BEST AT ‘LOVE’

In our seventh annual Valentine Love Story Writing Contest, we received 40 entries from local aspiring scribes with a flair for romance.

We had a few guidelines for our writers: Keep the ending to 750 words, meet our Jan. 31 deadline and be creative!

Our three winners were alike in that they saw a love connection for our reluctant reveler Danielle Werther with those who understand the pain of loss. But the road to lasting love for Danielle is unique in each.

Here are the judges’ favorite three stories. To read some of the other entries, visit vindy.com/lovestory. The stories are unedited.

HERE IS THE BEGINNING OF OUR STORY

The room in the community center was ablaze in red for the annual Valentine’s Day dance. Every square inch was decorated with hearts, roses and outlines of Cupid holding his bow and arrow. It was so jarringly red that Danielle Werther considered the possibility that the place could catch fire and no one could tell the difference between the decorations and the dancing flames. “How morbid of me,” Danielle said out loud, chiding herself a bit.

She sat at an empty corner table at the dance. A soundtrack of songs about love blared from a speaker at the other end of the room, but Danielle felt nothing of the love that surrounded her in the decorations nor other revelry of the event.

When Danielle thought about love, she thought about Kevin. It was three years now since he had passed. When they were kids, Danielle was the tomboy who tagged along with Kevin and his neighborhood friends. Soon, the two became an inseparable duo, and then became something more after a fateful kiss one summer night among the fireflies.

Danielle was grateful, looking back, that she found Kevin so early in her life; it afforded her many wonderful years with him. She relived the happy years the most and tried to forget about the last years, as cancer appeared, reappeared and then got so bad that it took him away for good. The years since his death had been difficult. She had trouble leaving the house in those early days and had become a bit of hermit. In an effort to reconnect with the world again, she had started volunteering at the city community center in a limited capacity.

The center’s director, Stan, had lost his wife 15 years before, and he was understanding. She worked primarily with two very patient and sweet event managers, Cindy and Rose, who let Danielle work mostly behind the scenes. Danielle had grown close with the crew at the center and began to socialize more in the past few months, greeting guests at the front desk and answering phones. Still, it was a surprise when Stan, Cindy and Rose cornered her last week and urged her to attend the Valentine’s Day dance. With a flourish and a “ta-da!” Cindy even presented her with a dress to wear. In all honestly, Danielle’s heart still hurt from her loss, but she couldn’t deny the good intentions shining in the eyes of her friends. She agreed to go.

So here she was at the dance, taking sips of sparkling cider, nibbling at cookies and toying with the edge of the flouncy dress Cindy had provided her, but not feeling truly present. There were plenty of people on the dance floor or chatting and making connections, but Danielle felt lost on how to join them. “Have I become less approachable?” she wondered. Tears began to sting at her eyes and a familiar feeling in her heart, the weight of loss, started pushing down on her. She rose from her chair, her eyesight blurred by tears. She began to run. She let out a gasp of surprise as she ran into a party guest. Not used to the high heels she had worn with her party dress, she teetered back and landed squarely on her butt. And then she started to laugh. A deep belly laugh that felt a lot like a release. The stranger above her started to chuckle as well. He offered a hand so she could get up, and then Danielle ...

FIRST PLACE

Name: Jessica Ward

From: Boardman

Prize: $100 gift certificate from Rulli Bros.

He offered a hand so she could get up, but Danielle scooted away when she got a better look at his face. This was no stranger, even if she hadn’t seen him since Kevin died.

Standing on wobbly legs, Danielle crossed her arms over chest before addressing her former father-in-law. “Frank? What are you doing here?”

The hostility in her voice surprised her. She hadn’t realized until now how much it hurt knowing Kevin’s father had ignored all of her calls and requests to meet these past few years.

“Nice to see you too, Danny,” he replied, wiping cookie crumbs from his mouth. Danielle made no attempt to alert him of the bits still caught in his beard.

“It’s hard to believe that,” she answered, smoothing out her dress with shaky hands. “You never returned any of my calls.”

He shrugged apathetically and plopped himself at a table with the rest of his treats in hand.

Huffing, Danielle marched past him and over to the cider bowl. There is no way I’m letting that jerk ruin my night, she thought. After refilling her cup, she took a long drink while regaining her composure. Another love song belted out of the nearby stereo. She contemplated throwing her drink on it. Or Frank.

