Two Simple Words

Chapter 1

Alissa Ashton looked up from the flower bed she was weeding, planted with bright orange and yellow mums, at the tall, almost stick figure of a man, pushing a cart toward her.

"Greetings, Dame Alissa!" he said in his attempt at a British accent.

"Why, hello, Mr. Shelby," she said.

He saw the quizzical look on her face, "I'm the King's Herald this year. Seemed appropriate since I'm the mailman."

Alissa nodded, "Ahh, yes, obviously!" Now the tall black boots, the purple robes, and poofy purple hat, with the tufts of red plumage spouting out the top made sense.

"I didn't realize it was already October!" she said.

"Yes, fair maiden, indeed it is," he said, smiling. He dressed up as something every year for the month of October. Last year he'd been Captain Jack Sparrow. "Perhaps the king should send you a calendar?" he smiled.

She smiled back, and pulled off her gardening gloves. "And, what doest thou have for me today, Sir Herald?"

He handed her a small stack of what looked like bills, and one fancy-looking card addressed to, "The Ashton Twins." She raised her eyebrows, "Oh, pray tell what's this?"

"Looks like you're being summoned to a ball at the palace," he said with a chuckle, then turned toward the sidewalk, off to his next delivery. "Have a good day!"

"You, too," she said back to him then looked down at the envelope in her hand. It did look like an invitation. Probably to a wedding, she thought. There was no return address in the upper left hand corner, so she flipped it over to see if one was printed on the flap. None there, either.

"Who do we know that is getting married?" she asked herself. She wasn't sure if she should open it herself, or let Melissa open it. Either way, she figured her sister was going to be irritated by the joint address. She sighed and walked up the front steps, across the porch, and into the house.

"He's so weird!" Alissa could hear Melissa say as she walked through the door.

There was some shuffling, and a chair skidded across the tile floor in the kitchen, then Alissa heard her mother's voice mumble something she couldn't hear. The table in the foyer caught her attention. She could just lay the stack of mail there, go back outside, and finish weeding the flower garden.

"But..." she thought, looking down at the fancy lettering on the envelope. She flipped it over in her hand again. It was very clearly an invitation. But to what?

"I bet he's gay," Melissa was saying as Alissa walked into the kitchen. "Or, on drugs," she added. "He's so skinny!"

Alissa shook her head. Mr. Shelby had been an art teacher before being a mailman. The day he'd delivered her first box of college text books she'd ordered from Amazon she'd met him at her front door. "Whatcha' got in this box?" he'd asked.

"Books for college," she'd responded, shrugging, taking the heavy box from him.

"I used to teach art, did you know that?" he'd said, looking reminiscent. She hadn't known that and why would she? She hadn't ever stopped to wonder anything about the mailman before that, to be honest.

"Art teacher to mailman? How'd that happen?" she'd smiled at him, now curious.

"I loved teaching art," he said, and she could see that in his eyes, "but I also loved food more! And, all that sitting all day didn't do much for my girlish figure!" He put his hand on his hip and turned this way and that, posing. Alissa had giggled a little.