A Rosebud in December
By Mary Barr
()
About this ebook
A Rosebud in December – a Novella
Mary Barr
Hudson and Mastonia Black own a very successful horse farm and enjoy an idyllic life. There life is a true love story and they cherish every moment; until Hudson’s beloved Mastonia falls from her horse while out riding. It is the day before they are to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.
A Rosebud in December follows the unique lives of identical twin girls, Rosemary and Lillibud Waric. No one can tell them apart and no one cares, they share everything and think as one. Over time, they are simply known as Rosebud. Their beginnings are humble; they are dirt poor and live in a trailer park where they are regularly subjected to beatings from their angry and drunken father.
With beauty, brains and a few coins in their pocket the girls finally run away to the nearest town. While one works in a diner by day and attends night school the other earns there degree. Every day their lives alternate until they graduate and the next chapter of their lives unfolds when they answer an advertisement posted by Hudson Black.
From severe poverty and abject cruelty to the opulence, wealth and love of life with Hudson Black - the girls, still living as one, find themselves in a true, life changing, and romantic fairytale!
Mary Barr
Mary Barr sees storytelling as an art. Each completed story is a piece of life born from words onto the page. A true storyteller and then a writer, she sees the storyline in its entirety before she begins to write. She shares all the twists and turns which continue to whet the reader’s appetite through to the unexpected ending. It’s not about spelling, vocabulary or grammar, although important, these things alone will never make a good story. Instead, Mary Barr’s readers experience the drama, suspense and intrigue of a captivating plot, with characters who often appear larger than life. Maybe we can relate to the good in each of them or the bad. Do we share their character flaws? Have we experienced similar triumphs or do we merely aspire to get a glimpse into their lives? Only in our dreams can we share their dangerous and exciting worlds. Whatever the answers, true fiction is an art and it creates a vivid image that stays with us long after the book is read. Mary Barr’s stories are created solely from her imagination and promise to keep you turning the page, all the way to the rapt conclusion. Mary Barr and her rich imagination currently reside in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
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Book preview
A Rosebud in December - Mary Barr
A Rosebud in December
By
—Mary Barr—
A Rosebud in December is a Novella featured in ‘The Backside of Heaven.’
www.Mary-Barr.com
Footnote: Mary Barr is a fiction writer. All people and animals in this book are fictitious. Should they have any likeness to anyone living or dead it is coincidental. The many characters featured within these pages have been created from the imagination of the author — Mary Barr.
Copyright — Mary Barr 2012
Smashwords Edition
I dedicate A Rosebud in December to my longtime friend Sylvia Ruth Benson.
I miss your optimistic outlook and wicked sense of humor.
I miss your love of life and your strong sense of self.
You will be sadly missed by many.
Sylvia may you and Charles rock on in heaven; it’s a brighter place for having you in it!!
Sylvia Ruth Benson. (Nee Plowright)
Born Brighton England
1918 — 2011
With Special thanks to:
Victoria Martin
Tracy Marcynzsyn
Quach Tran Nhat Minh (Cover) quachminh_m@yahoo.com.vn
Amy Siders amy@52novels.com & Christina Slichter tina@52novels.com
Contents
Chapter One: Life as it Was: Mastonia and Hudson
Chapter Two: all good things end…
Chapter Three: Twenty years on…
Chapter Four: New Beginnings
Chapter Five: Hudson
Chapter Six: The Letter
Chapter Seven: The Interview
Chapter Eight: Moving Up
Chapter Nine: Back to the Past
Chapter Ten: The Perfect Life of Rosebud and Hudson Black
Epilogue
SAMPLE CHAPTER FROM THE ‘The Apple’ A Novella
About the Author
Chapter One
Life as it Was: Mastonia and Hudson
Mastonia and Hudson Black were married for nearly forty years. Their anniversary was fast approaching, and like all good wives, Mastonia was busy planning a huge celebration.
Mastonia and Hudson easily agreed their years together were wonderful, filled with fun, laughter, success, good health and more wealth than either of them could possibly have imagined. Over the years they had built a reputation as one of the best horse studs in the world. Their farms ran on many thousands of acres over several states. Black’s horse stud
was renowned in horsey circles as the very best. Blacks boasted the best staff, the most pristine farms, and of course, the very best horses.
Mastonia and Hudson achieved it all, steadily together over the years; they succeeded when no one said it would last. After forty years, Mastonia and Hudson were still very much in love. In fact, they often felt more in love today than the day they’d married. They worked hard at their marriage just as they worked hard at everything they did. But they both agreed their marriage was the easiest and most fun of all and could never be classed as anything like work.
They kept romance alive by travelling whenever possible to many different places and having an active social life. Hudson never stopped telling her how beautiful she was, and as the years passed, he felt she became even more so. The years had been kind to them and so had their love; they were still a very handsome couple, but now they could add distinguished
to their appearance. Mastonia, like Hudson, was tall and slim. She had an oval face, high cheekbones, full lips and a straight nose. Her hair usually fell below her shoulders, straight and thick. She had long ago began touching up the rich chestnuts with highlights, and now as the years continued to advance, she knew this was a necessity rather than a fashion statement if she was to continue to appear fresh and youthful.
They were always justifiably proud of the other, as well as being firm best friends. Life was, and always had been, a win-win situation. Seldom a week went by without one of them telling the other how blessed they were and just how thankful they were to have all they had. Theirs was a happy union and they were equally matched in every way — from their early morning games of tennis, where deuce was the most common call and one that often lasted a very long time — to their business acumen.
They often played tennis before starting their day. They would then shower before enjoying coffee on the terrace as they watched the farm waking up around them. They felt it was a magic time made even more special because they were together.
Their farms were a joint venture; everything was shared and each did what they did best. Mastonia had a sharp business mind, a head for figures plus an easy ability to communicate with people. Always in command, she wore a velvet glove as she ran the farm and their many employees with a firm but loving hand. No one had any doubt who was in charge. Mastonia was fair and kind, and her workers willingly and happily obeyed her wishes — most of them having worked for the Blacks for many years.
Hudson was the hands-on
guy, selling and buying horses, making sure they were trained perfectly, with kindness, and respected. He knew animals, like people, needed respect; it gave them self-worth. Hudson preferred the soft approach, and over the years he used many horse whispers
when things hadn’t gone as planned. He enjoyed a happy healthy horse that, in turn, enjoyed its time spent on his farm. He was rewarded tenfold for his philosophy and often saddened when it was time to sell one of his favorite horses. By that time he felt they were part of the family and their future well-being, rather than the money they made him, was always of utmost importance.
Hudson travelled frequently but never stayed away from Mastonia for longer than two weeks at a time, as was their rule. She could always contact him, and they spoke as often when he travelled as when he was outside working on the farm while she worked in her office. Hudson weathered a huge responsibility and worked hard to balance his working life and marriage. For the most part, neither allowed their responsibilities that came to rest on their shoulders to take over their lives. Over the years both had become very apt at managing to keep their work responsibilities in second place to their marriage.
The only thing Mastonia chose to do alone was ride; it was her passion. Now that she could afford the very best horses, she kept several just for her use alone. She had never wanted to ride competitively but enjoyed the silence and scenery every