesterday. She’s taking a nap right now, but I can have her call you later.”
“My parents are hosting a seder next Friday evening, you see, and my mum asked me to call Mrs. Gross and find out whether their daughter will be able to attend.”
“Actually, there’re two daughters¾his and hers.”
Norman Stone chuckled.
“I know Michelle Gross, but I don’t believe we’ve met, Roberta. I say, will your mum be well enough to attend the seder?”
“She predicts very confidently that she will be there because she bought a new dress several weeks ago for the occasion.”
“I’ll tell my mum to expect all four of you. Are you as lovely as your voice?”
Smothering a smile, Bobbie cradled the phone next to her ear.
“Even lovelier, except for the glass eye and the five missing teeth.”
“Indeed! You sound like my kind of woman.”
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About the Book
Any woman who has ever known a big teddy bear of a man with a zany sense of humor will fall in love with Norman. Readers may be angry at Bobbie Bloom when she rejects him and marries his handsome, urbane friend Philip. They may even say, "Serves her right!" when Philip turns out to be a womanizer, but they will empathize when he and his girlflriend are murdered by her husband, and Bobbie is compelled by a deathbed promise to adopt their premature infant.
Bobbie has just begun to overcome her reluctance to care for the baby when the nanny abducts the little girl and disappears. Norman re-enters her life as a friend, providing emotional support as the FBI searches for the missing child.
When the child is recovered at last, Norman and Bobbie are overjoyed, but now they must face the fears and regrets associated with their long-lost love.
About the Author
Janet Logan attended Goucher College in Towson, MD. She lives in Hollywood, Florida.