Monday, 11 January 2021

Coincidence - The Best Laid Plans by Jeannie McLean

 Over the next month I will be adding some wonderful, coincidence, stories from amazing authors. Today, we have a wonderful story from Jeannie McLean.



The Best Laid Plans

I was heading out the door one summer’s day and my twenty year old daughter asked where I was going. I said ‘out’ with a friend. I wasn’t yet ready to tell her that I was meeting a man I had met through work and I was going on a date. It did cross my mind that as a divorced woman of nearly fifty with adult children, I didn’t need to be secretive, but it was a new experience for me – my first ‘date’ since my divorce some years earlier.

She was preparing to leave the house as well and when I asked her where she was going, she replied as I had, ‘out with a friend’.

My date was my age, also divorced. I was joining him at a local park where a jazz band was playing as part of a summer concert in the park series. I mixed with few people who were interested in jazz and even though the park was local, I thought I was unlikely to come across anyone I knew.

I met him in the car park and together we headed towards the music. A little distance away were two people, their backs to us, but I recognised one of the people instantly. It was my daughter. She must have sensed something as she turned around.

She waved and began to stand up, but the young man she was with pulled her down and whispered to her.  She hadn’t mentioned that she was seeing anyone in particular and my first reaction was if this man objected to meeting his date’s mother, then he wasn’t good enough for her anyway.

I wasn’t going to be ignored so I indicated to my date we’d go over to my daughter. But he hesitated.

 What was it with these men?

I was about to introduce myself to the young man, when my date said “Hello James,” and the young man replied, “Hello Mr Barnes.”

It turned out that James was a very good friend of one of my date’s sons! So much for my daughter and I keeping our ‘new’ relationships quiet until we felt there might be something to mention!

After some awkwardness and laughter, we all enjoyed the music. Later, my date assured me that James was a very nice young man, just as my daughter’s date assured her, he liked Mr Barnes!  

Which was just as well, as within a few years, my daughter and I married those men.

 

By Jeannie McLean, author: her latest crime novel ‘Caught Between’

Is available on Amazon Kindle.


If you missed the other Coincidence stories, please click on the links ...

The Piper

An Hair Raising Coincidence


 Thank you as always for stopping by and please come back for more.

Take care of yourself and each other and I hope the sun is shining on your face and in your heart.

 Hugs

Pauline

 



4 comments:

Ian said...

I like the idea of a coincidence pulling you up short and teaching you something. A really neat little tale.

Kit Domino said...

Nice story. Strange how these things happen. :)

Pauline Barclay said...

Thank you Ian, I agree.

Pauline Barclay said...


Hello Kit, it is a lovely story and so true! x