Maybe she could locate Stan and beg him to kick Frank out.

As if on cue, Stan appeared next to her. “So, are you enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, yes. Of course. It’s just” —Danielle turned and motioned toward Frank, who was now happily chatting with Cindy and Rose at his table—“Kevin’s father showed up and I haven’t seen him since ...” Danielle couldn’t finish the sentence, her throat constricting from the heart-wrenching memories of the funeral service years ago.

Stan’s face reflected the pain Danielle felt. “Oh gosh, Danielle. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“No, it is.” Stan’s face crinkled with worry. “I invited him to the party. I thought it would help to have a familiar face here, since most of your family lives so far away. I didn’t know things were … rough between you two.”

Another wave of annoyance rushed over Danielle with this new detail. Of course Frank came when a stranger asked him. Still, it was sweet that Stan had gone out of his way to try to make her comfortable at the party.

“I can ask him to leave,” Stan offered, straightening his stance.

“No, I can handle this.” Seeing Cindy and Rose leave Frank’s table, Danielle took a deep breath and walked back over to him.

“You’ve got some nice friends here,” Frank said, smirking up at her.

“Why now?” Danielle blurted out. She couldn’t bring herself to fumble through fake pleasantries when all she really wanted was to understand why Kevin’s father had cut her out of his life.

Frank’s eyes fell to the empty plate he was fiddling with. “I miss Kevin, too, you know.”

The tightness in Danielle’s throat returned along with the tell-tale pressure behind her eyes. She sniffled in response, unable to say anything more.

“It’s strange to me that I’m still here and he’s not,” he continued. “I didn’t know how to deal with those feelings for a long time, but I’m trying now.”

Danielle nodded, a weight lifting from her chest.

“Anyway,” Frank went on, “this Stan fellow, he seemed pretty genuine when he called me up, so I figured I should come down here and make sure he was a stand-up guy. Can’t have my daughter-in-law dating any old chump.”

Danielle squinted at Frank in confusion. Had he noticed Stan’s feelings toward her, too? She’d tried to write them off as simply being nice, but maybe Stan’s small smiles in the halls these past few months had meant more. If Frank was okay with her moving on, should she be, too?

“So what’s your opinion of him then?” she squeaked out before holding her breath.

Frank shrugged. “He can stand-up, and he’s a guy. I guess he’ll do.”

“Frank!” Danielle punched him in the arm, but they were both smiling.

“Well, stop torturing the poor man and go dance with him,” Frank insisted, shooing her out of her chair and toward Stan.

Still smiling, Danielle wiped her eyes and approached a beaming Stan. She was extremely grateful in that moment for not acting on her urge earlier to annihilate the sappy love songs. They provided the perfect backdrop to an unexpectedly hopeful evening.

SECOND PLACE:

Name: Antonette (Toni) Yuhasz

From: Berlin Center

Prize: $50 gift certificate from Rulli Bros.

... saw his bemused grin, a grin, she realized, didn’t belong to a stranger but to someone she knew well and hadn’t seen in two years. Helping her up was Tom Robinski, the man who had been her neighbor for more than 20 years.

They bought their home on Bryson Street a year after their marriage, and Tom and Alyce Robinski were the first to welcome Danielle and Kevin to the neighborhood. The Robinskis were close to them in age and had two sons, Tom Jr. and Peter. It wasn’t until after their daughter, Angela, was born they learned that even though the Robinskis wanted more children, Alyce could not carry another child. She had a problem with her heart that, although treatable with medication, made another pregnancy impossible. Danielle had suffered severe complications during her pregnancy, with a difficult delivery, and, though she and Kevin wanted a larger family, they decided that Angela would be their only child. This shared disappointment brought the families closer together and they became the best of friends.

Throughout Kevin’s illness, Tom and Alyce were there for Danielle. Without them, she could never have coped with her devastating loss. She was still reeling from Kevin’s death when Tom called one morning five months later, his voice breaking, as he told her that he, too, had lost the love of his life. Alyce had died in her sleep, apparently of a massive heart attack.

