A romantic tale perfect for the holidays
Caribbean Life, December 13-19, 2019 47
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
You’re going to just be quiet
now.
You have things to say, but
you’re not going to say them.
Nope, not opening your mouth.
Not a peep. Not a word. It’s not
your time to talk, and even if it
was, you’ll keep your thoughts
to yourself. Although, as in the
new novel “Right Beside You”
by Mary Monroe, staying quiet
might mean staying alone.
Thirty-seven-year-old Felicia
Hawkins almost never saw
anybody she worked with when
she stuck around her neighborhood,
so she was particularly
embarrassed when she ran into
her co-worker, Richard, at the
market with his maybe-girlfriend,
Regina, who was dressed
to the nines. It was a Friday
night, Felicia was in sweats and
a do-rag. She could never compare
to Regina, who was the
prettiest woman around.
Felicia had always gotten
along with Richard. They sat
on the city bus and chatted on
their way to work in downtown
Cleveland every morning, and
all the way home at night. He
was tall and handsome, a widower
with two teenage daughters
and she liked him… but
seeing Richard that Friday,
Felicia suddenly realized that
she loved him!
There was no way she was
going to tell him so.
Richard Grimes could have
taken his car to work every
morning but he didn’t, because
he looked forward to seeing
Felicia twice a day. She was
beautiful, inside and out, and
he couldn’t figure out why some
other Brother hadn’t made her
his wife. He knew full well that
Regina was trying to get back
with him — they’d dated in
high school — but she wasn’t
the kind of woman he wanted
to help raise his girls.
Someone like Felicia,
though? Yes, that was what
Richard really wanted. Seeing
Felicia all dressed down
like that on a Friday night,
he had so many feelings for
her but he’d never tell her so.
Still, as the Christmas holidays
neared and thoughts of it
warmed hearts, Richard could
only think of Felicia, and he
wondered what she was doing
for the holidays.
What Felicia was doing was
thinking it was time to move to
Atlanta and try to forget Richard.
But then a Santa’s helper
came up with a better plan…
As novels go, “Right Beside
You” is nothing thunderous.
It’s not exciting or agitating.
It won’t make your heart
pound. It’s just a slow, gentle
romance, a little like a madefor
TV movie with light drama,
lighter humor, and love scenes
that never go beyond a chaste
kiss or two.
In short, it’s the perfect holiday
novel, although readers
may note that the holiday itself
is far in the background and is
almost irrelevant to the tale.
Still, though this story is predictable,
yet comforting and
comfortable and it contains the
kinds of situations that make
Scrooges scoff, author Mary
Monroe makes it work in the
most charming of ways.
If you’ve been waiting for one
of these holiday genre novels to
arrive, then, wait no more. Put
this book “Right Beside You”
for a perfect, quiet Christmas
evening.
“Right Beside You” by
Mary Monroe
c.2019, Dafina Books
$20.00 / $27.00
Canada 240 pages
Book cover of “Right Beside You” by Mary Monroe.
Mary Monroe, author of “Right Beside You.”
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