Jillian Chantal

That’s a title up there- not a sentence so those of you that know I hate sentences that end in prepositions can rest easy. I’m saying it’s not a sentence. AND being cognizant that you’re breaking rules is all that matters anyway, right?  Ok, enough digression. There is a point to this post after all.

I started Ghost Moon by Heather Graham at lunch on Sept 21. I only got a little bit read. I think the prologue  and Chapter One was all.  Picked it back up on the 22nd at lunch and was enjoying the story until I got jerked out of it by the name of one of the characters.  The name was very, very close to the name of the One I Walked Away From.

I have very, very few regrets in my life and I can’t say that walking away from this man was a regret but periodically, he comes to  mind and I think  about what could  have been.  He was from Miami and this book is based in Key West where Heather Graham lives.  It is funny to me that she used a name so close to his and that she lives so close to his hometown.  And yeah, I know the old saying about when close counts but as those of you that know me know, I’m all about making connections. However tenuous they may be.

The man of whom I speak and I were very good friends. He had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend. One night when we were out with a gang of friends that didn’t include either of our current loves, we ended up outside alone. As we talked, he leaned over, pulled me close to him and kissed me. It was one of the most gentle and sensuous kisses of my life.  He treated me as if I would break and since I’ve always been a strong person, I felt cherished like I have never been before or since.

He wanted to go somewhere to be alone together but I couldn’t do it.  The kiss had taken me by surprise and it was wonderful but I couldn’t knowingly, with aforethought,  cheat on my boyfriend. 

This man and I remained friends for a long time after that but I was always careful not to be alone with him again in a similar situation. I do think about that kiss sometimes and wonder if I had gone with him would the rest of the evening have been as memorable as that one kiss that took place over a quarter of a century ago.

So, reading this book with the character name being so close to the name of the One I Walked Away  From, brought me back to a dark May night a very long time ago.  Thanks Heather for evoking a memory of a younger, more desirable me being kissed by a man who clearly thought the world of me.