As he had done for her, Danielle helped Tom bear his grief. They spent hours together drinking coffee, talking through their pain and heartache. Though neighborhood gossip circulated about them, they remained just friends. They didn’t feel “that way” about each other. After several months. Tom talked about needing a change and getting away from Ohio winters. He told Danielle he was considering moving to Florida where Tom Jr. lived or to Nevada to be near Pete. Danielle said she would miss him and the friendship they had shared for so long, but she understood his desire to leave and wished him well, whatever he decided to do. Within a month, his house was sold and he was gone.

Now, here he stood, grinning and gently holding onto her arm. Danielle, unable to contain her astonishment, blurted out, “Goodness, Tom, what are you doing here?”

“Well,” he began, speaking slowly, “I’ve been to lots of places the last two years, spending time with my sons and then traveling to see the world, but I wasn’t enjoying any of it. I was sad and felt disconnected from everything and everybody. One day, it occurred to me that it was my own sadness keeping me from connecting with other people. It was like a heavy weight was resting on my heart and I couldn’t lift it off. I found myself thinking about Alyce and how much it hurt to lose her. I thought about you, too, Danielle, and the time we spent together, mourning both her and Kevin. I remembered how much that time and your friendship meant to me. I thought about you for a long while and the more I thought about you, the lighter my heart began to feel, until I realized something new had replaced my old sadness. Danielle, my feelings for you have grown from friendship to love, and I wanted you to know that.”

Rushing now, Tom continued, “I called Angela and told her I had to see you. She put me in contact with your friends here at the center. They told me about the dance tonight and suggested that I stop by. They said they thought you might be happy to see an old friend. They didn’t know I was going to tell you I love you and to ask if you think you could love me, too?”

Danielle looked at her good friend and thought about the special bonds they shared throughout their relationship. Love born of friendship can be the most precious of all, she thought. She looked into Tom’s eyes and, for the first time, saw the depth of his love for her. Her breath caught as she felt her own heart grow lighter and the joy of new found love rising within it.

Softly she answered, “Yes, I could.” Smiling, she took Tom’s hand and, together, they joined the others on the dance floor.

THIRD PLACE:

Name: Bobbi Ennett Allen

From: Youngstown

Prize: 2-pound box of chocolates from Philadelphia Candies, provided by The Vindicator

He offered a hand so she could get up, and then Danielle noticed a second hand reaching towards her. She looked up as she heard a familiar voice say, “Thanks, Son, I’ve got her!”

Stan’s strong arms pulled her from the floor. Before she could apologize to the young man he disappeared among the dancing couples. “Kevin always said the tomboy always won out when the lady wanted to dance!” she joked. “If I couldn’t dazzle the fellows, I could always beat them up! I really need to find that young man and apologize before I leave, “ she told Stan. “He must think I’m some kind of nut!”

“He knows more about you than you think!” Stan laughed. “He’s been hearing good things about you since you first walked through our doors!”

Danielle stopped searching the crowd for the young stranger and turned to Stan. “What? Why?” she asked. It was then she noticed that Stan had not released her hand after helping her from the floor.

Stan smiled and looked embarrassed. “I’ve, um … well, I’ve been asking his advice about some things,” he stammered. “He’s quite the ladies’ man!”

Little did he know that the puzzled look on Danielle’s face had more to do with why she hadn’t taken her hand from his by now, and less to do with why he had been asking the advice of a “ladies’ man.”

SDLqLet me explain, Danielle, please?” She smiled, and nodded. The look on his face made her wait, and the warmth of his hand reassured her that this might be an explanation she would want to hear.

“It’s been a long time since I wanted to ask a woman to a dance. Just as I was building up the courage, Cindy and Rose devised their own little plan. So, well I, I followed along and, uh. Well, I was grateful that they don’t know how to take no for an answer! And you’re here, at the dance, and you look, well, you look happy, and, well, I know you just consider us just good friends, but I thought that, maybe …” Stan’s voice trailed off as he realized Danielle was smiling, and he was still holding her hand.

“I am happy, Stan. And until a few moments ago, I never thought I would ever say that again and really mean it.” She paused, and drew him closer.

The lights dimmed and the band played a soft, slow love song. He held her close, and as he looked at her smiling face, he hoped she would remember that a good friendship could still become a great love.