Number One Cherry Blossom Lane

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If you happen to be walking past Number One, Cherry Blossom Lane in Somewhere Special, USA you just might see her, for occasionally she sits in the shade on the wide veranda of her immaculate Victorian home.


Something about her will capture your imagination. She isn't beautiful, as some may count beauty, and yet - - - and yet - - - there is something, some je ne sais quoi. Perhaps it is the way she holds her head, or her air of grace, or even the pearls she wears with her lace. Whatever it is, you will not soon forget this rather eccentric little lady with a heart of pure gold.


Her name is Lady Catherine Rose Sitzalone, but she was known to her friends simply as Miss Kitty Rose. I say "was known to her friends" because you see, she is the last of her ilk, having survived all her friends. A lone rose drooping on the vine.


Folks who know Miss Kitty Rose say she is a proper Southern Belle, in an age when far too few of those remain. She gets her hair done each Saturday, goes to church every Sunday, dresses to the nines in her lace and pearls - - - even for lunch, uses a tall umbrella instead of a cane, and wouldn't be seen - - - even on her veranda - - - without her rose-red lipstick and orchid-pink cheek rouge. There are those who say her long lost twin was once the Prime Minister of England - - - but that is a mystery to be solved in another tale.

When she was just a girl, her parents gave her everything money could buy which might spoil some, but not Miss Kitty Rose. She gave teas in her lovely flower garden for those less fortunate than herself, worked tirelessly volunteering at the Children's Hospital and organized ladies' luncheons at her church. She spoke with authority, but in such a gentle tone that not a soul thought her unkind.

Her money is all gone now. A scoundrel investor made off with her fortune and left her barely able to care for her day to day needs. But somehow, chin held high, she carries on.

With her friends all dead and gone, she has plenty of time to sit alone on her veranda. She invites the neighborhood children to join her there and serves them a proper English tea. They are delighted with Miss Rose and never does she let them suspect that she misses the days gone by when she was needed, useful, and surrounded by her friends.

She remembers all that was, and hopes for more to come.

And sometimes, just sometimes, she allows herself to take her most treasured memory out of its safe place in her heart and look back on it with tears in her eyes. She remembers the one and only love of her life, her dear sweet Arthur who used to take her dancing on Saturday nights.

Everyone said they made the handsomest pair on the ballroom floor. Arthur would twirl her in a gentle spin and dip her until her long golden curls nearly dragged the floor. Folks would come from miles around just to watch them waltz. Miss Kitty was a graceful dancer, beautiful to behold. She floated across the floor on long slender legs that seemed to go on forever.

Arthur asked for her hand, and she smiled a shy "yes." Her father said he would give her "half the kingdom" for her wedding, but she said all she wanted was a simple ceremony in the flower garden beside their lovely Victorian home. So arches were built, and chairs were arranged, and folks were invited from all over Somewhere Special.

But fate was not kind to Catherine, for on their wedding eve, poor Arthur was thrown from his horse surviving just long enough to whisper one last time, "I love you my own dear Rose." So instead of a wedding, Miss Kitty sat very alone under the marriage arch and bid her sweet Arthur adieu.

Though the people of Somewhere Special have long since forgotten, or have never heard the tale of Miss Kitty's lost love, they will tell you that - - -

If you should pass by Number One, Cherry Blossom Lane on a dark, quiet, Saturday night you just might hear the faint notes of a waltz floating on the air. And if you look up through the veranda, and if you are very fortunate indeed, you just might see on the drawn window shades, the graceful silhoutte of a lovely lady gliding across the floor on long slender legs that seem to go on forever - - -

The End

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Credits:

"Catherine" - submitted by LaVoice

"Kitty" - submitted by Leigh
and chosen by me in memory of my beloved Aunt Kitty

"Rose" - Dictated by her lovely red lips

"Sitzalone" - well, she does, doesn't she?

Story Line: Amy, Rita, Patti, Brenda, Angie, and Groovy

A big huge THANK YOU to all contributors, you made Lady Catherine Rose Sitzalone come alive.

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