Pearlene's Story: Pearlene's Gems, #1

By P.L. Van Bibber

Pearlene, a self-made African American woman found love where it was least expected. She met Bradley Goldman, a wealthy, white computer genius who turned out to be her one, her forever. 

Overcoming her family's prejudice and disapproval she followed her heart even though they disowned her. 

His mother and brother embraced their interracial marriage with love and support.

Tragedy struck and she became a very wealthy widow. The money didn't matter.
The man she gave everything up for was gone.

Could she ever find a way to be happy once again?

She wandered the world for a year when she had an epiphany. She did not have to be alone! She could create the legacy she and Brad planned for. 

Come journey with Pearlene as she embraces the life she once envisioned with her one true love. 

Pearlene builds her family in a unique way. Come see how she decides to find her Gems.....

The first in the Pearlene's Gems Series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WFM Publicatons
• Release date: Feb 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393454915

P.L. Van Bibber

P.L. was raised in a multicultural family. She has learned to appreciate love wherever it’s found and believes that ethnicity shouldn’t matter. In romance novels, as the writer, she can make that happen. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. Her favorite genre is romance, and she’s been reading and writing it her whole life. She got lucky with a husband who fuels her romantic soul, and it’s a lesson they’ve passed down to their children. Since P.L. experienced her own happily-ever-after, she wants to share with the world that love can triumph. It takes persistence and desire from both sides of the relationship. Not all of P.L.’s writing is multicultural, but the underlying message is the same. Deep, true love conquers all. Connect with P.L. on her website:

Book preview

To Janet, for believing in me and always having my back.

Click here for your free copy of Pearlene Finds Her Gems, the first story in the series.

Chapter One

PEARLENE GOLDMAN SAT at the window seat, staring unseeingly at the beautiful backyard she and Brad had argued about and then collaborated on. Her cheeks were still wet, or were they wet again? They hadn’t been dry for a week.

Oh my God, she whispered. Has it really been a week already?

The pain in her heart was matched by the pain in her soul. She had no idea how she would go on without him.

She wished she had never met him.

No, that wasn’t true. Bradley Goldman had made her happier than she had ever been in her life.

But why was she limited to only a few happy years? His mere presence had created more joy, yet caused more heartbreak and separation in her family than she would have ever dreamed. 

Pearlene, daughter, you need to eat something, said Abby, handing her a cup of tea.

Not hungry, Mom.

You’ve hardly eaten all week. I will leave it alone tonight, but tomorrow when I come back, we will think about your future. Tonight, just rest. I love you, daughter. You are a daughter of my heart and have been since Brad chose you.

Mom, what am I going to do without him? What are we going to do?

We are going to move forward one day at a time, together. You, me, and Joe. But tonight and many other nights, we mourn. Abigail's voice broke and ever-present tears streaked her wrinkle lined face.

All right, Mom. Tomorrow we face another day, Pearlene said, hugging the other woman as they both attempted to smile.

Joe’s taking me home. I will be back tomorrow at 11:00. We can make lunch and talk.

Okay. Abby, do you want me to come over to your house instead?

No, Pearlene, I want to be around his things.

Okay, I’ll walk you out, she said wrapping her arm around her surrogate mother’s shoulder.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, with a glass of her favorite Cabernet Sauvignon, Pearlene stood on the lanai, surrounded by sweet-smelling roses in every possible color. Her family, her own flesh and blood, had let her down once again.

If only her father were alive. Maybe Pearlene would have the support her mother and both brothers should have provided.

Her dad. Lord, she loved him. He was an open-minded man who saw potential and good in everyone. Lewis Montrose Sr. would have loved Brad, if only because the younger man loved Pearlene so much himself. He had always encouraged her to be anything she wanted to be, not to allow anything to hold her back, especially her color.

Growing up, Pearlene always had her nose stuck in a book. She also had an affinity for numbers.

Pearlene, baby, her father used to say. You are a crazy smart girl. Make sure you get a good education and put it to use.

She had taken his advice and run with it. Being on the receiving end of several full-ride scholarships for both private colleges and universities, she chose Spelman College due to its proximity to her hometown of Valdosta, Georgia. It was in Atlanta, a little less than a four-hour drive as long as the traffic wasn’t backed up.

The entire family was very proud of her. Her mother, Rashaun, would brag about her for hours. Older brothers Lewis Jr – but everyone called him Junior - and Stuart, who had been named for her mothers’ father, petted and cosseted her until she went away to school.

During her freshman year in college, her brother Junior got into trouble. He fell in with the wrong crowd and got caught committing an armed robbery. Lewis was never the same after that. He claimed there was a white man involved too, and he did not get sentenced the same.

Once everything came out, it was Junior and another misguided friend who had actually committed the crime. The white guy had been the