Living it Up in Fiddly Falls (A Short Story)

By Brenda Coulter

She might be as old as the hills, but she's not dead. So what is Maryann Flemming's obituary doing on Page 4 of the Fiddly Falls Citizens Gazette?

Folksy and fun, this 7,000-word short story is a quick read featuring Christian themes and a touch of romance. Download it now to enjoy during your next coffee break or at bedtime. (Goes great with cookies!)

BONUS CONTENT: This download also includes the first three chapters of a full-length Christian romance novel, reader favorite HER MINNESOTA MAN.

Brenda Coulter's first four novels were published by Harlequin's popular "Love Inspired" imprint; one was a finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award (Best Inspirational Romance). Her first self-published work, HER MINNESOTA MAN, is a longer Christian romance novel that's getting tons of rave reviews at all of the online e-book retailers. "Living it Up in Fiddly Falls" is her first short story.

Read long excerpts from all of Brenda's books at http://BrendaCoulter.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brenda Coulter
• Release date: Feb 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310833083

Brenda Coulter

Brenda Coulter lives somewhere in the Midwestern U.S. with the hunk o' burnin' love she married way back in 1975. Having successfully brought up two boys (they chew with their mouths closed and they always remember to say thank you), Brenda now spends her days writing Christian romance novels, tending her cottage-style flower garden, and endeavoring to wait patiently for her first grandchild.To learn more about Brenda and her books, please visit her website, www.BrendaCoulter.com

Book preview

Copyright 2013 by Brenda Coulter

Smashwords Edition, February 2014. All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from the author. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this story are purely the author's invention. Cover photo by Aaron Amat/Shutterstock.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Living it Up in Fiddly Falls: A Short Story

A Note from the Author

Bonus Excerpt: Her Minnesota Man / Chapter One

Bonus Excerpt: Her Minnesota Man / Chapter Two

Bonus Excerpt: Her Minnesota Man / Chapter Three

About the Author

Other Books by Brenda Coulter

Connect with Brenda Coulter

This story is dedicated to two sweet young ladies: Chelsea and Rylee. And also to their mother, a good woman who prays. (Thank you, Denise.)

Living it Up in Fiddly Falls

When you've lived as long as I have and you've seen all kinds of hardship and pain, both your own and other folks', you'll probably find that death has lost its power to terrify you. It's a fact that every person who's born will have to die someday, but most people are too squeamish to contemplate their own mortality. Until they get old, that is. Old people have usually buried so many good friends and relatives over the years that they've kind of gotten used to it, and they're no longer so reluctant to admit to themselves that the next funeral they attend just might be their own.

It seems to me that in the majority of cases, people don't die until they're old and worn out—and quite often, perfectly ready to be done with the whole business of living. Just like old Maisie Glemming was when she passed away the night before last at the good old age of 89.

My first thought when I heard the news was that Maisie is safe with Jesus now, and beyond all earthly troubles, which she had a lot of. (She was a very private person, so I'll just keep on keeping all the secrets she told me.) I had visited her just last week, and we'd talked about how death is just another part of life, and how it's nothing to fear if you're a true Christian. We shared some smiles as we talked about all those verses in the Bible that either hint or tell us straight out that the next phase of our existence is going to be infinitely more interesting and enjoyable than this one.

I'd better apologize in advance for the rambling I'm bound to do as I tell you what happened to me earlier this morning. Daddy always used to say I could talk the long ears off a donkey, and I suspect that if such a thing could actually be done, I'd be the first to accomplish it. So you see, rambling is something I did even before I grew old, which makes it a character flaw and not a symptom of senility. That means you can rest assured that even though I wander off track from time to time, I will eventually return to whatever point I originally set out to make.

While it's true that I no longer dread the end of my sojourn here on Earth, until this morning I have always treated the subject of death with the gravity it deserves. I've seen some people pushed so close to the edge of hysteria by grief that they chuckled during their loved ones' funeral services, but that's just human nature, and nothing to be ashamed of. But I've been laughing about death this morning, and I want to tell you why.

A little over an hour ago, I was awakened from a sound sleep by my ringing telephone. When I answered the call, a friend told me about the obituary she had just read in our local paper, The Fiddly Falls Citizens Gazette.

It was my obituary.

I didn't quite believe what I was hearing, so I eased my achy old body out of bed, wrapped it in my floral cotton robe, and went to get the paper off my front porch so I could see the thing for myself.

And there it was, right next to the tire ads on Page 4.

I guess some people would be deeply agitated to learn that their obituaries had been published before the appropriate time. But I'm 81, and while that isn't nearly as old as it used to be, thanks to the wonderful advances of modern medicine, I have enough life experience under my belt to understand that even good people make mistakes. So I wasn't outraged, although I will own to being surprised. Still, as peculiar as it felt to read what a fine person I was and how sorely I will be missed, the experience didn't shock my slippers off.

You see, old people tend to be a lot harder to shock and a lot easier to entertain than you young'uns realize. You'll be finding that out for yourself in a few years, but for now just try to take my word for it: The day will come when you'll be amused instead of mortified to find yourself belly-down on a hard table, wearing a paper dress and getting a rectal exam from a doctor whose diapers you used to change when you volunteered in the church nursery. You just wait and see.

I'll admit that my eyebrows went up when I saw my name and picture in the Deaths column of the Citizens Gazette. But about two seconds later, I laughed. And then I tossed the paper